Coming from the Pope, I was surprised at a couple of statements he made.
Even Popes can make blunders, but being he is loved by so many and has a huge following, I would think he would choose his words very carefully, as he is responsible to the Lord, for what he teaches people:
POPE SPEAKING: "Just as the believer is choked by the salt water of doubt constantly washed into his mouth by the ocean of uncertainty, so the non-believer is troubled by doubts about his unbelief, about the real totality of the world, which he has made up his mind to explain as a self-contained whole. "
Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his book "Introduction to Christianity" (1968).
[b][b]He then goes on to say, "Believers are always threatened by the plunge into the void." [/b]The Pope does not know each and every person's heart, so to assume he does, then add that "believers are [b]always[/b] threatened by the plunge into the void."[/b], would be inaccurate. It also doesn't speak well for his "faith". Further, his words could invoke doubt that although one may be a Christian, they will actually never be completely sure of their security in Christ, for salvation.
Even Christ did not teach that. I find that to be a terrible testimony, given it comes from a Pope. The Bible teaches that the security of the believers faith in Christ and salvation, rests not in our ability to keep [u]ourselves[/u] saved, but in [b]God's[/b] ability to keep us saved, safe, and secure in His promises.
I think that's one reason Jesus used the phrase, "Oh ye of little faith."
There's nothing wrong with doubt. Doubt only becomes a sin, when we are excessively consumed with fear or worry. So much so, that it overrides our faith and then we begin to disbelieve God can or will, answer our prayers. It actually hurts God's heart that we won't believe him, as he wants to do so much for us and help us, out of the love in his heart for his creation. [i]Excessive[/i] worry, eventually cancels out the faith you were exercising at the time you prayed for help, then halts the permission you had given God, to start working on your behalf to solve the problem. God's ability to help us is based on, and activated by our faith, through His grace, just as a car can go nowhere, without gas.
It is not a sin to doubt. It only becomes a sin when that doubt crosses over into fear and unbelief. God cannot work, absent our faith.
On the other hand, fear and doubt can also work on our behalf. When we become fearful and doubt that help is on its way from the Lord, that gets us searching for answers and in doing so, return to God's Word for the solution/remedy. Once the answer is found, that not only builds our faith, but restores it. As a result, doubt is tossed out the door and replaced with the assurance that God keeps his promises, hears and answers our prayers, and shall never abandon us. As believers, we can either believe and receive, or doubt and do without.
"Thou will keep him in [b]perfect peace[/b], whose mind is [b]stayed/focused[/b] on Him, because he trusts in Him." [Isaiah 26:3].
Trust means, we are placing all our faith and trust in the Lord, believing He will keep His Word and promises to us, without fail.
If what the Pope claimed was true, there would be no hope or security in Christ. Combine God's grace with our faith, and miracles are possible. Jesus didn't say we [b]might[/b] have eternal life. He said if we believe, we [b]shall[/b] inherit eternal life in heaven, with our Heavenly Father.
There is no fear in perfect love, and God's love is perfect. That's why Christians [b]never[/b] have to feel insecure or threatened by death or the afterlife. They shall [u]never[/u] be plunged into the void, upon death. For [u]nothing[/u] can separate us from the love of God or his promise of Heaven. Romans 8:31-39 Instead, the second they step into eternity, they'll be greeted and accompanied by Angels, till they reach Heaven's door.
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@kentex35 Though I may not agree with some of what you said, I certainly appreciate your feedback and contribution.
I certainly understand what the pope said, but let's reiterate, to be fair. The "every single person" part you spoke of, is not what concerned me. Other things did, as he was spreading gossip and lying about what Christians believe. I didn't like that representation. I'm not in the group he spoke of and I felt he was giving Christians a bad name and that's serious, when coming from the Pope. I don't fall in the category he mentioned and I don't feel true Christians, do either. He just cannot assume that "Believers are always threatened by the plunge into the void." Again, I don't want to be in that category and I don't belong in it. I also don't like him speaking for me and telling people that "Believers are [b]always[/b]threatened by the plunge into the void." The key words here, being [u]Believers[/u] and [u]always[/u].
Notice how awful those labels sound, when we switch those around, and say that "The [b]Pope[/b] is [b]always[/b] threatened by the plunge into the void." He didn't leave anything to the imagination there, see what I mean? He just flat out spoke it as [b]fact[/b]. I don't know about the pope, but I can go so far as to say I don't know any genuine Christians who always feel threatened, for one thing. Then another, is that he says Believers always feel "threatened by the plunge into the void." He cannot speak for me or other Christians. I don't want to be labeled like that because that is not true of me and other Christians I know and therefore it feels like an attack and it feels like he may have something against some Christians because he's flat out lying when he says those things. I'm not angry or upset, I just don't feel it's fair to assume those two things and then to lie to the public about them. Christians get attacked enough without his help. And I don't know about him but I'm not afraid of dying or facing eternity. He acts like we can never feel secure in our faith and we are just weak little Christians wondering what we'll face on the other side, and that's definitely untrue. I honestly don't know why he would make such statements. And then present them as fact. You said you felt like I took it to literally, well who wouldn't? When he puts it that way. Not every Christian is weak or always doubting and certainly we are not afraid to face eternity because we know and have the assurance and Security in Christ of knowing that we shall meet the angels on the other side, who will carry us to heaven. That's a far cry from the way he describes us and why he chose us instead of another denomination, makes me wonder as well. We are not weak, fragile little Christians afraid of every little thing. Our Hope and security is in Christ and there's no fear there because there is no fear in perfect love and Christ is perfect love. I just didn't appreciate his statements and when we turn that around maybe you can see why. I don't think he would have liked Christians labeling him like that. In other words, he doesn't get to speak for me or on my behalf when he doesn't even know me and he makes the mistake of stating it as fact, not in generalization. He also did not speak "in general".
2nd Point: I'm not sure where you got the idea that I said: "And as you said non believers sometimes question if they are doing right by denying faith."
I never said that at all. Not one word of it. You must be careful about putting words in my mouth that I didn't say and recheck things before you quote them. Please point out where I said that. I mean that's just something I wouldn't say.
