Do unto Kerry...

Below is a comment from Harland followed by my response.

Harland:

Should Sen. Kerry be excommunicated from the Catholic Church? How is he different than any other Catholic with a pro-choice view? Because he is in the limelight? These antics are yet another reason why the public, and many Catholics for that matter, have lost faith in the Church. People are looking for more personal relationships with the Lord; they don't need a mediator that will dictate their relationship with God.

Jordan:

Harland, your comment brings to light two difficult issues. First, within Catholicism itself, if the doctrines of the church are to be enforced, then anyone (not just a high profile politician like Kerry) who advocates or actively supports (either with money or their vote) the pro choice position should be excommunicated. Within the Catholic church, the support for abortion is pure heresy. Catholics believe that the Pope is God's representative on earth and that the tradition of the church itself is just as valid as Scripture in determining the will of God. Therefore, if God's voice on earth--the Pope--says abortion is wrong and if the traditional position has always been against abortion, then anyone that supports abortion rights (again, within the context of the Catholic church) is in direct and blatent opposition to the will of God. For the Catholic church to maintain any sense of consistency or legitimacy, it must enforce it's own doctrines. That's why Kerry--and any other Catholic who is pro-choice--should be excommunicated.

Now, having said all that, let me address the second issue that you raise. I agree with you that people have lost faith in the Catholic church and have done so for good reason. Historically, the Catholic church has been full of hypocracy and deceit. So of course it's not going to be hard to find evidence that they aren't treating Kerry in a fair way. I think the main reason Kerry has an argument against the Catholic church's position is not because his position on abortion is right (it's not) but because the church--like you pointed out--has been arbitrary in its enforcement of when someone gets excommunicated for a political position that goes against the Pope.

All of this just proves why the catholic church is doomed to failure: its too instititutionalized and as such is laden with hypocracy, corruption, and inconsistency. Absent from Catholicism is any real meaning PERSONAL relationship with the Lord. The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one mediator between God and man and that is Christ Jesus. Not priests or anyone else the Catholic church offers.

Catholics are right about abortion, but they are so by accident. They claim it's all about the sanctity of life, but they fail to fully understand what that means. They are opposed to abortion for the exact same reasons they are opposed to the death penalty. Yet the Bible is full of examples (especially in the Old Testament) of God sanctioning capital punishment. In fact, over 35 sins are listed as capital offenses in the law of Moses. And while I don't believe Christians are bound by the Law today (just look to the teachings of Paul) I do believe that the principles laid down in the Law are just as true and legitimate today as the God who authored them. All this is to say that a Christian should base their political beliefs on what they believe the Bible teaches--not based on the institution we know as the Catholic Church.

And as far as abortion goes, people can argue this one ad infinitem but I do believe the Bible prohibits it. I base this on the fact that the Bible says we are created in the image of God, on the fact that God is sovereign and in control of all things and willed before the foundation of the world everyone's existence. Remember, nothing happens by accident; if God were caught off gaurd by anything, if even the smallest thing happened apart from the knowledge and permissive will of God, then God could no longer be God. Also, a few specific Scriptures such as Psalm 139:13-16 and Jeremiah 1:5 bear our the pro-life position quite powerfully in my opinion.

But specifically in terms of your statements about Kerry, I more or less agree with you. I believe Kerry should be excommunicated, but I think he's getting the short end of things as long as the Catholic church isn't willing to be consistent across the board. And I also agree that the Catholic church should not be the mediator in anyway between people and God. Only Christ can do that because only He died for our sins.