I’m not a big papist. In fact I’m not even sure I am a small papist. I’m sure you’re also relieved to learn that I am absolutely against the staunchly-held Catholic belief of Papal Infallability. I think Popes are as fallible as the next guy – if not more so (if thats not a lingusitic impossibility…) but I won’t rubbish them…

In his speech yesterday the Pope was accused of appearing to associate atheism with Nazi ideology. His words have prompted much criticism from humanist organisations. Look at what he said:

“Even in our own lifetimes we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live.

(Clever, considering how Catholics have spoken about Jews as being ‘responsible for the killing of God’ in recent decades)
He went on:

“As we reflect on the sobering lessons of atheist extremism of the 20th century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus a reductive vision of a person and his destiny.” I think that is plain true.

Apparently the Catholic Church has acted quickly to play down the controversy, saying the Pope knows “rather well what the Nazi ideology is about”. He was drafted into the Hitler Youth as a 14 year old, something all his peers endured, after all.

A statement from the British Humanist Association in response to his political words said: “The notion that it was the atheism of Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views or that it somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God.’

He has a point, but I think it more important to remember that Nazis did not see themselves as Atheists at all. In their own twisted way they thought God was ‘on their side.’

I don’t believe that Atheists ARE the most dangerous enemy. I actually think that Christians are. The devil likes nothing better than Christians wasting time fighting one another, rubbishing the church, or its leaders, wrangling over doctrine and trying to reinvent spiritual wheels that have slow punctures. WE do the most damage to the church and to the name of God, tarnishing Him with our lack of love, faith and inability to stand up for the mighty, miraculous and much-maligned Name of Jesus.

I think ‘aggressive secularism’ is the least of our worries. Its the sheep in wolf’s clothing of the spiritual age. What we need to look out for is what WE CHRISTIANS SAY ABOUT OUR OWN CHURCHES, what the church down the road say about the church WE go to and vice versa. Are we in communion or competition with them? Do we pray with them or pity them? Do we believe we hold the monopoly on truth whilst they hold the panoply on tripe? Do we bless them or bad-mouth them?

Do we pray over our leaders or prey upon them over our Sunday roast? Has something made us angry but someone else (clue: starts with a d and ends in EVIL) prevents us from treating that biblically and taking it up with them face-to-face? Are we even going to church at all?

The Bible is very clear, ladies and gents, that we are to ‘preserve the unity’ given to us by the Spirit. That means we don’t MAKE unity from scratch but we KEEP a unity already in existence. Big difference. We are currently just throwing it away.

I have been very challenged in recent years to be more positive about my spiritual family. Watch your heart and your mouth. You never know if an aggressive secularist is listening.