When A Good Man Becomes A "God-Man"
Posted by Doug Krieger
When A Good Man
Becomes A God-Man
By Doug Krieger
And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had
two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he
exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence.
And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the
first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. And he performs great
signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the
earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on
the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform
in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the
earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the
sword and has come to life. And there was given to him to give
breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast
might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image
of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the
great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the
slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their
forehead, and he provides that no one should be able to buy or
to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the
beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has
understanding, calculate the number of the beast, for the number
is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six
(Revelation 13:11-18).
The Funeral And Legacy Of Pope John Paul II
The past several weeks have witnessed the adulation, adoration,
and funeral extravaganza orchestrated by the hierarchy, viz.,
the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, on behalf
of Pope John Paul II. Indeed, it represents the worlds
ecumenical capstone to the life and legacy of this one entitled
the Supreme Pontiff.
The funeral was attended by 5 kings, 6 queens, 28 prime
ministers, 53 presidents, countless dignitaries and religious
leaders.
The late Pope had made 'Christian Unity', healing the
sometimes-bitter ties with the non-Catholic Christian world, a
central tenet of his Papacy. The results of those efforts were
clearly displayed in the very sincere and heart-felt sorrow that
colored the faces of the array of Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran,
Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and sundry other church
leaders and delegates in attendance. (Anthony Smith, 8 April
05, Tiscali.europe)
Numerous editorialists and historians are calling the funeral
the largest in history; while the press speculates the impact of
the man and the Church he represents, to wit:
With the experience of two millennia, the Catholic Church is a
past master at ceremony. But no-one could have predicted the
extraordinary way in which the funeral of Pope John Paul II
dominated the attention of the whole world. It is not just the
millions of Catholic faithful who have poured through St Peters
Square. Or even the global billions watching on television. Over
200 of the worlds leading statesmen, including George W. Bush
and two former American presidents, dropped everything to attend
the Popes internment. What does this extraordinary event
signify?
In the last generation, the historic divisions inside
Christianity have suddenly weakened, in self-defense against the
increasing secularization of western culture. Even the
fundamentalist evangelical sects in the United States find
themselves making common cause with the Catholic Church -
Americas biggest denomination - against abortion rights. As a
result of this melting of the sectarian divisions, Rome is again
recovering its status as de facto leader of the Christian
world. (April 9, 2005, Scottsman.com - Pope's funeral a
reminder that institutions can be revived)
Pope John Paul II is most noteworthy in championing the cause of
human rights, tearing down the iron curtain of communism in
Europe, traveling to some 129 nations, and in spite of former
President Clintons mixed legacy left by Pope John Paul II,
has been, and will be considered, one of the greatest popes of
all time. No wonder that the millions gathered at St. Peters
squares and adjoining promenades and porticos chanted in unison
SANTO SUBITO Immediate Sainthood for Pope John Paul II, THE
GREAT!
In contrast to Clintons remarks, President Bush heralded the
praises of Pope John Paul II, to wit:
I think John Paul II will have a clear legacy of peace,
compassion and a strong legacy of setting a clear moral tone,"
Bush said, later asking reporters to amend his remarks to insert
"excellent" to describe the legacy. (April 10, 2005, Seattle
Times)
The world and US media committed excessive coverage of the
Popes death and funeral proceedings juxtaposed to that of the
Presidential race (ten times more coverage); likewise, this
coverage was at the expense of a great deal of significant
issues and news throughout the planet of 6 billion souls.
The veneration and nearly four hour funeral of this mortal man,
whose claim as the Vicar of Christ (i.e., holding the delegated
authority of Christ on earth), was perhaps the most
ostentatious display of grandiose religiosity ever portrayed,
and certainly, ever-conveyed to the world as a result of
Twenty-first Century technological advancements.
That They All May Be One
The Catholic world, yea, the world in general, was transfixed
upon this man, his legacy, and the Roman Churchs pomp and
circumstance for days on endlet alone the spectacled of
choosing a new Pope. Indeed, leading American evangelicals as a
result of this Popes 1995 encyclical, Ut Unum Sint (That All
May Be One) became the hallmark of his papacy for Protestants
who yearn for unity and moral clarity against the
encroachments of secularism and relativism sweeping the West,
especially the European West.
