Blurring The Issues!

Pope John Paul II has remarkably projected a fresh image of the Roman Catholic church in today's world.

His election to the papacy was in itself a startling departure from the traditional choice of an Italian cardinal. His Polish origin became in one sense an advantage, for the Roman Catholic church in Poland has helped preserve a spirit of independence from communist ideological pressures. A system so strongly materialistic and atheistic has failed to wean the majority of Poles from their religion. Doubtless with many of them loyalty to their church has been an expression of protest at the politically imposed communist government. Pope John Paul II has personified the championship of basic freedoms.

Breaking away from the traditional seclusion of the pope, he has travelled widely. His visits have stirred the religious emotions of Catholics everywhere as they gathered in vast assemblies to welcome him. His genial, outgoing personality has endeared him to millions of his flock. A vicious attempt on his life involved him in much suffering, but his fortitude throughout the ordeal won him even deeper admiration.

One result of all this has been a blurring of spiritual issues. The attitude of many people to the Roman Catholic church has been modified. They feel that arguments about scriptural doctrine or differences about ritual and government are all less important than a general spirit of goodwill between church groups. They advocate a liberalism which accommodates the different traditions of what they like to describe as "the different branches of the Christian church".

This spirit has in recent years been fostered by many in the Anglican church, including the present Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Runcie. He has welcomed the prospect of a papal visit t6 Britain as promoting a spirit of tolerance and understanding between Anglican and Catholic.

Those who cherish the spiritual heritage of the Reformation feel that the

truth so dearly bought is being sold through compromise with the Roman Catholic church. They see that the great spiritual issues which were so clearly defined in the sixteenth century are now being blurred in the interests of a spiritually unprincipled religious union. For instance, there are the Roman Catholic claims as to the status of their church and the authority of the pope. These were unmistakably expressed in a papal bull (that is, an official pronouncement from the pope in Rome) at the time of Elizabeth I of

England:

He that reigneth on high (Christ) ... hath committed his one and only holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, out of which there is no salvation, to one alone upon earth, namely to Peter the chief of the Apostles, and to Peter's successor, the Bishop of Rome, to be by him governed with plenary authority ... We do out of the fulness of our apostolic power declare the aforesaid Elizabeth (i.e. Elizabeth I of England) as being a heretic ... to have incurred the sentence of excommunication, and to be cut of from the unity of the Body of Christ.

This extract contains three claims which were strongly challenged at the time of the Reformation:

That there can be no salvation outside the Catholic church,

That the popes were successors to the apostle Peter,

That a man on earth has authority to cut off another from the Body of

Christ.

For does not Scripture confirm that salvation is vested in a Person (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), not in any church? Did not the apostle Peter exhort his fellow-elders as one among them, not as Lord over them? (1 Peter 5:1-3). Is it not the Lord Himself who preserves every member of the Body of Christ? (Eph. 5:23). Despite officially proposed modifications of some of these pretentious claims in recent years, there remains today so much deep doctrinal error within the Catholic church.

Surprisingly, many evangelical believers seem satisfied merely to protest against the trend towards rapport with Rome. They still remain associated with what they know to be scripturally unsound. Do they hope to reverse the trend? Do they seriously believe that their influence within the Anglican church will in process of time bring about a significant return to the Word of God? Association within one church communion of people whose spiritual experience and teaching are so diverse is not indicated in our New Testament. The challenge of God's Spirit calls for separation from all of wrong principle. As truth is increasingly blurred by ecumenical trends, may the Lord the Spirit enlighten many of God's children to discern and follow the way of truth (John 17:17, 20, 21; 1 Cor. 1:1, 2, 10).

unknown | May 1982
Focus