Jeff, I have appreciated your work to this point, but imho this is a mistake. I realize this is a cartoon and not a term paper, but nevertheless these sayings of the pope- if they are such ( you do not supply quotation marks)- require both context and source. If you are going to call them into question publicly as this cartoon does, whether or not that was your actual intention, keep in mind with whom you are dealing: "Touch not my anointed and to my prophets do no harm." Like it or not, this is the Lord's anointed. I- and presumably you- would have preferred a pontiff in the mold of Benedict XVI, but this is the pope we have. From the catechism we know that the Fourth Commandment applies to all of those in authority, beginning with our mother and father. "Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you . . ." If we want the blessing of God on our lives and our work, we should be very circumspect in all our dealings with the persons the LORD has put over us. Regarding our parents, there is no escape clause such as, "unless your mother or father happens to be such and such a kind of person, or does this or that." The only escape clause is that we should obey them unless they command sin, but even here disrespect is not countenanced. Perhaps this comment seems fairly heavy compared to your cartoon, but it is only by way of strongly encouraging you to stay away from this kind of thing. There is no blessing in it- something which I can confidently say from vivid personal experience.
Jeff, I have appreciated your work to this point, but imho this is a mistake. I realize this is a cartoon and not a term paper, but nevertheless these sayings of the pope- if they are such ( you do not supply quotation marks)- require both context and source. If you are going to call them into question publicly as this cartoon does, whether or not that was your actual intention, keep in mind with whom you are dealing: "Touch not my anointed and to my prophets do no harm." Like it or not, this is the Lord's anointed. I- and presumably you- would have preferred a pontiff in the mold of Benedict XVI, but this is the pope we have. From the catechism we know that the Fourth Commandment applies to all of those in authority, beginning with our mother and father. "Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you . . ." If we want the blessing of God on our lives and our work, we should be very circumspect in all our dealings with the persons the LORD has put over us. Regarding our parents, there is no escape clause such as, "unless your mother or father happens to be such and such a kind of person, or does this or that." The only escape clause is that we should obey them unless they command sin, but even here disrespect is not countenanced. Perhaps this comment seems fairly heavy compared to your cartoon, but it is only by way of strongly encouraging you to stay away from this kind of thing. There is no blessing in it- something which I can confidently say from vivid personal experience.
ReplyDeleteIs that standard adhered to for the likes of Pope Alexander VI?
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