A few weeks ago Pope Benedict XVI attended a week long retreat that included some meditation on the nature of “the Anti-Christ”. Although Catholicism does not hold it to be a single person, both misled and culpable persons will play their dark roles before Christ’s Second Coming. The faith of many believers, including Catholics, will be shaken in the period of “the Anti-Christ”.

At the papal retreat, Zenit News reports, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi quoted from the work of Russian philosopher Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov, "Three Dialogues on War, Progress and the End of History" which convey that "the Antichrist presents himself as pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist." (emphasis, mine)   Zenit code ZE07022806,  2/28/07

Catholicism rejects absolute pacifism and false forms of ecumenism. However, Catholicism, together with all Christianity, praises prudent ecology and warns that ecology per se can become a form of false-god worship, with hardness of heart in its adherents. Indeed, from Al Gore’s shrillness and tactics, we sense a bit of the bully toward those not bowing down before getting answers to good questions. We can get badly hurt by his hasty “solution” more than by the problem itself.

At the papal retreat, attendees heard that “the Antichrist is the reduction of Christianity to an ideology, instead of a personal encounter with the Savior”.  Historically, lukewarm believers abandon multiple chances for fruitful encounters with Jesus Christ.

For example, former Vice President Al Gore abandoned a fruitful encounter with Christ when, as politician, he opted to break from Christ and pro-life to become “pro-choice”. Such a man is play-clay to “the Anti-Christ” evil. How could a thinking Christian voter ever put faith in such a man as Al Gore?

So-called “pro-choice” support by lawmakers equates to facilitating baby-killing by abortion. So, for Gore, it becomes a pro-abortion position because he personally favored constituents’ presumed rights to kill fetal human life - over God’s absolute Rights over all life.

In choosing to back constituents on “abortion rights” instead of backing God, Al Gore shows he does not even respect God’s Rights to God’s Own Personal Property, His created embryos! Gore thus shows the spirit of “the Anti-Christ” on both abortion and in his rash, get-them-scared approach to global warming.

Everyone knows that Al Gore demands respect for his own personal property. In fact all of us demand respect for our properties – most especially for our very personal property. Common sense then screams out this question: why does Vice President Gore think God feels less concerned about His Personal Property, His new, innocent life created in His own image?

Al Gore is daily proving he does not even respect Friend God Himself. One cannot credibly claim to respect someone as friend while disrespecting that friend’s personal property!

I await a counter explanation from the former Vice President and from his defenders. Jesus will welcome Al Gore back when Al rejects his current ways and is sincere in repenting for his anti-life sin.

John Paul II wrote that, of all creation we see around us, the only part God wants to keep for Himself after the End of Time – is us!  So, Al, we ordinary people are THAT important to God, whether tiny & strange-looking or old & wrinkling. I found this most uplifting truth very helpful to convey to dying friends. Indeed, St. Paul tells us we are not solely “our own” for Jesus has paid the highest price for us that we may enjoy beautiful freedom forever, if we but treat others on earth, as He wishes.

Indeed, in his present state, Al Gore can’t be trusted even as a leader because of his alarmist, panicky, no-confidence-in-God attitude on so-called “Global Warming”. God does cycle things in nature and Al doesn’t really know where we are in the heating/cooling cycle. Nor does Al know what statistical confidence limits he can validly assign to their 90 % estimate of certainty.

The central problem is that former Vice President Gore has no confidence in God’s design of Earth and of man - whose mind is biblically ordered by God to control environmental hazards in sensible ways. God doesn't give commands that can't bear fruit. Gore simply doesn’t seem to mind scaring people into extreme solutions, in strong contrast with Jesus’ respect for people. Al Gore displays no respect for God and people – large or tiny. This can happen to one who breaks his personal relationship with God for some earthly gain.

God promised He would not severely punish again by water. God designed the earth to be adequate with reasonable, albeit imperfect stewardship. There is no reason to panic and thus really screw things up. But would-be savior Gore represents no honorable faith in God precisely because he does not even respect God’s Rights!

How can one have an honorable faith in the absence of basic respect?

All things considered, especially Gore’s flip-flop on God’s Rights, he becomes a likely candidate for agent of the Anti-Christ machinery to come – or may already be here in its infancy. 

some Zenit excerpts:

According to Vatican Radio's summary of [Cardinal Biffi’s] preaching, the cardinal explained that "the teaching that the great Russian philosopher left us is that Christianity cannot be reduced to a set of values. At the center of being a Christian is, in fact, the personal encounter with Jesus Christ."

"He will convoke an ecumenical council and will seek the consensus of all the Christian confessions, granting something to each one. The masses will follow him, with the exception of small groups of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants," he [Solovyov ] said. 

The cardinal added that Solovyov says ..: "Days will come in Christianity in which they will try to reduce the salvific event to a mere series of values." ……

In his "Tale of the Antichrist" Solovyov foresees that a small group of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants will resist and will say to the Antichrist: "You give us everything, except what interests us, Jesus Christ." ….. The cardinal said he believes that this is "the danger that Christians face in our days … the Son of God cannot be reduced to a series of good projects sanctioned by the prevailing worldly mentality."….

The preacher of the Spiritual Exercises added that "there are relative values, such as solidarity, love of peace and respect for nature. If these become absolute, uprooting or even opposing the proclamation of the event of salvation, then these values become an instigation to idolatry and obstacles on the way of salvation."

Cardinal Biffi affirmed that "if Christianity -- on opening itself to the world and dialoguing with all -- dilutes the salvific event, it closes itself to a personal relationship with Jesus and places itself on the side of the Antichrist."” (emphasis & [..] added)   End, excerpts.

"There is a sense of hope in this country that this United States Congress will rise to the occasion and present meaningful solutions to this crisis," Gore said. "Our world faces a true planetary emergency. I know the phrase sounds shrill, and I know it's a challenge to the moral imagination."

Al Gore needs to get morally right with God, convincingly, before he can lead anyone who respects God.

Copyright by William F. Folger    ffw3@aol.com