Has Bp Gene Robinson Gone Daft?

[Contarini]

Scott_Lafrance:

What makes you think that the early bishops were elected by the laity? The early bishops were appointed by the Apostles. These early bishops then appointed priests and deacons, and eventually, other bishops. The authoritative structure of the Catholic Church has always been top down, not bottom up. We have never even remotely resembled a democracy.

As JKirk has pointed out, you’re flatly wrong here. There’s abundant evidence that bishops in the early Church were elected, apparently by popular acclamation (there are accounts of mobs essentially forcing some popular person to become bishop–this happened to Ambrose, for instance). Later on this changed to election by the episcopal chapter, with the people playing a purely formal role (I’m sure that episcopal elections were often arranged from the beginning). Papal appointment is a relatively modern method. The idea that the Catholic Church has always been an absolute monarchy is a bit of modern revisionism. It’s fabrication. The Church has been governed in a lot of different ways historically. It’s never functioned like a modern democracy, true. But many of the institutions of modern democracy were influenced by Church institutions, such as the mendicant orders which helped develop the idea of representative government.

Edwin

 

[Hesychios]

puzzleannie:

Robinson’s thesis… It arises from the same fundamental errors of thought that endorse artificial contraception, abortion, divorce, and extra-marital sex.

Bingo!

It denies the reality of human nature, gender complementarity and sexuality as part of the natural order of creation endowed by the Creator.

Again, spot on.

It acknowledges only erotic love and rejects all other, higher forms of love relationships. Therefore it perverts not only marriage and sexuality, but also friendship, brotherhood, family relationships, disinterested charity, agape, and ultimately the love relationship that is the Holy Trinity, and therefore the love of Creator for creatures.

Very profound, great insight!

Thanks Puzzleannie

+T+
Michael

 

[azcelt]

yes!