tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10155125.post116502795311812924..comments2023-10-18T07:25:14.707-07:00Comments on Preachrblog: ApostasyPreachrboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08058617284103464853noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10155125.post-1165516920373681092006-12-07T10:42:00.000-08:002006-12-07T10:42:00.000-08:00After reading some more about this, I should proba...After reading some more about this, I should probably back off a bit.<BR/><BR/>It seems the prayer took place in a mosque-slash-church, and that it may be that his prayer facing east was not <I>intended</I> to be an endorsement of Islam (as I had suggested). I light of the previous pontiff's kissing of the Koran, you can see why one would think so, however.<BR/><BR/>But intentions aside, I think he should have known better than to give the impression of unity where none exists. So, at best this is an issue of a poor witness. <BR/><BR/>I've also contrasted this to situation to Daniel, who was told to pray to a false god, and who refused. Even if, some might argue, he had bowed before it and "meant" he was praying to the true, omnipresent God - it would still be a serious infraction - because to all appearances he was indeed praying to the idol. Context matters!<BR/><BR/>So can we expect a "clarification" from the Vatican? I won't hold my breath. Even if he wasn't specifically "praying toward Mecca", it seems it suits his purposes to let the "misperception" persist.Preachrboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058617284103464853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10155125.post-1165515133504728532006-12-07T10:12:00.000-08:002006-12-07T10:12:00.000-08:00Would the direction that the Pope faced when prayi...Would the direction that the Pope faced when praying not be adiaphora?? As I read the article, I saw nothing that said that he prayed in any way that would suggest apostacy. Would anyone confuse the pope - who had just celebrated the mass and dedicated a statue to John 23 - with a Muslim because of the direction he faced during prayer?<BR/><BR/>And is it really all that different than the tradition of having east-facing altars in our churches (which are all West of Jerusalem and, coicidentally, Mecca)?<BR/><BR/>I don't mean to be argumentative, I just didn't see at as something that warrents the very serious charge of apostacy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com