Ratzinger vs. Benedict XVI
It has been pointed out in recent articles about Pope Benedict XVI how he was previously the "stern defender of Church dogma," the "Vatican's doctrinal watchdog," a conservative who even went so far as to call other religions deficient. This is contrasted with his statements since becoming pope where he courteously pledges to reach out to other
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Can you explain to me why Cardinal Ratzinger would reference Acts 17.30-31 as evidence for "God has willed that the Church founded by him be the instrument for the salvation of all humanity"? The version of Acts 29-31 that I'm familar with is:
29: Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
This doesn't seem to be about the church at all, but about man's relationship to God. And then 29, if anything, seems to be anti-church - divine nature is not like something shaped by man's devising.
I'm not trying to challenge the Catholic Church with this question, it's just that 30 and 31 seem a really odd choice to support the statement that the Church is THE instrument for the salvation of humanity. So is the Catholic Bible different in these verses, or is another section meant, or is the Catholic interpretation of these verses different? It's not even Peter who's speaking, it's Paul.
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22: So Paul, standing in the middle of the Are-op'agus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23: For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, `To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
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26: And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation,
27: that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us,
28: for `In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your poets have said, `For we are indeed his offspring.'
29: Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man.
30: The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent,
31: because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead."
Paul is speaking to the gentiles of Athens. He uses their pagan religiosity to make an appeal for the universal revelation of Jesus, emphasizing how he is revealing the God they already seek in shadows. He is saying in effect, "There is one God who created us all, and now I am proclaiming Him to you." Verses 30-31 make reference to "all men everywhere" and "all men". I think that Cardinal Ratzinger was using the verse to point out that the Church founded by Christ is for the salvation of all, not just a few. Plus, Paul is arguing against pagans who already have "religion" with some good intentions and truth, albeit not true on all counts. This is the point Ratzinger makes in the paragraph I quoted from Dominus Iesus: the Church must go out and teach all people about Jesus Christ, even those who already have a form of religion, so that they can know the fullness of truth.
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