Bari, your introduction stated, “Readers of The Free Press know that I am as Jewish as the Pope is Catholic”. Please know that you are a lot more Jewish than THIS Pope is Catholic! You have always defended Jews, and everyone else, against the grotesque persecution that has again become au courant. This Pope is a trendy leftist undermining the very institutions that have allowed Catholics to practice their faith openly and freely. Between you and this Pope, I’ll be with you every time.
Linda, Paul is awakening this 82 year old Orthodox woman to see the whole world differently. What a marvelous experience to read this on Christmas Day! Thank you, Bari
12 days indeed . Don’t you hate it when on the morning of the 26th all the decorations are torn down ; especially at the stores. It’s like we made our money … go pound sand. Enjoy the Christmas Season Mike. The days after Christmas , until January 6, are my favorite part of the whole thing. We can share our own private joy.
My husband and I took a pilgrimage through Italy last September. We had mass everyday and on one particular day we were touring St. Paul Outside the Walls where St. Paul was jailed and killed. The Basilica is so beautiful. Along the top of all of the walls are portraits of all of the popes and those with a halo are also saints. The tour guide (he didn't suggest any faith convictions) pointed to Pope Francis and said, he'll be the next saint. Another pilgrim and I looked at each other and said, Hmm, not so sure about that. I most certainly hope my perspective is changed.
Like most tyrants, he seems to think this will increase his power by making more folks like him. That is the recipe for diminishing power as he is finding out with empty pews at mass.
"Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life."
Actually, the sacrifice required to free us from sin and death was God's sacrifice of His Son. We are only asked to follow Him. In our following it is not a sacrifice to give up things, we give them up because we want to please Him.
As a Christian with my own journey to faith, how could I not love this essay? Great read. The author correctly states that ‘Christianity is the story of humanity’s rebellion against God’ This reminds of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:7-9… how mankind is indeed ‘hostile’ to God, His Laws and the carnal (or sinful) mind will resist obeying Him:
“The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you”
In the book of Romans, chapter 12 verses, one and two, Paul asked us to be a living sacrifice. And I believe to love other people fully we have to sacrifice some of our own desires and wants.
I was raised Catholic where no Bibles were available in the pew. Only missalettes which I now view as ‘cliff notes’ of this first & greatest book. Nothing against Catholicism, it is very important to our world and I enjoy Mass when visiting my Mother. But only via my current Evangelical church do I read the Bible in its full context. And what a difference to my faith is has made.
While The pews in The West MAY be empty (We'll see about that, its happened several times before in the last 300(?) years), get out of The West and you will find The Church is doing quite well, thank you very much.
The formerly mainline protestant churches died on the altar of being all things to all people; hence my (pre-Francis) mantra that the Catholic Church, say what you will, at least had adult leadership. Present emphasis on the past tense, sadly.
I've been reading Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth series (with the Institute of Catholic Culture--online programming) and he's absolutely brilliant and was under appreciated and abused by "modern" Catholics.
He SEEMS to, BUT one thing that is commonly misunderstood about the Pope and Catholic teaching is things the Pope just SAYS do not change official Church teaching. I won’t bog down in all the recent “Fiducia Supplicans” declaration mire, but there have been far worse Popes saying and doing far worse things throughout history, and, while I personally wish Pope Francis spoke with the clarity and wisdom of a Pope Benedict or Pope JPII (or a Cardinal Sarah), he has NOT changed Catholic doctrine even if he HAS, yet again, signed a murky, prone-to-abuse pronouncement . “The gates of Hell” have still not “prevailed against Her[the Catholic Church].”
How many of you readers are aware of the recent slap down of the German bishops and their trying to move the church in a woke direction? Basically he told them to stop their nonsense and get back in line, nd tht he was going to ride herd over this until they obeyed Rome. Pretty strong stuff from my reading. The Pope is dealing with a universal church, parts of which want to make some radical changes. I admit to being a bit confused by his latest on “blessings” of gay couples by priests if they are asked” and all, but the overreaction to select things this Pope does and says, without looking at the totality, isn’t helpful.
Merry Christmas. This was a great piece. Thanks Bari.
True - I admit it. However, his recent "slap-down" of Cardinal Burke (a critic to be sure), by taking away his pension? Nothing short of vindictive. Burke has always criticized within the bounds of doctrine- not ad hominin. And allowing Cardinal Zen to languish in a Chinese jail while criticizing the West is intolerable. Just a couple of examples of why this current Pope is leading away from Truth and not toward it.
He also took away Cardinal Burke’s living quarters, while simultaneously allowing a known perpetrator of child sex abuse remain in his Vatican provided apartment.
Sorry, Johnny, but it was Francis who told the German bishops and others of their ilk to "make a mess." They took him at his word and ran even farther and faster to the left than HE did, threatening his authority as they did so. He has no one but himself to blame, but he continues to vent his vindictive anger and pettiness on the faithful he dismisses as "rigid."
He is an enigma. One day one direction, the next a different direction. The Fiducia Supplicans was unnecessary. Totally unnecessary as anyone can ask for a blessing. To confuse matters by suggesting gay couples can be blessed was just that....mass confusion and misinterpretation and only muddies the waters.
Thing is it is wise NOT to trust Anything that comes from Corporate Media when t comes to what Pope Francis says (Actually anything to do with Christianity n general).
Several Takes
Cardinal Timothy Dolan explains Pope Francis' message on blessing same-sex couples
Pope Francis is very much of his generation and Jesuit sensibility, so he is still trying to remake the Roman Catholic Church into a place that is “more welcoming to everyone” or using his term “more pastoral.”
As an actively engaged Catholic, I’ve watched him closely for the 10 years of his papacy. If you read nearly everything he’s written or said, as Steve says, you cannot come away believing he is anything but 100% a lover and follower of Jesus Christ and that his intentions are good.
But unfortunately, the hallmarks of his papacy have been:
1) a loose theology (he detests when Catholic clergy are “too rigid” or judgmental with their congregations, thus driving them away - because he truly wants all souls to go to Heaven, especially those in most need of God’s mercy) and
2) poor communications.
The combination has created widespread confusion among Catholics and frequent misreads among non-Catholics, especially the secular media. As a result, he says things in interviews and in even official declarations that can be interpreted every which way to Sunday and you get headlines like in the NYT or The Guardian that run with secular wishful thinking like “Pope allows blessing of same-sex unions in major change in Vatican policy.”
In this latter and most recent case, the Pope draws a distinction between people and their sin (love the sinner, not the sin) but because he wants the Church to be seen as (and be) a conduit to healing and not eternal damnation, the linguistic gymnastics he tries to pull off to thread that needle end up just giving a wide impression that he is saying the Church is now blessing both the sinner and the sin. Because he insists on using the term “couple,” it suggests (though he denies) priests are blessing what the couple is doing sexually.
It’s not true, of course - because he himself has said many times the Church (no matter who is at the helm) has no authority to change received teaching from the prophets and Jesus Christ, the Son of God who founded His universal Church through his apostles. (There has been an unbroken line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to St Francis - but there have been some poor popes in that 2,000+ years, just like there have been good and bad leaders of every religion, or secular organization for that matter).
Francis seems to have good intentions, but a weak theology and poor communications have sewn mostly seeds of confusion. And we all know confusion is not of the Lord, so fissures of good intentions also leave room for Wormwoods to wreak havoc. The road to hell is paved with is good intentions, as the saying goes. So is the pope Catholic? Yes. Is he a follower of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God? Yes. Is he creating all sorts of confusion though? Yes.
My conclusion is simply that the Church needs a successor to Francis who is unafraid to proclaim the whole of the Good News, which includes crystal clarity about what Jesus said and what it actually means to pick up your cross and follow Him (as the author of this TFP article rightly highlights). Shedding serious sin is initially hard, especially the habitual sort (and certainly if one defines a significant aspect of his or her identity through it). But Jesus takes on and shares our yoke so “go and sin no more” is 100% possible because of Him and his grace. Nothing is impossible with God.
We pray that Francis’ successor has the clarity of theology and communications skills of a John Paul II.
"My conclusion is simply that the Church needs a successor to Francis who is unafraid to proclaim the whole of the Good News, which includes crystal clarity about what Jesus said and what it actually means to pick up your cross and follow Him (as the author of this TFP article rightly highlights). Shedding serious sin is initially hard, especially the habitual sort (and certainly if one defines a significant aspect of his or her identity through it). But Jesus takes on and shares our yoke so “go and sin no more” is 100% possible because of Him and his grace. Nothing is impossible with God.
We pray that Francis’ successor has the clarity of theology and communications skills of a John Paul II."
Agree 100% Sarah. Our Holy Father no doubt believes the Creed in its entirety and is trying to communicate a message grounded in love rather than rules (because he perceives others as perceiving them as in opposition), but he also seems tactically unwilling to articulate clearly the distinction between:
"It's okay if you are a sinner. God loves you anyway, and so does His Church. You are welcome here where we all struggle with our sins and rely on Divine mercy."
versus
"Who is the Church to judge sin (aside from the death penalty and environmentalism)? If you think you are doing the right thing, God loves you and you are welcome in His Church.
The distinction is vital in an age where the moral compass is ruled by the following "syllogism":
"I'm a good person.
I believe X.
X must be good."
I pray for our Holy Father and know he is trying his best, but I do think that, ironically, he has a judgmental mean streak unbecoming of his office.
Yes, there is certainly that. The mean streak. I’ve been trying to give him the benefit of many doubts over the last ten years. Because he’s the pope and I’m not. And what I know about the dynamics at the Vatican and among the episcopate could barely fill a thimble. But I do know Old and New Testament Scripture and the Catechism pretty well after studying both A to Z for 20+ years. And it’s that meanness and it’s the inconsistent application of “rules” and it’s his “make a mess” shoot from the hip theology that bring me not so much frustration or anger but sadness. Because we humans need the truth to save us, not permission to keep sliding into the arms of secular gods and our own desires. It’s this sense of giving up on truth and giving in to sin that is so sad to me.
I appreciated the piece, but I dont get what crosses or Jesus have to do with it. I was more with the author when he was a Zen-animist. We need to accept limits, find joy in what we have and nurturing others, move past capitalism, and fight nihilists and assholes. I am right with him there. However, there is an abyss in every life ... our mortality. It cant be escaped. Religions can act as a salve, but belief in an afterlife is a delusion, regardless of what pretty words dress it up. I think the author is deluded, but I respect that it works for him.
Born an atheist, raised a Jew, now a Unitarian Universalist, which didnt require me to lose the atheism or the Judaism. UUs believe in kindness and supporting the weak and leaving the world better than we found it... you know, the stuff JC said.
Typically the only time you hear His name spoken at services though is when someone on the refreshment committee drops the brownie tray!
Happy holidays to readers, may you all find your own way to inner strength and satsfaction.
Indeed. As CS Lewis said, Jesus of Nazareth is either a liar or a lunatic, or he is exactly who he says he is - the Son of God. Jesus cannot be understood as just be a good teacher who promoted kindness. You can’t say Jesus was this good guy but ultimately of no consequence. Because what he actually said, what he claims emphatically, requires a radical conversion - or not. He gives us a choice. But a choice has to be made. And if he is who he says he is, then yes - not only is there an afterlife, it is the most important thing there is. Our time on the earth is just preparation for it. That’s what Jesus said.
Billions of people have come and gone in the 2,023 years since Jesus was crucified and resurrected (with thousands of witnesses). Hundreds (?) of millions of them chose willful ignorance of Christ or outright rejection of Him even at their last breath. What if they were woefully wrong?
