The Heretic Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI, Introduction to Christianity: “The
foregoing reflections may have clarified to some extent what is involved
in the biblical pronouncements about the resurrection: their essential
content is not the conception of a restoration of bodies to souls after a
long interval." (Benedict XVI, Introduction to Christianity, p. 353).
Benedict XVI, Introduction to Christianity: “To recapitulate, Paul
teaches, not the resurrection of physical bodies, but the resurrection
of persons…”[Benedict XVI, Introduction to Christianity, pp. 357-358.).
My Response:
Benedict
XVI believes in an existential resurrection, instead of the literal
resurrection taught by St. Paul. This fact alone places him outside the
Christian faith.
St. Polycarp, disciple of the Apostle John:
"Everyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is an Antichrist; whoever does not confess the testimony of the cross,
is of the Devil; and whoever perverts the saying of the Lord for his own
desires, and says that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, such
a one is the first-born of Satan." (AD-135, Letter to the Philippians).
Benedict XVI contradicts St. Thomas Aquinas, who wrote:
"They have not believed in the resurrection of the body, and have
strained to twist the words of Holy Scripture to mean a spiritual
resurrection, a resurrection from sin through grace....That St. Paul
believed in a bodily resurrection is clear...To deny this, and to affirm
a purely spiritual resurrection, is against the Christian faith."
(Summa Contra Gentiles).
We know from the research of Robert
Gundry, that the word “body” (Greek: soma), in regard to the
resurrection body, always means a physical body when used of a person.
(see Gundry, Soma in Biblical Theology With Emphasis on Pauline
Anthropology).
As a Pharisee, St. Paul believed in a physical
resurrection. "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
(ek-anastasis --out resurrection) from the dead. (Phil. 3:11).
The non-biblical Book of Wisdom promises that "in the time of their
visitation" the departed "souls of the righteous will be restored and
"they will govern nations and rule people" (3:7-8).
The prophet
Isaiah taught the resurrection: "Thy dead men shall live, together with
my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust:
for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the
dead." (Isaiah 26:19).
The prophet Daniel: "And many of them
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2).
Second Maccabees tells of the courageous Jewish believer who suffered
his tongue and hands to be cut off, saying "I got them from Heaven, and
because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back
again [at the resurrection]" (7:11).
Second (Fourth) Esdras
predicts that after the time of the Messiah "the earth shall give up
those who are asleep in it, and the dust those who dwell silently in it"
(7:32). Death is described here as as a time when "we shall be kept in
rest until those times come when thou [God] wilt renew the creation"
(7:75).
In the apocalyptic 2 Baruch, God is asked, "In what
shape will those live who live in Thy day?" The answer is an affirmation
in the belief of a meterial resurrection. "For the earth shall then
assuredly restore the dead [which it now receives, in order to preserve
them]. It shall make no change in their form, but as it has received, so
shall it restore them, and as I delivered them to it, so also shall it
raise them." (49:1; 50:2).
The Pharisees in the New Testament time believed in the physical resurrection from the tombs. (see Acts 23:8; Matthew 22:28).
Mary and Martha reflected the Jewish belief in the resurrection when
they implied that their brother Lazarus would be raised in the last days
while his body was still in the tomb. (see John 11).
"And have
hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." (Acts 24:15).
The pre-schism Council of Toledo declared: "We believe verily, that there shall be a resurrection of the flesh of mankind."
Athenagorus was a second century Christian apologist. With all the
early Father's (except Origen who was later condemned for heresy on this
point), he affirmed the resurrection of bodies. See his work, "On the
Resurrection of the Dead."
St. Augustine taught the bodily resurrection of all people in "On Christian Doctrine" (1.24); and in "The City if God."
In "On Christian Doctrine 1.24 he wrote: "after the resurrection, the
body, wholly become subject to the spirit, will live in perfect peace to
all eternity."
The above is not an exhaustive treatment of the subjection of resurrection.
