Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Steve Ray and Magisterial Double Standards

Mr. Steve Ray, pilgrimage promoting papist, despite supposedly "fasting from blogging and blog reading for Lent," has provided two recent blog posts in which he illustrates the fact that Romanist apologetics can impair one's ability to think straight:

a) According to Ray, Warren flip-flopped on homosexuality because he lacks a Magisterium (link);

b) According to Ray, the Roman Catholic senators who voted against a conscience exception amendment in abortion cases did so because they are "stupid" and "wicked" (link).

Does anyone else notice the double-standard?

When a single "Protestant" does something bad (and I in no way endorse Rick Warren's flip-flop), it is proof of the failure of Sola Scriptura, but when 16 Roman Catholic senators do something bad (and only 9 do the right thing) it is because they are individually wicked and/or stupid. Do you see the problem with Ray's thought process? The bias there should be evident to even the most simple of readers.

Finally, while we have Mr. Ray on the hook, let's take a quick peek at the argument he uses against Warren. Ray writes:
Beauty of NOT having a Magisterium ... ... is that you don't have to have any solid positions, morals, or theology. You can waffle and change your mind. God has no opinion (obviously, or so think many) so you don’t have to worry about what He might think.
(see first link above, double-ellipsis in original)

a) Remember the Crusades? Seemed like a good idea to the "magisterium" of the day. Not so much these days. Is Mr. Ray willing to concede that the Roman church does not have any solid positions, morals, or theology? Of course not. Mr. Ray would never concede such a thing. But he's quite willing to throw stones at Mr. Warren's error.

b) This comment on Ray's part is a piece of a larger propaganda campaign within Romanism to suggest that the two choices are their magisterium or moral relativism. This false dichotomy is not just illogical it is absurd. There is a "What We Believe" page at Rick Warren's church's website. Among a number of articles, that site says:
The Bible is God’s word to all men. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error.
(source)

Now, (out of wickedness, stupidity, fear of men, an overly soft heart, or whatever) Mr. Warren may not faithfully follow his own statement of beliefs, but there they are. He claims that the Bible is truth without any mixture of error, and that God speaks through it to all men. God's opinion does matter, even though Mr. Warren gets things wrong, for whatever reason he does.

I know that may burst Mr. Ray's polemical bubble, but Mr. Ray needs to be spurred on to a balanced and honest polemic and away from his double-standards and irrational propaganda.

-TurretinFan

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