La Shawn Barber is taking some personal hits over her recent posting regarding the Pope, I suppose this was inevitable when dealing with issues of such personal beliefs and convictions but that does not make it right.

This is the comment La Shawn made that has people so upset:

While I am not up to theological discussions about the matter just yet, I will say, preliminarily, that if the Pope believed Christ died for his sins, and that we are saved through faith alone in Christ alone by his grace alone, the Pope, like anyone else who believes these things, will be spared from God’s righteous and just punishment.

For the life of me I cannot understand how this comment would anger anyone. Could there possibly be a person on this planet that believes the Pope has gone to heaven for no reason other than that he is the Pope? To believe that is to bypass God and the basic principal of Christianity.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast.”

Ephesians Chapter 2 verse 8 and 9

La Shawn has done nothing wrong here. She spoke the truth as she knows it to be.

I’m the first to admit my timing may have been off, knowing how sensitive people can be. Emotions are running high at a time like this. But that’s all I’ll concede. What I wrote about salvation needs to be said all the time, and that was my focus. I’ve attacked no one.

What’s most disappointing is that some of the hostile folks are bloggers who’ve wholeheartedly endorsed my political views. Together we’ve ranted against liberalism. As long as I wrote what was agreeable to them, all was well. But after just one post, a mere comment on the death of the Pope, some of these same bloggers have expended the energy to e-mail their intent to de-link my site from their blog rolls.

Like my old friend Matt who commented recently and La Shawn I am not a Catholic and so it is difficult to share the same feelings of a deep spiritual loss in regards to Pope John Paul, but we can and do share the sadness that comes with the loss of a good and decent man who has done much to glorify God’s name and to help this world. That this is not enough for some is truly sad.

I struggled with the decision to refer to the Pope as the Holy Father in an earlier post because for me there is but one Holy Father. I chose to use that term as a sign of respect for those who follow the teachings of the Catholic Church, I understand by doing so I may have offended those who do not, it was my call and I am answerable to no one but God if I was wrong to do so.

This is a time in our world when the faithful need unity, this is not a time to tear each other down. We Christians are under attack from all sides and need to unify to fight this onslaught of secularism.

You may not agree with La Shawn and you may not agree with me, and we may not always agree with you, but lets face it none of us are what is truly important here. In dealing with issues of faith all glory should be directed to God and on that we should be able to agree. If we can not then we are truly in trouble here and deservedly so.

One doesn’t need to be Catholic to be offended and appalled by some of the negative articles and opinion pieces floating around about the Pope. Personally I find it sleezy and tactless to be disparaging the man and trying to discredit his legacy before he has even been properly laid to rest, and as for the countless “Christians are evil” articles and op-eds, I’ve noted before I have no patience for anti Christian rhetoric at all.

You got none of that from La Shawn and those that have sent rude emails and threats or promises of delinking should be ashamed. She did not presume to judge Pope John Paul, she merely quoted scripture about salvation.

Should our faith ( the Christian Church) be weakened and reduced we need look to lay blame on no one but ourselves, Because if we are willing to fight among ourselves but unwilling to fight for God why should he fight for us?

Comment on this story (3 posted)