The Pope and the Pursuit of Truth

There are so many voices speaking in this world, and as believers in Christ, we are called to be discerning - to be able to evaluate different statements and philosophies against the teachings of God's Word.  1st John 4 tells us to test the spirits and to be aware of "spirits" that do not line up with
Scripture.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.
6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

News stories, blog posts, YouTube videos, politicians, even religious leaders - the question we can ask is "do they line up with Scripture?"  And, to be able to make that determination, we have to know God's Word so that we are not deceived.  There are a host of Bible teachers who can help us in our spiritual walk, and some who will not - but who do we believe?  If our spirits, our hearts, are trained in the knowledge of God to hear the voice of the Spirit bearing witness to the Word of God, we will be able to filter what we hear.  We follow our spiritual leaders based on the degree of their adherence to God's truth.

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The Bible gives us great instruction regarding how to evaluate teaching to which we are exposed. As we grow, we can discern how what people say lines up with the Scriptures. Colossians 2 says:
6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

This week, thousands, perhaps millions will be celebrating the first visit of Pope Francis to America. Yesterday, he visited the White House, where he spoke to a large gathering and met one-on-one with President Obama.  He also spoke with Bishops and presided over a Mass.  Today, it was on to address Congress.  Tomorrow, it's a gathering in Philadelphia that is centered around families.

What do people make of this religious leader, whose statements and actions make headlines; a man of distinct influence, even in the political realm?

A Barna group poll looked into the Pope's favorability.  The summary says:

Pope Francis enjoys widespread popularity in this country that has only increased over the past year from 54% of all adults reporting favorable views of the Pope in 2014 to 60% in 2015. Growth is most notable among younger generations with the Pope’s favorability among Millennials and Gen-Xers increasing by 14 (41% to 55%) and 20 (51% to 71%) percentage points in one year, respectively. Among the older generations, favorability drops slightly from 64% to 54% for Boomers, and 66% to 58% for Elders, however both remain high relatively speaking.

Favorability is up among Protestants, but there are harsher critics within his own tradition; favorability dipped slightly among Catholics since 2014. Protestants overall report a 10-point increase (from 48% to 58%), but Catholics’ favorable impressions dropped 6 percentage points. Still, Catholics overall report highly favorable views—at 79 percent, the highest among all segments.

The Barna summary also says this:

Since his election in 2013, media and commentators have noted a significant shift in papal rhetoric to a more open and hopeful tone. But though many have wondered if he is a liberal reformer, Pope Francis has neither officially changed nor challenged any traditional, orthodox Catholic beliefs. Barna asked Americans if they believed Pope Francis’ views on a variety of today’s big issues are too liberal, too conservative or just right. For the most part, Americans—regardless of age and religion—say that Pope Francis is taking the right stance.

For example: 40% believe the Pope is taking the right stance on marriage and divorce, with 18% saying he is too liberal and 11% saying he's too conservative.  But, a significant number say they don't know.  On same-sex marriage, 34% say he has the right stance.  On other issues, here is the percentage believing he has the right stance: 33% on abortion, 41% on the environment, and 47% on poverty.

Pope Francis is a man of huge influence in our world.  And, for some he is an enigma.  Dr. Michael Guillen, in a piece for Fox News, writes:

...Francis himself leans left in his severe upbraiding of wanton capitalism and his belief in manmade climate change. And he leans right in his unshakeable opposition to abortion and his defense of the Biblical definition of marriage, which is the consecrated union of a man and a woman. Yet he holds the two opposing views so sincerely and thoughtfully, and is so likeable in the process, that he makes it hard for the rest of us to go on demonizing our political opponents.

 Guillen writes that the Pope "...reminds everyone that we Americans aren’t the center of the universe – gasp! – but that we are a nation mightily blessed by a God who values a humble spirit and a hospitable heart. Heavenly qualities that I expect and pray will be greatly in evidence during the next six exciting days."

The Pope has reached out to a variety of streams of evangelical leaders.  As a Christianity Today piece reports:

...after visiting the Vatican, Rick Warren was impressed with the humble quality of Francis’ ministry, and subsequently described him as “our new pope.” Luis Palau, whose friendship with Francis reaches back to earlier years in Argentina, also points to the pope’s “personal lifestyle” as a reason why evangelicals hold him in such high regard.

The piece also relates that in March of last year, "the Green family, who own the Oklahoma-based company Hobby Lobby, enjoyed a warm visit with Francis after collaborating on a Bible exhibit." Charismatic leaders have also enjoyed papal audiences.

In highlighting the relationship between the Pope, Catholics, and evangelicals, Dr. Timothy George of Birmingham's Beeson Divinity School wrote:

Francis succeeds two men of genius in his papal role. John Paul II was the liberator who stared down communism by the force of his courage and prayers. Benedict XVI was the eminent teacher of the Catholic Church in recent history. Francis appears now as the pastor, a shepherd who knows and loves his sheep and wants to lead them in love and humility. The new Franciscan moment is the season of the shepherd. Catholics and evangelicals are the two largest faith communities in the body of Christ. Without forgetting the deep differences that divide us, now as never before we are called to stand and work together for the cause of Christ in a broken world.

One of those areas of difference was highlighted by Franklin Graham in a recent Facebook post:

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Pope Francis on his first visit to our great nation. Recently this Pope announced that priests could forgive abortions for one year—the Year of Jubilee. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). As a sinner, I’m glad we can go directly to God for forgiveness 24/7, on any day, in any year. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the price for sin with His shed blood on the Cross of Calvary.

CBN reports on an instance of inclusion that may be an expression of the Pope's overarching desire for peace:

Muslim prayers and Koran readings were held at the Vatican for the first time in history on Sunday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres joined Pope Francis in the Vatican gardens for a prayer meeting.

It says that "Jewish, Christian, and Muslim prayers were all offered in an 'Invocation for Peace.' The Pope reportedly said he hopes his prayer summit with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders will help bring peace in the Middle East.

So, when I think of the Pope, there are several words I want to relate:

First of all, opportunity.  When you have someone who is a religious leader, a spiritual leader, who is placed in a position of influence, where his words are not lightly regarded, you have to pay attention.  And, I would hope that the Pope's words would be consistent with the teachings of Jesus and the truth of the Bible.  The discussion of this visit may give us an opportunity to consider and communicate with others about the papal visit and some of the issues he raises.

Another is conviction.  Like it or not, the Pope says things that turn heads and you may not agree with what he says, but I think you have to respect the conviction with which he says them.   He has made some bold statements, some of them troubling to me, but I think he takes his position very seriously.  

But, conviction yields criticism.  The Pope has been taken to task, even by some Catholics, for some of his statements, such as the famous, "who am I to judge?" incident on homosexuality.  Yet, he is a seemingly strong proponent of traditional marriage and the family.  And, in a TIME website piece, he is quoted as saying: "Some people might say some things sounded slightly more left-ish, but that would be a mistake of interpretation,” adding, “If you want me to pray the creed, I’m willing to do it.” He said: “It is I who follows the church … my doctrine on all this … on economic imperialism, is that of the social doctrine of the church.” He added: "I’m sure that I have not said anything more than what is in the social doctrine of the church."

Finally, the Bible tells us to test the spirits.  We are not called to blindly follow the teachings of anyone.  We are called to develop a working knowledge of God's Word and measure the words and actions of others against the words of the Scriptures.   Discernment is key as we guard against being unduly influenced by even those professing to know Christ.   We may come to different conclusions, but the challenge is to seek truth and allow God's Spirit to lead us, to be convicted in what we believe, and do what we can to make sure that our personal beliefs line up with God's truth.