something to think about
Ok, so I'm a bit behind the times in commenting on this... but a couple days ago the world of Catholicism got a new Pope. And that, of course, was because the previous man in that position in that church, Pope John Paul II, died, as men are wont to do from time to time. He was by all accounts a good man, and respected by many in the world, including but not limited to the 1.1 billion people who consider themselves under the authority of men in his position. He was apparently (according to accounts I've read) one of the most influential people in the world as a force for good will and peace. He may have helped bring down the Soviet Union, and he apologized publicly for the past sins of his church against Jews and other non-Catholics in the Inquisition, among other things. But did anybody else notice how PAGAN he was???
A number of days ago, I was reading the commemorative issue of Time magazine which focused on his life and the process of transitioning from one pope to another, and a few things jumped out at me. On May 13, 1981, he was shot. His spontaneous, instantaneous prayer to heaven for divine help was not a plea to God, our Father, or to Jesus Christ, his son and our intercessor before Him, but to "Mary, my mother,". Here's a quote from later in the article:His devotion to the Virgin Mary, to whom his personal motto--Totus tuus (All yours)--referred, was lifelong, and he was known to prostrate himself before her statues. Since the shooting occurred on the anniversary of the 1917 apparition of the Virgin near Fatima in Portugal, he was convinced he owed his life to her.
Mary was indeed the most blessed among all women that have ever lived. And her virgin pregnancy by the Holy Spirit was indeed a miracle. But she is, at the moment, dead, and even if she were not, she is not to be worshiped above God. In my mind, Pope John Paul II was thoroughly guilty of disobeying our Father's first two, and most important commands, namely, to think of Him as God and Him alone and act in accordance with that belief, and to not worship in front of any statues. None of the apostles allowed themselves to be worshiped, and neither did the holy angels; they all give praise to God and to Jesus Christ. If she were alive, Mary would do no different. I just have such a hard time imagining how a man in the position of the Pope (past or present), who is free to spend his life studying religion, wouldn't know these things. He and many of the other Catholic leaders must know that their system of belief is mostly fictional, not based on any holy book but rather on the thoughts of their own minds and the men who came before them, with scripture mixed in where it sounds good. But rather than change and really seek the truth, they choose to reinforce and recreate their empire by perpetuating everything they have become accustomed to, and to justify it by claiming that they as the leaders of "the Church" have the right to change doctrine. Well, for what it's worth, disobeying our Creator and Father is never "right", and neither is teaching men to do so. It's allowed, because we have the freedom to choose, but it's the way that, if we ultimately refuse to change from it when given the chance, would lead to death (permanently), because He, our Creator, won't keep us around if we can't learn to live in harmony with Him and with all the rest of His creation. Here's hoping the late Pope John Paul II will understand and change, and be able to learn the true way to worship God, and to abhor the things he thought and the way he worshiped in this life, when he is resurrected and shown the truth, because it would be a shame to lose such a "good man". I think he will.
A number of days ago, I was reading the commemorative issue of Time magazine which focused on his life and the process of transitioning from one pope to another, and a few things jumped out at me. On May 13, 1981, he was shot. His spontaneous, instantaneous prayer to heaven for divine help was not a plea to God, our Father, or to Jesus Christ, his son and our intercessor before Him, but to "Mary, my mother,". Here's a quote from later in the article:His devotion to the Virgin Mary, to whom his personal motto--Totus tuus (All yours)--referred, was lifelong, and he was known to prostrate himself before her statues. Since the shooting occurred on the anniversary of the 1917 apparition of the Virgin near Fatima in Portugal, he was convinced he owed his life to her.
Mary was indeed the most blessed among all women that have ever lived. And her virgin pregnancy by the Holy Spirit was indeed a miracle. But she is, at the moment, dead, and even if she were not, she is not to be worshiped above God. In my mind, Pope John Paul II was thoroughly guilty of disobeying our Father's first two, and most important commands, namely, to think of Him as God and Him alone and act in accordance with that belief, and to not worship in front of any statues. None of the apostles allowed themselves to be worshiped, and neither did the holy angels; they all give praise to God and to Jesus Christ. If she were alive, Mary would do no different. I just have such a hard time imagining how a man in the position of the Pope (past or present), who is free to spend his life studying religion, wouldn't know these things. He and many of the other Catholic leaders must know that their system of belief is mostly fictional, not based on any holy book but rather on the thoughts of their own minds and the men who came before them, with scripture mixed in where it sounds good. But rather than change and really seek the truth, they choose to reinforce and recreate their empire by perpetuating everything they have become accustomed to, and to justify it by claiming that they as the leaders of "the Church" have the right to change doctrine. Well, for what it's worth, disobeying our Creator and Father is never "right", and neither is teaching men to do so. It's allowed, because we have the freedom to choose, but it's the way that, if we ultimately refuse to change from it when given the chance, would lead to death (permanently), because He, our Creator, won't keep us around if we can't learn to live in harmony with Him and with all the rest of His creation. Here's hoping the late Pope John Paul II will understand and change, and be able to learn the true way to worship God, and to abhor the things he thought and the way he worshiped in this life, when he is resurrected and shown the truth, because it would be a shame to lose such a "good man". I think he will.