Cowardice

Not that I agree with John Hagee or his doctrine (because I don’t), but when he described the Catholic Church as the “great whore” of Revelation, he made a statement that, in accordance with the Roman Catholic’s bloody history of persecution, fits the Catholic Church rather well. The problem is that Roman Catholic persecution was not confined to Jews. No, they decided to viciously persecute anyone they labeled a “heretic.” This persecution was not limited to individuals, but was applied to any group that would not submit to the “authority” of the Roman Catholic Church.

The problem with this persecution was that it was not the mild persecution that some folks in modern America have endured. Rather, it was along the scale and scope of what the U.S. Government did to the Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas. Actually, in reading the various historical accounts, it was much worse with whole villages and towns slaughtered simply because the Pope decided they needed to be wiped away for their supposed “heresy.” However, since the Pope had no armies of his own, he engaged and coerced the secular rulers under his influence to do the dirty work for the Catholic Church.

Now, Catholics can deny this and cry foul all they want, but their history is plain. So plain that even one of their own admitted to it.

“Were it not that the baptists have been grievously tormented and cut off with the knife during the past twelve hundred years, they would swarm in greater number than all the Reformers.” (Cardinal Hosius, President of the Council of Trent: Hosius, Letters, Apud Opera, pp. 112, 113.)

Make no mistake, when the Cardinal states they persecuted with the “knife” he is not being flippant. Moreover, he also makes it clear that the Catholic Church “grievously tormented” and “cut off” all those the Catholic Church labeled “Baptist,” which tells us little to nothing about the poor folk they didn’t label Baptist — and slaughtered.

Oh, I know, the Catholic Church supposedly apologized for its “misdeeds.” However, one can hardly call it “misdeeds” as if it incidentally and infrequently occurred. No, the truth is that the Catholic Church engaged in wholesale murder of all who said they followed Christ, but would not submit to the supposed authority of the Catholic Church. Moreover, the Catholic Church did this as part of their doctrine. Yes, the Catholic Church believed that it was called of God to rid the world of “heretics,” never mind that a commandment to do so cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. However, that should not surprise anyone as the Catholic Church disdains the Bible and doesn’t follow it anyway. No, they have their “Catechism” which is a mishmash of all sorts of writings, ranging from the supposed “early church fathers” to Popes, various Catholic saints and even the Missal (now there’s self-justification and circular reasoning).

Thus, for John Hagee to describe the Catholic Church as the “great whore of Revelation” was not far, if any, off the mark. However, since Hagee is the “pastor” of a mega-church in Texas, and involved politically to the point of endorsing John McCain for President, he obviously values political and social favor over the truth. Why? Because he has since retracted the statements he made about the Catholic Church and claimed:

In his letter, Hagee said he now better understood that the Book of Revelation’s reference to the Catholic Church as “the apostate church” and the “great whore” are “a rhetorical device long employed in anti-Catholic literature and commentary.” ((Pastor Hagee apologizes for anti-Catholic remarks))

I wonder if all those the Catholic Church murdered for over 1200 years would consider their complaint against the Catholic Church a mere “rhetorical device?” Moreover, Hagee has decided that his stance against Catholic doctrine and its encouragement of persecution is apparently no longer warranted either:

He stressed that in his use, “neither of these phrases can be synonymous with the Catholic Church.” ((Ibid))

So then, what should we call a “church” that adopts every pagan ritual and incorporates it into its own worship practices and doctrines, as the Catholic Church has? What should we say about a church that cut deals with the Nazis and with various Communist dictators so that it could operate freely in those countries? What should we say about a “church” that refuses to remove priests and bishops who openly espouse communist doctrine and imply that it has the approval of the Vatican? No, all the Vatican has ever done is write papers that slap the wrists of the “offending” priests, bishops, nuns, and friars and say in effect “Oh, don’t do that, its not proper!” and let it go. Crying out loud, they won’t even remove the pedophiles and homosexuals among their ranks, instead preferring to shuttle them hither and yon into different parishes where people don’t know of their crimes and allow them to remain as “clergy.” If that’s not apostasy and whoredom, I don’t know what is. It certainly is corruption all the way to the highest levels of the Catholic Church — including the Pope, the supposed “vicar of Christ.”

No, Hagee’s problem is now actually compounded in that he has catered to a corrupt institution and a corrupt society to please them, and denied the truth of the Scripture — that is, if he ever had it in the first place.

Why?

Because he has also retracted statements he made concerning the judgement of God upon this nation. As one offended liberal opined concerning the Hagee — McCain relationship, Hagee has a history of (in his words) making “embarrassing” statements:

Since then, Mr. McCain has been shocked to learn that his clerical ally has made many other outrageous statements. Mr. Hagee, it’s true, did not blame the American government for concocting AIDS. But he did say that God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its sins, particularly a scheduled “homosexual parade there on the Monday that Katrina came.”

Mr. Hagee didn’t make that claim in obscure circumstances, either. He broadcast it on one of America’s most widely heard radio programs, “Fresh Air” on NPR, back in September 2006. He reaffirmed it in a radio interview less than two weeks ago. Only after a reporter asked Mr. McCain about this Katrina homily on April 24 did the candidate brand it as “nonsense” and the preacher retract it. ((The All-White Elephant in the Room))

Never mind that the Old Testament teaches us plainly that certain transgressions will bring the judgement of God upon a nation — whether they have a covenant with God (as Israel did) or not. Even though a number of Hagee’s doctrines are not right, he still could not have gone wrong in speaking about Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it wrought upon the entire Gulf Coast, and particularly New Orleans. Whether the statement is popular or not, is not the issue, the issue is the truth — and it is true that the extremely bad weather America has experienced for a number of years now is the express judgement of God.

This is no different that Hagee’s backing away from the truth about Catholicism and the sordid history of the Catholic Church. What it tells anyone is that Hagee’s convictions are bought and sold for political and social favor. In short, Hagee fears John McCain and the American public more than he fears the LORD God of heaven and earth.

Now, I’m certain that there are many out there who fall for the media’s traps and false statements, and I’m certain that Hagee is one of them. However, he could have differentiated between the Catholic Church and its egregious doctrine and individual Catholics. After all, most Catholics are woefully ignorant of the true history of the Catholic Church. In fact, the vast majority of Catholics are woefully ignorant of the Bible, having only read the Missal, and perhaps the Catechism. Thus, they do not know and understand why some of us roundly condemn the Catholic Church as an institution.

You know, Hagee could have used his statements as a platform to address those issues. Instead he chose to sweep it under the rug and hide the truth and deny history. Of course, Hagee could have used his statements concerning Katrina to show that, historically and Biblically, certain behaviors are inherently destructive to any nation. However, he chose to curry favor with John McCain rather than tell the truth.

John Hagee, you stinking coward.

Last Updated on 16 years by