Habemus Papam, By Scott Auslund
A few days ago when white smoke billowed from the top of the Sistine chapel, over one billon people in every part of the globe cheered. An event that had been carried on from 337 AD, namely the announcement of a new pope, was again celebrated. For the one billion plus Catholics in the world, this is a huge event. “Habemus papam” (we have a pope) has rung down through the centuries, from the Roman city, to Renaissance Florence, to the whole world over. However, the question remains for us protestant and especially evangelical Christians, what significance does “habemus papam” hold for us? What is our response to one that claims “The throne of peter” and the position “Vicar of Christ”, one with the keys to “earth and heaven”? In my limited experience, I have seen several different responses that I would like to discuss.
First is that of apathy. If we (as evangelicals) are not part of the Catholic Church, why should we really care? I mean, the Pope is a political figure, and we often recognize him for that, but otherwise, we really don’t care. He is in Rome, and he has no say in how we live our lives. He is a remote celebrity, and a newsworthy event, nothing more.
The other is hostility. Those that know their bibles know that when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple separating the holy of holies from the people was torn top to bottom. This monumental event signified the end of the priestly order. No longer did a person need the high priest to intercede for him. As Michael Card put it “It gave the opportunity for anyone to have a “Most Holy Place.” The Papacy flies in the face of this world-changing truth. The pope has set himself up as a high priest to mediate between God and man. This is clearly wrong, and goes against both Christ’s Mission and his reason for incarnation. However, there is another side to this coin.
While all the doctrinal problems that the Catholic Church as an institution (and believe me, they have big doctrinal problems!) does not by necessity mean that people in the Catholic Church can’t be saved. I know it does not fit the “saving formula” if you will, (Saved by faith alone, not of works, than none should boast) but it is possible for real believers to exist within the ranks of Catholics. I would like to share two examples.
The first is Martin Luther. Think about this: was Martin Luther saved after he left the Catholic church or was he saved while a monk? The answer is obvious. He nailed his Ninety-Five Thesis to the German Catholic monastery where he worked years after he was saved. He started as a monk, and as he was allowed to read the bible he began to see glaring problems with the doctrinal practices of the Roman church. This prompted him to read further, and then down the road realize that saving faith is by Sola Fide; “Faith Alone.” However, his saving experience with Jesus of Nazareth came WHILE he was a monk in a monastery, acting as a part of the Catholic Church. So we see that Martin Luther, arguable history’s most avid critic of the Catholics, was actually saved while a monk! Luther saw the idolization of the Madonna for what it was: idolatry, pure and simple. When he realized what doctrinally was going on in the Catholic Church, he did the logical thing: leave. But nevertheless, Jesus met Luther while Luther was in his monk’s frock.
My other example (and I am sure there are many more like this) is that of my dear mother. She was raised a stanch Roman Catholic. She jokes that she is like Paul “ A Hebrew of the Hebrews, according to the salvation that is in the law, blameless.” She went to mass every Sunday with her parents, and attended all parochial school.
She was a “good” Catholic. However, she found herself constantly seeking out the confession booth for absolution. She had never done anything really “bad”, but she felt like she needed forgiveness. This hunger for God as she calls it, drove her to ask more questions of the priests. They did the best they could, within the confines of what the Catholic Church doctrinally believes. Many years later, when my mother married my father, she was given a bible, but more importantly she began to study it. She kept asking questions. Finally, she came to see Jesus through the pages of scripture, but continued to attend the Catholic Church. When she was introduced to BSF, (Bible Study Fellowship) she really began to see the problems with how the Catholic Church both taught and applied scripture. This led her to seek elsewhere. But again, she came to know Jesus as a red-headed little Catholic girl, not in an evangelical church. She continued to be part of the Catholic Church until the Spirit of God led her elsewhere according to His plan and timing. She says that there are many like her. They are either afraid, or have not grown in wisdom and maturity yet to see the problems with the Catholic Church, so they stay.
Paul was approached by some disciples asking him what he thought about people that were preaching the gospel in a different way than he. These people were even preaching it for money (think Pardons)! Paul responded like this in Philippians 1:15-18; “Whether it is through strife, or for selfish gain, the Gospel is preached, and so we rejoice.” Paul looks through the messenger to the Message. He looks past man’s limited understanding and shows how big God is. Thousands of years earlier a ruler of Egypt said in Genesis “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” A sinful, selfish act was turned around to bless the entire known world at that time. I view the Pope in that light. He does not espouse everything we as evangelicals would like, but he is taking a courageous stand against the rising tide of nihilisum, humanism, eastern mysticism and relativism of our age. He has come out to a world expecting women priests and an acceptance of homosexuality, and boldly stood upon the Word of God and its principles. The Sacramento Bee quoted Benedict The XVI as saying (in response to criticisms regarding his conservatism): “Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself getting tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching, looks like the only attitude acceptable for today’s standards.” He has shocked the world by saying that homosexuality is wrong, that abortion is murder, that women should not be priests, and that people “need to recognize the inherent differences between the genders.” Precious few people will dare to say such things these days. We, as evangelicals, need to recognize that fact and take the Catholic Church for what it is: an ally in our struggle against The Darkness. The cosmic battle lines are drawn in black and white, not shades of grey, and “He that is not against us is for us.” If someone has the guts to come out and stand on what the bible says is true, we Christians, of all people, should be the first to applaud.
So… habemus papam.
