what exactly is the deal of (christian) priests? are they supposed to have a special channel with god? why are they necessary?
They're more pure then other humans which means they have a closer relationship with God. They act as the medium by which you talk to God
>>1092024
are they really? how is that supposed to work?
>>1092018
They're specially educated and trained individuals who can provide leadership and direction to a religious community.
>>1092018
Early Christian communities were under a bishop, supposedly appointed by the apostles or their successor. In the earliest times there does not seem to have been a difference between a bishop and a priest but as the church grew a distinction arose. Supposedly priest were initiated into mysteries the lay were not. Bishops, it is also argued, carry apostolic authority via succession
>>1092054
is christianity supposed to have mysteries?
>>1092058
God works in mysterious ways
>>1092068
I thought you were just supposed to accept that you don't get it instead of pretending to be important for knowing more than others.
>>1092058
Since early Church writing specifically refer to mysteries I would assume so. Whether they were referring to sacraments or secret teachings is hard to say but there is reason to believe there were teachings reserved for the clergy
>>1092018
Literacy rate was low, and the bible was historically written in Latin. The priest was able to read, an uncommon skill, and was put in charge of reading the teachings of God and relaying it to the community, so that they didn't have to undergo the massive undertaking of public reading education.
Once reading became more common, they stayed as a matter of tradition.
>>1092058
It does. Paul and John and others revealed them in the bible. For instance, it was always God's intent to offer salvation first to the Jews, and then to everyone else. This is all Plan A. There is no Plan B.
>>1092018
They have access to the secret Gnosis :^)
>>1092018
in apostolic denominations (Catholicism and the Orthodox), they maintain that Jesus gave the power of the holy spirit (which grants the ability to do stuff like exorcism, etc) and several special rights (I.e. the office of the keys, etc) to the 12 apostles.
the apostles could confer this power and these rights to others, and they did, making the first bishops.
the bishops transfered this power one to the next on down to modern times, and so, the role of priests is basically to be jesus-magicians who are embued with the power of the holy spirit and the office of the keys through their Bishop.
Priests are allowed to make a sacrifice on an altar, just like the Jewish Priests once did. The Sacrifice in Christianity is the Eucharist, and the Eucharist is the center of Christian worship in the apostolic churches.
Protestants rejecting the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is one of the reasons they don't have priests.
>>1092058
There are many secret Christian cults within the Catholic church
I always knew that this religion is SATAN'S Religion and it never was The Lord Jesus's Jesus would NEVER molest children of his flock but this criminal enterprise established by the roman empire and still persists today
The ENTIRE Catholic establishment has to be removed from this planet! These horrid people are an abomination!
>>1092058
Well, for one, there were the Gnostics, who held "secret wisdom" given only to the spiritually-attuned in order to gain "knowledge of God."
Then, you could also argue that mainstream Christianity *itself* had very mystical undertones to it (early followers referred to it as "the Way," which leads heavily to the idea that it was a spiritual path of gradual revelation, not a one-way ticket to salvation that later Christianity would become.)
>>1094814
Didn't he drown a bunch of them in the flood?
>>1094814
Is there a way to auto-ban paranoid Christfags? I mean, they don't even have to be sincere, they could be trolls, but goddamn do they lower the collective understanding of this board so damn much.
>>1092024
Is this why they keep sticking their penises in the asses of 8 year old boys?
>>1092018
Bogomilism ftw
Apostolic succession.
If you take any Catholic Priest, he was ordained by a Bishop. That was ordained by another Bishop. And so on, until you reach the Apostles.
>>1092018
depends on which sect of christianity. most denominations have a hierarchy set in place making it necessary to obey the church or risk damnation others do not this was laid out, at least in Catholicism the during the councils of Rome, Carthage, and Chalcedon along with other aspects of the faith mostly biblical cannon (the hierarchy was a result of the biblical cannon they chose). As for special powers, in Catholicism a priests hands are anointed with holy oil so he may carry out the sacraments. thats about it.
