Josiah Concept Ministries

Deus Caritas Est (25 Dec 2005)

Spe Salvi (30 Nov 2007)

I’m acting as secretary for the Vatican. See, I hate to read long articles while sitting at my computer screen. So I try to print them out if I can. The Vatican’s website didn’t have a very printable version of the Pope’s encyclicals, so I decided to make a Microsoft Word copy of the documents. For the benefit of my readers, I am making them available for download.

I knew that we’d see backlash from the atheist community when the Pope not only slammed atheism in the encyclical (see also here and here), and he blamed it for the worst tragedies of the 20th century. Kelly from the Rational Response Squad has offered a typical atheist reply. She plays all of the usual cards: the Inquisition card, the Crusades card, and the This-Doesn’t-Prove-God-Either-Way-So-Neener-Neener card.

Kelly does make a very good point. Historically, religious violence accounts for the vast majority of tragedies. She also states that violence committed by atheists was not committed for an atheistic agenda, but as a way to eliminate religious idealogues in order to strengthen the control of the government over the people. Read more »

Now I really can’t wait to read the new encyclical from Pope Benedict XVI.  Apparently, there is a new hymn to Mary:

At the conclusion of his encyclical released today, Pope Benedict honored Mary as our model of hope and asked for her intercession in showing us the way to the Father.

Using a title for Mary used for over a thousand years, the Holy Father explained how the “Star of the Sea” is our model for hope on our earthly journey.  He described the dark, turbulent waters that we face in life and the need to have a star as a guide to follow the route.

“Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history.  But to reach him we also need lights close by – people who shine with his light and so guide us along our way.  Who more than Mary could be a star of hope for us?” (source)

This is going to be an interesting read.

The pope has released a new encyclical entitled Spe Salvi, which is a theological reflection upon hope.  Here is the summary (another one here) from Catholic News Agency.  I am going to read the entire document and comment as soon as I get time.

For now, the Pope’s introduction interests me:

According to the Christian faith, “redemption”—salvation—is not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. Now the question immediately arises: what sort of hope could ever justify the statement that, on the basis of that hope and simply because it exists, we are redeemed? And what sort of certainty is involved here?

See, I have a problem with the first sentence.  If salvation isn’t a given, and redemption is only offered to us as a trustworthy hope, then what of Paul’s firm statement in Romans 8:38-39?  No, Paul was certain of salvation the same as any Christian can be sure of his own eternal security.  That immovable certainty is what we are talking about, in answer to the Pope’s final question.

I agree with the Pope’s statement that the present, harrowing though it may be, is livable if we are working toward something.  And the goal of being with God more than justifies the effort of our journey in this life.  The only hope I can think of that would justify bearing this fallen world is certainty–a certainty found in a true contextual understanding of “hope” in the Bible, not in the “hope” of the modern world.

I hope the rest of the encyclical is stronger than the introduction.

In my previous post, I examined the verses that appeared on all four of Steve Ray’s lists of infallibly defined verses according to the Roman Catholic Church. In this post, I will take a quick look at two verses which appear on two of the lists, Matthew 16:16-19 and Matthew 26:26-28 et. al. with 1 Corinthians 11:23-29.

Before I look at those verses, I thought that I would point out that the Catholic interpretations of these verses neglect the priesthood of all believers (1 Pet 2:4-5).

Matthew 16:16-19

The massive debate over this verse is centered around whether the “rock” is Peter, or his confession of Christ as the messiah.

The New Testament seems to assume that all believers are a holy priesthood (1 Pet 2:4-5).   Given that there is only one mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5), and all believers are baptized into one body (1 Cor 12:13), it is unlikely that the apostles were made special priests.  Instead, all believers were made ministers of a new covenant (2 Cor 3:6).

See a longer argument here.

Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, and 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

It isn’t much of a surprise that Jesus’ exact words were recored in the gospels, given that they are biographies of His life.  Paul repeats the key phrases “This is my body . . . This is my blood” in his first letter to the Corinthians.

But the larger context of 1 Corinthians 11 is rules and order for spiritual worship, not a theological treatise on the body and blood of Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist.  Therefore, it is unlikely that either Paul or any of the gospel writers were attempting to validate transubstantiation.

Moreover, interpreting these verses literally then asks us to interpret John 6:53-57 literally:

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. . . .”

But reading that passage literally fails to take verse 63 in to account: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (emphasis added).

Defining the verses this way seems to be self-defeating.

I know that I have promised this and promised this. I’m sorry it has taken so long. New parents and anyone who has suffered depression in their lives will totally understand. I’m sure that many of you have doubted that it would ever arrive. But here it is, in PDF format. I hope that it was worth the wait. Enjoy!

Pope Benedict XVI will be publishing a book in March. It is a scholarly and spiritual work on the life of Jesus, and it is written in defense of the Jesus presented in Scripture.

In the preface, signed “Joseph Ratzinger — Benedict XVI,” the pope wrote that for decades he had noticed a growing scholarly distinction between the “historical Jesus” and the “Christ of faith,” a distinction that many Christians now accept as accurate.But, he wrote, if the human Jesus was totally different from the Jesus depicted in the Gospels and proclaimed by the church, what does it mean to have faith in him?

“I trust the gospels,” the pope wrote.

I think this is great. I hoped for some time that someone would publish a book along these lines that had the name recoginition factor going for him. Although regular readers know that I seldom defend Roman Catholic practices and doctrine, I am certainly looking forward to an English translation of this book and I will likely purchase a copy. Or ask for one for Christmas.

