As a liberal Protestant, I'm sure my voice doesn't impact most posters, whether they are traditionalist Catholics, Orthodox or sola scriptural Protestants. But I feel 'called' to work for understanding among Christians, a sense of unity, though not organic union.
I am not interested in belonging to one church in which there are severe limitations to freedom of thought on theological matters. That is the RC position, clearly. It regards itself as the one, true church. Fine for those who can accept that, but millions of other Christians, like me, need the freedom to wander about in the vast field of theology, filled with faith in God, but not feeling obliged to accept doctrines and various practices in an atmosphere that I find oppressive.
I come from a Catholic background (on Dad's side) and my late wife was educated in a parochial school. But early on we both found that we simply could not accept a whole list of things promoted both by traditionalist Catholics and fundamentalist Protestants. They strike me as similar in that they proclaim 'the truth' and everyone had better say 'Amen' or they are heretical.
God is much beyond human understanding. I worship him in spirit and in truth, but all sorts of additional stuff about angels and archangels, venerating Mary and the saints, Christ seated on the right hand of God, our bodily resurrection (as in the Apostles Creed), seem to reflect the ancient Greco-Roman world of superstition and polytheism rather than the religion bequeathed us by Christ. And there is so much theological and liturgical legalism that I cannot accept. One had to worship this way and not that, etc. Critics will attribute this to my lack of humility, my excessive pride, or whatever, but so be it.
Now as for Luther and other Reformers, they were human beings like the rest of us, and no Protestants I know indulge in veneration of any of them. They are not judged to be saints, and I personally am not altogether admiring of them - Luther's role in the Peasant's War, for example, or Calvin's burning of Servetus in Geneva. At the same time, they succeeded in breaking the monopoly of the RC Church in the West, and this gradually evolved into freedom of thought, separation of church and state, etc.
So I thank God for the Reformation, but I am not stuck in that era. Too many Christians are stuck in past centuries, using the Church Fathers as authorities, for example, when so much they wrote is irrelevant today. I excuse them because they had no microscope and only a primitive telescope, and they lived in an age of great superstition. But I certainly am not going to depend upon them for great theological insight. I have read the Church Fathers - most of them - and they wrote considerable wisdom but also heaps of nonsense.
The Catholic Church depends far too much on ancient and outdated traditions, while fundamenalist Protestants are far too literal when they come to scripture. The notion that the world was created in six 24-hours days is absurd, and others parts of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, are contrary to what Christ taught. What about Jehovah ordering Joshua to murder every last inhabitant of Jericho and Ai, and King Saul being commanded to murder every Amalekite. More like Hitler than Jesus. Compare that to the beautiful Sermon on the Mount. Which side are we on?
We should have a 'big tent' Christianity, welcoming those who profess Christ whatever their views on all sorts of theological matters. When Christ was asked how to inherit eternal life, he said nothing about doctrine, only love God and love one another. Too often Christians have carefully embraced 'proper doctrine' while spiteful toward other Christians who see things differently. None of us or our church has a monopoly on truth. When we get to heaven I suspect we will learn that religious prejudice is no better than racial prejudice, and both are wrong.
But may God bless people of all faiths and races and nations. I appreciate the role of Catholicism in feeding the poor and its concern for refugees and others in need. I feel badly that I cannot be part of that branch of Christianity because it insists that its communicants believe too many things that I cannot in good conscience believe.
:heaven: Carlan