Yup ... you got me. I think JC was a good chap and he had good things to say, that many American "Christians" have discarded in their allegedly bible-based intolerance. As far as outright rejection or willful ignorance: Forget me ... what about the hundreds of billions of buddhists, hindus or muslims? They have fervent beliefs, just not christian ones. Why are you so sure you are right?
Your woefully wrong comment is actually a threat. It's the big Christian threat of everlasting torment, or perhaps the gentler threat of failure to obtain eternal life in heaven. Either one is heinous. What an evil god it would be to put out so little evidence and have such disastrous consequences for those who are more skeptical.
I am not trying to be mean to your beliefs. I have observed many a happy Christian who found meaning and strength in their beliefs. I would like to hear your rebuttal to my points though.
I didn't mean to say that your comment was "woefully wrong". I meant
to say that your final sentence "What if they were woefully wrong?" is an implied threat, because it is only "woeful" if the consequences of the error are extremely severe. This lead me to jump right to Hell. Perhaps you had something less woeful in mind though.
Thanks Chris -- for raising the possibility that UUs are right and "Jesus" is wrong. Thanks for knowing something about UUs (as in knowing our usual abbreviation for our overlong name). In case you didn't know -- and I quote from a sermon by Rev. J. Mark Worth "Historically the Universalists – one of the two groups that formed our present denomination – were the ‘No Hell’ church. They taught that a loving God wouldn’t create a torture chamber called Hell, and then create us so flawed that we had to be sent there." I suppose your comment supposes it is self-evident that JC's view is better than the UUs or my own, but we have no idea what Jesus actually said ... we only have a book written by many people and translated many times. Furthermore, in the realm of this-world consequences, I think my own self-belief is healthier than religious humility as follows: If one is willing to believe that a single person or book is the ultimate arbiter of truth -- because they say they are, then this habit of mind makes you susceptible to the demagogue (Hitler, Bolsonaro, Trump) who tells you "Only I can fix it" and instructs you to reject all other evidence of your sense or other sources. I have read Christian literature that instructs the believer that various bits of evidence (e.g evolution, astrophysics and the big bang, homosexuality in non-human species) are just temptations put there by the devil and must be cast aside without examination. I was born a scientist. I need evidence to support beliefs and a book that says "I am true" just aint it. I would love to continue talking with you. I would like to hear your response to my view that faith is a risk-factor for fascism -- or anything else you have to say.
I once had a bit of an argument with a nice UU gentleman that I knew in a social circle. He insisted that no one could really know (about a religious topic) and I insisted he was wrong. Just from logic I think I had the upper hand since he was determined to prove a universal negative. We have not had much interaction since then. I think our fundamental disagreement was about the nature of knowing, and my definition made him uncomfortable. I have a philosophical problem with any school of thought, whether religious or secular, that only rewards the exceptionally smart or insightful or talented. If I must become god to find God then I quickly lose any interest. Things like science, music, art, sport, story telling, are produced by the talented but also bless the untalented by their existence. The perfect religion as an expression of love and beauty would be one that brings a similar blessing to people who may not even be capable of knowing the intricacies and details driving it. Of course I am cheating since I'm describing what I think I have already found. And I could be wrong. You focus on passing the test of your own senses and understanding. That's a popular view. My senses and understanding just aren't that trustworthy.
Thanks again Chris. Your response went in a surprising direction. Regarding logical advantage, you imply that it would be harder for me to prove that there is no god of any kind than that Jesus Christ was not the son of god. From the very limited understanding I have of your beliefs in our brief exchange, you are all in for Jesus so that the "universal negative" is not really what your UU friend needed to argue. Is it the case that you believe in some kind of God but not necessarily the stories of the New Testament? There are quite a number of believers who believe in "something out there" without getting all that hung up on the details. Anyway, I offer no proof that there is no god. I only believe what has been learned by reproducible experience (mine, or Newton's, or Einsteins, or Gandhi's ... or Jesus's). If you can't find evidence of god via some sense or measurement, then Occam's razor suggests that there is no god. Someday perhaps evidence will be found, and I will change my tune. Until then, the Christians have the burden of proof, not the atheists.
I am even more intrigued by your final sentences in which you reject your own senses and intellect. Such a view was rather common between the 10th and 16th centuries. However, the US were founded by a bunch of Enlightenment thinkers who specifically rejected this earlier view. Look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment Are you saying you do not agree that the enlightenment was a step forward? I want to see if I understand you.
I don't reject my senses and intellect, but I find them severely limited. My discussion with the other fellow wasn't about the existence of god but the nature of knowing. He said that "no one can know" there is a god. A statement like that is not logical and is really a form of intellectual cheating. It is claiming that the reality is known by him to such a degree that he can say that this part is knowable but this part is not knowable. I've been everywhere and I never saw anything called Australia so Australia doesn't exist. It's infantile.
This article we are presumably commenting on, you said you didn't understand the cross and Jesus and these facets of the article. You have acknowledged the limits of your senses and intellect, or something similar. So how would an enlightenment person fill in that knowledge?
here’s the thing though, the church, the pope and the command are aspirations. In the mystical tradition, these things are what we must perfect with our lives. We can all scoff at things that present themselves arrogantly and do not bow humbly before the Lord. None of us are exempt from temptation and becoming lost. Jesus is an invocation and an example of how he loved, like us, with a human heart. All institutions, while necessary, are our responsibility to perfect. We are people.
EXACTLY my thought on Bari's introduction. This pope appears to be a Marxist- part of the very spiritual war about which Paul Kingsnorth writes so eloquently.
What a beautiful piece to read on Christmas morning as my 6-year old plays with his new Lego set and I’m waiting for my parents to come over to celebrate Christmas. I love the stories of converts who couldn’t help their conversion. They weren’t looking for it, they were actively resisting it (Paul’s foray in Wiccan-ism took me by surprise), but the Holy Spirit found them just the same. I don’t have a dramatic conversion story, but sometime a few years ago in my early 40’s I’ve found myself to be truly convicted, and I know in my soul what Jesus believed and taught was true. I feel so grateful for that belief. I’ve already forwarded this essay on to my husband and Catholic brother. Again, What a good way to start Christmas Day.
My conversion to Christianity was very slow, then all at once, by a cascade of events. I witnessed my wife's conversion, and how in a few years, she changed, really changed into the lovely, believer that she is still, 40 years later.
Then, at university, the study of light. But the moment of wonder for me was the derivation of Euler's identity. I saw there is order in the universe, and it must be a created thing, and the creator must be God.
I came to Christ not as as an intellectual deduction, but crying, on my knees.
Every conversion is a miracle, but I agree with you about the more "dramatic" ones. Having grown up in the faith, it is fascinating to learn how those who did not found themselves pursued and convicted. "Surprised by Oxford," is a delightful memoir of one woman's journey to Christianity. Very philosophical and well-written.
“I believe that we are living through a deep spiritual crisis; perhaps even a spiritual war. My interest these days is what this means.”
From this point on he made me want to read more. I’ve felt the same since things have gone crazy. Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas. Today is the reason why we need to continue to remain hopeful even when it appears hopeless.
I agree with you on that, and when seeing this madness around us, I have come up with two things to help. First, don't be part of the madness; second, pull a person from or keep another person from falling in when the time is right. Have a Merry Christmas, and thanks for your post.
A key theme for me was his realisation of the vacuity of 'freedom' in its 21st c. Western conception. "I grew up believing..... that freedom meant lack of constraint".
In the words of the Kris Kristofferson song: "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose". Merry Christmas.
Actually, Kris Kristofferson’s life is a really good fit for this essay. He had literally EVERY gift a human could have -- in spades (looks, brains, athleticism, musical ability) -- and nearly trashed it all with drugs/alcohol (though he was extremely successful, despite himself). Clearly there was (is?) a hole in him that was likely spiritual.
There are some, such as Mr. Kingsnorth, who come to truth on a long and tortured path. Others, such as some of the treasured commenters here, who always knew the truth and live their lives accordingly. We all learn from each other. There is a growing consensus, I believe, that the globalists and oligarchs who demand our fealty are petty, false gods. The best way to strip them of their power and pretense is to follow the true God. And, we can do worse than to follow the teachings of the one whose birth we celebrate today. Merry Christmas to all. And thanks especially to those who tell me I can do better. We can make this nation a better place. Sending love to Bari, who has brought us here today and engages us every day.
As an avowed atheist who believes in nothing more than the (mis)direction of my own mind, I have not much to say about this well intentioned essay.
But I liked what you wrote about the commenters here, of which I whole heartedly agree. I may have no deity in my life, but I do know what I look forward to every day, my own small beacon of light - and that is coming here to read and to write..
Lee, what is astonishing and amazing is that God gave you and all of us ‘Freewill’ to believe or not to believe. The first time this is illustrated in the Torah, Book of Exodus.
Did you know that God did not ‘harden’ Pharaoh's heart after each of the 10 plagues? To ‘harden’ was the Greek to Latin to English translation. In the original Hebrew, God ‘strengthened’ Pharaoh’s heart. By ‘strengthening’ Pharaohs heart, God was continuing to give Pharaoh the Freewill to respond as he chose, to each anti-creation act.
And, I want to add something. I have quite enjoyed our exchanges, Lynne. And I think I'm a better person for having had them, along with a few others here I've had the pleasure of interacting with. I don't always have to agree with someone in order to have respect. And I have a lot of respect for you, how you elucidate your position and the passion by which you do so. Let's continue this into the New Year - for if there's one thing we can both agree upon, there will much to talk about.
Totally, totally agree Lee. I rubs me the wrong way when I see comments about us being in an echo chamber here. I can see why it might appear that way at first blush but it really is not. It has helped me refine my POV. To get rid of the fringey elements and focus on the solid. You are definitely an influence there. And I am struck by how often we all pretty much agree. That comforts me that we as a nation can return to a centrist position.
Me, too. Seems like Klaus and "the rest of the Hitler Youth" who swarm places such as Davos have a lot to tell us about how we should live our lives and what to think, say, eat and drive. If that's not a "god complex" I'm not sure what is.
Thank you, Bari, for the continuing gift you give to all of us every day - articles and personal stories like this that cause us to reflect rather than simply react. It is a gift greater than gold.
What is this? A profoundly wonderful Christmas present given by one Bari Weiss to her followers, written by a wanderer who found his way home. Merry Christmas!
Steve: May I offer a contrary view. I felt, reading this morning’s essay, a modern embodiment of the Wise Men in the T. S. Elliot poem in Sunday’s essay. The Wise Men sacrificed much, endured much to make their journey. When they came to bring their gifts to Bethlehem, they were changed. They experienced what a converted Christian would call a re-birth. The poet Elliot has them speak of death, the death of their own wills/ego, to be obedient to the call they had heard to come worship the Christ child. This morning’s essay illustrates the similar path and “death” to rise a new person who would follow Christ.
True freedom, it turns out, is to give up your will and follow God’s. To deny yourself. To let it come. I am terrible at this, but at least now I understand the path.
We're not "all" terrible at it. You and I may be, but the members of Mother Emmanuel who instantly loved and forgave Dylan Roof after he murdered their pastor and belloved friends were NOT "terrible at it" at all. They were right where Jesus was on the cross, and where the martyrs were when the lions were devouring them, weren't they? They were loving their enemies and everyone else. That's the only way Jesus offers us, isn't it? But remember Jesus says, "My burden is light." Presumably when the tiny number of us who can be "saved" ("Many are called, but few are chosen") achieve pure loving of everyone, no matter whether they are kind or cruel to us, whether they are of our tribe or our tribes' bitterest enemy tribe, we will feel the joy of love itself, which must be what "Heaven" is all about.
