Does Michele Bachmann believe that the Papacy is the Antichrist? What if she does? Considering the claims that it makes, then, while individual Popes might be and have been chartatans or lunatics, the institution itself is either telling the truth in making those claims, or else it is indeed the Antichrist.
So, who will call good evil by pointing to the Papacy's defence and promotion of metaphysical realism, Biblical historicity, credal and Chalcedonian orthodoxy, the sanctity of human life, Biblical standards of sexual morality, social justice, and peace, and then saying, "Behold, the Antichrist"?
During the orchestrated furore after Pope Benedict XVI had spoken about AIDS and condoms I remember Jon Snow on a late night Channel Four programme asking a shocked Joanna Bogle whether she supported Pope Benedict XVI in killing Africans.
ReplyDeleteNow that the Pope's opinions have proved to be firmly grounded, and those places in Africa such as Uganda and Zimbabwe which have followed the Church's policies have seen a great reduction in AIDS, I am sure that Mr Snow will publicly apologise for his words.
And if the Papacy is the antiChrist does this not question the sanity of Jesus who actually created the Papacy? Why would God put Himself through the agony of such suffering and crucifixion for the love and salvation of souls and then establish an institution to destroy the very reason for His time on earth. Do the people who come out with these statements have a brain?
Well, they are not Jon Snow. I might be wrong, since his father was Lord Bishop of Ripon, but I doubt that he believes in the Antichrist. The people who say that the Papacy is it, and that view is found among Orthodox as well as among Protestants, are a different story.
ReplyDeleteFor the Papacy to make the claims that it does, it must either be telling the truth or else be the Antichrist. Those who claim that it is must then explain how and why it looks like the Antichrist to them, since they actually agree with it about things like sexual morality.
If they cannot, then they have to accept that it is what it says that it is, and submit to it accordingly.