Jesus said, "I am with you always even unto the end of the world, Amen." Matthew 28:20
2006-10-12 11:47:36 · 16 answers · asked by House Speaker 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Good question. As a Christian, I don't have any use for the Pope.
2006-10-12 11:51:17 · answer #1 · answered by nubins 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because someone has to be an authoritative person to figure out certain things, I mean there was no cloning or cell manipulation during the Bible days who figures that out? God himself had an authority figure here on Earth when he was here. Wasn't Moses an authority figure or Joshua? How about when Jesus himself healed people he said "Now go show yourself to the priests" He did not nay say authority figures. Why did he say to Peter "Thou art Peter (rock) and upon this rock I shall build my Church?"
When I was looking through some of these answers on whether people were affiliated with any Church the majority of them said well, I am just a Christian. I don't belong to any church and they went on to describe how they didn't believe in this or that but, basically what they were saying is they wanted to be their own Pope.
2006-10-12 20:02:53 · answer #2 · answered by Midge 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Jesus said of Peter:
[Mat 16:18] And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
Peter was the first Pope and the Holy Spirit guided the Church down through the centuries to have a succession of Popes to the present time and into the future to be the new "rock" upon which the church is built.
2006-10-12 18:53:41 · answer #3 · answered by Robert L 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mt 16:18-19
Lk 22:32
Jn 21:17
Mk 16:7
Acts 1:13-26
Acts 2:14 receives first converts to Catholic Faith.
Acts 3:6-7
Acts 5:1-11
Acts 8:21 excommunicated first heretic!
Acts 10:44-46
Acts 15:7
Acts 15:19 first dogmatic decision
Gal 1:18 Paul visits Peter first after conversion
Peter always listed first among Apostles, his name is mentioned 195 times over all other Apostles.
2006-10-12 18:52:50 · answer #4 · answered by Lives7 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus also told Peter " On this rock i build my church" implicitly giving him authority over his followers. Peter later became the first pope. Every organized religious body needs a leader/government eg. the Catholic Church to instill some sense of structure and to represent the members of that sect.
2006-10-12 18:54:48 · answer #5 · answered by bagger12 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jesus also designated Peter as the keeper of the keys and his representative, along with the other apostles, and the Pope is the traditional descendent of Peter.
2006-10-12 18:50:11 · answer #6 · answered by KJC 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Uh, they don't. When you come down to it, the Pope is just the
"top man" in an organization. More or less, the buck stops with him. Historically Catholics have given the Pope all sorts of titles... some of them useful, some not.
2006-10-12 18:50:16 · answer #7 · answered by Church Music Girl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
why do people need Christ, or God or anything for that matter. Because they were told that's the way it is, and they don't question it. Same goes for why people need the Pope!
2006-10-12 18:49:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:17-19)
The Catholic Church believes the Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.
The Pope is the senior pastor of 1.1 billion Catholics, the direct successor of Simon Peter.
With love in Christ.
2006-10-13 00:25:02 · answer #9 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I think by people, you mean Catholics. Jesus appointed Peter as the first pope in Mt. 16:18. "And so I say to you, you are Peter (rock) and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall NOT prevail against. I will give you the keyes to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Is 22: 21
I will clothe him with your robe and gird him with your sash and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Juda. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder, when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open." Does that description sound like the pope's clothing? Jeusus gave Peter the KEYS to the kindgom of heaven. Binding-shutting, loosing-opening...see the relationship there?
Jesus calls himself the good shepherd. In Jn. 21, he says to Peter, "Simon, do you love me more than these?" Three times, just like Peter denied Jesus three times. Peter tells Jesus three times that he loves Jesus. Three times, Jesus tells Simon to feed his lambs, tend his sheep, feed his sheep. He is not giving him His flock, he is giving him care of it.
We do not believe in the pope instead of Jesus, we believe in the pope through Jesus. Jesus appointed him as his vicar on earth.
If you gave everyone a copy of the U.S. Contstitution, and said read it, interpret it, and follow it how you think, there would be chaos! Jesus didn't just give us God's Word, He gave us a Church to interpret it for us, just like our government enforces and interprets the Constitution.
2006-10-12 19:16:17 · answer #10 · answered by ♥ Rose♥ 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