Benedict
the 16th is a pope Protestantism can do business
with, so fundamentalists should shelve their propaganda
the pontiff represents the Biblical Anti-Christ
and join forces on issues both can benefit from.
Benedict's
predecessor, John Paul the Great, did much to encourage
the Evangelical Catholic movement, especially in
Ireland and Africa. He pushed Scriptural unity rather
than ecumenical structural unity between the various
Christian denominations.
With
his background in the Hitler Youth and his role
as John Paul's doctrinal enforcer, Benedict's image
as a religious 'hard man' will stand him in good
stead in his bid to re-establish the Catholic pulpit
as a place of moral responsibility, not public ridicule.
The
big fear was that the cardinals would elect a theologically
liberal 'wet', who would go soft on crucial issues
such as abortion, homosexuality, human cloning,
GM foods, same-sex marriages, radical Islam, and
gay clergy.
Whilst
Benedict's election may not please the Catholic
Church's liberals, especially in the United States
and Europe, let's hope he is not forced to compromise
his ultra-conservative stance on spiritual issues
which are just as important to fundamentalist Protestants.
Viewed
as a close ally of the late John Paul, there are
two elements of the late pontiff's legacy which
Benedict must ensure are not swept under the clerical
carpet. Although John Paul is less than a month
dead, his critics have already accused him of not
acting tough on the issue of paedophile priests.
This
issue has done more damage to the confidence of
ordinary Catholics in their clergy than pluralism
or commercialism. Benedict needs to ensure victims
of clergy abuse are financially and spiritually
compensated, and convicted paedophile clergy are
excommunicated from the Church.
If
Benedict maintains his tough line on opposing homosexuality
and the ordination of gay clergy, it will lend weight
to Protestants within the worldwide Anglican Communion
- especially in England and America - who are facing
similar challenges.
John
Paul is credited with breaking the back of communism
in Europe. Benedict must continue this campaign
and wipe the scourge of atheistic communism from
other nations, such as Zimbabwe, North Korea, China
and South America.
John
Paul was tough on those who preached and supported
liberation theology - Benedict should stamp it out
altogether.
With
the growth globally in mystic religions, crazy cults,
and the occult generally, now is the time for Catholicism
and Protestantism to unite spiritually against these
anti-Christian movements.
Benedict
should kick off his first year as pontiff by hosting
a worldwide convention on how the Christian churches
can stamp out anti-Biblical heresy and blasphemy.
Opposing paganism, New Age religions and witchcraft
cults is surely an issue upon which even Ian Paisley's
Free Presbyterians and Benedict's ultra-conservatives
could form a united front.
Ironically,
Benedict in parts of his doctrine is more Protestant
than some liberal 'wets' within the Church of Ireland,
Irish Methodism and even mainstream Irish Presbyterianism.
Protestantism
can also unite with Benedict in a global campaign
to help mainstream moderate Islam combat the threat
posed by radical Muslim fundamentalism.
Just
as Islamic fanatics are looking to Saladin, the
radical leader who founded the concept of the 'jihad'
(holy war) during the Crusades of the Middle Ages,
so too must Benedict look to the heroes of the First
Crusade who liberated the holy city of Jesusalem
from militant Muslim control.
Benedict
and Protestant fundamentalism must also marshal
their respective forces to fight another dangerous
'ism' facing Christianity - historical revisionism.
To placate radical muslims, there is even a perception
some parts of the media are indulging in a revisionist
attitude towards the Crusades of the Middle Ages.
This
is by painting Christendom's heroes, such as Richard
the Lionheart, as a psychotic murderer, whilst the
real mass killers, such as the butcher Saladin,
are portrayed as caring and compassionate leaders
of their people.
It
should not be forgotten many of today's radical
muslim extremists find inspiration for their suicide
slaughter tactics in Saladin's original 'jihad'
of the late 1180s to capture the Christian city
of Jerusalem.
Just
a few weeks before capturing Jerusalem, Saladin
murdered thousands of Christian knights in a slaughter
which was to spark the Third Crusade.
Radical
Islamics seem to conveniently overlook that Saladin
butchered thousands of his own muslim people in
his tyrannical lust for power across Egypt, Syria
and Arabia in the decade before the fateful Third
Crusade.
His
decision to attack the Christian citadel of Jerusalem
was prompted more to prevent a coup in his own ranks
rather than progress the cause of radical Islam.
His move on the Holy City (to both Christians and
muslims alike) came almost 90 years after it had
fallen to Christendom during the bloody First Crusade.
For
Christianity, the city is holy because it was where
Jesus Christ was welcomed as he rode in on a donkey
in what the Christian calendar now celebrates as
Palm Sunday.
For
muslims, the city is equally holy because it was
where their prophet Mohammed reportedly went to
heaven to see God.
By
1187, Saladin's reputation was more notorious as
a butcher of fellow muslims than attacking Christendom.
His decision to attack Jerusalem that year was also
fuelled by the fact European Christianity was so
politically fragmented, he could take a gamble on
attacking the city without fear of retaliation from
a Christian army.
More
than eight centuries after Saladin's blood bath,
the relevance of these events to the modern Christian
Faith is that there is a significant body of liberal
'do-gooders' who want to appease radical Islam by
apologising for the Crusades.
There
is a major difference between the late John Paul's
public apologetic stance because of the Vatican's
attitude towards the Jews during the Second World
War, and bowing the knee to the religious mentality
which inspired the 9/11 massacre.
Catholics
in particular and Christians generally can rest
assured that Benedict - if he sticks to his ulta-conservative
doctrines - will not make concessions to radical
Islam.
Such
an immoral concession will be viewed by Osama bin
Laden-style Islamic fundamentalists as further evidence
of the so-called decadent West, and would actually
fuel radical Islam's fervent hatred of Christianity
rather than calm troubled political waters.
Indeed,
generally 21st century Christendom must take a tough
stance against clerics who openly consider issuing
apologies for the Crusades on behalf of the Christian
Faith. This 'atonement of past sins' trend from
the liberal 'do-gooders' is also being felt within
Christianity itself.
On
one hand, there is a push to persuade the Catholic
Church to publicly apologise for the torture and
burning of Protestant martyrs by the Spanish Inquisition.
Whilst on the other, elements within liberal Protestantism
believe it would be an appropriate gesture to help
ecumenical relations if the Reformed Faith apologised
to the Vatican for the bloody campaign against Southern
Irish Catholics by Oliver Cromwell, the Puritan
victor of the English Civil War.
Rightly
or wrongly, revisionism is becoming a popular concept
as many religions try to adapt to an increasingly
pluralist world.
But
for Biblical Christianity, revisionism is not an
option. Modern-day Christians need to demonstrate
the same zeal to protect their principles as the
valiant knights of the First Crusade who captured
Jerusalem for Christendom.
In
practical terms, both Benedict and Protestant evangelicals
and fundamentalists must instruct their respective
parishes, congregations and fellowships that they
need to chose their clerics wisely to ensure naïve
concessions from the pulpit do not deteriorate into
un-Biblical heresy.
Certainly,
one concession Benedict must make in his ultra-conservatism
which would strengthen the spiritual bond with Protestant
fundamentalism - allow the Catholic clergy to marry
as part of a campaign to preserve the sanctity of
marriage against the ravages of divorce.