Gary Nelson: You can’t edit God’s ‘mail’
You can’t edit God’s ‘mail’
A Christian onlooker might view the recent activity of the Catholic Church and assume that the current synod has the authority to change 2000-year-old teachings on issues of marriage, birth-control, same-sex attraction and so on. Since its teachings are, according to the Church, revealed by Jesus Christ, it would be a safe bet no significant changes will be forthcoming. The Church has humbly considered itself to be merely the mail carrier for God, while others apparently believe they can edit his mail when they disagree with it.
When some Christians left the Church in the 16th century, they did take with them some very good things – like the Bible and some of the traditions. Unfortunately, the last 500 years have suggested that the experiment didn’t work so well. There are now an estimated 33,000 denominations of Christianity that point solely to that same Bible to prove their conflicting doctrines are the correct interpretation.
Only one Church can claim to be historically consistent in its doctrines since the first century. You might find that irritating if you disagree with them, but it continues to seek the best modern approach to preach that same Gospel, and absolutely everyone is welcome.
Gary Nelson, Modesto
This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Gary Nelson: You can’t edit God’s ‘mail’."