The purpose of our lives, from the blessing of our conception to the blessing of seeing Him face to face at our passing, is to learn to love as God loves us.
That’s the whole thing. And it’s very hard because we are fallen. The story of Adam and Eve is as relevant today as it ever was - we are given by God all that we need to be happy in this life and prepare for the next, but we choose to disobey, and we too often choose our sin and evil over Him. Our pride of self is our undoing. It is hard to let it go. It is hard to realize that we have it all wrong when we look incessantly to ourselves for answers. It takes years, sometimes decades as it did for the author of this beautiful essay, to get there.
And even then, very few of us can forgive our enemies as Jesus did. If we actually invite Him to be the Lord of our lives, it is very much possible, though - as witnessed through the example you gave, Fred.
To which I would add the example of Pope John Paul II forgiving the Muslim man who attempted to assassinate him in 1981. Following the shooting, the pope asked people to "pray for my brother [Ağca] ... whom I have sincerely forgiven." That man, Mehmet Ali Ağca, became a follower of Jesus Christ and converted to Catholicism in 2007.
Heroic virtue changes people, both those who live it out and those who are touched by those who do.
This is such a beautiful story. I am atheist turned Christian myself. And it happened to me in a similar way. Sending all the great Love that simply Is on this beautiful Christmas.
Good morning, Merry Christmas to all. What was beautiful about this was Paul's inner search for meaning. I worked for churches in a more progressive-leaning faith that is dying, and I walked away feeling they were failing as they didn't answer the question Paul talked about relevance.
I wondered how it could do something to turn the literal slow death of its older members around, and this article and an interview gave me a path. First, the quest for meaning and the yearning for something higher than oneself jumped out in this article. It was for an anchor of meaning and a community where I felt Paul ended. Faith can give that. The second thing was David Mamet's conversation with Bill Mahar, which I watched in early December. Mamet spoke of moral education and how to make good decisions. We all know the world is fallen when left to its own devices. Having a guide to make great neighbors is essential to any strong society. It's always great to get the mind thinking first thing in the morning. Thanks to the Free Press for that. Everyone have a great holiday.
"How can I feel I have arrived home in something that is in many ways so foreign to me?"
I'm reminded of an early Things Worth Remembering post in which Douglas Murray reflects on TS Eliot's "Four Quartets." Which, when I first read it, brought to mind CS Lewis's "The Weight of Glory" and inspired me to compose a haiku:
How can you go home
Again until you've been there?
Now's but an echo.
Merry Christmas, and may the Spirit of the season turn all our hearts toward the eternal home that awaits.
There is something bigger and more whole that underpins the universe...all mystics understand this be they of the religions of the book , or many New Age folks I know. I’m a theological lumper not splitter, so while I appreciate his encounter with Jesus and Orthodoxy, it could be an encounter with G_d or spirit guides or angels. Let’s not all of us be split into competing views when all of those who see the Big Picture are more alike than different. There are forces who will try to split us apart where we are more easily silenced. Peace to All Folks of Goodwill!
Actually, they are not alike. The G-d of the Bible is a God who loves us and pursues us in His desire for fellowship with us. Allah of Islam does not love his followers. Buddha doesn't love his followers. I"m not sure about the rest. That is one of the major differences between the great faiths.
Excerpts from “Is Allah a Different God Than the Biblical God?” by Gabriel Reynolds (Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame), May 26, 2020
——————
The Catholic Church since Vatican II has taught in different ways that Muslims and Christians do worship the same God. Lumen Gentium §16 includes the line: “Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind [nobiscum Deum adorant unicum, misericordem].” Pope Saint John Paul II, speaking in front of a soccer stadium filled with young Muslims in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1985, famously declared:
We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection.
More recently Pope Francis implied as much when he signed the Declaration on Human Fraternity in early 2019, together with the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi. Therein the two religious leaders mutually declare: “We, who believe in God and in the final meeting with Him and His judgment.”
Pope Francis has emphasized divine mercy in the Qur’an. In his papal bull, Misericordiae Vultus, which announced a Jubilee year in the Catholic Church (from December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016) dedicated to the theme of mercy, he wrote:
Among the privileged names that Islam attributes to the Creator are “Merciful and Kind.” This invocation is often on the lips of faithful Muslims who feel themselves accompanied and sustained by mercy in their daily weakness. They too believe that no one can place a limit on divine mercy because its doors are always open.
Firstly, it is important to distinguish between the fundamental disposition which the God of the Qur’an manifests towards humanity: first, in creation itself, and, second, in the sending of prophets. Time and again the Qur’an speaks of the goodness of creation, describing that goodness as a gift from God that should provoke gratitude (tellingly, the Arabic word for an unbeliever, kafir, can also mean an “ingrate”). The Qur’an’s job is to call attention to this goodness. In one passage it does this simply by asking man to think about where his food comes from:
“Let man consider his food: We pour down plenteous water [from the sky], then We split the earth making fissures in it and make the grain grow in it, as well as vines and vegetables, olives and date palms, and densely-planted gardens, fruits and pastures, as a sustenance for you and your livestock” (Q 80:24-32).
Creation itself is thus an act of divine beneficence, and so is the act of reminding forgetful humans of creation’s goodness.
Second, the wrath of the God of Islam is not so different from the wrath of the God of the Bible, who, too, can be vengeful and carry out plots against unbelievers. As Ulrich Lehner has recently put it in the title of his book . . . God is Not Nice. How else is one to understand the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and the drowning of the Egyptians in the Sea? True, the New Testament communicates clearly the tender love of God for all of the world (“For God so loved the world,” John 3:16 says, not “For God loved some people in the world”). But the New Testament certainly leaves a place for divine vengeance. Quoting Deuteronomy, Paul warns the Romans, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Rom 12: 19).
It is a common belief in divine goodness, however, that best supports the same-God position. Alluding to certain Qur’anic turns of phrase, Nostra Aetate says of Muslim, “They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men.” The Council Fathers were right to emphasize these divine attributes that Muslims hold in common with Christians, but the attribute of goodness stands highest. Among the ninety-nine names of God in Islamic tradition is latif, “kind,” “gracious,” or “good” (another is al-malik, “the king”). It is the fundamental aspect of divine goodness, of divine mercy manifested in the gifts of creation and the sending of prophets, that allows us to answer “yes” to the same God question.
The Grand Imam and the Pope may say that but most Catholics and Muslims as well as Protestants don't believe that. I would point you to the fact that Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That is heresy to Muslims. Additionally, Christians believe in a triune God, a triune God is impossible to reconcile that with Allah. Most Christians would consider the idea of Allah and the God of the Bible to be heresy.
Thank you, Ann for that comprehensive explanation. I studied world religions in college (30 years ago, long before the wokerati infiltration), and concur that the god of each of the 3 monotheistic Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is one and the same; just with a different name. It's unfortunate that those with prejudices against Muslims find it difficult, or impossible, to believe this.
I converted from Christianity to Orthodox Judaism 30 years ago. I know G-d exists. There is nothing so incredible; as wide and as deep as Jewish theology and scholarship. Every conceivable aspect of life is discussed, it is astounding. The Jewish community, whatever the denomination and wherever found in the world, is the warmest, nicest one on the planet. There are plenty of converts around, with varying motives and spiritual experiences. There is also a large community of Noachides who seem to be “Jewish-adjacent” ex-Christians.
Barry, I grew up Catholic, went to Catholic school, and spent 13 years as an atheist. Recently I started learning about Judaism and thought about conversion but the wokeness of the Reform synagogues drove me away.
As happened to so many of us, you must have been poorly catechized in your Catholic school. Resources for learning about the real Catholic Faith are so much better nowadays. Try Scott Hahn for starters. (And at 87, Pope Francis won't be around much longer.)
Surely I was. I only started in Catholic school in 5th grade. Both my parents, although technically Catholic, were not Church goers before my school days.
Other denoms ( ha autocorrected to demons!) have this problem as well. Why do religions have to get involved in politics and lose track of caring for souls? Perhaps the reason religion is declining.. lost track of their main mission (not all, but some)
By their fruits you shall know them.. does a given philosophy bring peace, love and joy? Or hatred, fear and division? Wokeness has many definitions, and many parts, but the key questions are the same. IMHO.
PH, encourage you to seek out a Christian church that dives deep into Old Testament texts & Covenants. The linkage between the OT & NT is so profound. As a former Catholic, we barely then cracked open the OT except for certain narratives we all know.
Check out the book of Ecclesiastes for example, which mimics truths from many Near East traditions (The Egyptian Song of Harper’s & Gilgamesh Epic before, influenced this Book) The wisdom from antiquity is so very deep. The Bible Project has been my go-to for book overview as I read the texts, here’s a short cartoon drawing video of Ecclesiastes. But any book of bible they cover.
You might want to explore CHABAD, the Lubavitcher Chassidim who have centers, it appears, everywhere. You will find an authentic Judaism infused with song and joy and love ...without judgment...
I did speak with a Conservative rabbi but he too had pronouns in his email signature. Orthodox Jewish dress codes for women is a bridge too far for me. 🤷🏻♀️
You might want to explore CHABAD, the Lubavitcher Chassidim who have centers, it appears, everywhere. You will find an authentic Judaism infused with song and joy and love ...without judgment
Years ago, I completed a lengthy program given by a conservative Jewish group for those who wished to convert. I love the singing and the intellectual openness to dialogue and disputation, and Iknew many Jewish people whom I admired. I balked when I was expected to establish a relationship with a rabbi and go through a baptism experience. My parents were agnostics and I never set foot in a house of worship before or since. I couldn't see myself following the food rules, which seemed so very foreign to me. It was a bridge too far! Now that I am older and not much wiser, I wish I would have completed the conversion.
True that! We have a very good Jewish friend who married a gentile years ago. He did have as a condition for the marriage that his fiancée convert to Judaism so that the kids would be Jewish (the mother must be Jewish for the children to be Jewish). She agreed, but as I recall, it was a very long and exhausting process. There is a TON of stuff to learn and memorize. The word arduous comes to mind. Frankly, I don’t think I could do it even if I wanted to.
How about reading The Skeptic and the Rabbi by Judy Gruen? She is a usually a humor writer , so it is very readable, but it details her path to observant Judaism. There are a number of other books that I can't think of at the end of a long day.
Hi Barry, You might want to explore CHABAD, the Lubavitcher Chassidim who have centers, it appears, everywhere. You will find an authentic Judaism infused with song and joy and love ...without judgment
At first I skimmed this piece. It didn't grab me. I skipped to the end. Liked what I read. Read the whole thing. Thought, I have to send this to everyone I care about. Thought, this is IT. We are rebelling against God. Shooting ourselves in the foot again and again. I'm Jewish, not like Bari--more of the agnostic Hebrew school dropout variety. Nonetheless this essay rocked and soothed me. I'm a sucker for a good seeker story, especially when the seeker finds and what he finds is actually true and good. Merry Christmas y'all. 💚❤️💚❤️
I don't get Catholics' dislike of the Pope. What values of the Pope are even slightly antithetical to those of Jesus? Shouldn't Catholics base all their values on those of Jesus, and break with the church whenever it breaks with the pure love for all God's children Jesus personifies? Does any Catholic, for instance, seriously believe that Jesus loves gays or the trans less than straights, when Jesus never utters a peep about any of this, but speaks constantly in absolute terms about loving your neighbor, and clearly means EVERYONE is your neighbor. Not least your deadliest enemies! Too many Catholics sound to me as if they worship some traditional church value or doctrine, which may be dead wrong, over Jesus and his call for universal--universal!--love. Think of the contrast between Jesus on the cross and the Jewish response to the horrible Hamas atrocities. Jesus explicitly forgives and loves those who have beaten and crucified him, just as the profound Christians of Mother Emmanuel in Charleston stunned the world by totally forgiving, loving, and praying for Dylan Roof, right after he had. brutally and insanely murdered their beloved pastor and eight fellow parishioners. If Jesus modeled the moral demand that we love our bitterest enemies even as they are literally torturing and killing us, surely Catholics should have no problem loving gays and the rest that Catholics have been wrongly taught to despise. Francis seems to me the most Christ-obsessed pope I've ever heard of. And naming himself Francis was a great thing which tells us all we need to know about his deepest values, which seem amazingly aligned with those of Jesus.
