| Dear Rev. Know-It-All,
The bishop of Rome, Joseph Ratzinger, alias
Benedict XVI, is at it again.
After all the progress we have made, he
has decided that not only is the Catholic Church the one true Church, but
it is the only church.
How dare he!
Ms. Ann T. Pope
Dear Ann,
How dare he not? Let us be a little
more precise. Remember, you are hearing what someone said that someone
said that he heard in another language. The word in question is “ecclesia.”
The Pope recently approved a statement
that clarifies some of the misinterpretations of the recent Vatican Council.
It reminds us of some points that Catholic Catholicism has always believed.
To be truly the “ecclesia” of the Lord, it is necessary
to have apostolic succession. Many Christian denominations are, thus,
not “ecclesiae.”
Pope Benedict is a precise theologian living
in a sloppy world.
Church, ecclesia, what are you talking
about? Speak English. Please!
Bear with me, Ann. I know that most
modern Americans believe that all of life's problems can be solved in a
half hour sit-com and when anyone tries to actually explain anything people
start looking at their watches. To explain something in English that
has been said in another language isn't always easy.
The English word "church" comes from the
Greek word “kyriake” which means the property of the
Lord.
The more common word used by most languages
for “church” is “ecclesia.” I t is the word used
in the Greek Scriptures to translate the Hebrew word “qahal.”
I believe your pastor comments on this
in an article in this week’s bulletin. The word is usually translated
“assembly.” Assembly doesn't really encompass the whole meaning.
The assembly of Israel was summoned by God and not by men. The Israelite
community was commanded by God on Mt. Sinai to come together at certain
times and places to worship Him, to serve Him and to hear His law.
It wasn't a voluntary, deliberative body. It was a summons.
The Greek word “ekklesia”
comes from the verb “to call out.”
The question here is how does God call
out His assembly, His church? Traditional Christianity has always
taught that this is done by the supervisors (episkopoi in Greek,
bishops in English) who are delegated (apostolic to use the
Greek word) by God.
We believe in the Apostolic Succession,
as did the first Christians.
How does one validate the claim that he
has been sent by God? Well, in the Catholic Church we have a list.
It seems that Jesus sent Peter, who sent Linus who sent Cletus who sent
Clement, who sent ..... all the way up to Joseph Ratzinger, otherwise known
as Benedict XVII.
The commission report is just reiterating
that we believe this, we have always believed it. Why should you
be surprised that the Catholic Church actually believes specific things?
This is a great country. You are free to disagree, but it seems to
me that you want to forbid that Joseph Ratzinger and his adherents, like
me, hold and teach certain things.
I believe that the Catholic Church is the
“assembly,” the “ecclesia” founded by Jesus of Nazareth.
I believe that the papacy was established by Jesus as we read in the Bible
and that it has endured these 20 centuries, despite some bad times and
bad men . I believe that, to be fully the Church, the Ecclesia of
Christ, the gospel, the sacraments, the apostolic succession, and the papacy
are necessary.
I have met some Protestants who are far
better Catholics than I. They love the Lord more and are more committed
to the poor than I am. Their hearts and minds are more filled with
Catholic truth than are my heart and mind.
Still, they are members of communities
summoned not by Jesus, but by Luther, and Calvin and Wesley.
What great things they accomplish when
they enter the fullness of Gospel truth.
Rev. Know-It-All
PS
- Allow me to publish this little list that is incredibly impolite.
How
Old Is Your Church?
[stated "years old" as of 2007]
| 490
years old |
if you are a Lutheran, your
religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex- monk of the Catholic Church,
in the year 1517. |
| 473 years
old |
if you belong to the Church of England,
your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the
Pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry. |
| 447 years
old |
if you are a Presbyterian, your religion
was founded by John Knox in Scotland in the year 1560. |
| 425 years
old |
if you are a Congregationalist, your religion
was originated by Robert Brown in Holland in 1582. |
| 402 years old |
if you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets
of your religion to John Smyth, who launched it in Amsterdam in 1605. |
| 379 years old |
if you are of the Dutch Reformed church,
you recognize Michaelis Jones as founder, because he originated your religion
in New York in 1628. |
| 263 years
old |
if you are a Methodist, your religion
was launched by John and Charles Wesley in England in 1744. |
| 233 years
old |
if you are a Unitarian, Theophilus Lindley
founded your church in London in 1774. |
| 223 years
old |
if you are a Protestant Episcopalian,
your religion was an offshoot of the Church of England founded by Samuel
Seabury in the American colonies in the 17th century (circa 1784). |
| 178 years
old |
if you are a Mormon (Latter Day Saints),
Joseph Smith started your religion in Palmyra, N.Y., in 1829. |
| 142 years
old |
if you worship with the Salvation Army,
your sect began with William Booth in London in 1865. |
| 128 years
old |
if you are a Christian Scientist, you
look to 1879 as the year in which your religion was born and to Mrs. Mary
Baker Eddy as its founder. |
less
than
120 years old |
if you belong to one of the religious
organizations known as 'Church of the Nazarene," "Pentecostal Gospel."
"Holiness Church," "Pilgrim Holiness Church," "Jehovah's Witnesses," your
religion is one of the hundreds of new sects founded by men within the
past century. |
| 1,974
years old |
if you are Catholic, you know that your
religion was founded in the year 33 by Jesus Christ the Son of God, and
it is still the same Church. |
The
Question Was
-
- -
Aren't all denominations
"Churches" and equal? |
|
