Guerilla Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "The Two-Headed Calf of Enthusiasm - Devours Food T...":
hmm... Let's see here, hmm...
If I had to pick one, I'd absolutely 100% pick Pope Francis and the Catholics over the "Lutherans" any day. Why?
There is no Lutheran church that I'm aware of that teaches Justification by Faith. They all teach UOJ, which clearly antithetical to Scripture. They are also antinomialist. They follow Luther's advice to sin boldly, nearly dualistic in how they view the body and soul. What you do with your material self, the Lutheran theology teaches, is meaningless if you have faith. And of course UOJ supports this.
The Catholic church, likewise, has a screwed up teaching of Justification. They focus too much on the material side of things, not emphasizing the real hope that is in Christ. There are plenty of confident Christians in the catholic church, but too many are taught to doubt their faith, and taught to strengthan their chances of salvation with works. But at least they hold their members accountable to the ten commandments. It might be a severe twisting of Christianity, but hey,bottom line: I'd rather have Catholic neighbors than Lutheran neighbors.
The pope IS a spiritual authority on earth, regardless of what we think of his theology. Like the papacy or hate it, you can't deny it's influence. To that end, I think this pope looks like a guy who'll positively impact society---which is about as much as you can hope for from a pope, right?
---
Guerilla Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "The Two-Headed Calf of Enthusiasm - Devours Food T...":
Let me be more succinct. Dave P. You're boring. Lutherans always rip the Catholics and the Pope.
I tell ya what. Every Lutheran Church that I know of teaches UOJ, a false justification.
The Catholic Church, likewise, teaches a false Justification.
Lutherans are quite antinomialistic: What you do with your material body is immaterial (ha ha) as long as you have faith. Sin Boldly, as Luther said.
Catholics sure don't teach their people to be confident in their faith, and teach their people to doubt their own salvation as a means to get them to follow the ten commandments... but at least they teach the commandments and hold people accountable to them.
Lutherans live in a glass house so we shouldn't throw stones.
