Catholic Brand

I know people don't like to hear about something as crass as a "brand" being applied to a religion, but brands do exist in Christianity. You can argue that your religion is much more than a brand, and I am in total agreement with you, but each denomination of Christianity is also a brand. 

Following Your Own Human Nature

St. Paul saw the problem of splintering groups within the early church and reminded folks that God was the source and the focus of the faith and he played down the personalities. 

For when one person says, “I follow Paul,” and another person says, “I follow Apollos,” you’re following your own human nature, aren't you?...I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept everything growing. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is significant, but God, who keeps everything growing, is the one who matters."

Parables to Get Ideas Across

I think that faith is often an obtuse subject and even Jesus liked to use stories or parables to get ideas across. He knew that we humans are not so bright as to be able to absorb teaching without some additional aids. These aids helped Jesus get His ideas across. 

It was miraculous that from the humblest of beginnings, the early church survived. Certainly, God's hand was in its survival. And it seems that the Lord had made his presence known throughout the centuries. The Catholic Church is still standing although every conceivable taste and preference is fed by many other brands of Christianity these days. On top of all the name brands, there are also the "nondenominational" ones. These help to create a kind of Christian grid. 

In a sense you had a kind of Protestant construction of many different distinct brands and then I see a kind of deconstruction where thousands of churches were established without a real hard and fast belief system other than a kind of outline of Christianity. 

On some Christian radio stations they make an attempt to define the "Christian Church" in a more exacting way. They fall back to the Bible as a source for all truth, but at some point, it always comes out that the Bible seems to be sending different messages to different individuals. 

New Ideas Come Slow in the Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, there has been a lot of different ideas coming and going. I suspect that's the way it has always worked and then there is some kind of reigning in. The church leaders have a means of issuing documents and explaining principles through the Pope and the clergy. Most other churches aren't so lucky. Lately, the Catholic Church is taking strides to make sure that it maintains its brand as one of the  most disciplined of churches. And by this I mean that its teachings are based on a couple thousand years of church doctrine.  Doctrine interpretation does change--it can't help but change.  People from the fifth century could only understand an idea within the context of their existence then.  The same holds true today.  No one can really understand something outside the context of their own existence. 

Catholic doctrine is Biblical based, but it also takes into account church interpretations of the Bible.  That annoys some people, but all churches have people who interpret the Bible.  I have to chuckle when I hear some guy on the radio explain that his interpretation of the Bible is God's word rather than his interpretation of the Bible.  Someone will go on and on about how the Bible is so simple when it says this or that.  Switch the channel to another Christian radio station and you hear someone else say that the Greek word that has been used in many translations was really a totally different word that entirely changes the interpretation.  Life is messy and the Bible can be messy as well.  The translations keep coming. It was not written in 21st Century English. 

New ideas come slow because the church fathers want to error on the side of caution. Why this surprises people is beyond me! Some people expect the Catholic church to embrace the most widely accepted kind of ideas regardless of its history and principles. And this is why I like to think of the Catholic brand as a means of explaining why it works this way. And when I say a means of explaining why it works this way, that's not to say a means to argue its beliefs. It's a means of explaining the speed of change to its beliefs. I am not arguing that the church has not been inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit. I am just using the term brand to give a modern understanding that an organization of such stature does not change its mission frivolously. 

I think people today get the idea of a brand better than get the idea of the church holding onto beliefs that many don't like. People are exposed to a lot more advertising today than they are to their faith. People tend to believe the church should abide by what's on their list of new beliefs, but we know that there are a lot of different versions of such lists today. Everyone's got an opinion today about just about everything.

During the election Candidate Hillary Clinton said a lot about immigration and she promoted a more compassionate approach to illegal aliens. A few years earlier, her husband said just the opposite. I think the Church wants to avoid those kinds of contradictions particularly on issues of doctrine. 

The Catholic brand has not endorsed female Priests, same sex marriages and contraception. A lot of people had and have a hard time with the Catholic church's views on contraception, but it is consistent with the Catholic churches views on human life and not messing around with it. I think most people could understand the church's position against abortion and euthanasia, but contraception was harder. But if you look at how birth control has been morphing into the post conception phase, I think it's starting to make more sense.

Anyway, folks need to wake up and smell the coffee about the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church isn't going to change its brand. The brand will evolve as it has continued to evolve over a long period of time, but it is not likely going to change very quickly.  And Catholics believe that God will guide the church and will work through the labor of it's best and brightest.  All churches have a human leadership component.

I would caution people however, that although the Catholic brand is slow to change, this does not mean that it is conservative as in "conservative politics." I think it's interesting to hear Catholics today who seem to embrace the Protestant work ethic--you are what you deserve. I find the Protestant work ethic kind of odd--although history has shown that it had a great influence on things like ingenuity and effort especially on the part of folks like the early Yankees.  You hear so much today about salvation through faith--you are saved by faith alone.  It's one of those points that Protestants use to differentiate themselves from Catholics. Historically, Catholics have said that when it comes to faith, you have to put your money where your mouth is--not that you are going to earn heaven, but that faith is empty without action.  That's what things like the Cardinal virtues are about.  Did we foul things up when overusing indulgences and creating a system that allowed misuse of such things--you bet.  But let's not pretend that the church was always outside the influence, many times forced influence, of powerful groups and people out to take advantage of it.  To say that we believe that faith should be accompanied by supporting action seems less than heretical to me.  It's what most people would call common sense. 

People love to point out that we are saved by faith and that Catholics don't believe this.  When you look at the United States history however, the Catholics have historically been much kinder to those who have not made the grade.  The Protestant work ethic says that you have what you deserve--that if you are poor or lowly you deserve to be poor or lowly because you have been lazy.  So for a lot of Protestants, faith will save them, but at the same time, the poor and lowly in society are unworthy regardless of their faith.  One of our former presidents comes to mind in this regard who had both Catholic and Protestant forebearers.  He  could not seem to understand that those who were not tall,  handsome, athletic and talented might not be able to succeed quite the same as he did.  People may be equal citizens, but they are not made equal in terms of their gifts.  People can be poor and lowly due to circumstances that are beyond their control.  

Some very articulate media people are espousing the Church as if its some kind of Republican club--it isn't. Many want to paint the Catholic church as a card-carrying member of the Religious right, but I don't believe that's true--although I can't say that I understand exactly what the religious right is these days there is so much smearing that goes on against most every active faith.
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