Scandals revolving around pagan imagery being used in or near the Vatican have rocked the Catholic Church recently. This is not a repeat of 1517.
After receiving criticism mostly from traditional Romanists, Pope Francis has defended his decision to engage in pagan idolatry by claiming that Paul “built a bridge” with the pagan idolaters.
During his regularly scheduled Wednesday sermon, Francis claimed that the Apostle engaged in “inculturation” with the pagan on Mars Hill, and that there was nothing wrong with surrounding yourself with idols.
The Pope said…
“Paul chose to enter into familiarity with the city and began therefore to frequent the most significant places and people…He went to the synagogue, symbol of the life of faith; he went to the town square, symbol of urban life, and he went to the Aereopagus, symbol of political and cultural life.
Francis continued…
“In this way Paul observed the culture, observed the environment of Athens…and started from a contemplative gaze [to discover] that God who lives in His houses, in His streets, and in His squares.”
Of course, Francis is not guilty of walking into pagan cultures with the Word of God, but bringing pagan images into (supposedly) the House of God and then worshipping them.
Francis referred to a scandal over the last few weeks in which Francis took part in pagan worship ceremony of a Brazilian fertility goddess called a Pachamama, which is a topless pregnant idol. We covered that abomination in the post, Pope Francis Worships Topless Earth Goddess with Pagan at the Vatican.
Later, Roman Catholic activists rushed the Vatican, stole the idols, and destroyed them. We covered that story in the article, Roman Catholic Protestors Throw Pope’s New Idols into the Tiber River.
The Pope referred to Paul in Acts 17, who preached to the idolaters at Mars Hill, or the Areopagus. However, Luke begins the account by writing, “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.”
Between the Pachamama idol and the Molech statue at the Vatican-controlled Colesseum, the Pope is actually making Vatican City and Rome cities of idols.
As Protestants, we would like to remind our conservative Roman Catholic friends that the Pope merely demonstrates that their religion is at its core thoroughly pagan. Worship (or veneration) of the Madonna is little more than the adaptation of Greek fertility religion. The Pachamama is no less offensive to God than venerated images of the Virgin Mary.
There is hope and freedom from paganism and idolatry. If you would like to leave behind Roman Catholicism and all of its various idolatries, we recommend to you the work of Mike Gendron and we encourage you to repent of your church affiliation, join the true universal church of Christ, and leave the abominations of Rome.