Fred, there’s a difference between loving all people, regardless, and condoning or encouraging their sinful behavior. It’s a commandment to love the person, not the sin.
It's really jarring for me to read this from a subscriber to TFP. I'm aware of the selected passages in the Bible about homosexuality. But do you and those who are Catholics and critical of Francis on this issue really look at Bari and Nellie's life together, and their family with their baby, as "living in sin"?
I supposed a rigid reading of the Bible may say this is so. But what I see is a loving family with two lovely people in love, and giving all the love they have to give to a child they're raising. It seems to me they embody everything Jesus teaches about love. The way I see it, if that is "living in sin", then I don't even know why I need to get all bothered by "sin" at all. There are so so many worse things in the world we can get upset about.
QX, your comment made me chuckle a bit. It's so obvious when non-religious readers try to comment on what the Bible says. I may not like the admonishments against gays, one of my closest friends is a gay man, but the Bible is quite clear. God's word is what it is; we don't get to bend the Word to what we wish it to be.
You assume I'm non-religious. I'm a Protestant. I've read the Bible cover to cover. I'm not Catholic but I also just finished listening to Father Mike's Bible in a Year podcast last year. I know very well what the Bible says.
I don't read Jesus telling the adulterous woman "Go and sin no more" to just literally be about adultery. He was talking about sexual immoralities. Sexual immorality is indulging in physical desire without love. It's giving in to passions without restraints for what is good. A romantic relationship with love is a wholly different thing.
True that. And the sin condemned in the story about Sodom was rape, not gay sex. The main reason the Catholic Church is opposed to gay sex is that they feel that sex is just for procreation. Anything that won't potentially make a baby, like masturbation or gay sex, is forbidden. It's the same reason they're against birth control. Gotta get married and have 10 little Catholics. Grow the church.
The ruling on the blessing of gay couples is specifically written in such a way as to not be condoning “sinful behavior”. Have you read the entire thing, word for word?
In all seriousness, please be more specific. I'm not challenging you. You may well have specific Biblical passages in mind that I don't know or have forgotten. I know the Hebrew Bible is prejudiced against gays, for instance, but the Gospels and Jesus certainly are not, and clearly Francis takes them as his North star in terms of stressing love and compassion for all. Which I should have thought Christians would admire.
Thanks Fred. I think the problem most Christians have with Pope Francis is what we see as his willingness to follow cultural trends rather than holding fast to doctrinal points of faith. As far as Jesus' views on gays, He certainly didn't state any, but He did say that he came to fulfill the Law (which would be the Hebrew Bible). He also said to the woman, caught in adultery, "Go and sin no more." He was gentle and compassionate with her but He did advise her to refrain from sin.
As Christians we understand that marriage here on earth is a "picture" or foretaste of the marriage between the Church and Jesus. The Church is often called the Bride of Christ in the New Testament. This is one of the reasons Christians do not accept the idea of marriage between anyone but a man and a woman. Pope Francis' acceptance of the idea of blessing gay unions seems to many of us the "nose of the camel in the tent." That's why it is difficult to accept.
Thanks, Cynthia, for your thoughtful, sincere reply. Jesus often breaks with the Old Testament, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery in particular. Obviously, those about to stone her were simply following the Jewish law, which Jesus was implicitly teaching them was cruel and morally wrong, since sinful humans (all of us) have no right even to judge anyone else, according to Jesus, much less stone them to death for their "sin" as defined by Jewish law. At radical odds with the legalism of the Jewish law, Jesus explicitly tells his virtually exclusively Jewish audience NEVER to judge: "Judge not that ye be not judged," right? No wonder the Jewish hierarchy in Jerusalem wanted Jesus eliminated. He preaches both not judging and total forgiveness, doesn't he? A very different approach to morality from the Jewish law, but an approach Francis seems to be following as much as he can. To me, it's Francis who is faithful to Jesus' loving values, not those who would throw the first stone at gays or anyone else. Ironically, by Jesus' own standards, since He is sinless, He had the right to throw the first stone, but He illustrated what love would do instead. Jesus also utterly opposed the Jewish law's revenge justice we see in the Gaza War: "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." In conscious, direct repudiation of that value system, which is the antithesis of loving from His perspective, Jesus demands that those who wish to be spiritually saved have no choice but to turn the other cheek, rather than hit back and defend themselves, as Jesus demonstrates when He is captured by the Romans. Jesus says those seeking salvation must also LOVE and completely FORGIVE their enemies, not hate or condemn them. The Jewish law's ethic is totally natural; it advocates doing what humans naturally want to do when they are attacked or hurt: get angry and fight back, ideally hurting the attacker worse than he hurts you. Jesus' ethic is totally unnatural, totally opposed to the natural instincts of human beings in all cultures and ages. Jesus is demanding the purest love and concern for our enemies in all circumstances we can muster, since Jesus and God Himself, according to Jesus, always perfectly love the worst of sinners as well as the best of saints. All this it utterly at odds with the letter and the spirit of the Jewish law, so it's a mystery how Jesus said he came to fulfil every jot and tittle of the Jewish law, yet demanded his Jewish followers in so many circumstances follow Him on the path of pure love instead of the path of achieving "justice" through punishing our enemies or condemning to death those the Jewish law directs us to kill for "justice"'s sake, for. the law's sake.
"Jewish law's revenge justice we see in the Gaza War"....If this is what you really think is happening, you do not understand Hamas at all or what Israel means to not just Jews, but the rest of the world.
A side note, Israel's war in Gaza is less about revenge than demolishing the Hamas which is a direct threat now to their existence. And if the Hamas weren't such cowards they'd be fighting in a front, and civilians would be in the rear where the IDF wouldn't need to strike them. But the Hamas don't battle like true warriors. They're cowards hiding behind civilian shields. So I don't think it's accurate to interpret military strategic tactics as a war of revenge
Thank you Fred. At this point in my life as a Christian, I have come to realize there are some things that will remain mysteries until my faith is sight. I hope you had a joy-filled Christmas as you celebrated the Incarnation.
As a Catholic myself, and the mother of a gay son, I love Pope Francis. He’s the best pope we’ve had in a very very long time. The people who are complaining about him don’t understand what he has said about inclusion in the Church, and frankly, they don’t understand the gospel of love that Christ preached during his lifetime. The recent pronouncement on the blessing of gay couples was specifically and tightly worded to prevent such blessings from being ceremonies, and especially not ceremonies resembling marriage. How can that possibly be wrong? Is it wrong to bless people? If two people love each other and live together, it’s none of your business what they do or don’t do in the privacy of their home. If a blessing brings them closer to God and helps them live a better life, what’s that to you?
And are any of you aware of the Vatican document (*)Francis approved the end of October that said transgender people can be baptized Catholics, they can serve as godparents and as witnesses at Catholic weddings. This is the loving inclusion of human beings. This is what Jesus would do. This is a living faith that doesn’t cement itself in one place forever and refuse to grow.
* Dicasterium Pro Doctrina Fidei, originally dated July 14, 2023, and addressed to the Bishop of Santo Amaro, Brasil on the question of the participation of transsexual persons in the sacraments of marriage and baptism.
I read this a month or so ago and immediately subscribed to Paul. I was delighted to find him here today. Everything he writes resonates w me. Love him.
Bari, your introduction stated, “Readers of The Free Press know that I am as Jewish as the Pope is Catholic”. Please know that you are a lot more Jewish than THIS Pope is Catholic! You have always defended Jews, and everyone else, against the grotesque persecution that has again become au courant. This Pope is a trendy leftist undermining the very institutions that have allowed Catholics to practice their faith openly and freely. Between you and this Pope, I’ll be with you every time.
A big fat MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!
I’m an Orthodox Christian just like the author. I can’t agree with you more on this. He seems to change Catholicism to suit the current social needs.
Linda, Paul is awakening this 82 year old Orthodox woman to see the whole world differently. What a marvelous experience to read this on Christmas Day! Thank you, Bari
I love this! Merry Christmas!
We’ve had good popes and bad. The Church will survive Pope Francis because the gates of Hell will not prevail against it! Merry Christmas!
Exactly. Happy Christmas, all 12 Days!
12 days indeed . Don’t you hate it when on the morning of the 26th all the decorations are torn down ; especially at the stores. It’s like we made our money … go pound sand. Enjoy the Christmas Season Mike. The days after Christmas , until January 6, are my favorite part of the whole thing. We can share our own private joy.
Kip, are a Hokie per chance, or is that another gent with the same name?
Must be another guy Mike. I went to school in Maine.
Happy New Year to you .
Agree on all counts. Kip. Thanks, and you as well.
12 Redneck Days of Christmas by Jeff Foxworthy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBKGoj7nKAw
:-)
My husband and I took a pilgrimage through Italy last September. We had mass everyday and on one particular day we were touring St. Paul Outside the Walls where St. Paul was jailed and killed. The Basilica is so beautiful. Along the top of all of the walls are portraits of all of the popes and those with a halo are also saints. The tour guide (he didn't suggest any faith convictions) pointed to Pope Francis and said, he'll be the next saint. Another pilgrim and I looked at each other and said, Hmm, not so sure about that. I most certainly hope my perspective is changed.
Like most tyrants, he seems to think this will increase his power by making more folks like him. That is the recipe for diminishing power as he is finding out with empty pews at mass.
"Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life."
(Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith 6:7)
Actually, the sacrifice required to free us from sin and death was God's sacrifice of His Son. We are only asked to follow Him. In our following it is not a sacrifice to give up things, we give them up because we want to please Him.
As a Christian with my own journey to faith, how could I not love this essay? Great read. The author correctly states that ‘Christianity is the story of humanity’s rebellion against God’ This reminds of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:7-9… how mankind is indeed ‘hostile’ to God, His Laws and the carnal (or sinful) mind will resist obeying Him:
“The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you”
My take too Matt. I had never thought of it as rebellion. But once you see it you cannot unsee it. I have been walking on air all day.
You are so right.
In the book of Romans, chapter 12 verses, one and two, Paul asked us to be a living sacrifice. And I believe to love other people fully we have to sacrifice some of our own desires and wants.
Amen. I’d rather read the scriptures
(Romans 10: 9&10) than read someone’s commentary about who God is.
I was raised Catholic where no Bibles were available in the pew. Only missalettes which I now view as ‘cliff notes’ of this first & greatest book. Nothing against Catholicism, it is very important to our world and I enjoy Mass when visiting my Mother. But only via my current Evangelical church do I read the Bible in its full context. And what a difference to my faith is has made.
I always enjoy reading your comments. Many Thanks!
Merry Christmas my friend.
Your strong and humble faith is an inspiration.
Not feeling terribly inspiring this morning! But people's comments are echoing things I've learned in my faith.
