I'm what one might call a cultural Christian. As a child I went to church and read the Bible and so on, but I'm not religious. I've been struck by how astoundingly ignorant talking heads on TV (Joe Scarborough, for example) have been supporting Donald Trump in the exchange between Trump and the Pope about who is a Christian and who isn't. It's clear that political commentators have no idea at all what it takes to be a Christian.
The current Pope is a Christian. Many Popes have not followed the teachings of Christ, but this one tries. Yesterday, for example, he changed doctrine by saying that in some medical or health circumstances it isn't a terrible sin for someone to use birth control. That might not seem like much--most American Catholics already use birth control. My grandmother used birth control on the grounds that "what a priest don't know won't hurt him." But the doctrinal change is an example of the Pope's genuine caring for people faced with the Zika virus.
When the Pope indirectly indicated that Donald Trump is not a Christian, because he builds walls to shut people out when he should be building bridges to welcome them, the Pope was on firm ground. Every Pope has made comments with political implications. The Bible says that sooner shall a camel pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man enter Heaven. The Pope knows that Donald Trump is going to Hell, if there is one.
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