Ecumenism must be taught gently to the sheep

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After the once Protestant churches have completed their return to their mother in Rome, this only needs to be taught gently to the sheep. This is achieved through step-by-step approaches to the ceremonies organized in each case. You will get used to it and take it for granted. The former EKD council chairman Bedford-Strohm has a (new) proposal on this.

Accelerate ecumenism

The former EKD council chairman and former regional bishop of Bavaria, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, is eager to return the once Protestant church to its mother’s womb. Once again hanging submissively on the skirts of Rome, the churches under the umbrella organization Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) should finally get rid of their robes as soon as possible in order to wear miters and wave incense in the future.

It’s not there yet, but the ambitions for this are clear. As early as August 2023, Bedford-Strohm stated that he could not wait to celebrate the Eucharist with the Roman Catholic Church (Info).

Church Days and Catholic Days together

The Evangelical Churches and the Church of Rome still celebrate their church days and Catholic days separately. In the meantime it can also be an ecumenical meeting. Bedford-Strohm recently explained to the Evangelical Press Service (epd) with a view to the 103rd German Catholic Congress that, in his opinion, ecumenism should be given much greater importance on both sides. For a while, Church Days and Catholic Days can still exist as independent organizations, but in the medium term the question should be asked as to why this should all be done entirely together (Source).

Nevertheless, one should exercise caution because both organizations have their own characteristics. “The cultures are different,” says Bedford-Strom. The decisive factor is the great influence of the Catholic bishops. This could lead to lay people and their “freedom no longer being given the appropriate status” at ecumenical events. The former EKD council chairman was nevertheless confident that the two different cultures could grow together.

Gospel no longer plays any role

Did the former EKD council chairman mention even one syllable about the gospel or the teaching of the Word of God? The arguments of the former regional bishop of Bavaria clearly show that the topic of theology no longer plays a role in ecumenism in general. It is completely irrelevant whether it is a theological creation of our own or the Gospel as it is written. It seems completely irrelevant. His credo is that the “different cultures” must grow together.

Whatever “cultures” they may be, one thing is certain: they have nothing to do with the Word of God, the Gospel. Bedford-Strohm, who is still chairman of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches after leaving his post as regional bishop and EKD council chairman, must actually know about the role of the former Protestant churches within ecumenism.

The Roman Catholic Church has repeatedly made it clear that it is the “mother of all churches” and sees itself as such in the course of ecumenism. Furthermore, the Church of Rome demands unconditional obedience. This is what this institution has always demanded and will not deviate from it by a hair’s breadth. How can there be a common eye level in a mother-daughter relationship? It is in the nature of things that the mother commands and the daughter obeys.

A staged play

“On paper,” the repatriation of the renegade daughters has long since been completed. The signatures on the joint declarations have long since been signed (Info). The rest is a rare sad spectacle, just so as not to scare the faithful flock in one of the EKD churches. Externally separate paths between mother and daughter are also appropriate in order to allow the returned daughters to follow the ostensible path of the left-green rainbow politics, while the mother herself, in her innocence, can point the moral finger. The scheming “Jezebel”(1) that couldn’t represent a church better.

The houses that still call themselves Protestant need not be surprised if their careers are ended by Rome as a burned-out pawn. Just like her mother, who now only clings to Christianity as a label, an “ecumenical alternative religion” has long been in the prepared starting blocks (Info). The shape of Babylon is already tangible (Info).

Interesting developments

Basically, it is irrelevant which messages one or the other representative of the two churches secretes. It’s just interesting to see how things develop and who stands out for their particular zeal.

The apostasy of the once Protestant churches is already complete, while the Roman Catholic Church has officially been following the path of paganism at least since Emperor Constantine and especially the Council of Nicaea in 325. Another landslide apostasy from the gospel followed around the year 500 with the generous theological compromises made to catholicize the Germanic tribes that had emerged from the collapsed western Rome.

Both churches, as well as the “rest of the world,” are now on the “finish stretch” with only a few chapters left in human history. The next chapter will soon be opened as it is written in Revelation 13, starting at verse 11 (Info).

Bible verses from King James Version

(1)Jezebel is described in the Old Testament as the daughter of a Phoenician priest of Baal. She was the wife of the King of Israel, Ahab. Jezebel was a schemer and intended to kill the prophet Elijah. She also distinguished herself as a contract killer in order to snatch a vineyard from the God-loyal Naboth. Jezebel is also a synonym for the conditions in the community of Thyatira (Revelation 2) – More info.