Celia, your comments here are always thoughtful and often inspiring.
I agree with Mr? 234
While The pews in The West MAY be empty (We'll see about that, its happened several times before in the last 300(?) years), get out of The West and you will find The Church is doing quite well, thank you very much.
The formerly mainline protestant churches died on the altar of being all things to all people; hence my (pre-Francis) mantra that the Catholic Church, say what you will, at least had adult leadership. Present emphasis on the past tense, sadly.
Yes, and he too will be replaced. Christ will not let his Church die.
Why is he a tyrant?
Several popes have supported ‘liberation theology’. And then Popes like Pope John 23rd and Pope John Paul II come forward.
I've been reading Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth series (with the Institute of Catholic Culture--online programming) and he's absolutely brilliant and was under appreciated and abused by "modern" Catholics.
He SEEMS to, BUT one thing that is commonly misunderstood about the Pope and Catholic teaching is things the Pope just SAYS do not change official Church teaching. I won’t bog down in all the recent “Fiducia Supplicans” declaration mire, but there have been far worse Popes saying and doing far worse things throughout history, and, while I personally wish Pope Francis spoke with the clarity and wisdom of a Pope Benedict or Pope JPII (or a Cardinal Sarah), he has NOT changed Catholic doctrine even if he HAS, yet again, signed a murky, prone-to-abuse pronouncement . “The gates of Hell” have still not “prevailed against Her[the Catholic Church].”
How many of you readers are aware of the recent slap down of the German bishops and their trying to move the church in a woke direction? Basically he told them to stop their nonsense and get back in line, nd tht he was going to ride herd over this until they obeyed Rome. Pretty strong stuff from my reading. The Pope is dealing with a universal church, parts of which want to make some radical changes. I admit to being a bit confused by his latest on “blessings” of gay couples by priests if they are asked” and all, but the overreaction to select things this Pope does and says, without looking at the totality, isn’t helpful.
Merry Christmas. This was a great piece. Thanks Bari.
True - I admit it. However, his recent "slap-down" of Cardinal Burke (a critic to be sure), by taking away his pension? Nothing short of vindictive. Burke has always criticized within the bounds of doctrine- not ad hominin. And allowing Cardinal Zen to languish in a Chinese jail while criticizing the West is intolerable. Just a couple of examples of why this current Pope is leading away from Truth and not toward it.
He also took away Cardinal Burke’s living quarters, while simultaneously allowing a known perpetrator of child sex abuse remain in his Vatican provided apartment.
And Bishop Strickland.
Sorry, Johnny, but it was Francis who told the German bishops and others of their ilk to "make a mess." They took him at his word and ran even farther and faster to the left than HE did, threatening his authority as they did so. He has no one but himself to blame, but he continues to vent his vindictive anger and pettiness on the faithful he dismisses as "rigid."
He is an enigma. One day one direction, the next a different direction. The Fiducia Supplicans was unnecessary. Totally unnecessary as anyone can ask for a blessing. To confuse matters by suggesting gay couples can be blessed was just that....mass confusion and misinterpretation and only muddies the waters.
We still have bears doing what they do in the woods. But yeah, the Pope is no longer Catholic.
really? 🙄
What does it mean to be catholic?
To be a big “C” Catholic is to believe and profess this:
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
WIth an intensely judgemental statement like that, you don't sound like a moderate, man. (Funny though!)
LoL. You're currently receiving applause here
Alastair Gordon, you beat me to the punch! I was set to respond to Bari's congenial opener when I read your eloquent statement.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Thing is it is wise NOT to trust Anything that comes from Corporate Media when t comes to what Pope Francis says (Actually anything to do with Christianity n general).
Several Takes
Cardinal Timothy Dolan explains Pope Francis' message on blessing same-sex couples
https://youtu.be/QRJYhAsmKIM?t=297
Ukrainian Catholic Church REJECTS Fiducia Supplicans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwO-6uKazrI
This is a Line We Cannot Cross as a Church
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-oYcR6M1Ss&t=172s
Pope Francis is very much of his generation and Jesuit sensibility, so he is still trying to remake the Roman Catholic Church into a place that is “more welcoming to everyone” or using his term “more pastoral.”
As an actively engaged Catholic, I’ve watched him closely for the 10 years of his papacy. If you read nearly everything he’s written or said, as Steve says, you cannot come away believing he is anything but 100% a lover and follower of Jesus Christ and that his intentions are good.
But unfortunately, the hallmarks of his papacy have been:
1) a loose theology (he detests when Catholic clergy are “too rigid” or judgmental with their congregations, thus driving them away - because he truly wants all souls to go to Heaven, especially those in most need of God’s mercy) and
2) poor communications.
The combination has created widespread confusion among Catholics and frequent misreads among non-Catholics, especially the secular media. As a result, he says things in interviews and in even official declarations that can be interpreted every which way to Sunday and you get headlines like in the NYT or The Guardian that run with secular wishful thinking like “Pope allows blessing of same-sex unions in major change in Vatican policy.”
In this latter and most recent case, the Pope draws a distinction between people and their sin (love the sinner, not the sin) but because he wants the Church to be seen as (and be) a conduit to healing and not eternal damnation, the linguistic gymnastics he tries to pull off to thread that needle end up just giving a wide impression that he is saying the Church is now blessing both the sinner and the sin. Because he insists on using the term “couple,” it suggests (though he denies) priests are blessing what the couple is doing sexually.
It’s not true, of course - because he himself has said many times the Church (no matter who is at the helm) has no authority to change received teaching from the prophets and Jesus Christ, the Son of God who founded His universal Church through his apostles. (There has been an unbroken line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to St Francis - but there have been some poor popes in that 2,000+ years, just like there have been good and bad leaders of every religion, or secular organization for that matter).
Francis seems to have good intentions, but a weak theology and poor communications have sewn mostly seeds of confusion. And we all know confusion is not of the Lord, so fissures of good intentions also leave room for Wormwoods to wreak havoc. The road to hell is paved with is good intentions, as the saying goes. So is the pope Catholic? Yes. Is he a follower of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God? Yes. Is he creating all sorts of confusion though? Yes.
My conclusion is simply that the Church needs a successor to Francis who is unafraid to proclaim the whole of the Good News, which includes crystal clarity about what Jesus said and what it actually means to pick up your cross and follow Him (as the author of this TFP article rightly highlights). Shedding serious sin is initially hard, especially the habitual sort (and certainly if one defines a significant aspect of his or her identity through it). But Jesus takes on and shares our yoke so “go and sin no more” is 100% possible because of Him and his grace. Nothing is impossible with God.
We pray that Francis’ successor has the clarity of theology and communications skills of a John Paul II.
"My conclusion is simply that the Church needs a successor to Francis who is unafraid to proclaim the whole of the Good News, which includes crystal clarity about what Jesus said and what it actually means to pick up your cross and follow Him (as the author of this TFP article rightly highlights). Shedding serious sin is initially hard, especially the habitual sort (and certainly if one defines a significant aspect of his or her identity through it). But Jesus takes on and shares our yoke so “go and sin no more” is 100% possible because of Him and his grace. Nothing is impossible with God.
We pray that Francis’ successor has the clarity of theology and communications skills of a John Paul II."
"God has a plan..And Trust Hm."
Ruth Graham (?)
Agree 100% Sarah. Our Holy Father no doubt believes the Creed in its entirety and is trying to communicate a message grounded in love rather than rules (because he perceives others as perceiving them as in opposition), but he also seems tactically unwilling to articulate clearly the distinction between:
"It's okay if you are a sinner. God loves you anyway, and so does His Church. You are welcome here where we all struggle with our sins and rely on Divine mercy."
versus
"Who is the Church to judge sin (aside from the death penalty and environmentalism)? If you think you are doing the right thing, God loves you and you are welcome in His Church.
The distinction is vital in an age where the moral compass is ruled by the following "syllogism":
"I'm a good person.
I believe X.
X must be good."
I pray for our Holy Father and know he is trying his best, but I do think that, ironically, he has a judgmental mean streak unbecoming of his office.
Yes, there is certainly that. The mean streak. I’ve been trying to give him the benefit of many doubts over the last ten years. Because he’s the pope and I’m not. And what I know about the dynamics at the Vatican and among the episcopate could barely fill a thimble. But I do know Old and New Testament Scripture and the Catechism pretty well after studying both A to Z for 20+ years. And it’s that meanness and it’s the inconsistent application of “rules” and it’s his “make a mess” shoot from the hip theology that bring me not so much frustration or anger but sadness. Because we humans need the truth to save us, not permission to keep sliding into the arms of secular gods and our own desires. It’s this sense of giving up on truth and giving in to sin that is so sad to me.
Agree 100%.
Boy would I love to get a cup or two of coffee with you!
Well stated Sarah. I share your sentiment.
I appreciated the piece, but I dont get what crosses or Jesus have to do with it. I was more with the author when he was a Zen-animist. We need to accept limits, find joy in what we have and nurturing others, move past capitalism, and fight nihilists and assholes. I am right with him there. However, there is an abyss in every life ... our mortality. It cant be escaped. Religions can act as a salve, but belief in an afterlife is a delusion, regardless of what pretty words dress it up. I think the author is deluded, but I respect that it works for him.
Born an atheist, raised a Jew, now a Unitarian Universalist, which didnt require me to lose the atheism or the Judaism. UUs believe in kindness and supporting the weak and leaving the world better than we found it... you know, the stuff JC said.
Typically the only time you hear His name spoken at services though is when someone on the refreshment committee drops the brownie tray!
Happy holidays to readers, may you all find your own way to inner strength and satsfaction.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."
But if there is no God than that's not applicable. He seems to disagree with UUs, but maybe you're right and he was wrong.
Indeed. As CS Lewis said, Jesus of Nazareth is either a liar or a lunatic, or he is exactly who he says he is - the Son of God. Jesus cannot be understood as just be a good teacher who promoted kindness. You can’t say Jesus was this good guy but ultimately of no consequence. Because what he actually said, what he claims emphatically, requires a radical conversion - or not. He gives us a choice. But a choice has to be made. And if he is who he says he is, then yes - not only is there an afterlife, it is the most important thing there is. Our time on the earth is just preparation for it. That’s what Jesus said.
Billions of people have come and gone in the 2,023 years since Jesus was crucified and resurrected (with thousands of witnesses). Hundreds (?) of millions of them chose willful ignorance of Christ or outright rejection of Him even at their last breath. What if they were woefully wrong?
Yup ... you got me. I think JC was a good chap and he had good things to say, that many American "Christians" have discarded in their allegedly bible-based intolerance. As far as outright rejection or willful ignorance: Forget me ... what about the hundreds of billions of buddhists, hindus or muslims? They have fervent beliefs, just not christian ones. Why are you so sure you are right?
Your woefully wrong comment is actually a threat. It's the big Christian threat of everlasting torment, or perhaps the gentler threat of failure to obtain eternal life in heaven. Either one is heinous. What an evil god it would be to put out so little evidence and have such disastrous consequences for those who are more skeptical.
I am not trying to be mean to your beliefs. I have observed many a happy Christian who found meaning and strength in their beliefs. I would like to hear your rebuttal to my points though.
I didn't mean to say that your comment was "woefully wrong". I meant
to say that your final sentence "What if they were woefully wrong?" is an implied threat, because it is only "woeful" if the consequences of the error are extremely severe. This lead me to jump right to Hell. Perhaps you had something less woeful in mind though.
