To reduce this verse to material poverty is to fail to grasp the significance of Christ’s incarnation. Money has nothing to do with the gospel. When Francis says material poverty is integral to the gospel, he is robbing people of the true message of salvation and the grace of Christ. If material poverty is the “center of the gospel,” Christ is no longer at the center of the gospel. Grace is no longer at the center. Only materialism and works. Francis has, with this statement, exchanged the truth for a lie.
—D. C. McAllister, “Pope Francis Doesn’t Get The Gospel”
Well, we do not KNOW that Francis does not understand the gospel – What we do know is that he has no interest in his “flock” understanding the gospel.
“If faith doesn’t reach your pockets, it’s not a genuine faith.” is true in general, but only in a sense – The Dying Thief had no pockets for his faith to reach! But he did repent, which is what this statement is REALLY an instance of. But that’s, of course, not what Francis is preaching.
But what else do you expect of the one that, in being valid successor to the twelfth Apostle is both Man Of Sin and Son Of Perdition?
Francis is a liberation theology promoter. He sees things through a Marxist lens.
“Once again, we are supposedly doomed, even according to Pope Francis, or at least his advisors, if we do not undertake drastic measures to limit our material consumption, use of fossil fuels (despite growing leaps in efficiency), use of air conditioning, etc. and move away from the economic system of free enterprise and market economies that has taken billions out of extreme poverty and eliminated many diseases.”
“And lastly, we are told we need to give up much of our freedoms and national sovereignty to some new form of centralized world governance, at a time when there is clearly a dangerous deficit of ethics in how the various international bodies are conducting themselves…” (Astonishing New York Times video: population/ climate panics exposed…”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/astonishing-new-york-times-video-revealing-about-overpopulation-environment
Francis is the hippie pope. Anyone who has seen Lutheran satire on YouTube knows what I’m talking about.
I checked out TurretinFan’s blog a few months ago and found some very ardent Roman Catholics saying that being under Francis is worse than being under the Borgia Popes. Whether or not that is true, I’ll let others decide.
Interesting read on the Pope. The social gospel is sadly alive and well. Truly no better than the health wealth prosperity gospel. Whether social or prosperity gospel or the “you always need to do more” gospel, or “be more monk like” gospel or Jesus plus my works gospel or Jesus plus my……fill the blank, it will always fall far and away short of The Biblical Gospel.
Pope Francis has indeed with this statement, exchanged the truth for a lie.
Money won’t buy us happiness, virtue or Salvation, but neither will poverty. Getting the Gospel right is the preeminent theological, Biblical, and life issue humans face. So many false ones out there. So crucial to the very Salvation of a person and properly giving glory to God is this issue, that the apostle Paul declared anyone changing it or otherwise adding to it should be cursed. Even if a sweet sounding angel from heaven should attempt it, we should not listen. Galatians 1:1-10
I’m sure glad we never do that in the Reformed world. (insert foot in mouth here)
What we win them with we win them to. Let it be Christ alone, all else is sinking sand.
Christ alone,