Aren't the Nicolaitans the guys who formed the Roman Catholic Church?
Upvote:-5
Aren't the Nicolaitans the guys who formed the Roman Catholic Church?
For a time the Nicolaitans were thought to be followers of a guy named Nicholas. Catholic scholarship (which you would think had the greatest reason to support such a view) has found this to not be supported.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11067a.htm
I think we can see in human nature both the desire to lead and the desire to be led. Consider the role of the imam in Shiite Islam.
There is that of our flesh that pollutes our worship and practice of Christianity. Christianity was supposed to be us individually asking God what he wanted us to do. It all to often became us asking a priest what we collectively had to do.
As a general rule, I tend against things like conspiracy theories if only because they imply competence. I do not see the Catholic church as perpetrators of a scheme of enslave Christians. Rather I see in Catholicism, as well as almost all denominations, the common tendency of humans to want the comfort of being assured they are on their way to heaven with the minimal amount of effort on their part.
An alternative translation of the Hebrews 13:17a verse might be, "Stop resisting and allow yourselves to be persuaded by those you have chosen to follow". This gives a different view of the relationship between teacher and seeker than the use of the word "obey".
The guy or guys with power (nikos) often change Christianity into an organizational system of rules. They tell Christians that their relationship with God is through the organizational system and that is primarily following the rules. This is what was happening in Galatia and why so many Christians end up like the Pharisees.
Upvote:-1
As a Catholic Sure hope that Jesus Is not mad at the institution of the Catholic Church. After all their is a hierarchy in the our Church. Pope, Cardinal and Bishop , Priest. A 2000 year institution with sacraments and rules and regulations Some very corruptled Priests, Bishops, cardinals have been in the Church for centuries. I look towards the Catholic Saints:Francis of Assis a’Thomas Aquinas ,and their relationship to the Church for guidance.
Upvote:11
Nicolaism refers to one or more groups of doctrines, apparently held by a group or groups founded by a Nicolaus, Nicolas, or Nikolaos (depending on exactly how you Anglicize the Greek name). There are a couple of these mentioned in the very early church, but it's unclear what exactly the content of the heresy is. You refer to "the practice of ruling over the laity", apparently with regard to the etymology of Nikolaos—Greek nikē "victory" + laos "people"; though if the name of the sect was taken from the name of its founder, rather than from a description of its doctrines, then this association fails and the sect should not necessarily be associated with "ruling over the laity".
The sect appears to be mentioned in Revelation 2:6,15:
you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (v. 6)
you also have some people who hold to the teaching of [the] Nicolaitans. (v. 15)
but there is no description of what the works or teaching of the Nicolaitans is, nor why they should be hated.
In his edition of Irenaeus' Libros quinque adversus haereses (Five Books Against Heresies), W. Wigan Harvey states:
The Nicolaitans taught the complete indifference of human actions in a moral point of view. ... Another hateful feature of this heresy was the assertion, that in times of persecution, principle might be ignored, and conformity rendered to mysteries however abominable, and rites however impure.
Harvey makes clear his opinion (which he bases on writings of Clement of Alexandria) that this sect gets its name from Nicolas (Nicholas) of Antioch, one of the seven deacons described in Acts 6:
"Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
(Acts 6:3–5; NABRE)
If this is indeed the case, as I mentioned above, the name "Nicolaitans" should be associated not with "ruling over the laity" but simply with the (birth-)name "Nicolas".
There is no evidence that this group evolved into the modern Catholic Church; in fact, Eusebius states in his History of the Church that the sect "lasted for a very short time".
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