JDN, I'm sorry, but Jesus did not form a physical church, and never called Peter "Pope". Jesus said that any person who believed in Him as their Lord, and Savior, were in the body of His church. This was not done in Rome, and the Christian movement did not get a foothold in Roman life until long after Jesus had been resurrected. Jesus said " I found this church on this rock". The rock was in Judea, not Rome. Peter went to Rome to promote the Christian religion, but never called himself Pope. He as killed in Rome, and the Christians there decided to honor him by forming a church, which became the Catholic church, and those mere human beings are the ones that decided to name him as the Pope.
That's not about religion, but is about history.
I don't think there should be any distinction between Christians. I do not like any denomination because they are man made. Martin Luther didn't like the Catholic version of things so he formed the Lutherans. Other, supposedly, Christians didn't like either Catholicism or Lutherism, so they decided to form their own version of "the church", and now the world probably has over a hundred denominations, that quite often fight among themselves like the Methodists vs the Baptists.
Yes, all Christians should be of one mind and form one church, but there in lies the rub. Which ones are going to stand down in order to bring all of the factions together? This is a perfect example of something that can be good until human beings start screwing around with it. Yes, we should learn to hang together, but is it possible after so many centuries of division?
Every human being that believes in the deity of God, can pray to, and talk to, God without going through some hoops designed by other humans. Why should a true believer need guidance to go to God in prayer, or confession of his sins? What right does one human have that allows him to hear the sins of another, and then forgive them? That is the prerogative of God, not any human. God decides who will arrive in Heaven. No human can.
If the Cardinals spend 12 hours a day on their knees, then that is their choice. I bow to God, but will not bend a knee to any human being.
I don't like any denomination, but am more vocal about the hierarchy of the Catholics, because they go around saying that they are the ONLY church, and that is BS. I have had many friends that were Catholics, and we got along very well. I also think that those on the parish level are good Christians and do all kinds of good works for their communities, but the Vatican is populated by politicians. |