The
heterodox theologian, Norman Geisler writes: "Affirming the
resurrection of the flesh is not only the biblical teaching on the
Resurrection, but it also has been the universal confession of the
orthodox church down through the centuries." (Geisler, Systematic
Theology, vol.4, p. 291).
BENEDICT XVI DENIES JESUS CHRIST
The preface for the heretical book," The Jewish People and their Sacred
Scriptures in the Christian Bible states" was written by Benedict when
he was known as Joseph Ratzinger. It teaches that Jesus doesn’t have to
be seen as the prophesied Messiah; it is possible to see Him, as the
Jews do, as not the Messiah and not the Son of God.
In section II, A, 7, The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible states:
“…to read the Bible as Judaism does necessarily involves an implicit
acceptance of all its presuppositions, that is, the full acceptance of
what Judaism is, in particular, the authority of its writings and
rabbinic traditions, which exclude faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of
God… Christians can and ought to admit that the Jewish reading of the
Bible is a possible one…"
(http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/pcb_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20020212_popolo-ebraico_en.html).
Benedict XVI teaches the same denial of Jesus Christ in a number of his books:
Benedict XVI, God and the World, 2000, p. 209: “It is of course
possible to read the Old Testament so that it is not directed toward
Christ; it does not point quite unequivocally to Christ. And if Jews
cannot see the promises as being fulfilled in him, this is not just ill
will on their part, but genuinely because of the obscurity of the
texts… There are perfectly good reasons, then, for denying that the Old
Testament refers to Christ and for saying, No, that is not what he
said. And there are also good reasons for referring it to him – that is
what the dispute between Jews and Christians is about.” (Benedict XVI,
God and the World, San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2000, p. 209).
My Response:
1 John 2:22 – “… he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist…”
John
5:39, 45-47 – “Search the scriptures, for you think in them to have
life everlasting; and the same are they that give testimony of me… the
one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he
wrote about me.”
Benedict XVI also denies Jesus Christ in his book Milestones:
Benedict
XVI, Milestones, 1998, pages 53-54: “I have ever more come to the
realization that Judaism… and the Christian faith described in the New
Testament are two ways of appropriating Israel’s Scriptures, two ways
that, in the end, are both determined by the position one assumes with
regard to the figure of Jesus of Nazareth. The Scripture we today call
Old Testament is in itself open to both ways…(Benedict XVI, Milestones,
Ignatius Press, 1998, pp. 53-54.).
Benedict XVI, Zenit News
story, Sept. 5, 2000: “[W]e are in agreement that a Jew, and this is
true for believers of other religions, does not need to know or
acknowledge Christ as the Son of God in order to be saved…”(Zenit.org,
news story for Sept. 5, 2000.).
Benedict XVI, God and the World,
2000, pages 150-151: “…their [the Jews] No to Christ brings the
Israelites into conflict with the subsequent acts of God, but at the
same time we know that they are assured of the faithfulness of God.
They are not excluded from salvation…”(Benedict XVI, God and the World,
p. 209.).
BENEDICT XVI REJECTS CONVERTING PROTESTANTS AGAIN IN HIS BOOK "PRINCIPLES OF CATHOLIC THEOLOGY."
Benedict XVI, Principles of Catholic Theology (1982), p. 202: “It means
that the Catholic does not insist on the dissolution of the Protestant
confessions and the demolishing of their churches but hopes, rather,
that they will be strengthened in their confessions and in their
ecclesial reality (Benedict XVI, Principles of Catholic Theology, p.
202.).
Benedict XVI, Theological Highlights of Vatican II, 1966,
pages 61, 68: “… Meantime the Catholic Church has no right to absorb
other Churches. … A basic unity – of Churches that remain Churches, yet
become one Church – must replace the idea of conversion…”(Quoted in
Catholic Family News, “Father Ratzinger’s Denial of Extra Ecclesia [sic]
Nulla Salus,” July 2005, Editor’s Postscript, p. 11.).
