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Why do Protestant lay people hate clergy?

Posted on 07/26/2014 4:41:46 AM PDT by michaelwlf3

I am coming up on my first year as an ordained minister in a continuing Anglican church, and I have noticed that participating on political forums (even when the topic is religious) I find that my opinions and postings more often than not generate more hatred than anything else. Among the things I often hear are that the laity are the real priests and that I am a Pharisee, that my vocation disqualifies me from offering an opinion on anything Christian because I am too narrow minded, and (my personal favorite) because I look too Catholic I must be a child molester.

Are these people really Christians?


TOPICS: Ecumenism; General Discusssion; Ministry/Outreach; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: cathvsprot; clergy; laity; sectarianturmoil; theology; whiningwhiners
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To: Elsie

Thank God that you are prejudice free.

How have you attained that?


741 posted on 07/29/2014 10:29:27 AM PDT by michaelwlf3
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To: michaelwlf3

Your bitterness is duly noted.


742 posted on 07/29/2014 10:30:29 AM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ)
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To: CynicalBear

“Your bitterness is duly noted.”

Grow up.


743 posted on 07/29/2014 10:35:46 AM PDT by michaelwlf3
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To: CynicalBear

I find it very interesting that those most accused of *hate* rarely use the word, while those who consider themselves the most spiritually astute throw around the invective like apes at the zoo.


744 posted on 07/29/2014 10:37:00 AM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: michaelwlf3; CynicalBear

Physician heal thyself.

If you’re going to post a sharp stick in the eye at Protestants kind of thread, then don’t complain when someone calls you on it and points out your hypocrisy.

I can’t imagine anyone with a modicum of common sense expecting those they are attacking to not respond. If you have that thin of a skin you ought to both not post threads like this in the first place, and find something else to do instead of the ministry until you learn how to not take offense so easily.

You’ve been doing nothing but whining and playing the martyr since you posted this flame baiting thread.

You are the one who needs to grow up.


745 posted on 07/29/2014 10:40:51 AM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: CynicalBear; Elsie; af_vet_1981; metmom; daniel1212; boatbums; caww; Iscool

We understand that God can use men as Caiaphas, and that infallibility is both limited and not a claim to impeccability, but these men are claimed to be the Holy Spirit’s choices to replace Peter, and thus the contrast is even more pronounced.

The only way this can be justified is to invoke the choice of Judas by the Lord, but this places Rome in the position of essentially choosing successors to Judas, as some popes seemed to be more like him than Peter.

Luther has been charged with being a fornicator upon the premise that marriage that is not sanctioned by Rome is fornication (which, considering the multitudes of RCs who have received annulments based on various grounds for them, potentially leaves multitude more RCs as living in fornication), but consider,

Popes sexually active before receiving Holy Orders

Pope Pius II (1458–1464) had at least two illegitimate children, one in Strasbourg and one in Scotland, both born before he entered the clergy. Pius delayed becoming a cleric because of the requirement of chastity.[12]

Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492) had two illegitimate children during his youth, both born before he entered the clergy.[13] His nepotism towards these has been described as “lavish as it was shameless” [14] He married off his elder son Franceschetto Cybo to the daughter of Lorenzo de’ Medici, who in return obtained the cardinal’s hat for his thirteen-year-old son Giovanni, later Pope Leo X. Savonarola chastised him for his worldly ambitions.[15]

Pope Clement VII (1523–1534) had one illegitimate son before he took holy orders, identified as Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence.[16]

Popes who were sexually active after receiving Holy Orders[edit]

Pope Julius II (1503–1513) had three illegitimate daughters, one of whom was Felice della Rovere (born in 1483, twenty years before his election as pope, but twelve years after his enthronement as Bishop of Lausanne).[17] The schismatic Conciliabulum of Pisa, which sought to depose him in 1511, accused him of being a “sodomite covered with shameful ulcers.” [18]

Pope Paul III (1534–1549) who, according to some sources, held off ordination in order to continue his promiscuous lifestyle, fathering four illegitimate children (three sons and one daughter) by his mistress Silvia Ruffini after his appointment as Cadinal-Deacon of Santi Cosimo and Damiano. He broke his relations with her ca. 1513. There is no evidence of sexual activity during his papacy.[citation needed] He made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the first Duke of Parma.[19][20]

Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585) received the ecclesiastical tonsure in Bologna in June 1539, but subsequently had an affair with Maddalena Fulchini which resulted in the birth of a son, Giacomo Boncompagni, in 1548. Giacomo remained illegitimate but his father later appointed him Gonfalonier of the

Popes accused of being sexually active during pontificate[edit]

