Recently it came to my attention that the ecumenical BPCA (British Pakistani Christian Association) reported on the unfortunate and uphorrant and despicable treatment of Aisa Bibi’s offending Muslim’s resulting in her receiving the death penalty regardless of religion or beliefs we should speak out against this.
It is without question that my condemnation is levelled against the Pakistani Government for refusing to release this women to appease Islamic Fanatics who throughout history has carried out past atrocities in blood, Rome has been known for this historically called the Inquisition.
Where should a biblical Christian stand on this and should we consider this person to be a sister in Christ?
In cases like this it is true we cannot judge unbelievers, but we can use the Bible as our authority on matters of truth upon a statement made by Asia Bibi “Christ had died on the cross for sins, then asked them what Mohammad had done for them, to VOM sources. She told them that Jesus is alive, but Mohammad is dead. “Our Christ is the true prophet of God,” she reportedly told them, “and yours is not true.” is it right without examining what exactly Asia does believe, is it right that any evangelical Christian should address this individual as our Sister in Christ identifying this person as part of the body of Christ?
The Bible commands us to be charitable this would mean that it would be right to defend anyone who is suffering in such a manor that we must show mercy and love towards an individual but without compromising our theological position when it comes to the gospel.
What is Asia Bibi’s religious background?
Asia Bibi who’s actual name is Aasiya Noreen is a Devout Roman Catholic Mother who remains in the Roman Catholic system, so what is it that Asia Bibi believes the first point in the statement is that she is repeating what she believes the Vatican teaches as is the case of all Roman Catholics world wide who do believe “Christ had died on the cross for sins“, “Jesus is alive” and “Our Christ is the true prophet of God,” in accordance with Catholic Theology.
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“He died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures”
CCC 601 The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through the putting to death of “the righteous one, my Servant” as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the slavery of sin.397 Citing a confession of faith that he himself had “received”, St. Paul professes that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.”398 In particular Jesus’ redemptive death fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering Servant.399 Indeed Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life and death in the light of God’s suffering Servant.400 After his Resurrection he gave this interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then to the apostles.401
A priestly, prophetic, and royal people
CCC 783 Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as priest, prophet, and king. The whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them.208
Asia is repeating core doctrines of the Catholic Church, what we should be asking is it right that evangelicals who are identifying Roman Catholics as being saved if the answer is yes, then we should be identifying the church of Rome as being part of the Body of Christ.
It is evangelicals that should be doing two things, praying for this woman’s salvation and sending her a copy of the biblical gospel to help her see the deceit of Catholicism and praying for her release because if she does gets released she will only go back to her Catholic Practices as with every Roman Catholic these are the Rosary, Adoration of the Eucharist, Veneration of the Saints, Sacramentalism, Veneration of Mary, Invocation of Dead Saints, etc.
Rome has always places itself between man and Christ, even grossly perverted the gospel, we have much to be aware it is not proper to let evangelicals believe just because Rome gets somethings correct does not mean that it has not been tainted in some way and for this reason it does not do justice to allow this woman to believe that she represents a biblical Christ.
When it boils down to it the biblical gospel Roman Catholics do not have one, nor do they believe Justification by faith alone, by grace alone and by the blood alone, it is for this reason why it is not safe for any conservative evangelical to make such statements it would be more appropriate to just call Asia and every other Catholic who is suffering in the manor that Asia is a Roman Catholic rather then say she is a Christian.
