St. John Chrysostom was himself a bishop. So he obviously didn't mean all bishops. What he wrote was a warning to all bishops of the gravity of their office. It is their moral duty to maintain the faith, and that the price of their failure to uphold that morality was graver beyond all imagination. He was warning them that their office didn't shield them from damnation, but rather their acceptance of that office played their soul in grave danger because of the amazing spiritual responsibilities that came with it.
But like most ignorant Catholic-bashers, you fail to recognize that the Catholic church never said that bishops, or even the Pope, are impeccable.
For his scathing condemnation of the bishops of Rome, the bishops of Rome have seen to it that he remains one of the saints most studied by bishops and preists.
despiet his scathing rebuke -- Rome is the most studied . . . How would it not be? It's the seat of the Church. Are writers going to spend all threir energy writing about the defunct church of jerusalem or the defunct church at antioch or the defunct church at alexandria? Are writers going to spend energy on the eastern othodox church that has little influence or power when you have a church that made kings and ruled the word for centuries and is still a power to be reconed with?
That's like comparing Rush to O'Reily -- O'Reily get some press but nothing like rush does.
St. John Chrysostom -- his remark is far more damning then saying theri is a grave respocibility for a bishop -- he is saying that the bishops have made a highway to hell for their followers -- not heretics not unbeleivers but the bishops those who are supposed to be sanctified.
He is saying that NOT all, but a great number -- it takes more than two or three to pave hell were themselves corrupt and their teaching by extension were corrupt and therefore their followers were corrupted.
If these sources all say to go back to the ancients to get past the corruption pray tell who's writings are they saying are uncorrupted?
Tertullian?
Justin Martyr?
Clement of Rome?
The field is not exactly full of candidates
Or would these men be talking about getting off the waywards traditions because they saw that were shifting sand and back to the rock of the Gospels and the Epistles?
You need to decide the answer -- what are all these guys talking about as the ancients and the place the church needed to return to?
Next question is there any evidence documentary wise to indicate that the chruch repented and returned to the God of their fathers like israel of old or are they like the catholic church today that this article rails against that are hijacking the religion because they can and the laity be damned?
Its tough stuff becasue we are talking about faith Ideals and what we were taught as children -- see but when we are asking the dems to see the light and examine where the party went -- it works best with people who lived through all that.
The hard nut DUers are all young children who have grown up since Clinton was first elected.
To these guys there was no change that's all ancient history.
Also it is not my intent to convert catholics to protestantism.
If you look up my name you will see that I am very hard on a lot of protestant practices and church leaders as well and I spend far more time on them than the catholics.
The truth is that you are no less a christian than them and I can and do base that on scripture.
The truth is that without the catholic church as things stand Jesus and the Apostles would have been in the harvard classics as ancient greek and hebrew legends.
There is a lot of water under the bridge that neither you and I can do anything with. We can't change it not Luther, No calvin not Pope gregory. Bad decissions were made bad doctrines were created and like government agencies once created they live on forever becaseu every scholar and teach quote them and then wants to rewrite them and put there own two cents in.
Thirty years ago I knew a bunch of catholic charimatics in White plains new york every week I met them in a building on chruch property and we prayed and read the bible together it was wonderful these people loved God from head to foot. Never in a year did we speak about any of the merits for or against any catholic doctrine.
I remember brother Phil with fond memories and some of the sisters there.
They spoke of sharing the light with others and how the church had grown cold. they spoke of renewal through prayer worship and reading the bible.