Christian priests
The living faith seems to be transformed into a
creed to be believed; devotion to Christ, into Christology; the ardent hope for the coming
of the kingdom into a doctrine of immortality and deification; prophecy, into
technical exegesis and theological learning; the ministers of the spirit, into clerics;
the brothers, into laymen in a state of tutelage; miracles and miraculous cures disappear
altogether, or else are priestly devices; fervent prayers become solemn hymns and
litanies; the "Spirit" becomes law and compulsion.
The truth is that the dividing wall between priest and people has been broken down and
each man has by Christ been admitted into the inner sanctuary and himself consecrated a
priest unto God for the salvation of other men. Jesus himself is revealed as the
one High-Priest. If there is to be any unity in Christendom, it must arise from the
restoration of correct principals of the priesthood of all believers and Bishops as overseeing the flock.
The Christian priesthood is an aberration of the Nicolaitan doctrine. The Bible
terms the forbidding of marriage a doctrine of devils. If the priesthood of
all believers is true, then only as the layman is strong can Christianity be strong. The
distinction between priests and laymen is already a well-marked characteristic of the
Roman institution; certain acts of divine worship can be performed only by the priest; his
mediation is an absolute necessity. It is only by this mediation that a man can approach God at
all, by the mediation of right doctrine, right ordinance, and a sacred book, even the
communion cup is withheld from the people.
[101, 33, 326, 377]
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