Thanks Chris -- for raising the possibility that UUs are right and "Jesus" is wrong. Thanks for knowing something about UUs (as in knowing our usual abbreviation for our overlong name). In case you didn't know -- and I quote from a sermon by Rev. J. Mark Worth "Historically the Universalists – one of the two groups that formed our present denomination – were the ‘No Hell’ church. They taught that a loving God wouldn’t create a torture chamber called Hell, and then create us so flawed that we had to be sent there." I suppose your comment supposes it is self-evident that JC's view is better than the UUs or my own, but we have no idea what Jesus actually said ... we only have a book written by many people and translated many times. Furthermore, in the realm of this-world consequences, I think my own self-belief is healthier than religious humility as follows: If one is willing to believe that a single person or book is the ultimate arbiter of truth -- because they say they are, then this habit of mind makes you susceptible to the demagogue (Hitler, Bolsonaro, Trump) who tells you "Only I can fix it" and instructs you to reject all other evidence of your sense or other sources. I have read Christian literature that instructs the believer that various bits of evidence (e.g evolution, astrophysics and the big bang, homosexuality in non-human species) are just temptations put there by the devil and must be cast aside without examination. I was born a scientist. I need evidence to support beliefs and a book that says "I am true" just aint it. I would love to continue talking with you. I would like to hear your response to my view that faith is a risk-factor for fascism -- or anything else you have to say.
I once had a bit of an argument with a nice UU gentleman that I knew in a social circle. He insisted that no one could really know (about a religious topic) and I insisted he was wrong. Just from logic I think I had the upper hand since he was determined to prove a universal negative. We have not had much interaction since then. I think our fundamental disagreement was about the nature of knowing, and my definition made him uncomfortable. I have a philosophical problem with any school of thought, whether religious or secular, that only rewards the exceptionally smart or insightful or talented. If I must become god to find God then I quickly lose any interest. Things like science, music, art, sport, story telling, are produced by the talented but also bless the untalented by their existence. The perfect religion as an expression of love and beauty would be one that brings a similar blessing to people who may not even be capable of knowing the intricacies and details driving it. Of course I am cheating since I'm describing what I think I have already found. And I could be wrong. You focus on passing the test of your own senses and understanding. That's a popular view. My senses and understanding just aren't that trustworthy.
Thanks again Chris. Your response went in a surprising direction. Regarding logical advantage, you imply that it would be harder for me to prove that there is no god of any kind than that Jesus Christ was not the son of god. From the very limited understanding I have of your beliefs in our brief exchange, you are all in for Jesus so that the "universal negative" is not really what your UU friend needed to argue. Is it the case that you believe in some kind of God but not necessarily the stories of the New Testament? There are quite a number of believers who believe in "something out there" without getting all that hung up on the details. Anyway, I offer no proof that there is no god. I only believe what has been learned by reproducible experience (mine, or Newton's, or Einsteins, or Gandhi's ... or Jesus's). If you can't find evidence of god via some sense or measurement, then Occam's razor suggests that there is no god. Someday perhaps evidence will be found, and I will change my tune. Until then, the Christians have the burden of proof, not the atheists.
I am even more intrigued by your final sentences in which you reject your own senses and intellect. Such a view was rather common between the 10th and 16th centuries. However, the US were founded by a bunch of Enlightenment thinkers who specifically rejected this earlier view. Look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment Are you saying you do not agree that the enlightenment was a step forward? I want to see if I understand you.
I don't reject my senses and intellect, but I find them severely limited. My discussion with the other fellow wasn't about the existence of god but the nature of knowing. He said that "no one can know" there is a god. A statement like that is not logical and is really a form of intellectual cheating. It is claiming that the reality is known by him to such a degree that he can say that this part is knowable but this part is not knowable. I've been everywhere and I never saw anything called Australia so Australia doesn't exist. It's infantile.
This article we are presumably commenting on, you said you didn't understand the cross and Jesus and these facets of the article. You have acknowledged the limits of your senses and intellect, or something similar. So how would an enlightenment person fill in that knowledge?
Actually one can be both Jewish and have faith in the Messiah. Merry Christmas
This Pope is a Jesuit. That's really all you need to say.
The Pope(by his actions) does not seem to be a believer.
do you watch him every day? or are you judging by what others say? how much of his writing have you read directky?
here’s the thing though, the church, the pope and the command are aspirations. In the mystical tradition, these things are what we must perfect with our lives. We can all scoff at things that present themselves arrogantly and do not bow humbly before the Lord. None of us are exempt from temptation and becoming lost. Jesus is an invocation and an example of how he loved, like us, with a human heart. All institutions, while necessary, are our responsibility to perfect. We are people.
A good observation and great reply
EXACTLY my thought on Bari's introduction. This pope appears to be a Marxist- part of the very spiritual war about which Paul Kingsnorth writes so eloquently.
Amen !
Alastair you made me laugh. Bari was making a point about her beliefs. You are correct re this pope, but we all know what she meant.
What a beautiful piece to read on Christmas morning as my 6-year old plays with his new Lego set and I’m waiting for my parents to come over to celebrate Christmas. I love the stories of converts who couldn’t help their conversion. They weren’t looking for it, they were actively resisting it (Paul’s foray in Wiccan-ism took me by surprise), but the Holy Spirit found them just the same. I don’t have a dramatic conversion story, but sometime a few years ago in my early 40’s I’ve found myself to be truly convicted, and I know in my soul what Jesus believed and taught was true. I feel so grateful for that belief. I’ve already forwarded this essay on to my husband and Catholic brother. Again, What a good way to start Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I was captured by Christ through mathematics, biology and physics, which led after years of study and searching to Roman Catholicism.
Conversions are as unique as we are and I love reading about them.
A wonderful Christmas gift!
My conversion to Christianity was very slow, then all at once, by a cascade of events. I witnessed my wife's conversion, and how in a few years, she changed, really changed into the lovely, believer that she is still, 40 years later.
Then, at university, the study of light. But the moment of wonder for me was the derivation of Euler's identity. I saw there is order in the universe, and it must be a created thing, and the creator must be God.
I came to Christ not as as an intellectual deduction, but crying, on my knees.
Yes! The study of science absolutely solidified my faith in a Creator. Here, here, Marie!
Amen bro but that Lego thing is a slippery slope. If you're not a slipper-wearer, you will be....
🤣🤣🤣
Every conversion is a miracle, but I agree with you about the more "dramatic" ones. Having grown up in the faith, it is fascinating to learn how those who did not found themselves pursued and convicted. "Surprised by Oxford," is a delightful memoir of one woman's journey to Christianity. Very philosophical and well-written.
“I believe that we are living through a deep spiritual crisis; perhaps even a spiritual war. My interest these days is what this means.”
From this point on he made me want to read more. I’ve felt the same since things have gone crazy. Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas. Today is the reason why we need to continue to remain hopeful even when it appears hopeless.
PS…Welcome to Orthodoxy, Paul!
I agree with you on that, and when seeing this madness around us, I have come up with two things to help. First, don't be part of the madness; second, pull a person from or keep another person from falling in when the time is right. Have a Merry Christmas, and thanks for your post.
A key theme for me was his realisation of the vacuity of 'freedom' in its 21st c. Western conception. "I grew up believing..... that freedom meant lack of constraint".
In the words of the Kris Kristofferson song: "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose". Merry Christmas.
Actually, Kris Kristofferson’s life is a really good fit for this essay. He had literally EVERY gift a human could have -- in spades (looks, brains, athleticism, musical ability) -- and nearly trashed it all with drugs/alcohol (though he was extremely successful, despite himself). Clearly there was (is?) a hole in him that was likely spiritual.
There are some, such as Mr. Kingsnorth, who come to truth on a long and tortured path. Others, such as some of the treasured commenters here, who always knew the truth and live their lives accordingly. We all learn from each other. There is a growing consensus, I believe, that the globalists and oligarchs who demand our fealty are petty, false gods. The best way to strip them of their power and pretense is to follow the true God. And, we can do worse than to follow the teachings of the one whose birth we celebrate today. Merry Christmas to all. And thanks especially to those who tell me I can do better. We can make this nation a better place. Sending love to Bari, who has brought us here today and engages us every day.
As an avowed atheist who believes in nothing more than the (mis)direction of my own mind, I have not much to say about this well intentioned essay.
But I liked what you wrote about the commenters here, of which I whole heartedly agree. I may have no deity in my life, but I do know what I look forward to every day, my own small beacon of light - and that is coming here to read and to write..
A happy day to you, sir..
Lee, what is astonishing and amazing is that God gave you and all of us ‘Freewill’ to believe or not to believe. The first time this is illustrated in the Torah, Book of Exodus.
Did you know that God did not ‘harden’ Pharaoh's heart after each of the 10 plagues? To ‘harden’ was the Greek to Latin to English translation. In the original Hebrew, God ‘strengthened’ Pharaoh’s heart. By ‘strengthening’ Pharaohs heart, God was continuing to give Pharaoh the Freewill to respond as he chose, to each anti-creation act.
Leave him be Matt. He has been hurt. He has to walk his own path. I have absolute confidence he is on the right one.
Thanks for that clarification.
Virtual hugs Lee.
And, I want to add something. I have quite enjoyed our exchanges, Lynne. And I think I'm a better person for having had them, along with a few others here I've had the pleasure of interacting with. I don't always have to agree with someone in order to have respect. And I have a lot of respect for you, how you elucidate your position and the passion by which you do so. Let's continue this into the New Year - for if there's one thing we can both agree upon, there will much to talk about.
Cheers..
Totally, totally agree Lee. I rubs me the wrong way when I see comments about us being in an echo chamber here. I can see why it might appear that way at first blush but it really is not. It has helped me refine my POV. To get rid of the fringey elements and focus on the solid. You are definitely an influence there. And I am struck by how often we all pretty much agree. That comforts me that we as a nation can return to a centrist position.
Absolutely.
Enjoy your day, Lynne. Virtual hugs back..
And to you!
Me, too. Seems like Klaus and "the rest of the Hitler Youth" who swarm places such as Davos have a lot to tell us about how we should live our lives and what to think, say, eat and drive. If that's not a "god complex" I'm not sure what is.
Thank you, Bari, for the continuing gift you give to all of us every day - articles and personal stories like this that cause us to reflect rather than simply react. It is a gift greater than gold.
What is this? A profoundly wonderful Christmas present given by one Bari Weiss to her followers, written by a wanderer who found his way home. Merry Christmas!
What a skilled man can do with a hammer
The advanced pilgrim can do with a thought.
One builds their own seat in this world
using God-
the only material,
that is
everywhere.
The Gift. Poems by Hafiz.* Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
*14th C. Sufi
Insightfully beautiful, Herr Forkenspoon.
On behalf of Hafiz and Ladinsky, I thank you. It's from the book, The Gift. Poems by Hafiz.
“The Gift,” the book title says it all. Thank you.
Almot all, t[here's humor and admonishments too.
I love Hafiz. His spirituality is about relationship, as I read him, which is what I missed in all the other spiritual paths I explored.
Yes, you are correct. I also love his humor.
I can live with that. Much better than Douglas' pale offering of yesterday.
Steve: May I offer a contrary view. I felt, reading this morning’s essay, a modern embodiment of the Wise Men in the T. S. Elliot poem in Sunday’s essay. The Wise Men sacrificed much, endured much to make their journey. When they came to bring their gifts to Bethlehem, they were changed. They experienced what a converted Christian would call a re-birth. The poet Elliot has them speak of death, the death of their own wills/ego, to be obedient to the call they had heard to come worship the Christ child. This morning’s essay illustrates the similar path and “death” to rise a new person who would follow Christ.
I take it to mean the death of their former beliefs.
