Criticism of the Church By: Richard B. Sorensen November 1, 2010, updated November 23, 2020
[email protected] www.richardsorensen.com www.unholygrail.net If you say that the history of the Church is a long succession of scandals, you are telling the truth, though if that is all you say, you are distorting the truth ~ Gerald Vann To a large degree, the Bible and the church have been lumped together in people’s minds and the frustration that some have felt with the actual “institutions of Christianity” have made them question and throw out the church, the Bible, and even Christianity itself. Many of the criticisms are overblown, but the church does have things to answer for. Here are some examples: For centuries the Catholic Church was a secular political power that vied with other governments for control and supremacy. Ignoring the separation enforced in the Old Testament between priests (religious leaders) and kings (secular leaders), and the New Testament pattern of multiple elders to avoid the tendency toward dictatorship, the Catholic Church centralized power by establishing the Papacy and the Vatican in the fourth century, with the Pope being the supreme leader. Subsequent popes sought to expand their authority, and at times there were vicious battles to seize the Papal ring. This is in contrast to Scriptures such as James 3:16-17: “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” Many individual pastors and priests were lights for God, but the central leadership became corrupt and hypocritical.