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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

How misunderstandings start

One of the biggest problems between the Catholic Church and Candy and friends is the big divide in vocabulary. Catholics have their "shorthand" of language where WE know what we mean, and Candy and friends have theirs. Problems come up when we try to interpret that lingo from our own paradigm without fully understanding the definition of these words. Witness this little exchange between a commenter named Jeanne and Candy:

Candy..have you been watching the Pope on TV? Isn't it exciting to have him here in the US. It's amazing ! He is truly Christ on Earth.

I cannot wait to see him say Mass; it will be awesome...such a holy man.
JEANNE | 04.16.08 - 7:19 am | #

Gravatar Oh Jeanne, I'm so sorry for you. :-( The pope isn't the Christ, he's just a sinful, falible man, just as all we fallen humans are.

I ugently ask you to get to know the REAL Christ of the Bible, who is meek and humble, and who died on the cross to pay the price for your sins, so that you can spend eternity with the Holy Father (in heaven, not some guy on earth).

The pope is not "the holy father," nor is he the vicar (meaning in the place of) christ.

In fact, he may very well be anti (in disagreement with) the Christ of the Bible, which would make him an anti-Christ.

Furthermore, the name of his airplain is also blasphemos. The pope is not the shepherd - that is a Title the Bible gives to God and Jesus - NOT some man.


OK, I personally cringed when I read Jeanne's phrase "Christ on earth." I KNEW Candy was never in a million years gonna understand that and would jump all over it with both feet! In fact, I was surprised to see that it got through at all, except, of course Candy wanted to jump all over it in publ-ick.

Of course what Jeanne was referring to was that Pope Benedict is Christ's representative here on earth.

882 The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful." "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."


And indeed, he is a loyal, and devout representative.

Of course catechized Catholics understand that the pope is a fallible man! Only his office holds infallibility and even then it has to meet the requirements of infallibility! But if the Pope tries to tell you who will win the World Cup next year, remember that is his personal opinion, not an infallible pronouncement!!

Then Candy segues into the strawman fallacy that Jeanne somehow doesn't read the bible or know Jesus Christ, let alone anything about salvation. Then she touches briefly on her many problems with the papacy (which we all knew were coming folks - which is why Kelly and I already did a pre-emptive strike and put up our articles supporting the office - check those out for further information!)

Don't let her get you down. Enjoy Pope Benedict's visit. Listen to his actual words and then decide for yourself whether he is a Holy Man or not.


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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish people would listen to his words, his message and get over the playground antics of children. Nanner, nannner, booo, booo holds no weight with people beyond the age of 7. Seriously? Now onto the name of the airplane?

The Pope is a man with several messages, and although I personally do not agree with every one of them, I give him my respect.

As another human being, he is deserving of that respect. As a man in a high position trying to bridge gaps and assist understanding, he is entitled to it.

Sal said...

What's the Latin for 'shepherd'?
Why, I think it's 'pastor'.
Who has a pastor at their church? Lots of people, maybe even Candy.

Excellent points, Elena.

Kelly said...

Well, at least she has a better definition of "vicar" now.

The children and I are watching the Pope's greeting at the White House right now. They're pretty young, but I thought they would enjoy the band and the 21 gun salute.

ann nonymous said...

VIVA IL PAPA!

I'm watching the Pope on EWTN. His speech was wonderful. He seems so happy to be here, don't you think? Our t.v. will be tuned to EWTN this week so we can take it all in. It is very exciting.

I love that our President and First Lady went to the airport to greet him. I thought Pres. Bush's speech this morning was excellent too.

Believe it or don't, Pope Benedict is the shepherd of all of us Christians. May God bless him and keep him healthy and safe.

NancyP said...

If the Pope's airplane name is blasphemous, where does that leave all the people who care for sheep on a daily basis? (And, does anyone really think that the Pope himself has time to name an airplane?)

I just don't get it.

NancyP said...

One more thought...why did Candy allow THAT comment to filter through? It was obviously written by a Catholic person. I thought she was only going to comment on what she knew to be true?

EmilyC said...

Well, I left a comment after that asking if it was blasphemous to refer to a pastor as a shepherd, since I know I've heard that before, but I doubt she'll post it.

I believe she let that comment through because it gave her an opportunity to "evangelize" to us about why the Pope is evil.

Kelly said...

Nancy, Candy often does let the occasional Catholic comment through in order to "correct" the person. I believe she responded to Kitkat two or three times, two or three weeks ago.

I'm wondering if anyone has pointed out to Candy that Anglican priests are called "vicar" too.

Between vicar, pastor ("shepherd"), and father, I think everyone but those who have a minister are in error, according to her criteria.

kritterc said...

Do you really think that one of Candy's faithful actually made that comment? Looks like a plant to me - kind of like a political photo op, but that is just my opinion.

Sal said...

kritterc,
I vote for not going down the suspected plant, conspiracy theory path.

Judging from the past, I'm with EmilyC. It was a 'teachable moment' for her to use.

And really, who cares? Let's just enjoy his visit!