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Needless to state, many dyed-in-the-wool Catholics are
aghast over such an edict since, by promulgating a policy of
forgiveness for this particular sin, it appears that the
Catholic Church is condoning abortion or lessening its
heaviness as a major, first-class sin.
Let me say at the outset that abortion or the
intentional taking of the pre-born child from life in the
womb to that of death is a killing of a human being since
life begins in the womb and not after the first spank on the
bottom when a child gets his or her first taste of air
outside of the womb.
It should also be said that abortion as a sin is a sin as
is adultery, gluttony, lying, murder, fornication,
homosexual acts, thievery, hatred and other violations of
God’s moral law that are clearly enunciated in the New
Testament.
However, for anyone to define abortion as an
unforgiveable sin that only a special dispensation can cure
or only that a pope can erase or a priest can absolve,
misses the testimony and acts of charity and compassion that
Jesus the Christ modeled while during his earthly ministry.
Remember the story of the woman caught in the very act of
adultery and was brought to Jesus by her scheming accusers
to see if Jesus would disobey the Mosaic Law by not having
her stoned?
With the wisdom of God, since Jesus was and is God in
the flesh, Jesus
with acute clarity drew in the dirt some words or symbols
that caused her accusers to slink away and when he was left
with the adulterous women, he told her in no uncertain
terms, “Go and sin no more.”
With the establishment of the church (the body of
believers in Jesus the Christ and not the physical building
that we lazily refer to as the church)
and its guidelines and doctrines, Jesus did not appoint any
special person to dispense forgiveness to the contrite in
heart.
No, but rather each person, on their own, and without
the need for any human intermediary can approach God’s mercy
throne and find forgiveness.
I know…I know…such statements could put the Catholic Church
and the Pope out of a job since the New Testament never
established a hierarchy of authorities that must be
assembled at any place or time in order to grant absolution
for one’s sins.
One need not go to a priest to ask forgiveness of the
sin of adultery or other numerous violations of God’s law.
One need not be held in the shackles of shame and
humiliation for sins committed against one fellow human
being or against the laws of God if one is contrite and
seeks forgiveness from God through the only appointed and
God “approved” mediator, Jesus the Christ.
It is regretful that so much bad press has arisen about
the clear and correct role of the New Testament church that
people stay away in droves from “church” assemblies due to
their feelings of not being right or clean or worthy of
attending since they are acutely conscious of their
wrongdoings or sins.
What makes it even harder to seek reconciliation with
God is the artificial man-made barriers that have been
erected ever since mankind took it into his head that he or
she can co-opt God and his pronouncements and substitute
their own as if they are one and the same.
Gladly, they are not. They are as black and white with
one based upon love and the other based upon shifting
opinions and human thought.
When you compare the requirements of man-made religious
empires as to their protocols and rules and the obstacle
course that you have to negotiate to make contact with God,
you will understand that what the pope recently said was not
needed to be said if the correct Christ-based doctrine was
being plainly espoused and demonstrated all along.
When you have the absence of truth, you invite error in
and error has a tendency to multiply when it is allowed to
morph into what is almost truth as to what is truth. Big
difference!
It was nice of the pope to say what he said but it was
not necessary save for those who have not taken the time to
examine what the Bible says about saving faith and the
forgiveness of sins but rather they rely upon the blather of
a mere man to direct them or to mislead them into anguish
and despair and confusion with a ma-made gospel (means good
news!) that is in fact no gospel at all.
If anyone is mad at the pope for his absolution of the
sin of abortion, it is akin to the story of the Prodigal
Son, when returning home, whose father saw him from afar and
ran to him and embraced him and kissed him and held a loud
feast to celebrate his errant son’s return.
But what did the eldest son do when he learned of such
merriment?
He became angry and bitter and denounced the father for such
charity and forgiveness.
From such a parable, we can learn that there are those
who will hold fast to dead rules and regulations and miss
the entire picture of what Jesus Christ came for…to
reconcile mankind back to the Father and to seek and save
those who are lost.
The elder son lost his way when he abided by his own
rules of what is good, fair and just and he missed the
lesson that only God can forgive sins and restore people
back to fellowship with Him.
To those who have had abortions, intentional or
otherwise and you are contrite over the that moral lapse,
consider that God is not angry at you since you did what
sinners do and are supposed to do…they sin (violate God’s
moral law).
But forgiveness with God is ever present and always
available…if you are willing to receive such a grace gift
knowing that no one can ever earn it nor do they deserve or
merit it.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at Tolliver@Juno.com
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