I believe in Christ as a Saviour....... I worship Him as the Son Of God,
because God and History is seen as acting through ther Prophet.
It is possible to beleive in Christ the Saviour without any belief in the totalitarian institution called th Church.
Bahu,
You know Catholics might feel honored to have their Church singled out as the one and only totalitarian Church were the term not used in the derogatory sense, though the term "authoritative" is preferable.
Keeping in mind what you said above, follow me on this will you?
There is an exercise of total power to which no reasonable objection can be raised as it furthers liberty and human dignity. It is the totalitarianism of the one and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, as the Lord God is omnipotent. This totalitarian principle that abides in its fullness in God has been delegated by God to certain persons, particularly His priests.
The Mosaic Law, for example, which is God proclaimed Law, was in the keeping of the priestly sons of Levi. (Deut.31:9) and the judges who exercised the authority "to show thee the truth of the judgment" that the Jews were compelled to obey or die. (Deut.17:8-12.). The exercise of this delegated power ceased with the institution of a more perfect priesthood that displaced the Levitical priesthood, fainall caused Simichah, the solemn act of ordination, to cease being administered in Jewry.
Now, to delegate total power to oneself as in to declare "I am the State", may rightly be resented as it would be a usurpation of power. But who save ignorant anti-Catholics or blasphemous persons would queston the right of Christ to say, as He did, "I am the way, and the truth and the life"?
Who can reasonably question the right of Christ to set aside the and to enlarge upon the pronouncements of Moses, the Lawgiver to declare as He did in the Sermon of the Mount....You have heard it said of old....But I say"? Who is this "I"?
None of the prophets of Israel ever employed the pronoun of the first person to express his views and teachings. The "I" of the prophets is God. Christ was condemned, suffered and died for assuming to be the "I" according to the Mosaic Law.
Catholics concluded that if God the Father, could delegate His authority to the Levitical priesthood, then Christ, Who is one with the Father, could delegate His authority to teach, judge, and govern in matters of faith and morals and to command us "to hear the Church" or to suffer condemnation for not doing so.
When Christ established His Church which was made up in the beginning of His Apostles, in which Peter, Christ's Vicar was the earthly authority. To designate that exercise of Christ delegated power by the bishops of the CC, who are successors of the Apostles and the priests as "totalitarian" in the derogatory sense of the term is to give offense to the Giver of that power, Jesus Christ our Lord. This is an offense that only invincible ignorance can excuse.