Time For Faithful Christians To Stand Together Against Error

By Deacon Keith Fournier
10/28/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

We need to pray for the faithful Christians within every community

From its birth, the Christian Church has been sent into cultures and societies filled with people who thought they were "progressive", when they were anything but. What is at stake are two competing visions of the human person, human freedom, human flourishing and human progress

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CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - In 2009 I wrote an article expressing concern over the decision of the "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America" to ordain non-celibate practicing homosexuals to their clergy. I claimed the denomination had succumbed to heresy.

I wrote the article because it involved significant news. I also did so because I am a Catholic. As a Catholic, I believe I should be concerned about other Christians who are struggling within the communities which evolved from the Protestant Reformation.

The article generated some disapproving comments. They ranged from the reader who wondered why such an article was "even published on a Catholic Web Site", to others which used the term "schismatic" in reference to all Protestant Christians.

Some objected to my use of the term, "orthodox' to distinguish those Lutherans who adhered to what C.S. Lewis would have called "Mere Christianity" - by accepting the fundamentals of the Christian faith - from those who had succumbed to error within their own denomination.

Still others wanted to re-fight the Protestant Reformation and offered combative comments concerning where these communities erred in their initial division with the Catholic Church. I agreed - to some extent - with the analysis of some of my readers on these topics.

After all, I am a Catholic by choice. However, that was not the point of the article. Rather, it was to report on the sad turn of events within a community of fellow Christians with whom we share a common baptismal bond.

Finally, some readers accused me of lacking compassion because I called the intentional ordination of practicing homosexual's error. There is a huge difference between respecting the human dignity of all men and women, including those who struggle in this area, and failing to help fellow Christians reject error.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ECLA) erred when the leadership of that community "voted" to abandon Christian orthodoxy. Their national assembly in Minneapolis struck down a policy that no longer required those with same sex attraction issues to remain celibate. In doing so they rejected the clear unbroken teaching of Christianity.

Christians abandoning the teaching of the Sacred Scriptures and the Christian Tradition is not a new phenomenon in the 2000 year history of the Church. What is new is the massive support that such a sad turn of events now receives in some segments of the media which seem to delight at reporting on such matters.

All one has to do is look to the first few centuries of the Christian Church to see that this matter is not new. The same struggles existed very early on in the Church. Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyon, France, was born in Asia Minor in the year 125. His efforts are one example of the many early Church Fathers who contended for the truth - and pulled no punches.

His seminal work was entitled "Against Heresies". It was dedicated exposing and opposing false teaching in order to protect the Christians of that day from poison. His treatise is a refutation of the teachings of certain "Christian" Gnostics whose followers fell for similar errors and condoned disordered sexual practices in the process.

Irenaeus' goal, stated in the Fifth Book of the treatise, was to ".reclaim the wanderers and convert them to the Church of God" and to "confirm at the same time the minds of the neophytes" (Preface, Book V).This imust be the response of the Christian Church in our age. Irenaeus loved the heretical Christians enough to speak the truth precisely to try and lead them back to the faith. We must follow his example.

The AP report in 2009 contained these words "The ELCA - the nation's seventh-largest Christian church - reached its conclusion after eight years of study and deliberation. That culminated Friday when the church's national assembly in Minneapolis struck down a policy that required any gay and lesbian clergy to remain celibate."

The length of time it took for this group to reject Christian orthodoxy and embrace this heresy has no bearing upon the matter. Truth is not subject to change based upon a vote!

The struggle we face today involves a clash of worldviews, Christian and pagan. The positions espoused by the "majority" of the ECLA who voted in 2009 were heretical. The lifestyles affirmed by some who claim the moniker "progressive",l even in the Christian community, are anything but progressive.

They are an example of the regressive effort to turn the clock back to pre-Christian paganism.

It was the Christian vision of faithful, monogamous marriage, family, authentic human freedom, the dignity of every human person and the existence of objective truth from which we derive a ...

