Priesthood
The position of priesthood in the church has been evident since the earliest existence of the church. Jewish priests first were established in the seventh century BC performing religious ceremonies. They were even more established around 950 BC due to the establishment of the Temple in Jerusalem.
The major role of the traditional Jewish priest was to perform sacrificial rituals. According to the Bible, the Temple was built as a place for
God to live with the people. It was the holiest building that existed, and needed to be kept holy by the priests. Their role of the priests was to perform animal sacrifices to God as an offering. The priests performed these sacrifices as specialists on behalf of a community or congregation in order to restore the holiness of the community and of the Temple. It was believed that if there was sin among the people then God would not come and be with them.
After the Temple was destroyed during the war with Rome, these animal sacrifices were stopped, and there were no more active Jewish priests. The religious leadership in the synagogue was led by the rabbis.
In the Protestant religion there exists a "priesthood of all believers"("Priesthood", 529). This meant that each member in the community serves as his or her own priest, with direct access to communication with God.
Protestants believe that the role of the priest is an "officiating mediary"("Priesthood", 529), rather than a one who performs ritual sacrifices.
This stems from the Protestant belief that Jesus Christ served as "the ultimate" sacrifice, and therefore there is no use in animal sacrifices. Protestants also do not call their religious leaders "priests" because the name itself implies that he is of a higher level than his fellow man or that he has more access to
God than others.
There exists two different forms of priesthood: hereditary and vocational priests. A hereditary priest is a limited position in that it can only be held by a person who a direct descendent of the tribe of Levi. This tribe is one of the original 12 tribes of Israel as set forth in Genesis 49.
There exists among this tribe one High Priests who head of the other priests. He is the only priest who was allowed to view the holy Ark of the Covenant during the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem. These hereditary priests, unlike most priests in today's society, were allowed to marry in order to carry on the line of priesthood.
The vocational priests are those which have been "called" to the ministry by God himself.
From the documents, it seems evident that the Essene community sought to preserve both their holiness and obedience to God. Therefore, what is learned suggests that the Essenes lived and devoted their lives with strict adherence to the priestly order; in so doing, it was especially important for those who submitted themselves to this way of life, do so completely separated from the general communities around them. Additionally, it was their belief that those who lived outside of the sectarian way of life, did so by a manner contradictory to God’s will.
1985. “An Interpretation of Sacrifice in Leviticus” in Anthropological Approaches to the Old Testament. Ed., Bernhard Lane.
... sacrifice and ritual of purification. They were therefore banned from the temples and had to perform the rituals by themselves.
They wanted to live in a community, so they could worship together as a group
their own tradition, and their own rituals. They had their own civilization with their own
Throughout the years, there has been constant debate to whether priests should remain celibate or should have the option to marry during priesthood. In Catholicism, the Church holds that celibacy is a gift of the Holy Spirit for the Church; therefore, it is not something negotiable. Many devoted Catholics view the idea of ending celibacy as an absolutely ridiculous thought, but there are many devoted Catholics who have the opinion that ending celibacy in priesthood could have a positive impact in Catholicism. The questions remain: Which is the proper choice? Do Catholics have authority to change tradition? As a raised Catholic and from a personal standpoint, I believe that celibacy in priesthood is beneficial and that its tradition is quite beautiful. Not only should Catholicism continue with its tradition because it is his...
interested in the actual teachings of the church and of God. They were interested in
...und it better. Life for them were fair to them but probably not understood by the outsiders. They cared for nothing more than their education and God, and the works of God. They prayed and they worshiped all day and lived where the church was. People of their kind needed a quiet and peaceful way to get their one on one with their god away from the violence on the streets. What if women or men couldn’t become monks or nuns? Women would probably have no education or a passion for god and his works. As for men, they wouldn’t have a peaceful place to independently confide in their god. Life would be different if the same rules applied as of today.
Judaism, the religion of the Jews, is one of the oldest religions in the world. Judaism in fact, is the oldest of the three major religions that believe in a single God. The other two, Christianity and Islam have been strongly influence by Judaism, which is a big part of western civilization today. In the beginning, Jews were a tribe, a band of nomads, more than likely shepherds that may have died out if they would have remained merely shepherds. Jews were one of many “nations” to be found in the ancient Near East.
“Religious exclusiveness was the foremost principle of their society. The spiritual beliefs that they held were strong. This strength held over to include community laws and customs. Since God was at the forefront of their minds, He was to motivate all of their actions. This premise worked both for them and against them” (Kizer).
himself rights and powers in the Church which were really not his to have. He
...he gods. Chiefs could act like priests but priests were not allowed to stand in as chiefs. Holy men were thought of as shining stars from heaven and the guardians of their tribe.
Advocates of celibacy worry that if priests marry, the congregation will be majorly neglected. However, that point is easily refuted because of the available examples of the leaders of uncelibate churches.
they were given the job, to lead the way to God. This was a big
From the book of Proverbs, we are also told that God designed marriage and sex not only as a means for bringing children into this world, but also as God's appointed means for a man to find pleasure in his wife. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee and miraculously provided wine when their supplies were exhausted. The Apostle Paul also had a great deal to say about the covenant that God ordained between man and woman. Paul assumed that elders and deacons would be married and have bare children. Paul also encouraged younger widows to marry and he claimed the right as an apostle to lead a wife.