The Bible does not permit us to have any false sense of spiritual unity, Here are a few Quotes, “This Collection of ‘Conversion’ stories relates to how former Baptists, Presbyterians, Salvation Army Officers, Plymoth Brethren, New Age Believers and Evangelical Anglicans all made their way along the path to rome” these quotes are from a collection of stories from people who have recently converted to Catholosism, “Ann Widdecombe former C of E “Oddly The Concept of Papal Infallibility gave me no trouble at all. Jesus had clearly said to Peter, ‘Whotesoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church…….. And in finding the Catholic Church I have found Peter. I have always had Christ but now I have peter as well……. No one but the pope claims to be the successor to Peter and non but the Catholic Church can trace its Line and its teachings without fail right back to the first apostles…. The Catholic Church alone provides the interpretative authority in its doctrine of papal infallibility…… Truth is absolute by its very nature and Christianity is a vastly more excting religion than most find comftable to contenplate but if truth is absolute it cannotbe diluted……”
Dwight Longenecker former Evangelical “But the Pope calls all Christians to profound conversation of heart in order for ecumenism to take place. In his encyclical Ut Unim Sint, he writes, Their can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of heart personally as well as communally. Each one has to change his way of looking at things.’ He calls Catholics Orthodox and Protestance to move forward into a new re-formation of the church, ‘ The Second Vatican Council, connecting renewal, conversion and reform states that Christ summons the whole church… to a continual reformation.’ …… the Pope calls the whole church to join in a quest for a “new kind of Christianity” in which all Christians can once more unite”
“Can a New ecumenism rise from these ashes for the third millennium ? In a recent article (catholic herald, 19 March 1999) Ian Ker looks to a new dynamic whick is emerging between Evangelicals and Catholics, and Graham Leonard has also noticed a radical shift in Christianity whick presages what many be a new character in the twenty-first century church, Fr Leonnard has spoken of this re-alignment as … between those on the one hand who believe that the Christian Gospel is revealed by God; is to be heard and recieved, and that its purpose is to enable men and women to obey God in love and through them for creation itself to be redeemed. On the other hand are those who believe that it can and should be modified and adapted to the cultural and interllectual attitudes and demands of successive generations and indeed originates in them.”
Now this one is startling.
“While Evangelicalism and Catholisism have been traditional enemies, their are many signs on both sides of the atlantic that a significant shift is happening in both communities, Old boundaries are dissolving, old prejudices dying out and old doctrinal disputes seem increacingly irrelivent.”
“While Scott Hahn, Patrick Madrid, and others work as converts to Catholosism, the Catholic Church is learning from Evangelicals in other ways. In the United State, England and Latin America Catholics are learning to do primery evangelism using an adapted form of the highly successful, Evangelical Anglican “alpha course”.
At the Same time, Evangelical leaders are less shy about using ‘Catholic’ techniques of prayer and worship. In America, Churches where candles and set litergies would – even ten years be unheard of, are clebrating lent and Advent with crosses, candles, ashes and litergies borrowed from the Catholics and Anglicans. As one American Baptist minister observed when told that the ashes he wanted to use for Ash Wednesday were derived from burning the Palm Sunday palms, ‘Whoa! All this Catholic stuff seems to be connected!”
“For Many reasons, the old ethnic and denominational religous barriers will be replaced by a new kind of Christianity. This new expression of the faith will not recognize the traditional national, linguistic and denominational borders.”
As Vatican II really gets into the bloodstream of the Church, the old doctrinal and liturgical missunderstandings will also dissapear at a grass roots level. Catholics will become more evangelical and evangelicals will become more Catholic. Lynn Jolly points out in her essay that Tillich referred to the ‘era’ of reform, rather then the churches of the reformation, and as one Catholic bishop has remarked, ‘The era of reform is over.’
To make a statement that this woman is our sister in Christ or represents the gospel as what is being banded about many sites on the world wide web is fulfilling Rome’s counter reformation agenda as I have seen this widely done time and time again, it is commendable that evangelicals want to support anyone who is suffering in this manor for what ever reason but it is regrettable that they should want to remove any distinction between Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism for this we must object to any Judgement made by those stating these Roman Catholics are following the Biblical Christ.
It is my belief that instead of enabling Catholics to stay in Catholicism we should rather be going to Catholics with the biblical gospel to try and rescue them from Catholicism and another gospel the Church of Rome represents.
Miguel Hayworth / August 11th 2015
