If it's not in the Bible, it is the doctrine of men.
That is a dogmatic statement that cannot be found in the Bible. We know that human cloning is immoral, so is it a "doctrine of men" too? Again, there are no "doctrines of men" in the Catholic Church, that's just a handy catch phrase in anti-Catholic circles. You keep repeating "doctrines of men" but don't give an example.
Please QUOTE the verses which say apostolic succession was to continue throughout all time. Why wasn't the apostle James replaced after he'd been killed with the sword? Where do we read about his successor?
James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, was succeeded by Symeon.
St. Symeon is mentioned in
Acts 13:1 More on
Symeon here.
Back to succession. God is the source of this mission and authority.
He passes it to Jesus (
"the Father has sent me... all authority has been given to me")
Jesus passes it on - along with
"all authority" to act
"in my name" - to the Apostles (
"as the Father has sent me, [i.e., in the same way and with the same authority] so I send you," "go and make disciples")
The Apostles pass the mission and authority on to men like St. Timothy and St. Titus (
"with all authority" Tit 2:15)
The second apostolic generation is expected to entrust the mission to the next generation, ad infinitum...
It is this last point that we must now unpack and develop a bit further. The first generation of Apostles takes care to not only pass along the message, but also creates new pastors with apostolic authority to continue transmitting the message:
"And when they [Ss. Paul and Barnabus] had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed." (Acts 14:23)
"This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you." (Tit. 1:5)
"...and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Tim. 2:2)
Note once again the appearance of the word
"entrust" in this last passage. St. Paul expects that St. Timothy will
"guard what has been entrusted" to him, and then later
"entrust" that same mission and authority
"to faithful men."
There can be no other reason why St. Paul would leave his two spiritual "sons" (Ss. Titus and Timothy) explicit instructions about the qualifications for overseers, elders, bishops, etc. (c.f. 1 Tim 3:1-7, Tit. 1:5-9), than that he expects them to confer apostolic authority on new men who meet those requirements.
By What Authority - A Challenge to Protestant Pastors
Col 1:25 - Paul calls his position a divine "office." An office has successors. It does not terminate at death. Or it's not an office. See also Heb. 7:23 – an office continues with another successor after the previous office-holder’s death.
Eph. 2:20 - the Christian faith is built upon the foundation of the apostles. The word
"foundation" proves that it does not die with apostles, but carries on through succession.
Mattew 28:16 Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them...
Clearly, Jesus is addressing the Eleven who hold a special office, not individual believers.
19 Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
How did the Eleven reach "all nations" without successors? It's a big planet. Did they
"make disciples of all nations" using jet planes and helicopters? By the time of the death of the last Apostle, did they literally preach to all nations??? Were they disobedient to Jesus' command? Denial of apostolic succession is absurd.
The testimony of the early Church is deafening in its unanimous (yes, unanimous) assertion of apostolic succession. Far from being discussed by only a few, scattered writers, the belief that the apostles handed on their authority to others was one of the most frequently and vociferously defended doctrines in the first centuries of Christianity. The overwhelming evidence is there for anyone who wants to see it.
Magisterium? Where's that in the NT?
God has ALWAYS had a Magisterium. In the Old Testament times we had the Chair of Moses that Jesus mentions in Matt 23:2. For the New Covenant a new chair of authority was put into place --- just as was done with the previous four covenants in Old Testament times. This new chair was and is the Chair of Peter (Matt 16, Isa 22:21-23). It was the Magisterium that canonized the books of the Bible, and no amount of revisionism can change that fact.
The RCC heirarchy consists of Pope, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests. Please QUOTE verses in Scripture which support this doctrine.
There aren't any for cardinal, and I am still waiting for a verse that says all practices and doctrines must be explicitly found in the Bible. That is a corrupt man made tradition of men.
Cardinal is not in the Bible, nor does the Church claim the cardinalate to be a biblical, sacramental office. The title of cardinal designates a highly ranked papal assistant and adviser directly appointed by the Pope in a consistory. According to Canon Law, “The cardinals of the Holy Roman Church constitute the senate of the Roman Pontiff and aid him as his chief counselors and collaborators in the government of the Church” (CIC 230).
