Christian History

[Rick Otto]

Thanks for the mini-seminar.
Now how 'bout some worship of me for my witty "Jesusland" suggestion.

 

[archierieus]

Why is it that Protestants care so much about what Rome thinks of itself? So what if Rome believes only those with allegiance to the pope go to heaven.

During the centuries prior to 1798, Rome exercised tremendous power, directly causing the deaths of millions of people. Courtesy of l'empereur Napoleon, Rome lost that power--however, has not given up on the hope of getting it back, that is, a resurrection of the 'two swords' doctrine. Since at least the time of Leo XIII, the papacy has been calling upon members of the Church who are in government to exercise their power in such a way as to support the Church's teachings. More than one pope, as well, has called upon "the civil authorities" (as John Paul II put it in 'Dies Domine') to enact and enforce legislation in support of the Church's teachings. How would the 'two swords' concept work in today's world? The same way it worked in the medieval world. For example, the same pope said, just before coming to America in 1984, "Precisely because we are defenseless, we have a special right to influence those who wield the sword of authority. For it is well known that in the field of political action, as elsewhere, not everything is accomplished by the sword. There are deeper reasons and stronger laws to which men, nations and governments are subject. We come before those in authority as spokesmen for the moral order." Following this through, then, in answer to Josef Vissarionovich's question, "How many divisions does the pope have?" the response could be, "How many divisions are in the U.S. army and Marine Corps?"

The situation is not so dissimilar from the concern with preventing a revival of German militarism after the last war. There is a difference here, which is that today's world appears more and more receptive to the idea of a revival of the power of the papacy--and the papacy has been seeking that power. To promote the era of good feelings, some interesting revisionist history is in circulation, along with apologies for wrongs in the past but no fundamental change in claims to authority, or to direct secular powers as 'spokesmen for thhe moral order.'

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

Dave