Replies

"...Yes, the apostles were given collectively and in the person of St. Peter the authority that what they declare bound on Earth has been bound in Heaven, and what they declare loosed on Earth has been loosed in Heaven. The fact that this authority was exercised to discern what comprises the bible after the apostles had died demonstrates that the authority was handed down to their successors..."

So, my take-away from this post is two fold:

1. Saint Peter was given divine authority to determine what was to be included or excluded.

2. By exercising this authority shows that it was indeed granted.

Do I have that right? So, if I claim the authority to be able to direct traffic, and if I then step into the intersection and begin waving cars around, and if those cars heed my signals, then that is proof enough that I was granted the authority legitimately?

Even if I don't have it correct, at a bare minimum, if Saint Peter was a human being, and if he were making editorial decisions on sacred religious texts, that still supports my position that individuals exert great influence decades or centuries after the fact.

Actually, you are largely correct: The early church’s bishops claimed their authority was granted to them by Christ. What is notable is that their followers accepted this claim, and it was these who built Christianity. You can’t be an orthodox Christian (even with the small “o”), and reject that the bishops and the Bible mutually rely on each other for authority. That is why St. Ignatius, the first bishop of Antioch to succeed the apostles declared that if you want to know the Church, look to the bishops.

Had this not been known from the beginning, the early Christians would have said to the bishops, “so who are you to decide such matters?” And indeed, some did. Look into gnosticism if you will, and decide for yourself if that strikes you as true Christianity. But look into the real beliefs, not just the Dan Brown nonsense. I promise you that you will be horrified by what you find.