Christian Clergy
The clergy of the Christian church consists of ordained ministers.
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The Argument
Clergy are a body of ordained ministers in a Christian church.[1] Until the 20th century in most Christian churches, the clergy was restricted to males. Also until the 20th century, the clergy was divided into a hierarchy of lower and upper members.[2] Now, women can be ordained and there is no hierarchy within the clergy.
Members of the clergy are an intermediary between the average person and God. [3] They offer spiritual guidance and hear prayers and grievances from the Christian public. Clergy members give sermons and baptisms. [3]
Clergy members have direct communication with God and can communicate with God on their behalf to answer prayers and perform miracles. [4] Furthermore, Christians believe the clergy receive God's messages and can communicate them to everyday Christians.
The clergy keep the line of communication between God and everyday Christians connected.
Counter arguments
The Christian clergy is not a relevant institution in modern times.
Christians now use prayer to communicate with God directly and do not need an intermediary. Furthermore, the clergy is seen as a corrupt and bureaucratic institution. [5]For example, many Christians believe that clergy members are profit seeking and don't have the good of Christians in their mind. [6]
Below a quarter of Christians believe that the clergy is a relevant Christian institution. [7]
Proponents
Premises
Rejecting the premises
References
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/clergy-Christianity
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/clergy-Christianity
- https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/clergy/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23400668/
- https://stpeterstd.org/corruption-in-the-clergy/
- https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/how-much-corruption-can-we-tolerate-church-we-leave
- https://religionnews.com/2019/07/16/new-poll-shows-growing-view-that-clergy-are-irrelevant/