Christians don't need a mediating priesthood

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Contents 1 Criticism 1.1 Source(s) of the Criticism 2 Response 3 Conclusion 4 Endnotes 5 Further reading 5.1 FAIR wiki articles 5.2 FAIR web site 5.3 External links 5.4 Printed material

Criticism

Sectarian Protestant critics claim that Christians do not need a mediating priesthood since it has been "fulfilled in Christ."

Source(s) of the Criticism

• "Dr." James White, "Temples Made With Hands," Alpha & Omega web site, e-tract.

Response

The critics' theological need to dispense with priesthood authority—since Protestantism cannot claim authority from either a restoration (which they deny) or a continuation (having broken with Catholicism)—leads them to ignore the clear evidence from the early Church.

As William Hamblin pointed out:

Why, if Christ has removed all need for human priesthood authority, did Christ order the lepers he healed to go to the Jewish priests for purification (Mark 1:44, Luke 17:14)? Apparently Christ believed that his miraculous powers of healing did not negate or supercede the priesthood authority of the Jewish priests. Possibly Protestants could argue that Christ had not yet ascended into heaven and replaced the Jewish High Priest. If so, why does Peter speak of a post ascension "holy priesthood" (1_Pet. 2:5) and "royal priesthood" (1_Pet. 2:9) among Christians? Likewise John in Revelation speaks of the saints as "priests to his [Christ's] God and Father" (Rev. 1:6), and "priests to our God" (Rev. 5:10); in the resurrection there "shall be priests of God and of Christ" (Rev. 20:6). What odd statements for an infallible book to make if [the critics'] understanding of priesthood is correct.

Some of the earliest Christians also explicitly disagree with White's claims. The author of the Didache, (one of the earliest post-New Testament Christian documents, late first to early second century), states explicitly that "the prophets ... are your high priests" (13.1). Note the plural here: the prophets (profetais) are the Christians' high priests (archiereis). So, early post-New Testament Christians had prophets (a thing [James] White believes Christians shouldn't have) who were high priests (a thing [James] White believes Christians shouldn't have); and there were apparently simultaneously more than one high priest. ^[1]

While there are few New Testament references to priests, other than Jesus Christ and converted Levite priests (Acts 6:7), Protestants should not assume that this office was abolished. The early church had priests along with bishops and deacons. Origen (ca. 240 A.D.) spoke of the church hierarchy in the 2nd century describing the priest's office as being between that of the deacon and bishop (Jean Danielou, "Origen", p.44-45, 49-50; Cel. 5,3,1; De Princ. 3,2,4; Hom. Luc., 35; Hom. Ez. 1,7) and Eusebius (ca. 300 A.D.) clearly distinguished between those holding the priesthood (i.e. bishops, presbyters or elders, priests, deacons, etc.) and the lay members both men and women. (Eusebius, History of the Church, 6:19, 23, 43; 7:30; 10:3, 4) Eugene Seaich observes that "documents from the early Church show that the Aaronic Priesthood did not immediately disappear from Christianity. 1 Clement (ca. 96 A.D.) divides the priesthood into High Priests, Priests and Levites. The latter were also called "Deacons" and according to Justin's First Apology (ca. 150 A.D.) were responsible for passing the bread and wine to those attending service" (Ancient Texts and Mormonism, p. 59). Though the title priest was rarely used in the New Testament, so also were similar priesthood titles such as pastor (Eph. 4:11), evangelist (Acts 21:8); (2_Tim. 4:5), presbytery (1_Tim. 4:14), and seventy (Luke 10:1),(Luke 10:17). ^[2] (See also 1 Clement 40-44; an article in Ferguson's Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, pp. 754-5 provides references to other second and early third century Christian sources mentioning Christian priests.)

Conclusion

The Bible repeatedly speaks of a priesthood authority outside of Jesus both before and after His resurrection, with John describing such callings just prior to the second coming.

Early Christian authors insisted too that high priests, prophets, bishops, elders, priests, and deacons with authority persisted among the Christians.

The critics' desire to deny a formal priesthood seems to arise mostly out of theological necessity, rather than historical or biblical evidence.

