The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia

Rome or nothing?

Joseph Ratzinger has caused quite a stir recently by simply reaffirming what Rome has always held: Rome alone is home to the true church, and anyone or any church who fails to recognize the primacy of the papacy and the authority of Rome is in grave error.

There are no lack of comments on his statements on blogs and the web. Some are over the top like the editorial titled “Pope starts holy war” by Jan Markell (but in fairness pretty much all of her editorials are over the top). Some are high comedy, like Fide-O (which is funny mainly for the picture). Many are quite substantive and address the issues he raised and refuting them, James White is notable here both in print and on the Dividing Line radio show. Albert Mohler has a typically thoughtful commentary titled: "No, I'm not offended" The only people who are offended are those who haven't really been paying attention all along anyway. But everyone pretty much agrees that his statements really don't change a thing, but rather restate what has always been the case.

Joseph Ratzinger may have done with his reaffirmation what the pleadings and reasoning of Protestant theologians over the course of the last few decades has been unable to do: draw once again the clear contrast between the teachings of Rome and the teachings of the Bible.

So much is made of recent converts to Rome, but the Protestant church holds far more blame than Rome deserves credit. Because so many professing Christians see churches that have abandoned biblical fidelity for the latest fad, the casual observer looks over the landscape of evangelical Christianity and figures that since we seemingly can't agree on anything we must not know what we are talking about. Thus the beckoning of Rome or Salt Lake City claiming to hold authority, be the "one true church" and have all the answers and negate the need for independent study of the Word is so succesful among those who . We have failed for so long to call out those who claim the name of Christ and deny His Word in the spirit of "tolerance" that for so much of America and the world it is really hard to figure out what the church does or does not believe.

The issues that led to the Reformation remain as valid today as they were 500 years ago. All the ecumenism in the world doesn’t change that, and doesn’t change the fact that “Christian unity” has nothing to do with coming together, and everything to do with bending the knee to Rome. I gladly kneel at the cross of Christ, but I will never bow to a manmade institution, never kiss the ring of a pope. Christ alone is worthy of the praise and adoration that the “bishop of Rome” demands for himself.