A Kindly Response to Brother Wahid
This is the first post in a three-part response to Brother Wahid, whose show Al Dalil appears in Al Hayat Channel. Click here for the Arabic version of these posts.
In his episode, Number 468 titled “Misrepresenting St. Paul’s Position Concerning the Pagans of Athens,” Wahid cites some sources that, according to his interpretation, go against the core teaching of Christianity, which states that without faith in Christ’s Incarnation, death and Resurrection, a person cannot attain heaven.
Before I go on further, I have to make it clear to everyone, and to Wahid as well if he ever reads this, that I admire his work for the salvation of souls and his zeal for the word of God.
Nonetheless, I’d invite him to consider this: our evangelical walk is marked by two characteristics, love of truth and hatred for heresy. When the latter surpasses the former, we become overly suspicious and go on to see heresy where it does not exist.
I would not have taken pains to respond to Brother Wahid if the book that he attacked in these two episodes was not the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the book that contains the official teachings of the Catholic Church. He goes as far as calling those who subscribe to what is written in that book “ravenous wolves” and “false brethren” (Read this on some background on ‘false brethren’). It would have been more intellectually honest of him had he given the reference in order to make clear to his audience whom he was labelling as “false brethren.” Wahid prefaces his show with a note about how “different sects” try to recruit St. Paul in order to advance their personal views. He goes on to read from Acts 17:22-31 and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 843.
Here is what CCC 843 says in its English translation:
843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."
The highlighted part is what Wahid has on the screenshot. That is the portion of the passage that he presented and commented on throughout his whole show. And here is his commentary on that passage.
He claims that “some have taken this circumstance [Acts 17:22-31] and interpreted it to mean ‘as you can see, St. Paul did not object that Athenians have idols through which they can worship God and attain Salvation’” (See 5:56-6:11). That is his interpretation of CCC 843. He spends the rest of the episode proving from Acts 17 and other scriptural passages that CCC 843 is wrong and that idol worshipers will not enter heaven.
Wahid’s claim would have been laughable had it not come from a man whom I consider to be a prominent scholar. First, let us read together what CCC 843 says and what it does not say:
“The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as ‘a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life’” (CCC 843).
It says that the Catholic Church “recognize,” or acknowledges the “search” of “other religions” for “the God who is unknown yet near.” Those who offer worship to idols concede to the existence of a greater power that surpasses that of humanity and that deserves humanity’s reverence. Consequently, these pagans who worship idols are right in some ways and wrong in others. They are correct in thinking that a greater power exists, but they are mistaken in believing that idols possess that power. St. Paul tells the Athenians that they “are ignorant of the very thing” they “worship” (Acts 17:23). Any form of religiosity is an attempt to reach the true God. Of course, that attempt fails when that religiosity is directed to a false god. Nonetheless, an attempt it remains. The impetus behind this attempt is a search for the True God, who “set eternity in the heart of men” (Ecc 3:11). In their idol worship, therefore, pagans are really “search[ing]” for “the God who is unknown yet near” to them. He is “near” to them since “he gives life and breath and all things” and since “he wants all men to be saved.” That’s all CCC 843 says.
What does CCC 843 not say? It does not say, as Wahid claims, that these pagans’ “search” is sufficient to make them enter heaven. It does not say that pagans’ idol worship is a substitution for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, without which no one can enter heaven. To “recognize” a “search” does not mean, as Wahid suggests, to embrace idol worship as an alternate pathway to heaven. Nowhere does CCC 843 even hint at pagans’ faith being salvific or capable of procuring salvation. Wahid here is imposing a reading on the text that clearly does not do the text any justice.
If he were only to read the rest of CCC 843, things would have been very clear. CCC 843 does not end where Wahid stops citing (nor does it begin where he begins citing it either). It goes on to say something very important. Here is what it says:
“Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as ‘a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.’”
There is some “goodness” and some “truth” in all religions. All religions (to my knowledge, at least) have some goodness in them, such as almsgiving and some moral code that in some way corresponds to the Ten Commandments. We would be gravely mistaken if we did not consider giving money to the poor to be good and true. We would be plainly wrong if we did not consider a moral prohibition against stealing or killing to be good and true. If God is “the giver of every good gift,” then the source of any goodness and truth found in other religions is God. Nonetheless, the “goodness” and “truth” found in other religions do not constitute a means by which the adherents of these religions will enter heaven. Rather, all “goodness” and “truth” that are in other “religions” are simply a “preparation for the Gospel.” They predispose those who possess them to embrace the Gospel when it is presented to them since the Gospel contains the fullness of truth. The common ground between Christianity and other religions serves as an entryway through which the light of the Gospel can penetrate and dispel the darkness of idol worship. St. Paul deploys this strategy in Acts 17, where he finds pagans who are religious, which is a good quality, and he uses that quality in order to present to them the true God of whom they were ignorant.
For some reason, Wahid chose not to discuss the latter half of CCC 843, which clearly states that the “goodness” and “truth” found in other religions simply set the stage for the fullness of truth that is found in the Gospel. If the latter half of CCC 843 is right, then Wahid’s interpretation of the first half of 843 is nothing more than a straw man. At a later part in his episode, Wahid accuses those whose name he does not mention of citing verses half way through or taking verses out of their context. If he were to heed his own advice on championing a contextual reading (see 8:45), he would not have cut out that portion from CCC 843 and completely ignored the rest of the passage.
