Written by Montgomery J Granger @mjgranger1
A Summary Report of the recent Synod of the Catholic Church was just published, recounting the most recent musings on the Holy Catholic Church canon, rules, and vision for the future by the leaders of the Church.
The Synod Commission’s Report discusses various points related to marriage, sexuality, and the Church’s role in listening to and accompanying individuals. Here are the top five points:
- Open Communication and Freedom of Expression: The Synod highlights the importance of open and respectful communication within the Church, encouraging freedom of expression and listening to diverse viewpoints rather than rushing into debates. This approach creates a conducive environment for discussing controversial issues.
- Integration of Knowledge and Reflection: To promote authentic ecclesial discernment, the Church must integrate a wide range of information, including insights from human and social sciences, philosophical reflection, and theological elaboration. This helps avoid reliance on conventional formulas and oversimplification.
- Love and Truth Relationship: The report emphasizes the relationship between love and truth and its significance in addressing controversial issues. It recognizes that Jesus’ approach to people, rooted in love and truth, can lead to transformation and healing.
- Challenges Related to Gender, Sexuality, and Other Issues: The Church acknowledges the complexity of issues like gender identity, sexual orientation, end-of-life decisions, and marital situations. These topics require careful reflection, and the Church is called to avoid making hasty judgments that may harm individuals or the Church itself.
- Listening and Accompanying: The Church’s commitment to listening and accompanying people is a central theme. This involves listening to marginalized and excluded individuals, including young people, victims of abuse, and those facing challenging marital situations. The Church is encouraged to respect the dignity of all individuals and support those in need.
The document also calls for promoting shared discernment on controversial issues, strengthening the Church’s capacity for listening and accompaniment, and considering the needs of different cultural and social contexts. It underlines the importance of unconditional acceptance while sharing the Gospel’s message and the role of small Christian communities in fostering listening practices. Additionally, it proposes the establishment of a ministry of listening and accompaniment based on Baptism and encourages further theological and pastoral discernment on issues like polygamy.
The report contains language that seems purposely vague, frustratingly so if you’re a Christian seeking guidance and clarity or a fringe element seeking acceptance in a club that probably wasn’t for you in the first place but is slowly accommodating just about anyone and anything. Just not quite yet.
Herein lies one of the myths about Christianity in general. If God loves everyone, then God loves sinners, too. If God’s grace is free, and He loves me, then I can do whatever I want, and I’m still going to heaven. Right?
Not so fast! Many points in Scripture defy this current misconception—dozens, in fact, in which forgiveness results from true repentance, that is, admission of sin, apology, and then a change of thought, spirit, and behavior. Scripture does not tell us that there is a limit to how many times one may repent, but God does not suffer the slow or the insincere.
“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2 (KJV).
Repentance and the requirement for forgiveness of sins are important themes in the New Testament. Here are a few verses from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible that emphasize the need for repentance as a condition for forgiveness of sins:
Acts 3:19: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Luke 13:3: “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Mark 1:15: “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Acts 17:30: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”
2 Corinthians 7:10: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
These verses emphasize the importance of genuine repentance as a prerequisite for God’s forgiveness and salvation. Repentance involves a change of heart and a turning away from sin, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with God. It is a central concept in Christian theology and is closely tied to the idea of God’s grace and mercy.
Unless, of course, you’re part of the liberalization of Christianity. These folks cringe at the thought that God’s grace is earned. “No,” they say, “God’s grace is free!”
If that is true, then much of the Bible needs to be rewritten because that sentiment is not expressed but contradicted again and again.
Jesus didn’t suffer fools and unrepentant sinners.
Evidence John Chapter 2:13-17:
“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.”
Jesus didn’t go running after the money changers, shouting, “Come back, I’m sorry, I forgive you!” He made a whip, overturned their tables, and then chased them away. Does that sound like universal forgiveness to you?
Yet, when faced with the question of whether or not God’s grace is given freely with regard to marriage and sexuality, the Synod replied with vague language and uncertainty. Where the participants could have used Scripture to illustrate traditional love, marriage, and family, they instead refer to these issues in paragraph “IV,” above as “complex issues” and “topics that require careful reflection.” It was an easy layup, an open goal-scoring opportunity that the Synod whiffed.
Five “conservative” Cardinals questioned the Pope directly on these issues, finally demanding a “yes” or “no” answer to five questions of faith. The Pope has yet to answer, thus far opting to wait for this Synodal report. Well, it’s out and vague as ever.
Is this slick marketing on the part of the Pontiff? Perhaps he is seeking to appease both sides by allowing parishes to interpret the vagueness while attempting to pacify the majority of international Catholics, who view marriage as being only between a man and a woman and the practice of homosexuality as a sin.
It is a tightrope high above the ground, with no safety net for the Pontiff.
If the Pope were smart, however, he would do as Jesus did when tempted by the Devil in the wilderness or questioned by the Pharisees: quote the Bible. The answers are all in there, whether explicitly or by the notable absence of the issue in question.
In this case, nowhere in the Bible does the consecration of same-sex marriage exist. Nowhere in the Bible is there acceptance of homosexuality. God loves everyone, but God also commands obedience to the Commandments and Word in mind, body, and soul.
Bending the Word to one’s desires is blasphemy.
The Bible contains several passages that caution against misinterpreting or twisting the Word of God to suit one’s desires. Such misinterpretations are often referred to as “false teaching” or “false doctrines.” Here are a few passages that address this issue:
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NIV):
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
This verse warns that some people will seek out teachers who tell them what they want to hear, even if that teaching strays from the truth.
2 Peter 3:16 (NIV):
“He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”
This verse acknowledges that Scripture can be challenging to understand and warns against distorting it to one’s own detriment.
Proverbs 30:5-6 (NIV):
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”
This passage emphasizes the purity of God’s Word and advises against adding to it or altering it.
Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV):
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”
This passage from Galatians underscores the seriousness of preaching a distorted gospel and the consequences that may follow.
In essence, these passages warn against manipulating or distorting the Word of God to align with personal desires, as such actions can lead to spiritual confusion, deception, and, in some cases, condemnation. They emphasize the importance of faithfully adhering to the teachings and truths of the Bible.
So, beware when someone comes up to you and tells you there’s something new they found in the Bible because it hasn’t changed.
The Bible is about love, but it’s also about traditional values and family. The Bible is about acceptance, but it is also about repentance and hellfire for unrepentant sinners.
And remember, as Augustine said, “God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.”