The world has been watching a simple little pipe propped up through the Sistine Chapel to see if/when the Catholic Church would elect it's new leader. And there he is: Pope Francis.
And folks around the world are abuzz! I have checked the history and belief system of this very loving simple man and LIKE HIM!
But, he's already a problem for many folks!
Evidently the fear is that THIS guy is going to stand on principles that have been in place for thousands of years and until recently thought to be good and right and holy! There has been talk and now dismay that the Cardinals did not choose someone YOUNGER, MORE LIBERAL, MODERN, SOMEONE WILLING AND ABLE TO CHANGE THE TENETS OF THE CHURCH to align with pop culture.
It's incredible and very interesting!
Because we live in an age titled, post-modern, truth is relevant, you see! It goes like this: believe whatever you want and if you're sincere, it's OK! If you want to believe God is Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy, GO AHEAD! Your truth may not be MY truth, but who cares, as long as you sincerely believe it. It's your business, right? How foolish! And how very common! Relevant truth has left in it's path a confused generation with no foundation to base life's decisions.
Enter Pope Francis! He has the audacity to believe that marriage is ordained by God and involves one man and one woman. He believes life is a gift from God and not from a murky cesspool of tadpoles. He believes EVERY child began as a "thought" from God and thus sacred. He refuses euthanasia for the elderly but leaves the end of life also in the hands of God. He depends upon the Sovereignty, Grace, Power and Love of an entity beyond human comprehension.
He embraces all the old time traditional beliefs that were once held in high esteem in this country.
Not so anymore.
Today, to uphold the Biblical standards of life and love is to somehow "judge" those that make other choices. To stand firm on scriptural principles is to somehow "hate" those that disagree. How foolish and irrational. NO ONE is forcing anyone to be a Catholic or a Christian. Free will is well....free! And in the midst of all the crazy criticism true believers LOVE their neighbors regardless of their lifestyle, because they embrace the dignity, value and worth of EVERY human being.
I find it amazing that those that have no understanding of the meaning and mission of the church or have read the Book, malign it for NOT modernizing the tenets of the Christian Faith.
Would our culture dare insist that Islam change it's practice of stoning women, beheading thieves and homosexuals, or even bigamy? (The silence is deafening.)
Should pop culture be the standard we hold high for our children as we try to teach them right and wrong to PROTECT THEM, TO GIVE THEM THE BEST LIFE, TO ASSURE THEIR SUCCESS IN LIFE AND LOVE?
Should Hollywood, People Magazine, Rock Stars, the Homosexual Community, the Pro-Choice Movement, Skin-Heads or Al-Queada be given the position of determine moral and ethical behavior? Who died and appointed ANY of those folks GOD? Why are we following or listening to people anyway? No matter how strong, successful, sincere, wise or persuasive, all people are capable of the worse atrocities imaginable given the "right" set of circumstances at any given moment. It's in our nature.
Why NOT the applaud the church for being the church? Why NOT embrace the principles put forth in the Bible? My guess? Perhaps because there IS such thing as TRUTH and it is found there and it is NOT found comfortable by those that want to make their own rules.
Faith requires the faithful to adjust life TO the scripture, not the other way around! HE is God and we are not. ALL trouble begins when we get that basic TRUTH backwards.
(I've spent years trying to get the first commandment right, "Thou shalt have NO other gods before Me." That includes my own pitiful ideas, plans and desires. If I ever get it down, I'll let you know.)
I LIKE this new POPE! (And I'm not Catholic.) He's got the platform, looks like he's got the strength and determination.
He's also got a bull-eyes target on his chest and is no doubt depending on his GOD for protection, mind, body and spirit!
He's got quite a task ahead of him. Maybe God will use this man to call our culture back to it's senses.
God help him, He's going to need it!
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