“How about, rather, that God has chosen for us to need man in our relationship with Himself.”
Nope. We approach God through Jesus, not through some other man who has better standing with God. That’s not to say a christian more experienced than you may not lead you, but It does mean every man approaches god as an equal. A man in the pew of some small baptist church is not any less before god than some Bishop or Cardinal or Pope.
Works really well unless your goal is gaining control of people.
“Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”
Saint John chapter 20, verse 23
So, what if the sinners’ sins are retained in this context? Was that not an avenue, established by Jesus our Lord, for a man to reach Himself, whereby had the sins BEEN forgiven then in heaven the sins would be forgiven and the sinner forgiven and gained entrance into heaven?