What? Douglas’ offering was excellent.
The road to Damascus is long, dusty, and perilous, but the sudden blindness is the source of God's truth and a blessing in the end.
True freedom, it turns out, is to give up your will and follow God’s. To deny yourself. To let it come. I am terrible at this, but at least now I understand the path.
☝🏻
I am terrible at this.....
Me too !
We’re all terrible at it! Don’t feel alone. As long as you’re trying and keep trying you’re on the way.
We're not "all" terrible at it. You and I may be, but the members of Mother Emmanuel who instantly loved and forgave Dylan Roof after he murdered their pastor and belloved friends were NOT "terrible at it" at all. They were right where Jesus was on the cross, and where the martyrs were when the lions were devouring them, weren't they? They were loving their enemies and everyone else. That's the only way Jesus offers us, isn't it? But remember Jesus says, "My burden is light." Presumably when the tiny number of us who can be "saved" ("Many are called, but few are chosen") achieve pure loving of everyone, no matter whether they are kind or cruel to us, whether they are of our tribe or our tribes' bitterest enemy tribe, we will feel the joy of love itself, which must be what "Heaven" is all about.
Yes, this! Thank you, Fred!
The purpose of our lives, from the blessing of our conception to the blessing of seeing Him face to face at our passing, is to learn to love as God loves us.
That’s the whole thing. And it’s very hard because we are fallen. The story of Adam and Eve is as relevant today as it ever was - we are given by God all that we need to be happy in this life and prepare for the next, but we choose to disobey, and we too often choose our sin and evil over Him. Our pride of self is our undoing. It is hard to let it go. It is hard to realize that we have it all wrong when we look incessantly to ourselves for answers. It takes years, sometimes decades as it did for the author of this beautiful essay, to get there.
And even then, very few of us can forgive our enemies as Jesus did. If we actually invite Him to be the Lord of our lives, it is very much possible, though - as witnessed through the example you gave, Fred.
To which I would add the example of Pope John Paul II forgiving the Muslim man who attempted to assassinate him in 1981. Following the shooting, the pope asked people to "pray for my brother [Ağca] ... whom I have sincerely forgiven." That man, Mehmet Ali Ağca, became a follower of Jesus Christ and converted to Catholicism in 2007.
Heroic virtue changes people, both those who live it out and those who are touched by those who do.
This is such a beautiful story. I am atheist turned Christian myself. And it happened to me in a similar way. Sending all the great Love that simply Is on this beautiful Christmas.
Good morning, Merry Christmas to all. What was beautiful about this was Paul's inner search for meaning. I worked for churches in a more progressive-leaning faith that is dying, and I walked away feeling they were failing as they didn't answer the question Paul talked about relevance.
I wondered how it could do something to turn the literal slow death of its older members around, and this article and an interview gave me a path. First, the quest for meaning and the yearning for something higher than oneself jumped out in this article. It was for an anchor of meaning and a community where I felt Paul ended. Faith can give that. The second thing was David Mamet's conversation with Bill Mahar, which I watched in early December. Mamet spoke of moral education and how to make good decisions. We all know the world is fallen when left to its own devices. Having a guide to make great neighbors is essential to any strong society. It's always great to get the mind thinking first thing in the morning. Thanks to the Free Press for that. Everyone have a great holiday.
"How can I feel I have arrived home in something that is in many ways so foreign to me?"
I'm reminded of an early Things Worth Remembering post in which Douglas Murray reflects on TS Eliot's "Four Quartets." Which, when I first read it, brought to mind CS Lewis's "The Weight of Glory" and inspired me to compose a haiku:
How can you go home
Again until you've been there?
Now's but an echo.
Merry Christmas, and may the Spirit of the season turn all our hearts toward the eternal home that awaits.
Beautiful. Merry Christmas.
First, respect to Paul.
As a Jew following more traditions than religious rites, I would like to see a similar writing on one finding Judaism.
There is something bigger and more whole that underpins the universe...all mystics understand this be they of the religions of the book , or many New Age folks I know. I’m a theological lumper not splitter, so while I appreciate his encounter with Jesus and Orthodoxy, it could be an encounter with G_d or spirit guides or angels. Let’s not all of us be split into competing views when all of those who see the Big Picture are more alike than different. There are forces who will try to split us apart where we are more easily silenced. Peace to All Folks of Goodwill!
Actually, they are not alike. The G-d of the Bible is a God who loves us and pursues us in His desire for fellowship with us. Allah of Islam does not love his followers. Buddha doesn't love his followers. I"m not sure about the rest. That is one of the major differences between the great faiths.
Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam are the three Abrahamic religions. They all worship the same God.
Allah is not the same god.
Excerpts from “Is Allah a Different God Than the Biblical God?” by Gabriel Reynolds (Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame), May 26, 2020
——————
The Catholic Church since Vatican II has taught in different ways that Muslims and Christians do worship the same God. Lumen Gentium §16 includes the line: “Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind [nobiscum Deum adorant unicum, misericordem].” Pope Saint John Paul II, speaking in front of a soccer stadium filled with young Muslims in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1985, famously declared:
We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection.
More recently Pope Francis implied as much when he signed the Declaration on Human Fraternity in early 2019, together with the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi. Therein the two religious leaders mutually declare: “We, who believe in God and in the final meeting with Him and His judgment.”
Pope Francis has emphasized divine mercy in the Qur’an. In his papal bull, Misericordiae Vultus, which announced a Jubilee year in the Catholic Church (from December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016) dedicated to the theme of mercy, he wrote:
Among the privileged names that Islam attributes to the Creator are “Merciful and Kind.” This invocation is often on the lips of faithful Muslims who feel themselves accompanied and sustained by mercy in their daily weakness. They too believe that no one can place a limit on divine mercy because its doors are always open.
Firstly, it is important to distinguish between the fundamental disposition which the God of the Qur’an manifests towards humanity: first, in creation itself, and, second, in the sending of prophets. Time and again the Qur’an speaks of the goodness of creation, describing that goodness as a gift from God that should provoke gratitude (tellingly, the Arabic word for an unbeliever, kafir, can also mean an “ingrate”). The Qur’an’s job is to call attention to this goodness. In one passage it does this simply by asking man to think about where his food comes from:
“Let man consider his food: We pour down plenteous water [from the sky], then We split the earth making fissures in it and make the grain grow in it, as well as vines and vegetables, olives and date palms, and densely-planted gardens, fruits and pastures, as a sustenance for you and your livestock” (Q 80:24-32).
Creation itself is thus an act of divine beneficence, and so is the act of reminding forgetful humans of creation’s goodness.
Second, the wrath of the God of Islam is not so different from the wrath of the God of the Bible, who, too, can be vengeful and carry out plots against unbelievers. As Ulrich Lehner has recently put it in the title of his book . . . God is Not Nice. How else is one to understand the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and the drowning of the Egyptians in the Sea? True, the New Testament communicates clearly the tender love of God for all of the world (“For God so loved the world,” John 3:16 says, not “For God loved some people in the world”). But the New Testament certainly leaves a place for divine vengeance. Quoting Deuteronomy, Paul warns the Romans, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Rom 12: 19).
It is a common belief in divine goodness, however, that best supports the same-God position. Alluding to certain Qur’anic turns of phrase, Nostra Aetate says of Muslim, “They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men.” The Council Fathers were right to emphasize these divine attributes that Muslims hold in common with Christians, but the attribute of goodness stands highest. Among the ninety-nine names of God in Islamic tradition is latif, “kind,” “gracious,” or “good” (another is al-malik, “the king”). It is the fundamental aspect of divine goodness, of divine mercy manifested in the gifts of creation and the sending of prophets, that allows us to answer “yes” to the same God question.
https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/is-the-quranic-god-the-same-god-as-the-biblical-god/#:~:text=Therein%20the%20two%20religious%20leaders,never%20explained%20clearly%20its%20reasoning.
The Grand Imam and the Pope may say that but most Catholics and Muslims as well as Protestants don't believe that. I would point you to the fact that Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That is heresy to Muslims. Additionally, Christians believe in a triune God, a triune God is impossible to reconcile that with Allah. Most Christians would consider the idea of Allah and the God of the Bible to be heresy.
Thank you, Ann for that comprehensive explanation. I studied world religions in college (30 years ago, long before the wokerati infiltration), and concur that the god of each of the 3 monotheistic Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is one and the same; just with a different name. It's unfortunate that those with prejudices against Muslims find it difficult, or impossible, to believe this.
Just trying to understand why the split(s) occurred and where are the differences.
Which splits specifically?
As a serious Catholic, I agree with Barry.
I converted from Christianity to Orthodox Judaism 30 years ago. I know G-d exists. There is nothing so incredible; as wide and as deep as Jewish theology and scholarship. Every conceivable aspect of life is discussed, it is astounding. The Jewish community, whatever the denomination and wherever found in the world, is the warmest, nicest one on the planet. There are plenty of converts around, with varying motives and spiritual experiences. There is also a large community of Noachides who seem to be “Jewish-adjacent” ex-Christians.
As a Catholic who worked in his youth at a synagogue (and was treated with nothing but love and friendship there), I'd like to see that, too.
Barry, I grew up Catholic, went to Catholic school, and spent 13 years as an atheist. Recently I started learning about Judaism and thought about conversion but the wokeness of the Reform synagogues drove me away.
As happened to so many of us, you must have been poorly catechized in your Catholic school. Resources for learning about the real Catholic Faith are so much better nowadays. Try Scott Hahn for starters. (And at 87, Pope Francis won't be around much longer.)
Surely I was. I only started in Catholic school in 5th grade. Both my parents, although technically Catholic, were not Church goers before my school days.
I know what you mean. We tried going to a reformed temple and we gave up. Politics took over religion.
Other denoms ( ha autocorrected to demons!) have this problem as well. Why do religions have to get involved in politics and lose track of caring for souls? Perhaps the reason religion is declining.. lost track of their main mission (not all, but some)
Haha, it is my belief that wokeness is demonic and the devil wrecking havoc on our world to mess us up
By their fruits you shall know them.. does a given philosophy bring peace, love and joy? Or hatred, fear and division? Wokeness has many definitions, and many parts, but the key questions are the same. IMHO.
PH, encourage you to seek out a Christian church that dives deep into Old Testament texts & Covenants. The linkage between the OT & NT is so profound. As a former Catholic, we barely then cracked open the OT except for certain narratives we all know.
Check out the book of Ecclesiastes for example, which mimics truths from many Near East traditions (The Egyptian Song of Harper’s & Gilgamesh Epic before, influenced this Book) The wisdom from antiquity is so very deep. The Bible Project has been my go-to for book overview as I read the texts, here’s a short cartoon drawing video of Ecclesiastes. But any book of bible they cover.
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/ecclesiastes/?utm_source=web_social_share&medium=shared_video
You might want to explore CHABAD, the Lubavitcher Chassidim who have centers, it appears, everywhere. You will find an authentic Judaism infused with song and joy and love ...without judgment...
Politically conservative Buddhists of my acquaintance have had this problem, too.
Reform Jews are not the only Jews. You could try Conservative or Orthodox, you know.
I did speak with a Conservative rabbi but he too had pronouns in his email signature. Orthodox Jewish dress codes for women is a bridge too far for me. 🤷🏻♀️
You might want to explore CHABAD, the Lubavitcher Chassidim who have centers, it appears, everywhere. You will find an authentic Judaism infused with song and joy and love ...without judgment
Years ago, I completed a lengthy program given by a conservative Jewish group for those who wished to convert. I love the singing and the intellectual openness to dialogue and disputation, and Iknew many Jewish people whom I admired. I balked when I was expected to establish a relationship with a rabbi and go through a baptism experience. My parents were agnostics and I never set foot in a house of worship before or since. I couldn't see myself following the food rules, which seemed so very foreign to me. It was a bridge too far! Now that I am older and not much wiser, I wish I would have completed the conversion.
