(October 15, 2021 at 10:04 am)Fake Messiah Wrote:(October 14, 2021 at 12:52 am)Oldandeasilyconfused Wrote: @Fake Messiah
Pretty sure the church hasn't claimed to be made of good and honest men for centuries. Lower level monks and priests especially were seen as flawed human beings.
Priests are supposedly "men of God" who are teaching us, laymen, about morality, what is good or bad, and the Vatican is supposedly Crème de la crème of the clergy with the Pope being one of the "original" apostles.
So not exactly "mere humans" - wouldn't you say?
Traditionally over centuries, priests have most certainly been 'mere humans'. In England it remained common for second or third sons of the nobility to go into the Church right until the end of the nineteenth century.. During the so-called dark ages, priests were not always much more educated than their flock. Joining the church became a way to avoid starvation for oneself and family, if any. The church was also a career for poor but clever young men.
However, it's fair to say that some of the clergy I've run across have seen themselves superior to the hoi poloi. At the boys school I attended , one of the brothers smugly explained how the celibate life of the clergy is superior to married life. Neither I nor most of my friends at school bought that shit.
On the other side of the coin, I also met good, humble men who served their parish as well as they could.
I guess that your claim is at least partially true. However, I haven't seen enough evidence to support your claim as a general principle.