As a body the cardinals are referred to as the Sacred College of Cardinals, and it is to them (representing the people and clergy of Rome) that the duty falls to elected a new pope (a new Bishop of Rome) upon the death or resignation of the old one.
As I have already pointed out, elder/shepherd/pastor/bishop/presbyter, overseer all mean exactly the same thing.
1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:7 - Christ's Church has bishops ("episkopoi") who are direct successors of the apostles. The bishops can trace the authority conferred upon them back to the apostles.
1 Tim. 5:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14 - Christ's Church also has elders or priests ("presbyteroi") who serve the bishops.
1 Tim. 3:8 - Christ's Church also has deacons ("diakonoi"). Thus, Jesus Christ's Church has a hierarchy of authority - bishops, priests and deacons, who can all trace their lineage back to Peter and the apostles.
They have different functions, and don't mean the same thing. Your spiritual ancestors abolished the New Testament Priesthood contrary to the Bible and you are stuck defending a corrupt tradition of men.
In the New Testament church, a plurality of elders were appointed by the apostles to oversee each local congregation. Deacons were chosen to serve the church. There was never just one bishop or pastor over a congregation or over a group of congregations. And there certainly was no Pope.
That's 3 topics. I don't respond to cluster bombs.
The role of the elders was to shepherd the flock, to protect them from false teachers, to nurture them in the word of God, and to uphold the doctrine of Jesus Christ and His apostles. Their role did NOT include making new doctrine EVER. Members of the Lord's church were to submit to the authority of the elders insofar as the word of God was concerned.
It is impossible for the Church to invent new doctrines.
Not once did Jesus speak well about the traditions of men.
This is anti-Catholic myth making. Jesus condemned the traditions the Jews made up. They were giving all to the Temple at the expense of their parents. Read the context instead of pounding the tradition drum.
Traditions Jesus Followed (Protestant site)
Neither did Paul as he said in Colossians 2:8
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, AND NOT AFTER CHRIST.”
So Paul is teaching against deceitful Catholics? You keep saying there were no Catholics. Make up your mind.
First of all, one might also loosely define Tradition as the authoritative and authentic Christian History of theological doctrines and devotional practices. (you alter this loose definition to suit your agenda) Christianity, like Judaism before it, is fundamentally grounded in history, in the earth-shattering historical events in the life of Jesus Christ (the Incarnation, Miracles, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, etc.). Eyewitnesses (Lk 1:1-2, Acts 1:1-3, 2 Pet 1:16-18) communicated these true stories to the first Christians, who in turn passed them on to other Christians (under the guidance of the Church's authority) down through the ages. Therefore, Christian tradition, defined as authentic Church history, is unavoidable.
Many Protestants read the accounts of Jesus' conflicts with the Pharisees and get the idea that He was utterly opposed to all tradition whatsoever. This is not true. A close reading of passages such as Matthew 15:3-9 and Mark 7: 8-13 will reveal that He only condemned corrupt traditions of men, not tradition per se. He uses qualifying phrases like "your tradition," "commandments of men," "tradition of men," as opposed to "the commandment of God." St. Paul draws precisely the same contrast in Colossians 2:8: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
Traditions can never be an alternative or of equal value to what God has spoken and written down for all generations to live by.
It's not an alternative. That's where you have been deceived.
1) 1 Corinthians 11:2: ". . . keep the ordinances, as I delivered {them} to you." (RSV, NRSV, NEB, REB, NKJV, NASB all translate KJV "ordinances" as "tradition{s}").
2) 2 Thessalonians 2:15: ". . . hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."
3) 2 Thessalonians 3:6: "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us."
Note that St. Paul draws no qualitative distinction between written and oral tradition. There exists no dichotomy in the Apostle's mind which regards oral Christian tradition as bad and undesirable. Rather, this false belief is, ironically, itself an unbiblical "tradition of men."