Reading commentary - Essay Example

Belief in the church According to Christians, the church is the body of Christ, a holy ground that was directed by Jesus Christ to his followersto be used for their prayers to GOD. The Catholic Church is one of the oldest churches that started a very long time ago and has a vast following of believers drawn from all over the world. Robert Barron his book poses several questions about the ways of the church. First and foremost he seeks to know how strange people strongly believe in the church1.

He further goes on to justify these comments by giving some views that are contradictory and controversial about the church; an institution that according to him and from the scriptures should be spotlessly clean.I find his questions on the part that he addresses the issue of “Holiness” of the church particularly interesting. He asks how a church that has been implicated in many atrocities over the years be declared “Holy”. He gives example of the church’s support for the torture, slavery, and persecution of Galileo and Giordano Bruno2.

To me this is extremely interesting given that during the introductory part of the chapter he uses the story of Saul to explain a view. The story of Saul from the Acts 9:4 that he quotes shows a man who was prosecuting GODs people, but in the end GOD chose and purified him. After Saul getting to know that prosecuting and punishing Christians, he was acting against the will of GOD; he changes and proclaims the Word. Therefore, that quote can be used by Robert Barron to answer his questions about the involvement of the church in the example of persecutions that he gives, instead he chooses not to.

ReferencesBarron, Robert. 2011. Catholicism:A Journey to the Heart of the Faith. Colorado Springs, CO: Image Books.