Why in Romanism (or Catholicism) does it require . . .?

Question

That we have priests when Christ is our priest? The priesthood was in the Temple. That era is over.

Answer 1

another blatant look at this cult. They believe anything but the bible.

Answer 2

Because Christ went back to heaven (Acts 1:9), and He left the Apostles here to be priests (John 20:21-23, Acts 1:8 etc.)

The Temple era is over, but the priesthood established by Christ is not.

Answer 3

It's because of the attributes of the Church. In addition to it being One, Holy, and Catholic, it is also Apostolic.

What do we mean when we say that the Church is Apostolic?

We are actually talking about the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, which is present only in the Roman Catholic Church and it's seperated bretheren in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. When the Apostles picked seven men of good character and full of the Holy Spirit to aid them in day to day functions of the Church, and then laid hands on them, these men were, in effect, the first "priests". (Acts 6:1-7) The priests we have in the Church today are direct successors of those men who initally had hands laid upon them by the original Twelve Apostles, all in a direct unbroken line. All priests and bishops in the Church today were anointed and had the laying-on of hands (the sacrament of Holy Orders) placed upon them, as did their forebearers, etc, etc, going all the way back to the first laying-on of hands in Acts 6:1-7.

Yes, Christ is overall the Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23) and is the overall High Priest (Hebrews 10:19-21) but Christ also instituted His Church here on earth among men to last for all time until He comes again (Matthew 16:18-19), and chosen men were anointed and given by Him the power to loose and bind on earth what is loosed and bound in heaven. The first priests were originally referred to as "presbyters" in the NT, differentiated from elders and deacons, also Scriptural church offices, the Church office of Bishop being the highest mentioned in Scripture. The Pope himself is actually a bishop, the Bishop of Rome, an original Apostolic city along with Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria.

Answer 4

From Scripture, we can see that the Church:

is one, unified
Matthew 12:25, 16:18, John 10:16, John 17:20-23, Acts 4:32, Romans 12:5, Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Corinthians 3:3-4, Corinthians 10:17, Corinthians 11:18-19, Corinthians 12:12-27, Corinthians 14:33, 2 Corinthians 12:20, Ephesians 4:3-6, Philippians 1:27, 2:2-3, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, Titus 3:9-10, James 3:16, 2 Peter 2:1

is holy, but not all who belong to it will be saved
Matthew 7:21–23, Ephesians 5:25–27, Revelation 19:7–8

is universal ( "katholikos" in Greek, or "Catholic")
Matthew 28:19–20, Revelation 5:9–10

is Apostolic
Matthew 16:18-19, Matthew 9:6-8, John 20:21-23, Acts 5:5, Ephesians 2:19–20


is hierarchical and has bishops (episkopos), priests (presbyteros or "elders"), and deacons (diakonos)
Acts 1:20, Acts 15:2-6, Acts 20:28, Acts 21:18, Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:1-2, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:7, Hebrews 11:2, 1 Peter 5:1, 1 Peter 2:25,

is the Pillar and Ground of Truth
1 Timothy 3:15

is the "light of the world", visible, cannot be hid
Matthew 5:14


was founded by Christ through Peter, whom He made the Church's earthly father, and the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against it
Matthew 16:18-19 (see also page on Peter as "The Rock" for evidence of Peter's authority among the Apostles)




We can see that the early Church's priests and bishops:


were sent and commissioned by Jesus
Mark 6:7, John 15:5, John 20:21, Romans 10:15, 2 Corinthians 5:20

were ordained and acted as representatives of Jesus
Mark 3:14, Luke 10:16, John 13:20, Acts 14:23, Acts 16:4, 1 Timothy 2:7, 1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Timothy 5:23, Titus 1:5

had the authority to bind or to loose ("to forbid" and "to permit" with reference to interpretation of the law, and "to condemn" or "to acquit")
Matthew 16:19, Matthew 18:18, Luke 24:47, John 20:21-23, James 5:15, Acts 5:2-11, 1 Corinthians 5:3-13, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, 2 Corinthians 5:18, 1 Timothy 1:18-20, Titus 3:10

had the authority to perform Baptisms and offer the Eucharist
Matthew 28:19, Luke 22:19, Acts 2:38-41, Acts 2:42, Acts 2:46, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 10:16

referred to themselves as "fathers" and thought of themselves as "fathers"
1 Corinthians 4:14-15, 1 Thessalonians 2:11, 1 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, 1 John 2:13, Philemon 1:10 (Compare KJV with NIV)

offer pure sacrices and incense
Malachi 1:10-11

annointed the sick
Matthew 10:1, Luke 9:1-2, Luke 9:6, James 5:13-15


performed exorcisms
Matthew 10:1, Mark 3:15, Luke 9:1


extolled celibacy for those called to it (note that in the beginnings of the Church, many of the Apostles, such as Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, were already married before beginning their ministry, but they abstained from marital relations after ordination; the Eastern Catholic Churches permit married priests -- not Bishops -- but in the early Church, they were expected to abstain from marital relations with their wives)
Matthew 19:12, 1 Corinthians 7:7-9, 1 Corinthians 7:20, 1 Corinthians 7:25-38


While Scripture is evidence enough for the marks of Christ's Church, we can see in the writings of Ignatius -- written in the first century, within 67 years of Christ's resurrection, by a close friend and appointee of the Apostle Peter and friend of Polycarp -- that the early Church had a very Catholic interpretation of Scripture.

