Chrisians, How Detrimental is it to the kingdom of God created by a "Deep dependency on the Clergy ? ??

Question

This is a subconscious thing yet very real, very powerful, affecting us profoundly. How deep ? How real?
How much does it grip us and limit us?
And do not men in the clergy unconsciously work from the viewpoint that the clergy is central rather than Christ or the saints being the central ?

Yes Sophie, but many Christians and Pastor confessed that but are they ? Many have the right "words" but the "music" is missing!

Try answering my others rlated Questions on this subject and you will have a little clue to where I am getting at !

Let paint a hypothetical scenario-let's says you are in a home or a bible class of christians gathering. What do you thing will happen the moment the pastor step into the meeting ?

That will give you an answer to the powerful psychological, unconscious affect the clergy has a hold on you !

Do you know what I mean?

Does his presence (the pastor that is) change the chemistry of that meeting ? Yes , of course ! Absolutely. You will act differnetly in the presence of a minister. One way or another, you will be affected by a minister presence.

Have you wonder Why? and Why should you be, we are more pastor conscious than we are Christ conscious ! Have you ever thought about that ?

Father K, I am sorry to disagree with you, God has made us all a Kingdom of Priest and Kings, We are to rule even now and the Holy Spirit is given to teach us and lead us into all Truth and not the priests nor the pastors. Everyone is given a measure of faith and can know him as they are His sheep and hear His voice. God gives Gifts to the Body of Christ to perfect the Saints and not for the saints to be dependence on them. As all of them whatever giftings - all have the same Holy Spirit and they are supposed to minister one to another and not JUST ONE WAY TRAFFIC!

I usually come on line during the day (Singapore Time now is 10.53 pm) and I don't get as many response as I do that quickly. I would encourage the present Christians now on-line to answer some of my other Question I have posted.
I sure would like to know your views. You lots seem more enlightened than the day batches I must says !

Answer 1

We should be dependent on God, not on the clergy. God saves.

Answer 2

It's certainly a big responsibility. This person has the power to bring people closer together and closer to God. He also has the ability to cause divisions and fear. We should all be conscious of this and maintain our own truth regardless of how this man claims to speak for God through the Bible. It can be twisted to mean anything you want it to. You've got to hold it together and get out if there is a negative spirit. I know what it's like to have to battle with my mind after a sermon that questions all my healthy happy beliefs about God and my relationship with him. It's better to just avoid it then have to struggle with it. These clergy can make you question even your sanity! Scarey stuff! Any way you slice it, group mentality alone can be a dangerous instrument in the hands of a powerful dictator. Take Hitler for example.

Answer 3

The kingdom of God really shouldn't have a dependency on Clergy. We should have a dependency on God. I don't look at my pastor and try to live my life like him. I look towards Jesus and strive to walk like He did. ( I fail miserably)I think some pastors do raise themselves on a pedestal. I have the utmost respect for my pastor but I don't just go by what he preaches from the pulpit. It is our jobs to protect ourselves. I dig into the bible myself to make sure everything he is saying lines up with scripture. There have been times I've had to privately pull him aside to talk to him about something that just didn't seem right. We should have a great respect for them but they are just men and can be wrong sometimes.

Answer 4

Well, in some ways, yes. As a clergyman, I can speak to that with some authority. It can, indeed, be a problem...

But I always tell the people in my Parish that I only have a Priesthood because Jesus shares HIS Priesthood with me! I can do nothing on my own.

This is not to say that the Priesthood is not important. Not so! It is by His power and authority that I forgive sins in the Sacrament of Penance:

John 20:21 - before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to the apostles, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.

John 20:22 - the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.

John 20:23 - Jesus says, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained." In order for the apostles to exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very clear.

Matt. 9:8 - this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to "men." Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles' successors still possess this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?

These are very important functions...Jesus said so and passed this authority along to us.

But - you are correct in some aspects...it can be a problem when people take their eyes off God. I blame that one squarely on bad teaching...and 100 years of bad catechesis by the Church.

Answer 5

I have found, over the last fifty years, only one church where the minister fostered unity and the body of Christ flourished. Otherwise it has been sad to see a procession of church leaders full of pride, arrogance, disbelief and ignorance of the Scriptures. Many of them are not Christians and have little or no insight into the fact that their behaviour precipitates disunity. The real problem is that there seems to be little that can be done about it.

Answer 6

Speaking as clergy, I would not want anyone dependent on me. Jesus is our strength and it is through Him that we find salvation. The clergy is a guide, and a support, but Christ is our Redeemer and Friend and we can approach God without help of the clergy.

Answer 7

Hmm, I have to "deep dependency of the clergy". No Christian I know does. If you mean the Catholic church that's a different story. It's truly sad that Catholics are taught that they have to go through men and an organization to get to God. Some Catholics might not believe it, to which I can only ask "Why remain Catholic if you don't believe its teachings?"

Answer 8

Let me give you a direction to study:

Revelations 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.......2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Father K needs to read his Bible and study something other than Catholic history and dogma.

Answer 9

They do it all the time.

They are human and make decision from a human perspective, no matter how much, they are meant to be the vessels of God.

That is why there are rifts in churches and new denominations sprouting up all the time.

Answer 10

I am deeply dependent upon Jesus Christ. No man, no matter his title, provides me salvation or forgiveness.