BENEDICT XVI CALLS INTO DOUBT THE STONE TABLETS OF THE EXODUS ACCOUNT
In Exodus 31, we read that God gave Moses two stone tablets written with the finger of God.
Exodus 31:18- "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of
communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of
stone, written with the finger of God."
Benedict XVI, God and
the World: “Q. …Were these laws really handed over to Moses by God when
he appeared on Mount Sinai? As stone tablets, on which, as it says,
‘the finger of God had written?’… to what extent are these Commandments
really supposed to come from God? [p. 166]
Benedict XVI, God
and the World:…"This [Moses] is the man who has been touched by God, and
on the basis of this friendly contact he is able to formulate the will
of God, of which hitherto only fragments had been expressed in other
traditions, in such a manner that we truly hear the word of God.
Whether there really were any stone tablets is another question… [p.
168] How far we should take this story literally is another question.”
(Benedict XVI, God and the World, pp. 165-166, 168.).
BENEDICT XVI ON EVOLUTION
Benedict
XVI, God and the World, 2000, p. 76: “Q. In the beginning the earth
was bare and empty; God had not yet made it rain, is what it says in
Genesis. Then God fashioned man, and for this purpose he took ‘dust
from the field and blew into his nostrils the breath of life; thus man
became a living creature.’ The breath of life – is that the answer to
the question of where we come from? A. I think we have here a most
important image, which presents a significant understanding of what man
is. It suggests that man is one who springs from the earth and its
possibilities. We can even read into this representation something like
evolution (Benedict XVI, God and the World, p. 76).
Benedict
XVI, God and the World, 2000, p. 139: “The Christian picture of the
world is this, that the world in its details is the product of a long
process of evolution but that at the most profound level it comes from
the Logos.” (Benedict XVI, God and the World, p. 139).
BENEDICT XVI HAS ESTEEM FOR THE FALSE RELIGION OF ISLAM
Benedict XVI, General Audience, Sept. 20, 2006: “I hope that in the
various circumstances during my Visit – for example, when in Munich I
emphasized how important it is to respect what is sacred to others –
that my deep respect for the great religions, and especially the
Muslims, who ‘worship God…’ appeared quite clear!
Benedict XVI,
Address, Dec. 22, 2006: “My visit to Turkey afforded me the opportunity
to show also publicly my respect for the Islamic Religion, a respect,
moreover, which the Second Vatican Council (declaration Nostra Aetate
#3) pointed out to us as an attitude that is only right. (L’Osservatore
Romano, Jan. 3, 2007, p. 7).
Benedict XVI, Address to
Representatives of Islam, August 20, 2005: “The believer – and all of
us, as Christians and Muslims, are believers – … You guide Muslim
believers and train them in the Islamic faith… You, therefore, have a
great responsibility for the formation of the younger generation.
(L’Osservatore Romano, August 24, 2005, p. 9).
Benedict XVI,
Catechesis, August 24, 2005: “This year is also the 40th anniversary of
the conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate, which has ushered in a new
season of dialogue and spiritual solidarity between Jews and Christians,
as well as esteem for the other great religious traditions. Islam
occupies a special place among them.”(L’Osservatore Romano, August 31,
2005, p. 11).
Benedict XVI, Address, Sept. 25, 2006: “I would
like to reiterate today all the esteem and the profound respect that I
have for Muslim believers, calling to mind the words of the Second
Vatican Council which for the Catholic Church are the magna Carta of
Muslim-Catholic dialogue: ‘The Church looks upon Muslims with respect.
They worship the one God living and subsistent… At this time when for
Muslims the spiritual journey of the month of Ramadan is beginning, I
address to all of them my cordial good wishes, praying that the Almighty
may grant them serene and peaceful lives. May the God of peace fill
you with the abundance of his Blessings, together with the communities
you represent!”(L’Osservatore Romano, Sept. 27, 2006, p. 2).
