(October 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm)Kayenneh Wrote: Yup..
But hey, at least I tried. I've seen situations similar to this so many times, that I concluded that people actually don't know this stuff. For once I tried to be kind and help out, but it's gonna bite me in the butt, isn't it..?
I don't think this one will bite you in the butt, it's a pretty good summary. All Christians come out of the Catholic church (with the possible exception of the Ethiopian church, but there is some evidence that the Ethiopian church fell under the authority of the church at Alexandria, which was one of the five centers of the (Catholic) Christian church). Everyone traces their lineage to the same place, but too often they want to act like being a Christian is a new trick their guy invented in the 16th century. Christians are increasingly getting along better, but still have a LONG way to go. It would certainly seem like a lot of Christians aren't aware of this information at some level, good post, Kayenneh.
As for the pope, I would certainly agree the office of the pope is based off of some shoddy reading of the text, but there have been some really good people in the office of the pope. (There were also corrupt, depraved egomaniacs, but let's not forget the good ones). Pope Gregory the first was an all-around good guy. When the Lombards threatened Rome from both sides and thousands were starving and panicking Gregory stepped in and made peace with the Lombards, fed the poor, and rallied everyone to rebuild. It was the Roman equivalent of one person achieving world peace and solving global hunger. By all accounts he was known for being a man of unrivaled virtue. Especially after that episode, everybody wanted more pope. The people could not get enough pope. If you took away their pope, they would get mad cravings for another pope. Of course the scenery is different now, but there were some popes that were very good for their time. Even in recent years, Pope John Paul II was beloved by people all around the world and did more to bring peace between Catholicism and other worldviews than any other person in modern history. (He was also the person responsible for opening the Catholic church up to the idea of evolution). His funeral was the largest Christian pilgrimage in world history, as well as an event that brought together leaders of many different countries and faith traditions.
