Language has to be accurate or it communicates nothing. The sentence I objected to had no meaning. No, I am not an English teacher. I am a native speaker of American English and I hate to see my tongue mangled.
I know that Catholic priests have authority from scripture. We read in Acts that the apostles appointed priests over the churches. St. Paul says: "Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20:28) We also read in the Pastoral Letters (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus) that Paul appointed bishops such as Sts. Timothy and Titus, who themselves had authority to appoint priests. I also know this from tradition, which from time immemorial has recognized in the Catholic Church the divinely conferred power of binding and loosing sins.
Christ's conferral of this power upon his one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church, Mother and Teacher of all Christians, is certainly no sacrilege.
Alright, I'm not going to discount your affection for the language, I apologise for my rude response.
"Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20:28)
So where's the authority to FORGIVE sin and confess sin to priest for forgivness in this? Where's the hierarcial structure imposed by the catholic church in scripture of TODAY?
It's quite a twist to take this verse as an example to set up a justification for a POPE! Bishops were equal to Apostles, not any other men of the church...This just adds a extra nonbiblical meaning to scripture that is not there.
Christ's conferral of this power upon his one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church, Mother and Teacher of all Christians, is certainly no sacrilege.
Please don't go there, I could just as easily say the Catholic church is the direct opposite of what Christ intended his church to be. And point to many scriptural references to back my argument.
Christ is the one with the power and ALL have to go to HIM and HIM alone for the forgiveness of sin, and to teach anything else is wrong.
Christ is the bridge, not the Pope.