I trust the gospels, too. The fact that Christians accept a difference between Jesus of history and Jesus of Scripture is evidence to me that Satan has one foot in the door of the church already. The Bible is inerrant in all its details–including historical ones. When we start thinking that the Bible is inaccurate in history, the seed is planted to create doubt in other areas, too. Soon, we’re left with no basis for our faith, and that is bad news.

What I think is even greater about the book is that the Pope invites critique and discussion. This man holds the power to publish this book as an encyclical or define its elements as a doctrine of Catholic faith through papal infallibility. However, he chooses not to do that.

In a Nov. 21 statement, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said, “The pope says clearly, with his usual simplicity and humility, that this is not a ‘magisterial act,’ but a fruit of his personal research and, as such, can be freely discussed and critiqued.

Kudos to you, Pope Benedict. I will pray for you as you journey to Turkey today. A journey into a primarily Islamic country after the remarks in September could be very dangerous.

Get the story on Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration here.

This is the letter that Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo sent to Pope Benedict, the letter that prompted the recent meeting on priestly celibacy. The meeting that, predictably, resulted in maintaining the status quo.

November 4, 2006

Your Holiness,

The Archbishops, Bishops and Priests of the Married Priests Now! Prelature send their cordial greetings to you and to the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of the Church.

As you know, the Church throughout the world is in dire straits because of the shortage of priests. Churches are closing, priests are serving two and three parishes, the Mass and the Eucharist is not available to hundreds of thousands of Catholics. Lay men and women are being appointed as canonical pastors of parishes. The Church-at-Large has become a Mission Territory .

In the face of this crisis, there are 150,000 married priests who are ready and willing to serve. And there are married men who have prepared themselves for ordination who can also be called to the priesthood. Some of them are currently married deacons but others have never been ordained at all.

The Married Priests Now! Prelature with its archbishops, bishops and priests considers itself to be a Roman Catholic Personal Prelature in Communion with your Holiness and is part of the Roman Catholic Church. We are Roman Catholic bishops and do not want to fracture the Communion of the Church. Our cause is great because it is for the survival of the Church. We are mature adults, not children, so threats, penalties and punishments are out of place in our conversation and will not work. What will work is an honest discussion about the married priesthood of the New Testament and of the primitive Church. The faithful are already reaching out daily to married priests for weddings, baptisms and funerals on a continuing basis. It is time to free the priesthood from the obligation of celibacy.

This is what needs to be done without delay:

1. Married priests and married bishops need to be immediately but gradually reinstated into the fabric of our Church. A vicariate or prelature can be established for married priests (and there was a precedent for this in progress under John Paul II) or they can be recalled through our Married Priests Now! Prelature, or recalled by the local bishops. All penalties need to be waived.

2. Married deacons who are trained in theology and ministry ought to be ordained to the priesthood within a year or two.

3. Married men who are not ordained need to be welcomed into the seminaries or other training programs for the priesthood within the year.

4. Married priests should be able to serve in full time positions with salary, health care plans and pensions or in part time positions. Credit towards pensions should be given for past service to the Church.

5. Marriage is a sacrament of the Church. It cannot be said that celibacy is higher or greater than the sacrament of marriage. Marriage is the higher calling and is more difficult than celibacy because it is naturally centered on the spouse and children. Marriage creates great holiness in the husband and wife and in the family. Married Priests families are a model of the Christian family for the other families in the parish.

Marriage does not diminish the priest’s dedication to Christ but enhances it.

6. We wish to keep the avenues of communication and contact with you open, Your Holiness, and with the other bishops for our Married Priests Now! Prelature.

The priests and bishops of the Married Priests Now! Prelature stand ready and willing to work with you. The Faithful of the Church are now already reaching out to married priests in an enormous way. A new Catholic Church is forming with or without your blessing. There is great urgency in this matter. If you sanction this approach to reinstating married priests and bishops, you will be preserving the unity of the church. The right time is now.

We ask your cordial blessing on all married priests and bishops.

With filial love and devotion,

Emmanuel Milingo

Peter Paul Brennan

Joseph J. Gouthro

Patrick E. Trujillo

George Augustus Stallings

Roman Catholic Archbishops

The Married Priests Now! Prelature

I agree with most of what the Archbishop had to say, especially the part about marriage being a higher calling than celibacy. Perhaps that is because I am married, a duty which I take very seriously (a fact to which I hope my wife would readily attest).

Check this out!! The Pope is calling for a meeting on the 16th to discuss the problem of married clergy. This is in response to the excommunication of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo in September when he installed four married bishops.

I think that it is about time that the Catholic Church relax the celibacy rule; readers of my old blog know that I have always spoke in favor of this.

We can only pray that, whatever the Pope does, that it is in God’s will and that it will bring Him glory.

A schism could arise over the issue of celibacy, however it is unlikely that it will be lead by Abp. Milingo. I pray that this impending disaster is averted by the Pope’s action.

Yesterday, during my training class, I read an article that said Pope Benedict XVI had a meeting with Muslim representatives to talk about their faiths. The Pope said that “our future” depends on good relations between Christians and Muslims.

I know that Catholics from Jimmy Akin’s blog (where I comment from time to time) read my blog, and I would like to know if anyone knows the justification behind P841 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.

If any Catholics, more learned than I, can shed some light on this, I’d really appreciate it. Leave a comment or e-mail me. I know the Church teaches no salvation apart from Christ and the Church, so I’d be truly interested to know what this paragraph means in that light. Taken alone, it would seem that the Catholics believe that Muslims are saved.

Here’s the article:
B16 Tells Envoys of Respect for Islam