Mutual incompatibility implies
I don't believe there is "mutually incompability" in Scripture, only at times in people's opinions.
The "problem" IMO is the West's abandonment of
MYSTERY - especially in the Roman Catholic Denomination. The RCC still pronounces the word but has lost ALL concept and acceptance of it. In the words of my Greek Orthodox friend, "The Roman Church cannot shut up but INSISTS on theorizing about everything, dividing the church over it, declaring it dogma and demanding that God agree with it." "The Roman Church has lost all sense of MYSTERY."
IMO, this is a product of the enormous, Jupiter sized ego of the RC Denomination: it simply cannot consider anything other than how perfect it's own brain is, how perfect its own invented theories are.... indeed, I was specifically taught as a Catholic that God MUST agree with the new, unique dogmas of the singular RC Denomination or "God would be wrong - and that's not possible." Our Deacon said EXACTLY that. The ego of it all......
Luther said, "
Humility is the foundation of theology." It's certainly essential. God is bigger than we are, smarter than we are. God never told ANY denomination to correct Him, to invent dogmas, to correct "incompatibilities." We are told to trust, rely, obey. God should get the proverbial "last word" EVEN IF (specially if?) that means we are left with a paradox, left with something we don't understand and can't explain. I think it is acceptable (at times, even good) to think..... to consider...... although I reject the uber, extreme individualism of the RC Denomination (which demands that this be limited to IT ITSELF alone, exclusively, singularly, uniquely for it itself insists that it itself is infallible, unaccountable.... that It Itself is uniquely, singualary, individually guided and taught by the HS). WE are the church...... WE were given the Scriptures..... WE are lead by the Spirit..... theology is to be done by US.... I reject the extreme, radical denominationalism/individualism of the RC Denomination (one of the reasons I left that denomination). And while it's okay to try to "wrap our brains" around something, we need to remember we are fallen, limited, mortal, sinful bloats - NOT God's equal in all things. We may not ..... we probably won't..... succeed in fully "understanding." But then WE are called to be stewards of the
MYSTERIES of God! No denomination (including the RCC) and NO individual is called to be the "explainer of God" or "the inventor of dogma" Ego.... individualism.... causes SELF (such as the RCC) insisting that SELF (uniquely) is to correct God and to make God "make sense."
How else can we explain things like unique, new RC Dogmas like Transubstantiation, Purgatory, Infallibility of One RC Denomination Bishop - you know, the things that caused the two largest divides in the history of Christianity: 1054 and 1521. As my Greek Orthodox friend notes, "The Roman Church just WILL NOT leave well enough alone."
Now, I'm the first to confess that all the "children" of the RC Denomination inherited this egoism, individualism that the RC Denomination took to such an extreme.. they SHOULD have learned the horrors and dangers of that, but.... Luther stressed humility, community, accountability..... stressed mystery...... but there soon arose in Protestantism some of this egoism, this propensity to appoint self as the Genius, this propensity to insist God only leads ME, talks to ME, teaches ME, whispers in the ear of ME.... I think it IS true that the Reformation - as it developed well beyond Luther (and Lutherans) had/has an element of going full circle (SO ironic to me each "sees" this in each other but not in self). The tragedy of what the RC Denomination did so many centuries before the Reformation will - sadly - continue until we return to humility, community, accountability.... before we put an end to the uber-Roman obsession with POWER, centrality, control.... and the ego of insisting that all (including God) agree with the theories of it itself uniquely. We have a lot of work to do. In the milieu that now exists.... the MESS (that I blame almost entirely on the RC Denomination).... and with the RELATIVISM so ingrained in our society.... all the denominations taking a lesson from the RCC on self-promotion and self-protection, this is going to be hard. I keep trying to be a voice for it, while admitting it's a
huge task.....
Soli DEO Gloria.
- Josiah
