Gospel e-Letter

The authority of the Roman Catholic Church depends on the apostolic succession of the Pope. The Pope should be obeyed as the universal and infallible ruler, the Catholic teaching insists, because his authority has been transmitted over the centuries from the apostle Peter in an unbroken lineage of Popes. Let us then briefly examine this claim from a historical and biblical perspective. It is not particularly edifying to go through all the filth and corruption of papal history. A few examples should suffice. Pope Honorius was condemned as a heretic by the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Pope Christopher became pope by forcibly dethroning his predecessor, Leo V, and putting him into prison. He was then driven from the chair by his successor, Sergius III. Pope John XII was a coarse, immoral man, whose life was such that the Lateran was spoken of as a house of prostitution, and the moral corruption in Rome became the subject of general odium. Pope Benedict IX sold the papacy to Pope Gregory VI...

The crowd gathered at St Peter’s Square cheered at the announcement of a new Pope, ‘Habemus papam!’ Catholics around the world welcomed Pope Francis with joy. His friendly and humble personality endeared him with Catholic and non-Catholic people alike. While we do not have any qualms about the person of the Pope, the issues that beset the office of the papacy continue unabated to this day. Is the Bishop of Rome the supreme head and focus of unity of all the churches? Is he the infallible teacher of divine truth? Catholic dogma asserts that the Pope is the pastor of the universal church on earth, and that he has full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole church. Indeed the church of Jesus Christ is identified as the church governed by ‘the successor of Peter’ and the bishops in communion with him. Christians who do not acknowledge the Pope’s authority over them are considered to be separated from the unity of the church. Moreover, it is also claimed that the Pope is infal...

Most of us, both Catholics and evangelicals, have read Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 16: ‘You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.’ As a Catholic, you may wonder why many evangelical Christians still won’t believe that the church is built upon the apostle Peter. They are being obstinate, you may think, for Jesus’ words are plain and easy to understand. But is this verse really that simple? The controversy centres on the exact meaning of ‘this rock’? Is it a reference to Peter, as Catholics insist, or to Peter’s confession (‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’), as many evangelicals say? Those of us who were raised in the Catholic Church had been trained since childhood to understand the rock as a reference to the apostle Peter because his name means ‘a rock’. This interpretation is absolutely necessary, though by no means sufficient, for the Catholic argument for the Papacy. If it cannot be established conclusively that ‘this rock’ must be the apostle P...

In a video  message broadcasted before his recent visit to Egypt, Pope Francis said that he hoped that his visit will be “a message of fraternity and reconciliation to all children of Abraham, particularly in the Islamic world.” Abraham had two children, Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac is the father of the Israelites. Islamic traditions consider Ishmael to be the ancestor of Arab people. But is there any spiritual advantage of being a descendant of Abraham?  John the Baptist rebuked his hearers, “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Mt 3:9). Being a descendant of Abraham will not get you an inch closer to heaven. Who then are the real children of Abraham? The Apostle Paul states that it is “those of faith who are the sons of Abraham … those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7-9). He explains further that no-one is ju...

Pope Francis made this astonishing statement; he said: 'Many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways. In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God.' Is it true that people of different religions are ‘seeking or meeting God in different ways’? The Lord Jesus speaks only of himself as ‘the Way’ and affirmed that ‘no one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6). Similarly the Apostle Paul said that ‘there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’ (1 Tim 2:5); while the Apostle Peter said that ‘there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). Is it true that ‘we are all children of God’? Are Jews, Buddhists and Muslims children of God? The Jews who did not believe in Jesus claimed that they had ‘one Father, even God.’ Yet Jesus corrected them, ‘You are of...

(Gospel e-Letter - February 2014) The world longs for peace. Every new year brings with it a renewed hope that finally the people of the world will somehow learn to live together in peace and harmony. However as long as humanity continues to reject the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, jealousy, hatred and wars will continue unabated along with the trouble, sorrow and misery in their wake. Pope Francis spoke about world peace in his message for the New Year. He said that peace should be built on the recognition that all people are all brother and sisters. The media reported: Francis called on people to “work so that the world becomes a community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other in one’s diversity, and take care of one another … We are all children of one heavenly father,” he said. “We belong to the same human family and we share a common destiny.” ( Ref ) Is it true that all people are children of God the Father? The idea of the universal Fatherhood of God ...

(Gospel e-Letter - December 2008) Pope Benedict said that Martin Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith alone is correct if ‘faith is not opposed to charity.’ The Pope said this during a general audience in a speech on St Paul’s teaching on justification. (November 2008 link ) I am glad that the Pope corrected the false idea popularized by some irresponsible apologists that ‘sola fide’ (faith alone) implies freedom from doing good and license to sin (‘antinomianism’). The Reformers vehemently resisted and opposed the antinomian heresy. The Protestant concept of justification by faith alone never excluded good works in the life of the believer. On the character of genuine faith, Luther wrote: ‘Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn't stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever.’ Moreover the Pope al...

Protestants, as well as Catholics, confess their belief in one church. But the two groups understand church unity differently. According to a recent document published by the Vatican, the church of Jesus Christ is identified with the church “governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him”. Christian unity is conceived as a world-wide organized society under the leadership of Catholic bishops and headed by the bishop of Rome.  According to this theory, the Orthodox and Protestant churches “suffer from defects”; the latter are merely “ecclesial Communities” and not “churches in the proper sense” -- primarily because they do not submit to the headship of the Pope, the bishop of Rome. However, there is no convincing biblical evidence that Peter was appointed supreme pastor and ruler of the whole church. We know from the New Testament that Peter was considered a pillar in the early church, but he shared this reputation with two other apostles. “James, Peter, an...