Evangelist Ray Comfort was “horrified” by Pope Francis’ recent proclamation that human beings are “fundamentally good,” telling CBN News he believes the pontiff missed a significant opportunity to share the Gospel with a watching world.
“[I was] horrified, because the pope’s got a wonderful platform,” Comfort said. “I mean, here’s an opportunity to … tell people how they can find everlasting life.”
Watch Comfort react to the pontiff’s comments:
Comfort’s statements came after an intense debate erupted earlier this month over Pope Francis’ response to journalist Norah O’Donnell’s question about what gives the pontiff hope.
“Everything,” the pope said during the “60 Minutes” appearance. “You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things. You see heroic mothers, heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams, women who look to the future. That gives me a lot of hope. People want to live. People forge ahead.”
But it’s what the pope said next that ignited a firestorm.
“And people are fundamentally good,” he added. “We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.”
Some fact-checkers on X attempted to clarify what they saw as a mistranslation of part of the pontiff’s statement. Thus, a caveat on the platform reads, “Pope Francis said ‘somos un poco pícaros y pecadores,’ meaning literally ‘we are a little bit rogue and sinners,’ speaking to some sinfulness within each of us. This is not the same as saying ‘there are some rogues and sinners.’”
“We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good,” says Pope Francis. https://t.co/MmLPBhWVU2 pic.twitter.com/7Be2GrKrdB
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 19, 2024
Regardless, this doesn’t address the critiques that people like Comfort have over Pope Francis’ statements about the heart and general human goodness.
Pushing back on the quote, Comfort said it’s “a basic fundamental to believe what Jesus said” — that “there is none good but God.” Comfort said the main problem with the entire conversation about the human heart is the metric many people choose to gauge it.
“We measure ourselves by man’s standards rather than God’s,” he said. “When God says ‘good,’ He means moral perfection, and thought, word, and deed.”
Comfort continued, “And that’s why the Bible says, ‘There is none good,’ and the problem is, if you tell people they’re good, they don’t see their need of a Savior.”
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He went on to cite the 10 Commandments to show the seriousness of sin and the inability of humans to live in and through perfection.
Comfort’s main qualm, though, came back to what he saw as a squandered opportunity by Pope Francis to drive home biblical truth, particularly the fallen nature of the human heart.
“The Scripture says man’s heart is deceitfully wicked,” Comfort said. “It says actually, ‘Who can know it?’ That’s what Jeremiah 17 says …. who can understand the evil limitations on the human heart. It will go anywhere and do anything because [it] loves darkness rather than light because its deeds are evil.”
But the evangelist reminded people that Jesus offers a path to save men and women — one available to every human being.
“Eternal life is a free gift, and that’s good news for Catholics, non-Catholics atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims,” Comfort said. “You don’t have to get religious; God’s amazing grace will grant you everlasting life as a free gift upon our repentance and faith in Jesus. It’s such a simple Gospel, and that’s what I’d hope the pope would say, but he never does.”
Comfort spends much of his time sharing the Gospel in person and online, with Living Waters, his ministry, releasing tools to help people do the same.
The organization most recently made available a tract called, “Mind Game,” a tool providing “10 easy questions from the Bible.” It encourages Christians to bring up Scripture with those around them in a “fun way” that “seamlessly leads into the Gospel.”
Find out more about Living Waters here.