Pope Sergius III (904–911) was accused by his opponents of being the illegitimate father of Pope John XI by Marozia.[23] These accusations are found in Liutprand of Cremona’s Antapodosis,[24] as well as the Liber Pontificalis.[25][26][27] The accusations are disputed by another early source, the annalist Flodoard (c. 894–966): John XI was brother of Alberic II, the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husband Alberic I, so John too may have been the son of Marozia and Alberic I. Bertrand Fauvarque emphasizes that the contemporary sources backing up this parenthood are dubious, Liutprand being “prone to exaggeration” while other mentions of this fatherhood appear in satires written by supporters of late Pope Formosus.[28]

Pope John X (914–928) had romantic affairs with both Theodora and her daughter Marozia, according to Liutprand of Cremona in his Antapodosis.[29][30](See also Saeculum obscurum)

Pope John XII (955–963) was accused by his adversaries of adultery and incest.[31][32] The monk Benedict of Soracte noted in his volume XXXVII that he “liked to have a collection of women”. According to Liutprand of Cremona in his Antapodosis,[24] “they testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father’s concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse.” According to E. R. Chamberlin, John XII was “a Christian Caligula whose crimes were rendered particularly horrific by the office he held”.[33] Some sources report that he was rumoured to have died 8 days after being stricken by paralysis while in the act of adultery,[31] others that he was killed by the jealous husband while in the act of committing adultery.[34][35][36][37] (See also Saeculum obscurum)

Pope Benedict IX (1032– became pope in 1044, again in 1045 and finally 1047–1048).[38] He was accused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of “many vile adulteries.”[39][40] Pope Victor III referred in his third book of Dialogues to “his rapes... and other unspeakable acts.”[41] His life prompted Saint Peter Damian to write an extended treatise against illicit sex in general, and homosexuality in particular. In his Liber Gomorrhianus, Damian accused Benedict IX of routine sodomy and bestiality and sponsoring orgies.[42] In May 1045, Benedict IX resigned his office to pursue marriage.[43]

Pope Paul II (1464–1471) is popularly thought to have died due to indigestion arising from eating melon in excess,[44][45] though a rumour was spread by his detractors that he died while engaging in sodomy.[46]

Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484) was alleged to have awarded gifts and benefices to court favourites in return for sexual favours. Giovanni Sclafenato was created a cardinal by Sixtus for “ingenuousness, loyalty,...and his other gifts of soul and body”, according to the papal epitaph on his tomb.[47][48]

Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503) had a long affair with Vannozza dei Cattanei while still a priest, but before he became pope; and by her had his illegitimate children Cesare, Giovanni Borgia, Gioffre Borgia, and Lucrezia. A later mistress, Giulia Farnese, was the sister of Alessandro Farnese, and she gave birth to a daughter (Laura) while Alexander was in his 60s and consecrated as pope[49]. Alexander fathered at least seven, and possibly as many as ten illegitimate children, and did much to promote his family’s interests - using his offspring to build alliances with a number of important dynasties.[50] He appointed Giovanni Borgia as Captain General of the Church, and made Cesare a Cardinal of the Church - also creating independent duchies for each of them out of papal lands.

Pope Leo X (1513–1521) was allegedly a practising homosexual, according to some modern and contemporary sources (Francesco Guicciardini and Paolo Giovio). He was alleged to have had a particular (albeit one-sided) infatuation for Marcantonio Flaminio.[51]

Pope Julius III (1550–1555) was alleged to have had a long affair with Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte. The Venetian ambassador at that time reported that Innocenzo shared the pope’s bed.[52] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sexually_active_popes


746 posted on 07/29/2014 10:52:20 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a contrite damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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To: michaelwlf3

You claim to be a pastor/church leader yet in the three years you have been here you have not once posted scripture or defended your faith. Nearly every post has been whining or invective toward other posters. Now you tell me to “grow up”?


747 posted on 07/29/2014 11:16:08 AM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ)
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To: caww
Thus they will be easily led to believe the great deception when it comes.... Already indoctrinated to “ worship” a leader, (either directly or indirectly), these are those most easily swayed to believe a lie.

What do you mean by "deception when it comes"?

748 posted on 07/29/2014 11:16:48 AM PDT by Karl Spooner
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To: metmom
>> I find it very interesting that those most accused of *hate* rarely use the word, while those who consider themselves the most spiritually astute throw around the invective like apes at the zoo.<<

It is interesting isn’t it? And they usually end up the most vitriolic and personal.

