Ron’s Random Ruminations

According to Pope Benedict XV, the head of 1.1 billion Catholic Church, Protestant churches are not really churches at all.

On Tuesday, the Pope approved and released a document stating that, “other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation.”

Bill Keller, the host of Live Prayer with Bill Keller, the nation’s only “live” call-in faith and values based program airing exclusively on secular TV and the Internet’s leading evangelist at LivePrayer.com, said that he “was shocked and appalled at Pope Benedict’s statement that all non-Roman Catholic churches are illegitimate since that is in complete contradiction to what the Bible teaches.” Keller also went on to say that the Pope’s “theology is also horribly flawed when he states that non-Catholic churches do not have the ‘manes of salvation’ since salvation does not come from an ecclesiastical body but through God’s grace and faith in Jesus Christ alone as clearly stated in Scripture!”

My Take: 

• The Pope’s statement that all non-Roman Catholic churches are not true churches is false and not what the Bible teaches
• The so-called “True Church” was established by Christ and existed nearly 400 years before what we know today as the Roman Catholic Church came into being
• What makes a true Christian church? The Bible teaches that the true church (ekklesia) is made up of a body of Believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
• By approving this document, Pope Benedict XVI has opened up old wounds of division and hatred between Catholics and Protestants
• Satan is always working to defeat the Body of Christ through strife and division
• Martin Luther broke with the Catholic Church when he challenged the authority of the Pope by emphasizing the Bible as the sole source (sola scriptura ) of religious authority and the true church of Jesus Christ is made of all those who confess faith alone in Christ as the only means of their salvation (sola fides); the “priesthood of all believers“
• The Bible is our final authority in all matters (see 2 Timothy 3:16)

Bible - 1  Pope -  0

God works in mysterious ways. So does Bono.

At least that’s what church leaders at All Saints Episcopal Church hope as they prepare for their first U2 Eucharist, or U2charist.

On Sunday night, the Sacramento church becomes the latest to hold the special worship service featuring music by the Irish rocker and his band, U2. Instead of traditional hymns, recordings of the band’s music will echo through the church sanctuary.

Worshippers are encouraged to sing, clap — even dance in the aisles — to such hits as “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “One” and, of course, “Mysterious Ways.”

Lyrics will be projected on a large screen.

What ever happened to music serving as a means to seeking the presence of God and giving Him glory and praise?

Now let’s dig a litter deeper and see what’s behind this radical shift in worshiping God.

“A lot of their songs can be seen as metaphors for faith and justice,” says the Rev. Betsy Monnet, who co-pastors the church with her husband, Michael. “So it’s a great way to raise awareness about these issues.”

Ah, there’s the rub. Did you catch it? She used the word “justice”. Now where have we seen this kind of thought before? Need another hint? Here it is.

Church leaders hope U2’s music resonates with congregants. U2charists are being held across the country to highlight the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000, when it pledged to eradicate extreme poverty and disease by the year 2015.

She thought the band’s music was a good way of bringing attention to some of the church’s highest priorities.

“The issues of poverty and justice are important to the church, and U2 has been consistent with their support of social justice issues,” Blair says.

Is the picture clear now?

This is nothing more than the preaching of the Social Gospel.  That’s right. It’s just another attempt by the liberal left in this country to solve mankind’s problems through liberal human methods.

Let’s see. We didn’t hear any talk of man’s fallen nature, sin nor redemption did we now? Nope. We just heard the feel good gospel which is nothing more than trying to change the world through Christian Socialism.

Many of the old denominational churches are doing nothing more than preaching a social gospel. They can have U2.

Give me a church filled with the Spirit of God and true worship music to praise Him !