June 29, 2006

A MEXICAN MESSIANIC MOVEMENT?

What are the religious connotations in this Sunday's election of a new president of Mexico? Maybe quite a few, argues this commentator, who says it could lead to "messianic populism." Say, what? Well, take a look at the piece and see if you would be concerned -- or hopeful -- as a citizen of Mexico.

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AN ETERNAL STATEMENT OF FAITH?

On this date (or maybe June 30 -- there's a little confusion) in 1968, Pope Paul VI (pictured here) issued a statement of faith called "Creed for the People of God." It's also known as "Credo of the People of God."

Whatever it's called and whatever day it was issued on, it was meant to be a contemporary confession of Catholic faith.

I suspect, however, that most Catholics today either don't know about it or couldn't recite much of anything from it. These statements of faith tend to create a historical record of how the faith is expressed in a particular time and place, but often they don't get used much and eventually are largerly forgotten.

Well, there are exceptions, such as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, which get used quite a bit in Christian churches.

What I invite you to think about today is whether formal statements describing what your religion believes have much staying power with you or whether you view them as so many words in a world full of words.

In my Presbyterian tradition, we tend to take such statements pretty seriously in that we have published a dozen or more such statements in a book, the Book of Confessions, and we call that book the other part of our church's constitution, along with the Book of Order.

My favorite of the confessions in that book is the Theological Declaration of Barmen, written in 1934 by people in Germany trying to stand against the Nazis and their efforts to neutralize the church -- efforts that largely succeeded.

I'd be interested in the reaction of any of you who are Catholic to Paul VI's statement and how it reads today. If you had to rewrite it for today, what would you change? And what do you think he might change?

To read my latest Kansas City Star work, click here.

Today's religious holiday: Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul (Christian).

Comments

[Ron]

I am not a Catholic, but I'm sure Pope Paul VI would not change anything in the statement, since it seems to be merely a restatement of basic, traditional Catholic doctrine that has been taught for hundreds and hundreds of years. What was true for Catholics in 1968 should still be true today.

Is this a trick question or something?

[Michael]

Recent Episcopal Church Woes: Take Two

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2248947,00.html

[SC in KC]

Regarding the Mexican Messianic movement...

López Obrador seems like he's aspiring to be a Mexican Fidel Castro. The fact that he's a wanna-be leftist dictator is far more disconcerting to me than the remarks he made on the side about Jesus. I think we should worry less about a "messianic movement" and more about the liklihood of a communist dictator on our southern border.