Francis Accused of Endorsing Sin

Can a pope be impeached? I guess not. There used to be popes who had armies they used for conquest. For a time, there were two popes (not counting non-Catholic popes), both of whom could not have been legitimate. Popes have had mistresses and illegitimate children. One such child became a pope, himself! If there were a reset button, someone would have used it by now.

I guess that’s not true. Corruption has never bothered church-worshipers very much.

Let me see. Hmm. Sixtus III was put on trial, but he was acquitted.

The pope is the subject of a fresh accusation: a homosexual who was a victim of priest rape says Francis told him, “God made you that way.” Also credited to Francis: “He loves you just the way you are.”

The obvious question: will the pope back this stuff up, or will he hide behind the curtains and wait for it to blow over?

My charitable guess is that the homosexual who gave the report has twisted the truth to push his own agenda. But the pope has said some stupid things about homosexuality in the past, so maybe the story is true.

Regarding homosexuality, in a book, the pope said, “Who am I to judge?”

Who are you? The pope! Supposedly.

In the book, Francis talks like a man blowing smoke rings. He says things that sound nice but mean nothing. Are same-sex relations sinful? Not clear. Should Christians accept active homosexuals among their ranks? Again, not clear.

It’s sad for a preacher to be in a position where the Bible, which is known for being hard to understand, is more transparent than he is.

Here’s something Jesus (the pope’s boss) said about sexual sin. After discouraging religious Jews from killing an adulterous woman, he told her he did not “condemn” her (not “judge”) and that she should “go and sin no more.”

He forgave the woman, but he also judged her and found her guilty. Is Francis willing to say a lifestyle of continuing homosexual acts is sin? Who knows? Listening to him is like reading greeting cards, zen poems, and fortune cookies. He says whatever will make him look best to the largest number of people, while avoiding all semblance of taking a stand

In the Catholic system, Paul outranks the pope. Here is what he said about judgment:

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

A few sentences later, he said this:

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

There is a big difference between condemnation, which we should avoid, and judgment, which we are obligated to perform. We shouldn’t refuse to let people into church because of past sins of which they want to repent. That’s condemnation. At the same time, we should reject people who have no plans to change. That’s judgment. The church is the church of the submitted, not the rebellious. We are supposed to have salt in ourselves. We’re supposed to be repentant.

We’re not supposed to be yoked with unbelievers.

The same Greek root appears in all these places where judgment and condemnation are mentioned, but obviously, it does not always mean the same thing. If Jesus tells us not to judge on one page, and Paul tells us to judge on another, the word “judge” must be used differently in those contexts. The Greek words in this case can mean “render a verdict” or “to sentence.” It is possible to render a verdict without issuing a sentence.

Paul refers to believers who are “sanctified.” That means their hearts have been cleaned up. It doesn’t refer to salvation, which is justification. We’re not supposed to stop with salvation. We’re supposed to go on and become sanctified through the action of the Holy Spirit.

Sanctification won’t happen to you if you insist on living in sexual sin (including homosexual relations), and according to Paul, you won’t inherit the kingdom of God.

By the way, homosexual behavior is different from other types of fornication. It’s normal for a man to have desire for a woman. Homosexual relations involve an abnormal desire most men do not have.

When I was taking college art classes, I was always on time, because the models were naked women, and I never knew what was in store. When I used to go to a gym and work out, I spent as little time as possible in the locker room with naked men, because locker rooms stink and being around naked men is not particularly enjoyable. It’s wrong for me to sin with women, but I will always have some desire for them, and I’m not accountable for that. Desire for men, in and of itself, would be a problem.

The idea that God makes people gay is abominable. The Bible does talk about God giving people over to homosexuality. but that’s not the same thing as making them gay to begin with. It means he allows them to continue and increase in their error because they don’t listen. It’s like what Paul said about the man who fornicated with his stepmother. He advised the church to turn him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so he would either repent or go away and be damned.

