I'd like to point something else
out as well. John the Baptist was
condemning individuals claiming to
be in a right relationship with God.
He wasn't condemning structures or
ruling hierarchies. In fact, in a
verse little known to Protestants,
despite its proximity to one of their
favorite verses to bash Catholics,
Jesus said,
"Then Jesus
spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples,
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees
sit in Moses' seat: All therefore
whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do; but do not
ye after their works: for they say, and do not."
(Matthew 23:1–3)
This is interesting for two reasons.
One, the concept of Moses's Seat
was a tradition the Jews handed down
from Moses's time, something like
the Catholic Magisterium. Jesus not
only doesn't condemn this tradition,
He binds his disciples to obey it!
So much for sola scriptura.
The second
interesting thing is that Jesus binds
them to obey the scribes and the
Pharisees even though they are not
righteous, precisely the opposite
of the point you are trying to prove.
Here Jesus is referring to them as
an institution, not individuals.
While we don't have Moses's Seat
anymore (as such), the message is
clear: The unrighteousness of church
authority is no excuse for disobedience
or schism. |
