PRIESTISM.
Chrysostom, a Catholic writer, says, “Priests have received a power which God never chose to confer on angels, for God never said to them, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Earthly princes have a power of binding, of bodies only however; but this bond grasps the soul, and extends to heaven, so that whatever the priests do below, God legitimates above, confirming the sentence of his servants. But what less is this than that he hath conferred on them all celestial power; for whose soever sins, he said, ye remit, they are remitted, and whosesoever ye retain, they are retained. Can any authority be greater than this? All judgment was given to the Son by the Father, but here I see it all devolved by the Son on them; for they are advanced to this supremacy precisely as though they were already translated to heaven, exalted above human nature, and freed from human passion. Moreover, were a king to confer on one of his subjects authority to imprison and again release whoever he pleased, he would be admired and envied by all. But the priest receives authority from God as much greater as heaven is superior to earth, and souls to bodies.
“It is madness to despise this power without which we can neither attain salvation, nor any of the blessings that are promised; for if no one can enter the kingdom of heaven except he be born of water and the Spirit, and he who does not eat the flesh of the Lord and drink his blood is excluded from eternal life, and none of these are possible except through the consecrated hands of the priest, how can any one without him escape the fire of hell, and attain a crown?”—De Sacerdotio lib. iii. c.v.
This is priestism with a vengeance—priestism in which Catholics, both Greek and Latin, firmly believe, and with the spirit of which the clergy of all sects and shadows are more or less imbued. Where the people believe such vile doctrine as this, the clergy are omnipotent, and constitute a tyranny the most odious and cruel that can be conceived. As to the argument it may be remarked, that there is a very considerable flaw in Mr. Chrysostom’s premises. He assumes, that because the Lord Jesus authorised his apostles to remit and retain sins, this authority extends to all priests styling themselves their “successors” who live after them in all ages! This assumption we deny, and demand of those who affirm its truth to adduce the divine testimony that proves it. This they cannot do, and therefore they are impostors and deceivers of the people. The truth is that there is no scriptural division of the faithful into priests and people, clergy and laity. Christ is the elder brother, and they that are Christ’s are his brethren. Jesus and his brethren are God’s family. They are all priests of whom Christ is the chief, and the rest his Household. Since the death of the apostles, there are none of the household of the past or present that can pardon one another for offences against heaven. God for Christ’s sake forgives them. Neither can they remit or retain the sins of men; all they can do is to show how sinners can obtain pardon, and become heirs of the kingdom and glory of God, through the name of Jesus Christ.
EDITOR.
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