A theocracy isn't "rulee by God" it's the name of a government ruled by priests/prophets or other similar religious figure in the name of God/gods. The Vatican is a theocracy as is Iran for example.
My definition of a "theocracy" is that which originally governed ancient Israel.....Christendom established her own definition later. It was exclusive rule by God in the beginning, with Yahweh as their only King and law-giver. And even when they demanded a human king, against God's advice, since he warned them of the consequences, God still ruled as long as their king remained obedient to the laws that God had established through Moses. The priesthood was there to organize the worship of the people and to offer the sacrifices in atonement to Yahweh in a prescribed manner.
God has always operated through his chosen representatives in an organized way.
Actually the Bible as you know it is younger than the Catholic Church and its rituals and funny hats. The worship of early Christians was mostly based on "charismatic preachings", oral tradition Gospels (as they were not fully written and distributed yet) and ritualised prayers.
The Catholic Church is an end product rather than a beginning. An apostasy was foretold by Jesus and his apostles, and it reared its ugly head even in their day. Once their restraining in influence was removed (upon their death) the "weeds" quickly took over....and they came to be viewed as "wheat". But they never were as Jesus' statement regarding the judgment reveals....
Matthew 7:21-23...
"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
If Jesus NEVER knew those ones who address him as their Lord, and point to the things they did "in his name" , what were they doing wrong? They are shocked at his rejection of them....so just calling yourself a Christian and being able to expel demons, prophesy and demonstrate "mighty works" will not mean that they are "doing the will of Jesus' Father".
Your Bible was selected and edited during a Catholic Church council and was still debated for centuries. Revelation, for example, became part of the official canon in the middle-ages and wasn't accepted by the main Christian denomination until the Reform era. Even today, Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Syriac Churches have a few books different in their Bibles.
My Bible? I thought it was God's word.....no matter how they believe that they arrived at their choices, the Bible is not the product of "the church." They were merely used to compile its contents. No Catholics or church Fathers were used to write a single word. Every penman was a Jew.
Actually, he did recommand for Christian not to live amongst non-Christian or at least seperated and cloistered from them and live a communal life of sharing everything amongst each other, contemplation, prayer and charity. The monastic tradition is older than both the Catholic Church and your Bible by almost 2 centuries. The first traces of monastic Christianism are the Desert Father and were living life of hermits, sometime accompanied by close friends and familly members, emulating Jesus' time in the wilderness.
Since being a Christian placed you under obligation to preach to unbelievers, (Matthew 28:19-20) separating yourself from them was not something the apostles did or recommended. Paul was assigned as "an apostle to the nations"....so none of the apostles were ever cloistered away from those who needed to hear the "good news of the Kingdom".
Romans 10:9-15....
"For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.
11 For the scripture says: “No one who rests his faith on him will be disappointed.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. There is the same Lord over all, who is rich toward all those calling on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” 14 However, how will they call on him if they have not put faith in him? How, in turn, will they put faith in him about whom they have not heard? How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach? 15 How, in turn, will they preach unless they have been sent out? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who declare good news of good things!”
We are not to be
"unevenly yoked with unbelievers"...which means that we do not seek unbelievers out as close companions, but we are not to close ourselves off from people because we have an obligation to offer them something better for the future. God wants everyone to hear the good news?
2 Peter 3:9...
"....[God] is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance."
This has to be our free willed choice.....we have two. Repentant.....or be destroyed. That's it.[/quote]
