by Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
A few quick thoughts on Pope Leo and other rulers:
I did not set out to write a piece on the new Pope and related issues, but as is often the case, a confluence of things conspired against me, so here I am! Let me briefly state them, and then look into matters a bit further. In my morning Bible reading I am back in 1 and 2 Chronicles once again.
As I was walking my dog thereafter, I was thinking about how so many of the kings were such a mixed bag, doing some good things and doing some bad things. I thought that if the rulers of God’s ancient people were such a combination of good and evil, how much more could pagan or secular leaders be the same today. God has very questionable material to work with here!
And then on the social media a friend asked me if I was going to write a piece (or more) on the new Pope, Leo XIV. I said this to her: “With so many other good writers, including Catholic writers, already having done so, I am not sure if I will add to it all.”
I did offer a few quick details: “An American-born Pope, close in sync with Francis it seems – another progressive in various ways. But he seems to be pretty pro-life at least. He could be a worry all up – time will tell.” And then I said what might have been my most helpful comment: “At the very least, we can keep him in our prayers.”
I could just leave things at that, but CultureWatch of course exists to comment on the issues of the day from a biblical perspective. With some 100 different categories, including politics, economics, ethics, theology and philosophy, and with some Christians sometimes looking to me for my thoughts on various matters, I suppose I should weigh in on this just a bit.
But as readers should also be aware, it has long been my policy to try to avoid the incessant sectarian debates. I differ with Catholics of course on key issues, being an evangelical Protestant. And with zillions of other places in existence where Catholics can criticize Protestants, or Protestants can criticize Catholics, I try to steer clear of all that. However…