Read the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome, Cyril of Jerusalem, Irenaeus, Polycarp, St. Augustine, etc... They are rich with Catholic doctrine -- and the earliest evidence we have for what the Church was like in its earliest days!

The Church built by Christ on the rock of Peter:

Where the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of Antioch, 1st c. A.D

Answer 5

God Almighty has through the history of mankind chosen certain persons to participate in the building up of His Kingdom: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Joseph, Solomon... and the list goes on.

It makes perfect sense that Jesus, the Son of God, the messiah and the Christ, should choose men to continue His mission on earth of healing, forgiveness, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Jesus could have easily stayed on Earth, but this was not the will of God. Instead we have the Apostles and their legitimate successors who have faithfully preserved the initial deposit of Truth given to the world by Jesus the Lord. That deposit of Truth fully resides in the Holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ.

Answer 6

To reiterate a perfect answer from another poster..

Matt. 10:1,40 - Jesus declares to His apostles, "he who receives you, receives Me, and he who rejects you, rejects Me and the One who sent Me." Jesus freely gives His authority to the apostles in order for them to effectively convert the world.

Matt. 16:19; 18:18 - the apostles are given Christ's authority to make visible decisions on earth that will be ratified in heaven. God raises up humanity in Christ by exalting his chosen leaders and endowing them with the authority and grace they need to bring about the conversion of all. Without a central authority in the Church, there would be chaos (as there is in Protestantism).

Luke 9:1; 10:19 - Jesus gives the apostles authority over the natural and the supernatural (diseases, demons, serpents, and scorpions).

Luke 10:16 - Jesus tells His apostles, "he who hears you, hears Me." When we hear the bishops' teaching on the faith, we hear Christ Himself.

Luke 22:29 - the Father gives the kingdom to the Son, and the Son gives the kingdom to the apostles. The gift is transferred from the Father to the Son to the apostles.

Acts 5:13 - the people acknowledged the apostles' special authority and did not dare take it upon themselves.

Acts 15:6,24; 16:4 - the teaching authority is granted to the apostles and their successors. This teaching authority must be traced to the original apostles, or the authority is not sanctioned by Christ.

Answer 7

So, all we need is a bible and time to read it?

Do you really think that you have the years it would take to not only just read the Bible, but study each author or each book, the times in which it was written, the original languages and the effect of the translations, and the meaning and writing styles in each book?

I know I can't so we need guidance from those that have been doing just this for the last 2000 years.

Protestants have Preachers, Muslims have Imam's and Jews have Rabbi's are they not needed either?

Peace!

Answer 8

Read your Bible.

Matt. 10:1,40 - Jesus declares to His apostles, "he who receives you, receives Me, and he who rejects you, rejects Me and the One who sent Me." Jesus freely gives His authority to the apostles in order for them to effectively convert the world.

Matt. 16:19; 18:18 - the apostles are given Christ's authority to make visible decisions on earth that will be ratified in heaven. God raises up humanity in Christ by exalting his chosen leaders and endowing them with the authority and grace they need to bring about the conversion of all. Without a central authority in the Church, there would be chaos (as there is in Protestantism).

Luke 9:1; 10:19 - Jesus gives the apostles authority over the natural and the supernatural (diseases, demons, serpents, and scorpions).

Luke 10:16 - Jesus tells His apostles, "he who hears you, hears Me." When we hear the bishops' teaching on the faith, we hear Christ Himself.

Luke 22:29 - the Father gives the kingdom to the Son, and the Son gives the kingdom to the apostles. The gift is transferred from the Father to the Son to the apostles.

Acts 5:13 - the people acknowledged the apostles' special authority and did not dare take it upon themselves.

Acts 15:6,24; 16:4 - the teaching authority is granted to the apostles and their successors. This teaching authority must be traced to the original apostles, or the authority is not sanctioned by Christ.

Answer 9

The priesthood was chosen by Jesus himself with the Apostles and their chosen ones. People that do not know Salvation of course are the ones that ridicule those who have been saved.

Answer 10

I'm not catholic but I do think most christian churches and groups have to have some form of leadership. With the large denominations it can get very formalised and institutionalised with training in seminary to prepare people for the role.

Answer 11

In the New Testament, there were presbyters and bishops. The men who were called "presbyters" in the first century are called "priests" today.

BTW, there are 23 other rites of teh Catholic Church besides Latin (Roman).