A reasoned post, SE, although your offense at my "score one for our side" (from whose side Brown comes from is unclear, and hence hardly ground for too much offense) seems a bit outbalanced by anyone seriously engaging in a discussion, days after his death, of whether the Pope is the anti-Christ and burning in hell. Give. Me. A. Break. Being satisfied, at least externally, with someone accepting the divinity of Christ seems a matter of good taste and manners as much as reasonable theology, I agree. I've always considered this blog in that spirit. Neither of us see much of that in those other blog comments, however.
One of the many reasons it took me by surprise is that considering the dire straits of Christianity in the West, I think it simple good sense to make common cause with conservative, doctrinally-grounded Christians (very much in the spirit of JPII, I might add). We may not all know what we like, but we certainly know what we do not like and who the problems are. Hence, I've had no problem and enjoyed immensely the Lutheran spin on these pages, and have happily linked to others of the same ilk despite the fact that I am (as your brother the O-man well knows) a triumphant Catholic curmudgeon. I have so much more in common with the Bunnie Diehls of the world than the Gene Robinsons. Hence the anti-Catholic talk puzzles me.
1 comment:
To both the Doctor and the Style Editor -- quite interesting.
Some of the "score one for our side" attitude is a bit silly, or it may be good natured competition or fun. At the same time, in a country such as the U.S., with its diverse religions, there will be mild offenses taken and given. As a boy, I remember Protestant neighbors being offended that Catholics thought theirs "the one true Church." I, on the other hand, found it a bit troubling that they thought we "worshipped Mary" as God or thought the Pope was "perfect."
None of this ever rose to the level of civil war; you made your point in a childish fashion and moved on.
But a central belief of this pope was that there is much common ground among believers of all stripes, even between Catholics and the pantheistic Hundus, for goodness sake. With the Jews we share important, essential roots. And with many Christians we share, one would hope, the tenets of the Apostles' Creed. No small stuff.
I think the Pope's attitude was "I will hold on to my faith, live it, evangelize it, appeal to the best and common tenets of other faiths, and hope the example will resonate."
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