Al Mohler on the Papacy

Christian Research Network

In his 14 March 2013 podcast of The Briefing, Dr. Albert Mohler of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary shared his thoughts on the office of pope, especially in light of yesterday’s election of Pope Francis I. Associated Baptist Press reports on Mohler’s comments:


“Evangelical Christians simply cannot accept the legitimacy of the papacy and must resist and reject claims of papal authority,” Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said in a podcast commentary March 14. “To do otherwise would be to compromise biblical truth and reverse the Reformation.”

Mohler said the reformers rejected papal authority during the 16th century for good reasons that are seemingly forgotten today by “some liberal Protestants and careless evangelicals” seeking theological consensus and common ground on social issues like marriage and the sanctity of human life.


“First and foremost, evangelicals must affirm that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is an essential, because that is the very definition of the gospel itself, and there is nothing more core, central and essential than the gospel,” Mohler said.