Stephen Douglas Mumford Quotes
The ecumenical movement was exceedingly important, if not absolutely essential, to the Vatican's march toward unrestrained power in America. It halted, then blocked, criticism of the Catholic Church by all leading Protestant denominations. This no doubt contributed to the Catholic Church's success in silencing all criticism of the hierarchy's actions in the lay press.
Stephen Douglas Mumford, President, Center for Research on Population and Security, Population Growth & National Security
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
5th Earl of Montrose. The public reaction to a new prayer book issued by the King and created by the King’s religious appointees. Although Protestant in nature, it was created without the early Scottish Protestant tradition of consultation with many levels of clergy and society. It was seen as authoritarian and much like the Catholic mass which was proscribed by Rome. The National Covenant was a document of protest. It was first drafted by Alexander Henderson and Johnston of Wariston, and signed by others, but Montrose was the first signer and the acknowledged leader of the Covenanters.
The people of the Book refers to Jews and Muslims. This passage of the Koran is used to justify ecumenism with Muslims integrated with Jews and Christians. The Koran consists of Muhammed’s sayings, and he himself had opinions about Jews and Christians that differed from time to time. So although this passage signals a tolerant religion, in other places Muhammed preached violence against the people of the Book. At first Muhammed and his followers expected to see the people of the Book adopt Islam as their religion. When they did not, relations deteriorated somewhat.
This statement differs from the view espoused by many Muslims in regards to Christians. See {590207}.
While not in the Koran, this attributed statement is the basis for the ban on non-Muslims going on a Hajj and going to the most holy Muslim places—Mecca, Mina, Muzdalifa, and Arafat as well as the anti-religious hostility to all religions but Islam which is present in some Muslim countries.
The struggle in the Catholic Church reached an amazing state. Just after a new pope, Martin V, had been elected the Council of Bishops at Constance came up with this notion which placed their views above those of the Pope under the theory that this particular council derived its power and authority directly from Christ while the pope was only God’s “vicar on earth.” The struggle was somewhat akin to the inevitable struggle for power between an executive branch and a legislative branch. The Council’s ascendancy didn’t last very long and was repudiated by successive popes.
It is an error to say that. It is an error to say that He was the last Pope to hold temporal power. Years later, the Vatican rejected this view and adopted the modern concept of freedom of conscience. See {612714}.
Smith was the first Roman Catholic to run for President. He was very popular but there was a substantial amount of anti-Catholicism in America at the time. He lost, probably by the margin of the anti-Catholic vote.
Many of the Church wanted Wycliff excommunicated, but the King and Parliament seemed to like his writing and sermons. So he was protected in his lifetime. He died at the age of 60 of a stroke. After his death the Church burned all his books that had been banned, and exhumed his body. That was burned at the stake and his ashes scattered in a river. Martin Luther did not try to reform the Church in a vacuum. There had been various critics of the Church before Luther and Wycliff was one. The last statement in this quotation was the one that really hit the then mostly corrupt clergy where it hurt.
Stephen Douglas Mumford (born 1942) is an American expert on fertility and population growth.
