Step Six

Recently I was given a pamphlet with this interesting sentence in it. "Catholic history can be traced back to the early centuries AD, but the trail is one of scriptural error, intolerance, cruelty and greed." There were a number of other interesting things in it, many of them incorrect, but it doesn't matter, the truth of it is that the Christian church is marked by error, intolerance, cruelty and greed. Catholics with their insistence on unity and continuity are of course the easiest target having the longest history. Being Catholic means having to deal with such horrors as the Inquisition, Crusades and the Pedophile Priest scandal, but this is hardly a problem limited to the Catholic church. I grew up backstage enough to know that all those horrors happen in one form or another in every church. If you think your church is different, give it time. For example, let's take a look at the Protestant church with the longest established history--German Lutheranism. Enough said.
It's human nature to try and find a way to wiggle out of human frailty. We'd all like to think that we, and our associates are different. We'd do it differently. They are not us, but that's a lie. The endless schisms that mark the Protestant effort are due in large part to this fantasy. Churches grow ever smaller in the vain belief that if we just get rid of "them" everything will be error-free, tolerant, kind and charitable, or at least the kinds of errors, intolerance, cruelty, and greed practiced by our little group will be more comfortable than the current situation. Catholicism says that's crazy. Catholics tend to stick it out, do what they can to fix problems, and keep moving forward--together. The basic idea that Christ came to save sinners is pretty simple, and as long as we are willing to admit we are sinners it works. The hard part comes in admitting that even in our best efforts to imitate Christ we are still sinners. We deflect that harsh reality by looking into the intricacies of doctrine and vainly hoping if we can somehow do better there we will do better in our souls. It would be far wiser to simply look deeper in our souls and correctly diagnose the problem there, than to continually point fingers at others and tear apart the fabric of the church. God is infinite. We are finite. We are guaranteed to fall short, in every area. Christ's coming says that doesn't matter. God loves us anyway. If only we would choose to love each other. To me, Catholics, by sticking it out and insisting on unity do a better job of that.
This series begins Here. This series continues Here.