True that! We have a very good Jewish friend who married a gentile years ago. He did have as a condition for the marriage that his fiancée convert to Judaism so that the kids would be Jewish (the mother must be Jewish for the children to be Jewish). She agreed, but as I recall, it was a very long and exhausting process. There is a TON of stuff to learn and memorize. The word arduous comes to mind. Frankly, I don’t think I could do it even if I wanted to.
Merry Christmas 🎄🎄🎄
How about reading The Skeptic and the Rabbi by Judy Gruen? She is a usually a humor writer , so it is very readable, but it details her path to observant Judaism. There are a number of other books that I can't think of at the end of a long day.
Thank you.
Barry, I realized that in full disclosure I should say that my husband is the rabbi in the title. But, it really is an interesting book.
Hi Barry, You might want to explore CHABAD, the Lubavitcher Chassidim who have centers, it appears, everywhere. You will find an authentic Judaism infused with song and joy and love ...without judgment
Nicely phrased.
I converted to Judaism 20 years ago, it is a story...I will write it this year and send it to Bari
Do it. As Pat Conroy used to say: “Tell me a story”.
At first I skimmed this piece. It didn't grab me. I skipped to the end. Liked what I read. Read the whole thing. Thought, I have to send this to everyone I care about. Thought, this is IT. We are rebelling against God. Shooting ourselves in the foot again and again. I'm Jewish, not like Bari--more of the agnostic Hebrew school dropout variety. Nonetheless this essay rocked and soothed me. I'm a sucker for a good seeker story, especially when the seeker finds and what he finds is actually true and good. Merry Christmas y'all. 💚❤️💚❤️
"I have to send this to everyone I care about."
Had the same exact thought. 😊❤️💚
So beautiful, thank you! Merry Christmas!
PS to Bari- You are definitely more Jewish than the Pope is Catholic.😉
I don't get Catholics' dislike of the Pope. What values of the Pope are even slightly antithetical to those of Jesus? Shouldn't Catholics base all their values on those of Jesus, and break with the church whenever it breaks with the pure love for all God's children Jesus personifies? Does any Catholic, for instance, seriously believe that Jesus loves gays or the trans less than straights, when Jesus never utters a peep about any of this, but speaks constantly in absolute terms about loving your neighbor, and clearly means EVERYONE is your neighbor. Not least your deadliest enemies! Too many Catholics sound to me as if they worship some traditional church value or doctrine, which may be dead wrong, over Jesus and his call for universal--universal!--love. Think of the contrast between Jesus on the cross and the Jewish response to the horrible Hamas atrocities. Jesus explicitly forgives and loves those who have beaten and crucified him, just as the profound Christians of Mother Emmanuel in Charleston stunned the world by totally forgiving, loving, and praying for Dylan Roof, right after he had. brutally and insanely murdered their beloved pastor and eight fellow parishioners. If Jesus modeled the moral demand that we love our bitterest enemies even as they are literally torturing and killing us, surely Catholics should have no problem loving gays and the rest that Catholics have been wrongly taught to despise. Francis seems to me the most Christ-obsessed pope I've ever heard of. And naming himself Francis was a great thing which tells us all we need to know about his deepest values, which seem amazingly aligned with those of Jesus.
Fred, there’s a difference between loving all people, regardless, and condoning or encouraging their sinful behavior. It’s a commandment to love the person, not the sin.
It's really jarring for me to read this from a subscriber to TFP. I'm aware of the selected passages in the Bible about homosexuality. But do you and those who are Catholics and critical of Francis on this issue really look at Bari and Nellie's life together, and their family with their baby, as "living in sin"?
I supposed a rigid reading of the Bible may say this is so. But what I see is a loving family with two lovely people in love, and giving all the love they have to give to a child they're raising. It seems to me they embody everything Jesus teaches about love. The way I see it, if that is "living in sin", then I don't even know why I need to get all bothered by "sin" at all. There are so so many worse things in the world we can get upset about.
QX, your comment made me chuckle a bit. It's so obvious when non-religious readers try to comment on what the Bible says. I may not like the admonishments against gays, one of my closest friends is a gay man, but the Bible is quite clear. God's word is what it is; we don't get to bend the Word to what we wish it to be.
You assume I'm non-religious. I'm a Protestant. I've read the Bible cover to cover. I'm not Catholic but I also just finished listening to Father Mike's Bible in a Year podcast last year. I know very well what the Bible says.
I don't read Jesus telling the adulterous woman "Go and sin no more" to just literally be about adultery. He was talking about sexual immoralities. Sexual immorality is indulging in physical desire without love. It's giving in to passions without restraints for what is good. A romantic relationship with love is a wholly different thing.
True that. And the sin condemned in the story about Sodom was rape, not gay sex. The main reason the Catholic Church is opposed to gay sex is that they feel that sex is just for procreation. Anything that won't potentially make a baby, like masturbation or gay sex, is forbidden. It's the same reason they're against birth control. Gotta get married and have 10 little Catholics. Grow the church.
The ruling on the blessing of gay couples is specifically written in such a way as to not be condoning “sinful behavior”. Have you read the entire thing, word for word?
I wasn't referring to the pope's statement at all. I was responding to Fred's comment in a general way, as to separate the person from the behavior.
Ah, it seemed like you were saying that the Pope allowing the blessings was in some way condoning the behavior. Sorry about that.
Pope Francis doesn't seem to be following the Bible. He seems to be following wherever he chooses to go. That is what has people concerned.
In all seriousness, please be more specific. I'm not challenging you. You may well have specific Biblical passages in mind that I don't know or have forgotten. I know the Hebrew Bible is prejudiced against gays, for instance, but the Gospels and Jesus certainly are not, and clearly Francis takes them as his North star in terms of stressing love and compassion for all. Which I should have thought Christians would admire.
Thanks Fred. I think the problem most Christians have with Pope Francis is what we see as his willingness to follow cultural trends rather than holding fast to doctrinal points of faith. As far as Jesus' views on gays, He certainly didn't state any, but He did say that he came to fulfill the Law (which would be the Hebrew Bible). He also said to the woman, caught in adultery, "Go and sin no more." He was gentle and compassionate with her but He did advise her to refrain from sin.
As Christians we understand that marriage here on earth is a "picture" or foretaste of the marriage between the Church and Jesus. The Church is often called the Bride of Christ in the New Testament. This is one of the reasons Christians do not accept the idea of marriage between anyone but a man and a woman. Pope Francis' acceptance of the idea of blessing gay unions seems to many of us the "nose of the camel in the tent." That's why it is difficult to accept.
Thanks, Cynthia, for your thoughtful, sincere reply. Jesus often breaks with the Old Testament, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery in particular. Obviously, those about to stone her were simply following the Jewish law, which Jesus was implicitly teaching them was cruel and morally wrong, since sinful humans (all of us) have no right even to judge anyone else, according to Jesus, much less stone them to death for their "sin" as defined by Jewish law. At radical odds with the legalism of the Jewish law, Jesus explicitly tells his virtually exclusively Jewish audience NEVER to judge: "Judge not that ye be not judged," right? No wonder the Jewish hierarchy in Jerusalem wanted Jesus eliminated. He preaches both not judging and total forgiveness, doesn't he? A very different approach to morality from the Jewish law, but an approach Francis seems to be following as much as he can. To me, it's Francis who is faithful to Jesus' loving values, not those who would throw the first stone at gays or anyone else. Ironically, by Jesus' own standards, since He is sinless, He had the right to throw the first stone, but He illustrated what love would do instead. Jesus also utterly opposed the Jewish law's revenge justice we see in the Gaza War: "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." In conscious, direct repudiation of that value system, which is the antithesis of loving from His perspective, Jesus demands that those who wish to be spiritually saved have no choice but to turn the other cheek, rather than hit back and defend themselves, as Jesus demonstrates when He is captured by the Romans. Jesus says those seeking salvation must also LOVE and completely FORGIVE their enemies, not hate or condemn them. The Jewish law's ethic is totally natural; it advocates doing what humans naturally want to do when they are attacked or hurt: get angry and fight back, ideally hurting the attacker worse than he hurts you. Jesus' ethic is totally unnatural, totally opposed to the natural instincts of human beings in all cultures and ages. Jesus is demanding the purest love and concern for our enemies in all circumstances we can muster, since Jesus and God Himself, according to Jesus, always perfectly love the worst of sinners as well as the best of saints. All this it utterly at odds with the letter and the spirit of the Jewish law, so it's a mystery how Jesus said he came to fulfil every jot and tittle of the Jewish law, yet demanded his Jewish followers in so many circumstances follow Him on the path of pure love instead of the path of achieving "justice" through punishing our enemies or condemning to death those the Jewish law directs us to kill for "justice"'s sake, for. the law's sake.
"Jewish law's revenge justice we see in the Gaza War"....If this is what you really think is happening, you do not understand Hamas at all or what Israel means to not just Jews, but the rest of the world.
A side note, Israel's war in Gaza is less about revenge than demolishing the Hamas which is a direct threat now to their existence. And if the Hamas weren't such cowards they'd be fighting in a front, and civilians would be in the rear where the IDF wouldn't need to strike them. But the Hamas don't battle like true warriors. They're cowards hiding behind civilian shields. So I don't think it's accurate to interpret military strategic tactics as a war of revenge
Thank you Fred. At this point in my life as a Christian, I have come to realize there are some things that will remain mysteries until my faith is sight. I hope you had a joy-filled Christmas as you celebrated the Incarnation.
“ To me, it's Francis who is faithful to Jesus' loving values, not those who would throw the first stone at gays or anyone else.”
Agreed. You understand what’s happening better than anyone else in these comments…except for me, haha.
Merry Christmas 🎄🎄🎄
Amen!
As a Catholic myself, and the mother of a gay son, I love Pope Francis. He’s the best pope we’ve had in a very very long time. The people who are complaining about him don’t understand what he has said about inclusion in the Church, and frankly, they don’t understand the gospel of love that Christ preached during his lifetime. The recent pronouncement on the blessing of gay couples was specifically and tightly worded to prevent such blessings from being ceremonies, and especially not ceremonies resembling marriage. How can that possibly be wrong? Is it wrong to bless people? If two people love each other and live together, it’s none of your business what they do or don’t do in the privacy of their home. If a blessing brings them closer to God and helps them live a better life, what’s that to you?
And are any of you aware of the Vatican document (*)Francis approved the end of October that said transgender people can be baptized Catholics, they can serve as godparents and as witnesses at Catholic weddings. This is the loving inclusion of human beings. This is what Jesus would do. This is a living faith that doesn’t cement itself in one place forever and refuse to grow.
* Dicasterium Pro Doctrina Fidei, originally dated July 14, 2023, and addressed to the Bishop of Santo Amaro, Brasil on the question of the participation of transsexual persons in the sacraments of marriage and baptism.
If Pope Francis has brought ycloser to Christ’s mercy and forgiveness and on a straight path, I’m sincerely grateful! Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the laugh this morning!
I think he shits in the woods myself. I was exiting stage left when I did catechesis; but Frankie is clearly a heretic.
I read this a month or so ago and immediately subscribed to Paul. I was delighted to find him here today. Everything he writes resonates w me. Love him.
His series on the Holy Wells of Ireland is especially good.