tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post2288734692110478492..comments2024-03-29T04:31:15.219-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Some more off the cuff Pope Francis. . . Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-41929873049274583262016-07-30T22:16:17.844-05:002016-07-30T22:16:17.844-05:00"We alone (LCMS, LCC Lutherans) stand with th..."We alone (LCMS, LCC Lutherans) stand with the Roman Catholics on this issue. "<br /><br />That has to be one of the most surreal comments I've ever read. That is ignoring Baptists, who markedly outnumber Lutherans of any stripe, and the confessional Reformed denominations.David Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11966977894876326659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-12024466860569350742016-07-30T20:50:48.989-05:002016-07-30T20:50:48.989-05:00The subject of unity has many codes or expectation...The subject of unity has many codes or expectations that we all think alike and admit that the other guy is wrong and we are right. Wiggle room is a good term for us to function freely in our convictions as long as we adhere to the fundamental Christian truths such as the trinity and the divine and human nature of Christ along with His death resurrection and thus justifying all sinners.<br /><br />Three of the main issues facing Christiandom today are abortion/assisted suicide gay marriage and the ordination of woman pastors/priests. We alone (LCMS, LCC Lutherans) stand with the Roman Catholics on this issue. This alone should be reason to celebrate and to respect one another. Cliffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09123354699039451021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-59750927529717241642016-07-30T10:09:47.080-05:002016-07-30T10:09:47.080-05:00Padre, I don't think Francis is being open but...Padre, I don't think Francis is being open but being oblique. Benedict had far more substantive things to say about Luther and he spoke more directly. A few off hand comments on a plane are not a real opening but a smokescreen and the way Francis works. a Lutheran LurkerLutheran Lurkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-67219017751232378592016-07-30T09:51:03.208-05:002016-07-30T09:51:03.208-05:00It seems to be a uniquely LCMS characteristic that...It seems to be a uniquely LCMS characteristic that insists on complete agreement with every jot and tittle. The fact that Francis is thinking in these terms is a genuine excitement for me. If the Church on earth is to come together it must be with an acceptance of "wiggle room" that allows a Roman Catholic to think like a Roman Catholic and a LWF Lutheran to think like a LWF Lutheran and, yes, even a LCMS Lutheran to think in terms of parsing and dissecting and insisting on complete agreement in even the color of the ink used to produce a new document....oh wait....we don't like new documents. Of course I am being facetious, but the only way for me to survive in the LCMS is to be a little assertive and a little bit rebellious because we are not always, or even usually right. We need to learn to receive Christian brothers and sisters as Christian brothers and sisters without requiring a complete conversion! After all, Jesus, Luther and I didn't grow up Lutheran and I bring an irenicism forged on childhood abuse, and I bring a freedom to explore, and end up at the same place our Synod usually lines up.<br /><br />I'm thankful for the Popes of my lifetime, as they have been a lot more open to us than we have to them.Padre Dave Poedelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033503960196272783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-8163955174744237162016-07-29T09:03:12.761-05:002016-07-29T09:03:12.761-05:00It was not just worldliness, greed, power, corrupt...It was not just worldliness, greed, power, corruption and papal abuse which created the need for a Reformation. Luther saw the need, as others who tried earlier, to bring the Bible to the people, and in their own language. The doctrinal differences between Luther and the Pope were even more significant than the corruptions of men which infect Protestantism as well as Catholic teachings. In my view, there can be no resolution of these differences. We can be civil, and we can find some areas of agreement, but the body of teachings which embrace Catholicism cannot be accepted without compromising the spirit and intent of the Reformation. The Catholic Church, having failed to reform itself at the time of Luther, still remains the same church he left so long ago.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.com