I am a Christian. I condemn and reject what has become of mainstream Christianity. I believe that our major Protestant denominations have lost their way. They have become corrupted by worldly ambition, the maintenance of power, accumulation of wealth and an authoritarianism that has little in common with the humble, Jesus centered, simple roots of the first century A.D. (C.E). Much evil has been done in the name of our Lord and Savior.
I am not a Roman Catholic. The pomp, ostentatious wealth, churches and cathedrals, the rigid hierarchy and authoritarianism of the Church of Rome bear little resemblance to the simplicity of the apostles, the writings of the New Testament and the first century church. The political ambitions and power that the Roman Catholic Church over the centuries have no connection to the teachings of Jesus and his disciples. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” But the kingdom of the Roman church is very much of this world. Much evil has been done in the name of our Lord and Savior by the Roman Catholic Church.
I acknowledge two other great Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Islam. They too bear examination but I will to limit these remarks to the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions here.
Yet incalculable good has also come from God fearing men and women over the centuries and the principles of the simple gospel have permeated the bodies of law and government in much of the world. We have the Roman Catholic Church as well as Protestants to thank for that. Institutions for social justice and welfare exhibited by their work in the fields education, medical care, helping the poor and disenfranchised, protecting people from civil injustice are beyond calculation. They have over the centuries and continue to provide a sense of community and mutual responsibility and support worldwide. They have worked to instigate in their believers a moral compass, a sense of compassion, a sense of meaning and well being, belonging and purpose to their adherents. Much of the great music, art and literature have stemmed from Christian faith and been preserved by its institutions.
Because of the fallibility of human nature, our tendencies toward what has been categorized as the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life — all institutions and organizations are flawed. Therefore, what begins as pure and noble will always include a corrupt element. Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church, “All men (human kind) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Even the best of us have flaws. So we must acknowledge the flaws and seek to correct their results while we also celebrate the good that they do.
We begin another year with optimism and determination to make it better than the previous year. The problems worldwide are immense, complicated and seemingly intractable. Turning now to our United States of America, never in my lifetime of over seven decades has our country been more divided. It is wrong and simple minded to point to any single factor to blame. I’m not going to run through my particular list. Each reader will have their own list. Rather, I would like to consider what we can do to make some progress toward healing, understanding and unity.
A year ago, Pope Francis delivered an address for the celebration of the 53rd World Day of Peace. It is brilliant. In his New Year’s message for 2021, he picked up again on some of the same themes and declares that 2021 will be “the year of the family”. I will include a link to that January 2020 address and quote a few things from his 2021 message. I encourage you to read and ponder what Pope Francis said. His last year’s address focused on hope and peace. It’s difficult to distill his amazing speech. I include some excerpts below in the hope that a thoughtful reading will encourage you to read his entire address. (see link below)
- “Peace, a journey of hope in the face of obstacles and trial”
- “Hope is thus the virtue that inspires us and keeps us moving forward, even when obstacles seem insurmountable.”
- “Entire nations find it difficult to break free of the chains of exploitation and corruption that fuel hatred and violence. Even today, dignity, physical integrity, freedom, including religious freedom, communal solidarity and hope in the future are denied to great numbers of men and women, young and old. Many are the innocent victims of painful humiliation and exclusion, sorrow and injustice, to say nothing of the trauma born of systematic attacks on their people and their loved ones.”
- “War, as we know, often begins with the inability to accept the diversity of others, which then fosters attitudes of aggrandizement and domination born of selfishness and pride, hatred and the desire to caricature, exclude and even destroy the other.”
- “The world does not need empty words but convinced witnesses, peacemakers who are open to a dialogue that rejects exclusion or manipulation. In fact, we cannot truly achieve peace without a convinced dialogue between men and women who seek the truth beyond ideologies and differing opinions.”
- “The peace process thus requires enduring commitment. It is a patient effort to seek truth and justice, to honour the memory of victims and to open the way, step by step, to a shared hope stronger than the desire for vengeance. In a state based on law, democracy can be an important paradigm of this process, provided it is grounded in justice and a commitment to protect the rights of every person, especially the weak and marginalized, in a constant search for truth.”
- “Only by choosing the path of respect can we break the spiral of vengeance and set out on the journey of hope.”
- “What is true of peace in a social context is also true in the areas of politics and the economy, since peace permeates every dimension of life in common. There can be no true peace unless we show ourselves capable of developing a more just economic system.”
In today’s address he declared this to be the Year of the Family.
He also observed that the coronavirus pandemic has taught the world “how much it is necessary to take an interest in others’ problems and to share their concerns,” which in turn leads to peace.
Peace is “sustained with patient and respectful dialogue” and “constructed with an open collaboration with truth and justice,” He wished that 2021 would be a year of peace and a year of hope.
I pray that we all remember these admonitions and do our part to advance the cause of peace.
Jim Smith
January 1, 2021
Just thinking... 