Unpublished Nostra Aetate Documents??? (P2)

[lettertotim]

On the relation of the Church to Satan

In this age of ours, when men are are drawing more closely together and the bonds of friendship between different peoples are being strengthened, the Church examines with still greater care the relation which she has with Satan.

When God created the angels, He appointed Lucifer the “anointed Cherub” over paradise (Ezek 28:14). Since “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29), it follows that, by virtue of his original office, Satan shall forever enjoy a special place and dignity before God. Men ought always to show him respect therefore. Not even the Archangel Michael dared accuse him of wrongdoing (Jude 8-9). The Apostle James points out that Satan still possesses the virtue of faith, something that not even all men possess (James 2:19; cf. 2Thess 3:2). In fact, it was not Peter or any of the Apostles who first recognized and confessed Jesus’ identity, but Satan and his demons (Mt 4:1ff.; 8:29; Mk 1:24). Satan has therefore retained a deep religious sense. This is especially manifested in his efforts to establish religious institutions all around the world through which men are invited to explore the divine mystery of that One “who would have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1Tim 2:4)

Sounding the depths of the mystery which is the Church, this Council remembers the spiritual ties which link the people of the New Covenant to Satan. This link is most poignantly observed in Satan’s angelic nature. The Church of Christ acknowledges that in God’s plan of salvation the beginning of her faith and election is to be found in the angels who were the first of all God’s rational creatures (cf. Job 38:7). She also professes that in the resurrection all Christ’s faithful shall become “as the angels.” (Mt 22:30).

Many of the early Fathers, including Origen, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Maximus the Confessor, Didymus the Blind and Evagrius Ponticus, speculated that Satan would one day be restored to his original place in Heaven. Ought the Church to share in this hope? Perhaps not, but does it not at least strike a resonant chord deep within the human spirit?

The Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy about Satan. She has high regard for his nature, office, dignity and faith. Although she differs with him on many points of doctrine, nevertheless he often reflects a ray of that truth which enlightens all God’s creatures. Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found within the person of Satan as well as his social and religious life and culture.

Here is a link to compare:

vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html

 

[terrysa]

Before we go around singing accolades to Lucifer, I think we need to remember that this was the being who tormented and crucified Christ our Saviour through weak men (though God allowed it and even incorporated it into a greater plan for salvation that the beast did not forsee) and who is partially responsible for the corruption of souls throughout history. Should we praise this being for what God has given him? You say “Men ought always to show him respect therefore.” Should we show him respect for having once been created beautiful and powerful through no merit of his own? This is why he was cast out of heaven in the first place! He wanted to be worshipped as God, and why? Simply because he possessed the beauty and power that God had given him in the first place.

You say “not even the Archangel Michael dared accuse him of wrongdoing” (Jude 8-9) but you have misunderstood. The passage reads: “Not even the archangel Michael, when he was engaged in argument with the devil about the corpse of Moses, dared to denounce him in the language of abuse; all he said was, “May the Lord rebuke you.’ (Jude 8-9) He dared to denounce him, but not in the language of abuse, recognizing that only GOD has the ultimate authority to rebuke and punish. Thus he said instead, “May the Lord rebuke you.”
Indeed, earlier in that same book, Jude calls to mind God’s punishment:
“I should like to remind you – though you have already learnt it once and for all – that the Lord rescued the nation from Egypt, but afterwards he still destroyed the people who refused to believe him; and the angels who did not keep to the authority they had, but left their appointed sphere, he has kept in darkness in eternal bonds until the judgement of the great Day.” (Jude 5-6) This reminds us that God has stripped the fallen angels, including Lucifer, of any authority (and therefore any respect) they may have once had. If God Almighty has stripped Lucifer of his previous Glory, then I would think it would be dangerous and disobedient for us to ascribe any honour to this fallen and perverse being.

I think we should be very careful not to be deceived. There is danger amid these seeds of truth. Remember that the silver-tongued serpent pretended friendship to Eve in the garden and he is eager to do so with you and I today.

 

[lettertotim]

My post is meant to show the sin of the Nostra Aetate and it’s masterful attempt to blur the lines between Christianity and other belief systems. Sorry if you misunderstood the reasoning behind it, I should have indicated what I was doing (though I thought my post was ridiculous enough that no one would misinterpret it).