Benedict XVI, General Audience, Dec. 6, 2006: “I thus had the favorable
opportunity to renew my sentiments of esteem for the Muslims and for the
Islamic civilizations. (L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 13, 2006, p. 11).
BENEDICT XVI TEACHES THAT ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY HAVE THE SAME GOD
Benedict XVI, Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith, 2002, p. 273: “… Islam, too,
… has inherited from Israel and the Christians the same God…Benedict
XVI, Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith, p. 273.
Benedict XVI, speech
apologizing for his comments on Islam, Sept. 2006: “In the Muslim world,
this quotation has unfortunately been taken as an expression of my
personal position, thus arousing understandable indignation. I hope
that the reader of my text can see immediately that this sentence does
not express my personal view of the Qur’an, for which I have the respect
due to the holy book of a great
religion---http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg_en.html#_ftn3
This notorious heretic contradicts his own popes.
Pope
Eugene IV, Council of Basel, 1434: “… there is hope that very many from
the abominable sect of Mahomet will be converted to the Catholic
faith.” (Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Vol. 1, p. 479).
Pope
Callixtus III: “I vow to… exalt the true Faith, and to extirpate the
diabolical sect of the reprobate and faithless Mahomet [Islam] in the
East. --Warren H. Carroll, A History of Christendom, Front Royal, VA:
Christendom Press, 1993, Vol. 3 (The Glory of Christendom), p. 571.
See my article where I prove that Allah is a morally defective, pagan
lunar deity, not the greatest conceivable Being of biblical theology.
BENEDICT XVI HAS A PROFOUND RESPECT FOR FALSE FAITHS
Benedict
XVI, Homily, Sept. 10, 2006: “We do not fail to show respect for other
religions and cultures, we do not fail to show profound respect for
their faith…(L’Osservatore Romano, Sept. 13, 2006, p. 7).
Benedict
XVI, Salt of the Earth, 1996, p. 24: “Q. But could we not also accept
that someone can be saved through a faith other than the Catholic? A.
That’s a different question altogether. It is definitely possible for
someone to receive from his religion directives that help him become a
pure person, which also, if we want to use the word, help him please God
and reach salvation. This is not at all excluded by what I said; on
the contrary, this undoubtedly happens on a large scale.” (Benedict XVI,
Salt of the Earth, p. 24).
To respect non-Christian faiths, is to respect lies, errors, falsehood, delusion and Antichrist.
BENEDICT XVI CRITICIZES THE APOSTLES’ CREED
Benedict XVI, Introduction to Christianity, 2004, p. 326: “… Perhaps it
will have to be admitted that the tendency to such a false development,
which only sees the dangers of responsibility and no longer the freedom
of love, is already present in the [Apostles’] Creed …" (Benedict XVI,
Introduction to Christianity, Ignatius Press, 2004, p. 326).
BENEDICT XVI SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT THAT EVERY PERSON CAN BELONG TO THE RELIGION OF HIS CHOICE
Benedict XVI, Address, May 18, 2006: “Likewise, peace is rooted in
respect for religious freedom, which is a fundamental and primordial
aspect of the freedom of conscience of individuals and the freedom of
peoples. It is important that everywhere in the world every person can
belong to the religion of his choiceand practice it freely without fear,
for no one can base his life on the quest of material being alone.
(L’Osservatore Romano, May 24, 2006, p. 5).
My Response:
St. Ignatius (second century) tells us: "Brethren. be not deceived. If
any man follows him that separates from the truth, he shall not inherit
the kingdom of God; and if any man does not stand aloof from the
preacher of falsehood, he shall be condemned to hell." (Epistle of
Ignatius to the Philadelphians, 4).
St. Irenaeus (second
century): "Nor will anyone of the rulers (bishops) in the Churches,
however highly gifted he may be in point of eloquence, teach doctrines
different from these (for no one is greater than the Master)." (Against
Heresies 1.10.2.).
My refutation of the Vatican II heresy of religious indifferentism/inclusivism.
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