749 posted on 07/29/2014 11:19:40 AM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ)
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To: daniel1212; Elsie; af_vet_1981; metmom; boatbums; caww; Iscool

LOL Catholics try to tie all Protestants to either Luther or Calvin. Protestants have such a long list of evil popes to tie them to it’s hard to just pick one.


750 posted on 07/29/2014 11:31:20 AM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ)
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To: Religion Moderator
When a poster posts text from a source with no attribution and link, it is not allowed on Free Republic for copyright compliance. All text posted from outside sources must be linked and attributed to the URL of origin.

Thanks, yet i did not think both attribution and link were required, though that may be preferable. And of source, i do not think you are including Bible texts or standard historical documents (like the Constitution) as needing links.

751 posted on 07/29/2014 11:47:07 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a contrite damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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To: MamaB; metmom
Catholics believe that the Catholic church wrote the Bible and gave it to the world so we’ve been told constantly to *say Thank you, Catholic church* for it. Pretty pathetic that they think it’s the work of men.

I did not realize that. Thanks. Another odd belief. I thought everyone knew that.

RCs do profess Scripture is the inspired word of God, though there is debate whether this means all the words (historical), or the truths relevant to salvation (liberal).

But the issue is that it is not the supreme authority as the assured word of God, as Rome presumes that Scripture is only what she decrees it is, and means, even though God is not the author of her words as He is of Scripture.

She is thus effectively the supreme authority, and the truthfulness of her official teachings rests upon the premise of her assured veracity, not the strength of actually Scriptural substantiation. Instead, Scripture is reduced to being a servant to support her, often taking its authority in vain.

752 posted on 07/29/2014 12:02:21 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a contrite damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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To: daniel1212

Thanks,Daniel. Sounds like a cult to me. I watched a program about 2 men who led groups which were cults. I just do not understand that. Aren’t they able to think for themselves?


753 posted on 07/29/2014 12:07:53 PM PDT by MamaB
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To: Karl Spooner

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. .......The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve “the lie”, and all the ways that wickedness ‘deceives those who are perishing’......... They perish because ‘they refused’ to love the truth and so be saved.

( And here’s the result for not believing)....

For this reason God sends them ‘a powerful delusion’ so that ‘they will’ believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness......2 Thess. 2:1-17

(So they will believe lies over the truth...because they’ve rejected Jesus who IS the truth. There will come a time when people won’t seek truth, we see this today...therefore that gap will always be filled with something else counterfeit.)


754 posted on 07/29/2014 12:17:55 PM PDT by caww
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To: CynicalBear; metmom

“You claim to be a pastor/church leader yet in the three years you have been here you have not once posted scripture or defended your faith.”

I am still trying to figure out what my posting frequency has to do with the price of eggs. I have been studying, which is what you should be doing.

Both of you have been acting like scolded children ever since I brought it up. If this is not you, just drop it, but it IS you, and you know it, and you have proven it here for all to see. So you make personal attacks against me and project your failings on others like kids do when they say “he started it”. And believe me, I know all of you have an excuse for your hate, whether it’s the Pope or the Eucharist or me. Tell it to Jesus, see if he’s impressed.


755 posted on 07/29/2014 12:22:15 PM PDT by michaelwlf3
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To: CynicalBear
....”LOL Catholics try to tie all Protestants to either Luther or Calvin”.....

...their entire indoctrination is based on compartmentalized instruction, not just to the Pope. Certain things "belong" here or there pending on who authorizes it's legitimacy. Rather similar to Islam...the Koran is not sufficient of itself...therefore 'other' writings Haddiths etc. are incorporated and interpreted by their Imams....who must be obeyed. Thank the Lord we are "free" to walk by faith and are justified fully in Him!

756 posted on 07/29/2014 12:35:51 PM PDT by caww
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To: michaelwlf3

757 posted on 07/29/2014 12:40:02 PM PDT by caww
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To: michaelwlf3; metmom
>> I am still trying to figure out what my posting frequency has to do with the price of eggs.<<

Absolutely nothing. The total lack of scripture or proclamation/defense of ones belief was the focus. But then it seems that your calling is not along those lines.

>> and you know it<<

Oh wow! Now you can read minds also!!!!! That’s rather frowned upon here.

758 posted on 07/29/2014 12:43:26 PM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ)
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To: G Larry

If something is posted that is not the posters own words and is taken from someone else’s writings, it must be attributed to the Author.


759 posted on 07/29/2014 12:48:23 PM PDT by Religion Moderator
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To: daniel1212

Better wording would have been either/or.

It would be best to have a link though.

Bible verses and the Constitution are in the public domain.


760 posted on 07/29/2014 12:52:19 PM PDT by Religion Moderator
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