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1 - 6 of 6 Comments

Dan
6 months ago
I agree with much of this article, but I'm worried that the modern approach to Ecumenism surrenders too much. I don't mean to be one of those Traditionalists calling for the re-fighting of the protestant reformation, that the author refered to, but in a sense it's necessary. The errors of the ELCA in 2009 are only possible because of the errors of Martin Luther almost 500 years ago. Sure, there are Lutheran denominations that firmly reject the ELCA's pro-gay stance, but these same denominations still refer to the Vicar of Christ as the anti-Christ, so are they any better? No matter how brilliant he was, C.S. Lewis does not get to define Christian orthodoxy. Holy Mother Church does. When we start labeling heretical sects as orthodox, we have problems. And yes, it is heresy to deny transubstantiation, papal infallibility, the intercession of the Saints, the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, and the Sacrament of Penance. We might agree on political issues, but we can't pretend these soul damning heresies don't exist.
Theresa H.
6 months ago
No doubt about it, the time is come for Catholics to speak up. If we keep our faith under a bushel-basket, we will play into the schemes of those who would be rid of us. Jesus told us about coming persecution; it has happened all through the centuries. In this nation that ensconced Christian Principles (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness) in its Founding documents, it is evident that our time has come to "not be silent" before Kings [and Presidents] (Lk 21:12), but to confess our faith before all men--including the sanctity of all human life at whatever stage, from conception to natural death. Our "smarts" are seemingly unbounded in science, technology, etc., but we have abandoned the love of Wisdom and Virtue and GOD!
Spiritus Gladius
6 months ago
Good article.
Angelo
6 months ago
I am a Traditionalist Catholic in union with the Holy Father. I have never spoken out against the Second Vatican Council. I have for years bemoaned false Ecumenism. Here Deacon Keith Fournier presents a good example of what true Ecumenism is. I would like to read more articles like this. And I wish the SSPX would also read this article, then maybe they will understand the true Ecumenism called for by the Council. And stop judging the Council by the false Ecumenism.
abey
6 months ago
Error begets error & if this error be visible along the way, then at the beginning the error though not visible can said to have been fundamentally flawed & to this error, called "Gay Agenda" in the beliefs(to the pagan) , is seen clearly as the Marker, to the division between the True & the False. The difference between the Apostolic & the Apostate faiths. Where the former is to the truth of the Apostolic Faith in Christ, the latter is to the untuths of the Adversary that which is corrupted, reflecting the Adversary himself to his fall from the Grace. The adversary who is but dust before the Almighty God, by his error was trying to unsurp the Authority of Christ against His words "All power & authority have been given unto me by my Father". Thus the grave "Desire" of the Adversary is to the rebellion which is to the "Disobedience" .against this Authority. The very same disobedience he got off Eve in the garden, against Christ & against Man created in the image of the Christ, who by the life & death to the subsequent Resurrection proved His Humbleness before The Father. As for the Gnostic beliefs evolving from the false gospels, the word "Gnosis" is to hidden meanings, is nothing but trying to get into the mind of God in the corruptions, the fruit of which is but to the corruptions of ones own mind into the origins of the Corruptions in reflecting the mind of the adversary itself, all in all against the simplicity of the mind of Christ.
Paul-Emile Leray
6 months ago
Excellent! One tactic people often use to defame beliefs, arguments, positions, is to first attack the person by trying to paint him as a baffoon. It happens in politics, debates, in almost anything containing an "us versus them" dichotomous type of perceived relationship. Aristotle: "the unmoved Mover". He was wise and intelligent. St. Augustine and St. Aquinas were highly wise and intelligent. Many great composers and writers were highly gifted, often composing music or writing to glorify God. Shakespeare, a biblical expert, is considered by any sane human being to have been highly gifted. Einstein and Albert Schweitzer were considered pretty sharp fellows. No, Christians and Catholics are not stupid. As a matter of fact, many of the daily things agnostics and atheists use were invented by Catholics. Bravo to Deacon Keith, also to the gentleman in the video presentation for his comments. There is a big difference between debate and dialogue. Debate is about winning, regardless of being right and truthful. Dialogue? This, if done properly, seeks truth; with intellectual integrity. It is also open to criticism. I, too, am sometimes tired of being laughed at and ridiculed for pursuing lines of theology and philosophy. No, philosophy is not a waste of time. And yes, philosophy is worth more than the paper the degree is written on. And some billionaires happened to have studied philosophy as well, as with some former presidents of America; for those who see life from nothing more than "financial/economic" or "power/control/status" perspectives. And then? Then, I keep reminding myself that no matter how hard the road might be; we all end up with the 2 scoops of raisin bran on top of the coffin or the perspective of the urn! In other words, the sophists and ridiculing types on this planet don't escape death either and they too will be judged. (whether they believe in God or not) Wonderful! And then? Then, they can explain their positions, theories, their ideologies: to God. And He does not get fooled and does not like sophistry and manipulations; Jesus certainly showed that through some encounters with the Pharisees, did he not?
Paul-Emile Leray

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