Cynical bear: Trying to carry over the Old Testament meaning of priest
The Bible: Exodus 19:6 and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
and 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God
Sorry, the Bible contradicts what you are saying
The Church holds that, just as with the ancient Israelites, we are all a "nation of priests" and just as the ancient Israelites had ministerial priests set aside (Levites), so too do we have in the Church
The same structure -- with the difference that the High Priest is eternal Jesus Christ who is present at each Eucharist, each Mass
the Israelites abdicated their role as a “nation of priests” with their little foray into gold-calf making. -- sorry, that doesn't hold as we read in Exodus 16 how Aaron and Moses preach to the Israelites
Even in Exodus 19 with the pronouncement of you[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ -- these come from God through Moses and in Exodus 19:22 you read And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.
This was before Moses went up into Mt. Sinai
during the Eucharist, Christ IS present as the High Priest
Christ is the High Priest and we are all His priestly nation -- whether lay priests or ministerial priests
The High Priest, Jesus Christ is the High Priest and the one-time Sacrifice -- note, this is a participation in the One-Time sacrifice which as seen in the words of the Apocalypse of St. John of Patmos, as seen in Heaven is the Lamb standing proudly with the blood of Christ in the Eucharist
So, just as in the OT the Israelites/we are all a nation of priest yet they/we had a ministerial priesthood, who, while part of the priesthood had additional, ministerial duties
And this is apparent in the roles of the elders (Presbuteros), bishops etc. in the New Testament -- NOTE: the English term "priest" is simply a contraction of the Greek word presbuteros (presbyster/elder) -- these have the responsibility of teaching, governing, and providing the sacraments in a given congregation (1 Tim. 5:17; Jas. 5:14–15).
No it doesn’t. I have been clear when using the word priest as it is used in the New Testament. I have stated over and over that there is no use of the word priest as it pertains to “leadership” in the New Testament church. The RCC using the word priest as it pertains to their leadership is dishonest not sanctioned by scripture.
>> during the Eucharist, Christ IS present as the High Priest<<
Christ is present as the High Priest 24/7/365 to a true believer.
I John 3:24: "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us."
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Trying to restrict the presence of Christ to a single place and time is unscriptural and dishonest.
>>NOTE: the English term "priest" is simply a contraction of the Greek word presbuteros (presbyster/elder)<<
Nice try but I’ll stay with the intent of the language the apostles used and not Etymologies.
It certainly is not...That would be like you saying that in the language of the Catholics, a Chevy Corvair is the simple contraction of the words 'ice cream cone'...
It's not amazing that your religion makes these things up, but what's amazing is that some of you people actually seem to fall for it...
And BTW, you might want to study the duties and activities of the OT priesthood, and then study and try to figure out what it means that the 'veil of the temple' was ripped asunder...It really is enlightening...