Homosexuality is one of today’s most destructive sins, so Francis should be confronting it. Instead, he appears to be courting popularity. Nothing new for him. In contrast, Jesus was willing to be unpopular, and that characteristic is a hallmark of his followers. Historically, they have submitted to murder and torture rather than betray God. Jesus said we were blessed when men reviled us. Francis is running for prom king.

It’s important to stand against homosexuality because it destroys human beings. Someone has to point the way to God. Making people comfortable with their own destruction is not kindness. It’s selfishness. The intention is to make our own lives easier instead of helping habitual sinners. We want to avoid confrontation and its consequences.

At least two people who claim to have visited hell say they saw homosexuals (male and female) chained together in a river of fire. I think it’s true. Is that what we want for people? Is our popularity worth that sacrifice?

The Catholic church, like nearly all churches, is powerless. They can’t work miracles. They have no prophets. Healings are rare. They do what most powerless churches do. They deny that power exists. They protect their brand (and the money it brings in) instead of confessing error.

They can’t get homosexuals delivered, any more than they can heal cripples. It makes sense that they would eventually decide homosexuality was normal, especially in an age when it’s increasing like crazy. The church was unpopular when gay marriage was illegal and the rate of homosexuality was down around 1%. Now perversion is becoming more widespread. As the situation deteriorates, popes will be under more pressure to give in. Sooner or later, some pope will probably decide the church has been wrong.

The Anglicans beat them to the bottom. They already have honest homosexuals in robes.

The fact that you fail at something doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Preachers need to understand that. The Jews who ran the temple in the time of Jesus could not heal anyone. They couldn’t prophesy. They couldn’t work miracles. Jesus and his followers did all these things. Did it prove God had suddenly decided to help people? No; it just meant he finally had a few servants who did things right. The success of Jesus and his followers should have motivated the old guard to reexamine their false doctrine and join those who moved in God’s power.

We’re in the same situation today. God does a lot of things outside of respected churches. The pope can’t heal anyone, but like many Christians, I’ve had a bunch of healings. A lot of people have seen miracles. A lot of people hear from God. The Catholic church teaches that all non-Catholics go to hell or purgatory, yet God does a lot of powerful things through people who aren’t Catholic, just as he worked through Jesus instead of Caiphas. The message should be obvious. Help is still available. You just have to look for it God’s way.

We need to get more connected to God’s authority and start delivering people. We are weak, and when people seek God, they want to find strength. No wonder we’re rejected. We have very little to offer. Healings and deliverance should be routine, and they are not. If a homosexual goes to a church for deliverance, the odds are overwhelming that nothing will happen. Who can blame such a person for deciding we’re wrong?

We serve demons, and we try to cast demons out of other people. That doesn’t work. We need to be sanctified. To wield authority, you have to be submitted to it.

It’s sad when churches try to become like the secular world. They become more popular at first, but eventually, people who go to such churches will wonder why religion has to be involved. If it’s all about positive thinking, being nice, running a community center, and singing songs, why does Jesus have to be part of it? Why go to a church for these things when you can get them elsewhere?

Eventually, seeker-friendly churches end up competing with secular establishments which do the same things better. That’s suicidal. We ought to have a franchise, not a commodity. Any corporation can hold meetings and sing songs. Every Japanese carmaker does these things. Only a church can put people in touch with God.

The end of the organized church is coming to an end. Look at the signs. Doctrine is watered down. Greed is everywhere. God can’t penetrate the walls of fables and self-interest in order to get things done. People who don’t belong to big churches are getting revelation and help from God.

We should be glad. Good things happen when preachers aren’t around to relieve themselves on the fire.

Interesting fact: Francis would not be the first pope to endorse homosexuality. Boniface VIII was a pedophile who said sex with women or boys was no more sinful than rubbing one’s hands together.

It will be interesting to see if Francis has anything to say in response.