Here was one whose title as Pontiff (The Bridge) demonstrated
Romes determination to gather her wandering chicks beneath her
wings; and, even sought to unite the worlds disparate religions
under Romes ecumenical umbrella, alleging that diversity of
faith could be tolerated and understood in the context of the
Lords high priestly prayer found in John 17. Listen to John
Paul IIs convincing exhortations:
There I stated that believers in Christ, united in following in
the footsteps of the martyrs, cannot remain divided. If they
wish truly and effectively to oppose the world's tendency to
reduce to powerlessness the Mystery of Redemption, they must
profess together the same truth about the Cross. The Cross! An
anti-Christian outlook seeks to minimize the Cross, to empty it
of its meaning, and to deny that in it man has the source of his
new life. It claims that the Cross is unable to provide either
vision or hope. Man, it says, is nothing but an earthly being,
who must live as if God did not exist.
With the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Lord's disciples,
inspired by love, by the power of the truth and by a sincere
desire for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, are called to
re-examine together their painful past and the hurt which that
past regrettably continues to provoke even today. All together,
they are invited by the ever fresh power of the Gospel to
acknowledge with sincere and total objectivity the mistakes made
and the contingent factors at work at the origins of their
deplorable divisions. What is needed is a calm, clear-sighted
and truthful vision of things, a vision enlivened by divine
mercy and capable of freeing people's minds and of inspiring in
everyone a renewed willingness, precisely with a view to
proclaiming the Gospel to the men and women of every people and
nation. (Ut Unum Sint)
Toward Pope John Paul IIs conclusion and final exhortation he
implores:
When I say that for me, as Bishop of Rome, the ecumenical task
is one of the pastoral priorities of my Pontificate, I think
of the grave obstacle which the lack of unity represents for the
proclamation of the Gospel. A Christian Community which believes
in Christ and desires, with Gospel fervor, the salvation of
mankind can hardly be closed to the promptings of the Holy
Spirit, who leads all Christians towards full and visible unity.
Here an imperative of charity is in question, an imperative
which admits of no exception. Ecumenism is not only an internal
question of the Christian Communities. It is a matter of the
love which God has in Jesus Christ for all humanity; to stand in
the way of this love is an offence against him and against his
plan to gather all people in Christ. As Pope Paul VI wrote to
the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I: May the Holy Spirit
guide us along the way of reconciliation, so that the unity of
our Churches may become an ever more radiant sign of hope and
consolation for all mankind. (My Emphasis)
I present this material to demonstrate the intensity and the
irrevocable commitment that the Roman Catholic Church, through
the efforts of Pope John Paul II, has toward the ultimate
unity of all believers who claim the Christian label and
towards the outward manifestation of the Kingdom of God here
on earth.
Thus, the death of Pope John Paul II, and his drive to unite the
worlds religions (especially the Christian religion) could be
summed up in these remarks:
John Paul II ushered in the globalization of religion, said
John Esposito, founding director of the Georgetown University
Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in Washington. He
increased exponentially the dialogue with . . . people of all
faiths. (Louis Meixler, the Buffalo News, April 8, 2005,
Unprecedented Number of Faiths Drawn to Funeral)
Thus, before us this past week was the death and burial of the
worlds greatest religious proponent of ecumenismecumenism on a
scale heretofore unknown within the confines of Christendom and
the greater religious communities of the planet. His universal,
Catholic legacy abides . . . the perpetuation on behalf of
manifested Christian unity and the embrace of all who affirm
faitheven outside the bounds of Christianity!
In The Later Times . . . Some Will Apostatize
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will
fall away from the faith (i.e., Apostatize), paying attention
to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the
hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a
branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining
from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by
those who believe and know the truth (I Timothy 4:1-3).
We initiated this conversation by quoting passages from the
Revelation,....
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