In his episode, Number 468 titled “Misrepresenting St. Paul’s Position Concerning the Pagans of Athens,” Wahid cites some sources that, according to his interpretation, go against the core teaching of Christianity, which states that without faith in Christ’s Incarnation, death and Resurrection, a person cannot attain heaven.
Before I go on further, I have to make it clear to everyone, and to Wahid as well if he ever reads this, that I admire his work for the salvation of souls and his zeal for the word of God.
Nonetheless, I’d invite him to consider this: our evangelical walk is marked by two characteristics, love of truth and hatred for heresy. When the latter surpasses the former, we become overly suspicious and go on to see heresy where it does not exist.
I would not have taken pains to respond to Brother Wahid if the book that he attacked in these two episodes was not the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the book that contains the official teachings of the Catholic Church. He goes as far as calling those who subscribe to what is written in that book “ravenous wolves” and “false brethren” (Read this on some background on ‘false brethren’). It would have been more intellectually honest of him had he given the reference in order to make clear to his audience whom he was labelling as “false brethren.” Wahid prefaces his show with a note about how “different sects” try to recruit St. Paul in order to advance their personal views. He goes on to read from Acts 17:22-31 and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 843.
Here is what CCC 843 says in its English translation:
843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."
The highlighted part is what Wahid has on the screenshot. That is the portion of the passage that he presented and commented on throughout his whole show. And here is his commentary on that passage.
He claims that “some have taken this circumstance [Acts 17:22-31] and interpreted it to mean ‘as you can see, St. Paul did not object that Athenians have idols through which they can worship God and attain Salvation’” (See 5:56-6:11). That is his interpretation of CCC 843. He spends the rest of the episode proving from Acts 17 and other scriptural passages that CCC 843 is wrong and that idol worshipers will not enter heaven.
Wahid’s claim would have been laughable had it not come from a man whom I consider to be a prominent scholar. First, let us read together what CCC 843 says and what it does not say:
“The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as ‘a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life’” (CCC 843).
It says that the Catholic Church “recognize,” or acknowledges the “search” of “other religions” for “the God who is unknown yet near.” Those who offer worship to idols concede to the existence of a greater power that surpasses that of humanity and that deserves humanity’s reverence. Consequently, these pagans who worship idols are right in some ways and wrong in others. They are correct in thinking that a greater power exists, but they are mistaken in believing that idols possess that power. St. Paul tells the Athenians that they “are ignorant of the very thing” they “worship” (Acts 17:23). Any form of religiosity is an attempt to reach the true God. Of course, that attempt fails when that religiosity is directed to a false god. Nonetheless, an attempt it remains. The impetus behind this attempt is a search for the True God, who “set eternity in the heart of men” (Ecc 3:11). In their idol worship, therefore, pagans are really “search[ing]” for “the God who is unknown yet near” to them. He is “near” to them since “he gives life and breath and all things” and since “he wants all men to be saved.” That’s all CCC 843 says.
What does CCC 843 not say? It does not say, as Wahid claims, that these pagans’ “search” is sufficient to make them enter heaven. It does not say that pagans’ idol worship is a substitution for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, without which no one can enter heaven. To “recognize” a “search” does not mean, as Wahid suggests, to embrace idol worship as an alternate pathway to heaven. Nowhere does CCC 843 even hint at pagans’ faith being salvific or capable of procuring salvation. Wahid here is imposing a reading on the text that clearly does not do the text any justice.
If he were only to read the rest of CCC 843, things would have been very clear. CCC 843 does not end where Wahid stops citing (nor does it begin where he begins citing it either). It goes on to say something very important. Here is what it says:
“Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as ‘a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.’”
There is some “goodness” and some “truth” in all religions. All religions (to my knowledge, at least) have some goodness in them, such as almsgiving and some moral code that in some way corresponds to the Ten Commandments. We would be gravely mistaken if we did not consider giving money to the poor to be good and true. We would be plainly wrong if we did not consider a moral prohibition against stealing or killing to be good and true. If God is “the giver of every good gift,” then the source of any goodness and truth found in other religions is God. Nonetheless, the “goodness” and “truth” found in other religions do not constitute a means by which the adherents of these religions will enter heaven. Rather, all “goodness” and “truth” that are in other “religions” are simply a “preparation for the Gospel.” They predispose those who possess them to embrace the Gospel when it is presented to them since the Gospel contains the fullness of truth. The common ground between Christianity and other religions serves as an entryway through which the light of the Gospel can penetrate and dispel the darkness of idol worship. St. Paul deploys this strategy in Acts 17, where he finds pagans who are religious, which is a good quality, and he uses that quality in order to present to them the true God of whom they were ignorant.
For some reason, Wahid chose not to discuss the latter half of CCC 843, which clearly states that the “goodness” and “truth” found in other religions simply set the stage for the fullness of truth that is found in the Gospel. If the latter half of CCC 843 is right, then Wahid’s interpretation of the first half of 843 is nothing more than a straw man. At a later part in his episode, Wahid accuses those whose name he does not mention of citing verses half way through or taking verses out of their context. If he were to heed his own advice on championing a contextual reading (see 8:45), he would not have cut out that portion from CCC 843 and completely ignored the rest of the passage.
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