What’s New in the Catholic Church?

Occasionally, man-made churches invent new policies or jettison old ones. Of course, the Bible has not changed since God had men record His knowledge, wisdom, and commandments. But men institute councils and synods and conventions which meet whenever a religious group decides. The following article, "Pope Francis Weighs Adding ‘Ecological Sin’ to Church Teachings," by Francis X. Rocca concerning the Catholic Church, can be found at www.wsj.com.

No verse is cited for "ecological sin." The pope apparently accepts the theory of "global warming," although many scientists do not think that evidence for the concept is sufficient. The Catholic Church has historically accepted evolution, also, although any scientific evidence is woefully lacking. Apparently, the current head of the Roman Catholic Church thinks the following ought to be equal with the Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home." If God had wanted that statement to be part of the Beatitudes, wouldn’t He have had the Holy Spirit put it in there?

The article contains considerably more high-sounding verbiage, some of which has come from the Amazon region meeting at the Vatican held two months ago. Still, not a single Scripture is presented in connection with any position taken. To most of us, it seems logical to build a doctrine on a Bible passage. How odd to look at a religious group that just makes up their own beatitudes and then calls them authoritative!

Another oddity is that the position changes the "Catechism" published by John Paul II in 1992. How does anyone keep up with all of these things that are not in the Bible to begin with? It must be confusing to have changes made all the time regarding various issues. How much easier would it be to abide by the Scriptures which have not changed since the first century? The Bible teaches us that it is complete (2 Peter 1:3). God’s Word does not change!

Capital Punishment

Another challenge to the 1992 "Catechism" is this church leader’s policy on capital punishment. Ironically, he takes a position that directly contradicts the Scriptures. According to Francis, capital punishment is "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." Okay, so what Scripture says that? The answer is a huge, "None."

What did God say when Achan sinned by taking spoils that were reserved only for God when Joshua and the people began to conquer the Land of Canaan? He didn’t mumble some words about the man’s inviolability. "So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones" (Joshua 7:25). Achan’s family died with him.

In the New Testament, after Jesus had ascended into heaven, Ananias and Sapphira lied about the amount of a gift they had given to the church. Because they had lied to the Holy Spirit—and not just to Peter—each one fell dead at the apostle’s feet. No one worried about their dignity. What they had done was worthy of death. In fact, "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8).

The truth is that God authorized capital punishment in both testaments. In the New, Romans 13:1-7 explains that the civil government is "God’s minister"—he is an "avenger to execute wrath on him who practiced evil" (v. 4). In other words, God authorizes the civil government to punish evildoers. That may include taking the life of the guilty. He does not bear the sword to chop onions.

In the Old Testament, God authorized capital punishment right after the Flood. He first gave all animals as food (which He had never done before) (Gen. 9:2-3). He added a stipulation, however: "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood" (v. 4). We have no way of knowing if some future pope will ban the eating of animals because it robs them of their dignity—or some such thing—but God forbade for all time the eating of blood.

Then He required the lifeblood of any animal who kills a human being (v. 5). Finally, the Lord explained His position on the death penalty: "Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood will be shed…" (v. 6). This is not a prophecy; it’s a command. Man has no right to take the life of a fellow human being. The way this worked under the Law of Moses is that if an innocent person was killed, the Avenger of Blood would take his life (Deut. 19:12). If someone killed another, and it was not intentional or premeditated, he could escape to one of the cities of Refuge where the Avenger of Blood could not bother him or seek revenge.

However, if the murder was premediated or occurred because of strong emotions, the taker of human life was himself to be put to death. The question is, "Why?" And God supplies the answer at the close of Genesis 9:6: "For in the image of God He made man" (see also Genesis 1:26). Since this is the case, no one ought to murder a fellow human being.

Now consider the two statements side by side:

The reason for capital punishment that God gives is: "For in the image of God He made man."

The reason the pope is against capital punishment is that it is "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person."

The Bible is right. Because man possesses dignity, the killer’s life is taken from him. This is genuine justice.