There was a bit of controversy stirred up by the Popes' speech the other day. Well, really only with Donald Trump. The Pope was saying, those who spend more time building walls than building bridges are not Christian. That isn't the exact quote but that is the jest of what he was saying. Donald Trump being the ego maniac that he is, took it to mean the Pope was directly addressing him. The Donald was offended and shot back. Now I'm not Catholic but I really don't think it is a good idea to start a fight with the Pope ! You are just not going to gain much in popularity in doing so. The Pope, whether you are Catholic or even a Christian is held in high regard as a man with " connections." Start messing around with him and you might get a celestial smack down ! All kidding aside, the Pope is a world figure and deserves due respect. I believe the Pope was using the wall analogy in a metaphoric sense. I say that because I don't believe anyone actually believes a wall will be built between the United Sates and Mexico. I don't believe Donald Trump actually believes it either but it makes for a great talking point. It has a certain appeal to a class of people here in the United States.
There was a Meme posted to Facebook that sparked a small discussion among my friends. This Meme concerned the fact that the Pope lives behind a wall. Yes, Vatican city is surrounded by a wall.
This wall is about fifty feet high but does not completely enclose the city. It is also not patrolled by any guards. So, you could say it is no more than a large fence. We all build fences around our homes and no one thinks that is so terrible. Why should it be so bad for a city, or a small country for that matter, which incidentally Vatican City is. The smallest country in the world as a matter fact. I even have an individual on my friends list that self describes himself as an Atheist. He found the whole thing humorous that the Pope would talk about walls when he lives behind one. His position was the Pope should trust to God to protect him in all cases. I pointed out that in Deuteronomy Jesus says, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, you are risking a celestial smack down by doing so. All of that is a distraction however from what the Pope was really saying. He was saying we should not build walls to divide ourselves from others. We need to build bridges to connect with one another. That would be the ideal situation. That would be the most God like action to take. Unfortunately reality plays a role in all of this as well. Faith is a wonderful thing to have and to hold, in fact, I believe a necessary thing. No matter how much I believe there are those that do not. It is those folks we must guard against. They will take advantage.
Consider something as simple as a soup kitchen. They have provisions to feed a certain number of people. If only the truly needy were to utilize that kitchen it may sustain itself. If the " patrons " begin to outgrow the supplies that same kitchen will become overrun and forced to close. Now, there isn't that many folks that want that bowl of soup. Change the " reward " however. The rewards are now free health care, free money, even citizenship. If left unchecked and uncontrolled the result will be an overwhelming of that State or Country. Although it may seem unchristian, it is a necessity. Just as a wall was built to protect the Pope from attack, so too should a wall protect others. The wall is just a metaphor for that action. I believe the wall the Pope was talking about was a cultural wall. We need to build bridges between cultures not exclude them. And therein lies the problem I see in America today. The discussion is of race, when it should be culture. That is something I have covered in a previous blog posting. The Pope, quite naturally, promotes the Christian culture and view of things. By virtue of his position he can speak of such things with authority. He has said nothing unexpected as far I can tell. I will point out that I am not Catholic and so am not generally concerned with his doctrine. I try to follow the doctrine of Christ but then that is another discussion altogether. I mean no disrespect toward the Catholics.
Different cultures have different value systems. Customs are different. To those not of that culture they can be intimidating. Different is sometimes scary and more often, misunderstood. When the culture that is strange to the majority begins demanding recognition of their culture friction ensues. Simply put, to settle in my land, you must conform to my land. That is the way of nature and of man. Both have a way protecting what is theirs. But I have strayed once again from the topic at hand. I was talking about Donald Trump vs The Pope. The Donald has backed off somewhat but I haven't heard an apology. I will say he has kept the conversation focused on him. With the next primary taking place in the Bible belt he has once again found something to shift the conversation. Many in the Bible belt are not Catholic so it may have been a calculated risk on his part. The public is fickle and sometimes quick to forget. Donald Trump is a master manipulator. There is nothing he won't use to his advantage. I'll say one thing, he does start a conversation !
There was a Meme posted to Facebook that sparked a small discussion among my friends. This Meme concerned the fact that the Pope lives behind a wall. Yes, Vatican city is surrounded by a wall.
This wall is about fifty feet high but does not completely enclose the city. It is also not patrolled by any guards. So, you could say it is no more than a large fence. We all build fences around our homes and no one thinks that is so terrible. Why should it be so bad for a city, or a small country for that matter, which incidentally Vatican City is. The smallest country in the world as a matter fact. I even have an individual on my friends list that self describes himself as an Atheist. He found the whole thing humorous that the Pope would talk about walls when he lives behind one. His position was the Pope should trust to God to protect him in all cases. I pointed out that in Deuteronomy Jesus says, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, you are risking a celestial smack down by doing so. All of that is a distraction however from what the Pope was really saying. He was saying we should not build walls to divide ourselves from others. We need to build bridges to connect with one another. That would be the ideal situation. That would be the most God like action to take. Unfortunately reality plays a role in all of this as well. Faith is a wonderful thing to have and to hold, in fact, I believe a necessary thing. No matter how much I believe there are those that do not. It is those folks we must guard against. They will take advantage.
Consider something as simple as a soup kitchen. They have provisions to feed a certain number of people. If only the truly needy were to utilize that kitchen it may sustain itself. If the " patrons " begin to outgrow the supplies that same kitchen will become overrun and forced to close. Now, there isn't that many folks that want that bowl of soup. Change the " reward " however. The rewards are now free health care, free money, even citizenship. If left unchecked and uncontrolled the result will be an overwhelming of that State or Country. Although it may seem unchristian, it is a necessity. Just as a wall was built to protect the Pope from attack, so too should a wall protect others. The wall is just a metaphor for that action. I believe the wall the Pope was talking about was a cultural wall. We need to build bridges between cultures not exclude them. And therein lies the problem I see in America today. The discussion is of race, when it should be culture. That is something I have covered in a previous blog posting. The Pope, quite naturally, promotes the Christian culture and view of things. By virtue of his position he can speak of such things with authority. He has said nothing unexpected as far I can tell. I will point out that I am not Catholic and so am not generally concerned with his doctrine. I try to follow the doctrine of Christ but then that is another discussion altogether. I mean no disrespect toward the Catholics.
Different cultures have different value systems. Customs are different. To those not of that culture they can be intimidating. Different is sometimes scary and more often, misunderstood. When the culture that is strange to the majority begins demanding recognition of their culture friction ensues. Simply put, to settle in my land, you must conform to my land. That is the way of nature and of man. Both have a way protecting what is theirs. But I have strayed once again from the topic at hand. I was talking about Donald Trump vs The Pope. The Donald has backed off somewhat but I haven't heard an apology. I will say he has kept the conversation focused on him. With the next primary taking place in the Bible belt he has once again found something to shift the conversation. Many in the Bible belt are not Catholic so it may have been a calculated risk on his part. The public is fickle and sometimes quick to forget. Donald Trump is a master manipulator. There is nothing he won't use to his advantage. I'll say one thing, he does start a conversation !
No comments:
Post a Comment