Endnotes

1. [back]  Dr. William Hamblin, "Tract Made Without Evidence". Hamblin respond's to James White's (of Alpha & Omega Ministry) e-tract, "Temples Made Without Hands" (22 September 1999). off-site
2. [back]  Michael Hickenbotham, "Answering Challenging Mormon Questions," Horizon Publishers, 1995. off-site

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Apostasy wiki articles

• Apostasy
• Apostasy and the "gates of hell"
• Evidence of the apostasy in the Bible
• Individual versus organizational apostasy
• No complete apostasy?
• Original sin
• Patristic evidence of the apostasy
• Prediction of the apostasy
  • Why does the Church preach to other Christians?

FAIR Priesthood wiki articles

• Bible teachings about priesthood
• Christians don't need a mediating priesthood?
• Elias and Elijah at the Kirtland Temple
• Jesus is the only Melchizedek priesthood holder
• Location of the organization of the Church ^{[needs work]}
• No Paid Ministry
• Priesthood non-transferable?
• Need for priesthood restoration
• Date of the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood
• Women and the priesthood ^{[needs work]}

FAIR web site

Apostasy FAIR articles

• FAIR Topical Guide: Apostasy and restoration FAIR link
  
• FAIR Topical Guide: Priesthood restoration FAIR link
  
• Roger Keller, "The Apostasy," FAIR 2004 conference. FAIR link
  Dr. Keller is a former Presbyterian minister.

FAIR Priesthood FAIR articles

• FAIR Topical Guide: Priesthood FAIR link
  

External links

Apostasy on-line articles

• Richard L. Anderson, "Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp: Three Bishops between the Apostles and Apostasy," Ensign (August 1976): 51. off-site
• Kent P. Jackson, "Early Signs of the Apostasy," Ensign (December 1984): 8. off-site
• Roger D. Cook, "How Deep the Platonism? A Review of Owen and Mosser's Appendix: Hellenism, Greek Philosophy, and the Creedal "Straightjacket" of Christian Orthodoxy," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 265–299. off-site PDF link
• William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson, "The Evangelical Is Our Brother (Review of How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation)," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 178–209. off-site PDF link
• Kent P. Jackson, "Early Signs of the Apostasy," Ensign (December 1984): 8. off-site
• Hyde M. Merrill, "The Great Apostasy as Seen by Eusebius," Ensign (November 1972): 34. off-site
• Hugh W. Nibley, "Evangelium Quadraginta Dierum," Vigiliae Christianae 20 (1966):1-24; reprinted in Hugh W. Nibley, Mormonism and Early Christianity (Vol. 4 of Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by Todd Compton and Stephen D. Ricks, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1987), 10–44. ISBN 0875791271. off-site GospeLink direct off-site
• Dallin H. Oaks, "Apostasy and Restoration," Ensign (May 1995): 84. off-site
• David Stewart, Jr., "The Christian Apostasy," cumorah.com off-site

Priesthood links to articles

• Brian Q. Cannon, "Priesthood Restoration Documents," Brigham Young University Studies 35:4 (1995–96): 162. PDF link (Key source)
• Donald Q. Cannon, Larry E. Dahl, and John W. Welch, "The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: Priesthood, the Word of God, and the Temple," Ensign (February 1989): 7. off-site
• William G. Hartley, "Review of Gregory L. Prince's Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood," Brigham Young University Studies 37:1 (1997): 225–230. off-site

Printed material

Apostasy printed materials

• Matthew B. Brown, “Evidences of Apostasy,” in Matthew B. Brown, All Things Restored, 2d ed. (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 2006), 1–32. AISN B000R4LXSM. ISBN 1577347129.
• Noel B. Reynolds (editor), Early Christians in Disarray: Contemporary LDS Perspectives on the Christian Apostasy (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2005), 1. ISBN 0934893020. off-site  (Key source)

Priesthood printed materials

• Richard Lloyd Anderson, "The Second Witness of Priesthood Restoration," Improvement Era (71/9 (September 1968)): 15–24. GospeLink
• Richard Lloyd Anderson, "The Second Witness on Priesthood Succession," Improvement Era (September 1968): 14–20. GospeLink
• Brain Q. Cannon and BYU Studies staff, "Seventy Contemporaneous Priesthood Restoration Documents," in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations 1820–1844 (Documents in Latter-day Saint History), edited by John W. Welch with Erick B. Carlson, (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press / Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 2005), 215–263. ISBN 0842526072. (Key source)