You are implying that the Apostles did not live religious lives and that the Catholic Church was corrupt at its founding.
Mark
No I'm not. I said or implied nothing about the apostles. And I don't think that.
And I said that the 'church' was founded in a 'corrupt' environment. One in which the people were used to certain ways and beliefs.
Surely those ways, beliefs, and practices didn't disappear off the face of the earth when the Emperor snapped his fingers and declared it so.
Those beliefs and practices were there then, and it appears they are there now (not necessarily in the 'leadership' of the church, but in the body of man), and probably all the time in between.
Not necessarily in the church, but not necessarily NOT in the church either.
Institutions can become corrupted by corrupt men. Example, FBI, CIA, DOJ, State Dept, Congress, Office of the Presidency, entire governments.
Why not churches? And not just the Catholic church.
This is not an attack on the righteous, but a commentary on the institution, which is neither the bulk of the people (you) nor God or Jesus.