Scriptural ignorance or heresy coming out of the Pope’s mouth.

“God cannot be God without man?” What?? Pope Francis made that comment (and others) at the Vatican this past Wednesday (6/7/17).

Speaking from a pre-written speech, the Pope at his Wednesday general audience said the following, (as released by the Vatican’s press office):

“Dear brothers and sisters, we are never alone. We may be distant, hostile, we may even profess ourselves to be “without God”. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ shows us that God cannot stay without us: He will never be a God “without man”; it is He Who cannot stay without us, and this is a great mystery! God cannot be God without man: the great mystery is this! And this certainty is the wellspring of our hope”, which we find conserved in all the invocations of Our Father. When we are in need of help, Jesus does not tell us to resign ourselves and close ourselves up, but instead to turn to the Father and to ask Him trustfully. All our needs, from the most evident and everyday, such as food, health and work, up to those such as being forgiven and kept from temptation, are not the reflection of our solitude: there is instead a Father who always looks upon us with love, and Who certainly does not abandon us.”

The theological world is going through all sorts of mental gymnastics to either defend or denounce the Pope with his above comments.

“He will never be a God “without man”. OK, I maybe the Pope is trying to assure all that God will never leave us or forsake us.

“it is He Who cannot stay without us”. And now the Pope starts to lose everyone. God does not need man. Man needs God.

“God cannot be God without man”. What? Did the Pope just say that God “needs” man?

God was God for the infinity before man’s creation. God is God now. And God will be God for infinity forward. God is perfect, He is the Supreme Being. Mankind has never had, nor currently has, and will never have, any effect on the status or perfection of God. This is why He is perfect! There is no fixing or improving to be done with perfection!

The Pope is correct when he says this is a “great mystery” because giving the Pope the benefit of the doubt, at best, no one knows what you are talking about. It’s a mystery! At worst, it is either scriptural ignorance or heresy coming out of your mouth.