Me and the Pope (Part II)

"The question for those who do not believe in God is to follow their own conscience. Sin, even for a non-believer, is when one goes against one's conscience. To listen and to follow your conscience means that you understand the difference between good and evil ." - Pope Francis I

As I stated in my first religious post, I'm not going to sugarcoat my own beliefs and try to leave doors open for every other belief and denomination floating around. I'm a Baptist. I'm not going to say that Catholicism is right. I'm not going to say that Buddhism makes good points. While they may, the purpose of this blog post is not to allow for all beliefs.

Instead, the purpose of this post is to refute the Pope. I know, who am I to refute the leader of the largest Christian denomination on the planet, right? Well, I'd like to think that this refutation comes not from me but from the Word of God itself. See, the Pope is misleading millions by saying the above quote. He has basically downgraded the sacrifice of Christ in an effort to make the church more appealing to all people.

Our good works will not get us into Heaven. Following our conscience will not get us into Heaven. Isaiah 64:6 states that "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." Per that statement, when it comes to the divine, the very best we can do is a filthy rag before God. But that is not a bad thing, because it means God showers us with grace.

Following our conscience can be a very bad thing. Let's return to the Word of God, which the Pope is supposed to represent on this Earth. In Genesis 6:5, very early in the history of the faith, we see that "...God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually..." Man, left to his own devices, is quite often downright deplorable. Some people are morally good, some accomplish that through the tenets of their faith. But by and large, man is a sinful creature.

So our conscience isn't getting us in. What about works? James goes to great lengths to discuss the necessity of works within faith, but he does not pin faith upon works. He states in James 2:20 that "faith without works is dead." What does this mean? Consider bodily exercise. When you work out, your body grows stronger through your actions. Similarly, when you exercise your faith by doing the works detailed in the Bible and inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, your faith grows stronger and it becomes easier to exercise your faith in the future. The works do not guarantee your faith. Neither are you saved by works.

Let's consider, though, that the Catholic church rarely, if ever, mentions being saved. To me, the Word is very clear. Romans 10:9 states "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. " And that is just one of many verses commenting on salvation. Philippians 2:12 reads " Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

But according to the Pope, being good, regardless your belief in Jesus Christ, will get you into Heaven. No. Grace, given by God and accepted through your own personal faith in Jesus and his sacrifice and resurrection will get you in. It's saddening to me that the leader of the Catholic Church seems to have given up on the most basic of Christian doctrine.