Blainer) What I hear you saying is that for lack of a real explanation of why there is no emphsis on PH among the vast majority of Christian churches, this "rationale" has been conjured to cover the base. They have said, in effect, "We are here, and we are functioning as churches, so we must have authority." The truth is, there is no biblical basis for this belief. PH is assumed in the Bible which is the only reason it is not treated more extensively and more clearly. But this does not mean it was not there and was not an important aspect of the church. Nor does it mean it should not be a currently important aspect of the church.
On Fri, 06 Dec 2002 20:25:17 +0000 "Charles Locke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Greetings, > > My name is Perry Locke. Having heard about the TruthTalk > discussion group > from DaveH's sister, whom I met on a flight this week to Kentucky, I > was > intrigued and decided to join into the discussion. > > I wrote directly to DaveH, and was intrigued by a statement he > made > regarding protestants and priesthood, and decided to repond before > the > group. > > Before doing so I would like to state that I have no authority at > all to > answer these questions, other than what I read in scripture, and > what I have > learned as a member of the protestant laity. > > In Dave's response he expressed the following: > > "From what I gather, most Protestant churches pretty much deny > the > priesthood (at least in the same context that we view it.....I have > a > protestant encyclopedia that doesn't even have a listing for > 'priesthood'!) > The RCC on the other hand take an approach more similar to ours. > But > Protestants tend to want to minimize the need for a priesthood, and > pretty > much lay the importance of the priesthood strictly on our Lord who > is the > High Priest, and lessor forms of the priesthood are not necessary. > I don't > know if that makes any sense....." > > Protestants determine their doctrine from the Bible only ("sola > scriptura" is one of the foundational points of the reformation). We > do not > appeal to extra-biblical references, as do LDS, such as the Book of > Mormon > (BoM), or the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C), or as do the RCC, such > as the > additional books considered scripture by the RCC, but considered > "false > books" by the protestants. > > The Bible reveals that those who believe in Christ are made > priests, but > it is not a prominent issue in the Bible, as it is in the D&C, so > there is > no explicit "protestant" doctrine regarding priestly duties. The > references > (1 Peter 2:9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10; Rev 20:6) simply indicate that we, > as > believers in Christ, are made priests. This affirms the fact that, > since the > veil that separates the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies has been > rent, > now we can come directly before God as priests, and do not need any > earthly > priests to intervene on our behalf. And, since the earthly temple > was > destroyed, the earthly duty of priests ceased with it's destruction. > > So, while this is not a "denial" of the priesthood, we do not make > it a > grandiose issue, but an accepted fact of our position in Christ. > > Perry Locke > > > _________________________________________________________________ > The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > > ---------- > "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you > may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) > http://www.InnGlory.org > > If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you > have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed. > ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.