The Problem with Power: Corruption in the Christian Church

This is an open-ended English assignment that encouraged me to discuss a situation having to do with power.

(Ananias Receives Saul, St. Mary’s Cathedral)

Power is all around us everyday. The government, by definition, embodies power. The media, which holds the ear of most of the population, has control over the supply and demand of the entire economy. Everywhere you go, there are signs of greed and power. There are innumerable examples of power in our society, and, as is human nature, countless examples of power abuse.

The Christian church has a kind of power that is easy to abuse. They have the ear of their congregation, and the word of God comes from the pulpit. Followers are struck with the fear of hell to keep them attentive and committed, and most follow blindly without question. To question a pastor is questioning God, and to question God is dangerous business. Most Christians have fallen into the trap of the Christian Church, without realizing something’s wrong. The early church, with its simplicity, has been lost. Once the organization began during the Middle Ages, corruptness and abuse began. Power was placed in the hands of church leaders, and, as is human nature, it was misused. 

Only about 400 years after the birth of the church, corruption began. With the merge of the Roman Empire and Christianity, the Pope became a political pawn for the Roman Empire. This combination of religious and political affairs gave the church leaders far too much power. As Timothy P. Jones said in his book Church History Made Easy,

“Servant-leaders cannot stand above God’s people and proclaim God’s truth unless they also stand among God’s people and live God’s truth. When ministers stand above God’s people, they become administrators and managers instead of shepherds and servants.”

In the early 1300’s, Boniface VIII passed a bull, or edict, entitled Unam Sanctum, or “One Holy Church.” This claimed that the Pope had power over all of Europe’s kings. The Pope was then kidnapped by an enraged French king. He escaped and fled to Avignon. From there, the Pope hid for 72 years. Meanwhile, Bishops began to sell positions in the church. This practice was called simony. Church leaders also sold indulgences, and the congregation “purchased” forgiveness from their sins. People believed that these practices aided their faith, and their tithes contributed more and more to the growing church.

Much of the reason the church had so much power was because the people couldn’t read what the scriptures actually said. At this time, the scriptures were written in Latin and Greek, and only scholars and clergy could read it. John Wycliff wanted to change this. He believed that,

“The people should obey the church only when the church agrees with the Bible. The church wasn’t built on Popes, priests, or sacraments. The church was every person called by God to faith in Jesus Christ.”

Wycliff’s followers translated parts of the Bible into easy-to-read English. Church leaders labeled him a heretic for trying to take power away from the church, and tried to put him on trial twice. Bohemian bishops banned Wycliff’s writings after his death, and when the Bohemian priest Jan Hus attempted to preach Wycliff’s beliefs, the church revoked his right to preach. When Hus didn’t stop his teaching, the Bohemian church also labeled him a heretic, and handed him over to the king to be burned alive. Again, the church abused their power to squelch the truth that both Wycliff and Hus tried to preach.

After the Renaissance began, with the ability to easily reproduce books, Greek and Roman classics and Bibles were distributed.

“The Popes supported classic books and Renaissance art. However, most of them neglected the most important aspect of the Renaissance– the renewed focus on scriptures. Roman bishops became became increasingly corrupt. Indulgences remained a booming business. The Spanish Inquisition used the church’s power to persecute myriads of Muslims, Jews, and heretics.” (Church History Made Easy)

As you can see, there are many separate incidences in the history of Christianity where the church became too powerful. They had the ability to claim heresy on anyone who crossed them, and legally murder those who didn’t support their beliefs. The system had been abused by church leaders – selling leadership positions, and indulgences. These practices are only some of the ways that humanity has corrupted the church.

In 2002, CNN covered a story about child abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Multiple accounts of sexual harassment of young female members of the church were brought to the church elders in different areas of the U.S., and at different times. They all had one thing in common; when brought before the elders, they were denied help for lack of enough eye-witness accounts.

Heidi Meyer and Amber Long from Minneapolis were interviewed by CNN’s Connie Chung. They had been molested by the same man, and both went to the church elders for help, as is the customary Jehovah’s Witness protocol.

“They not only said that they thought I had misinterpreted his actions, but they also told me that I needed to be careful who I spoke to about this and what I said about this, because without two eyewitnesses to the situation, I could be faced with a judicial committee for gossip or slander,”

Heidi said in the interview. The church worked to suppress the story, and did not bring the case to the authorities. They threatened the victims with excommunication if they spoke any further, and closed the case.

This is one extreme example of church corruption and abuse of power in the modern day. It is difficult to find stories of church corruption because most events like this are kept secret, for obvious reasons. This kind of reaction serves to prove that the church officials are trying to impress their own power over their congregation. Many times, members of the church who wish to speak up against the church are threatened to be excommunicated. The fear of un-forgiveness, unworthiness, hell, and God himself keep these victims quiet. 

After Jesus Christ died and rose again, Christians did not have a church building. They were simply a group of people who followed the Lord and did as He commanded. They had some shared beliefs, and many differing ones. These early Christians came from differing walks of life. They didn’t meet every Sunday morning at a grand cathedral with stained-glass windows and echoing music. They met in people’s homes. When persecution of the Christian religion began in Rome, they met underground, wherever they could find a secluded spot. It wasn’t easy to convert to Christianity under those extreme conditions, but they had a personal experience with Christ that compelled them to conduct these underground services. Their religion was something extremely personal, and they were risking their life for what they believed.

The early church had no definition, either. As Loosely Ernest, of When the Church Was Young, said,

“To define is only too often to divide.”

There was no defined leader; everyone was a leader.

“The church did not spring from the mind of Christ with its orders and ranks and hierarchies completely planned,”

Ernest said. They didn’t start out with organization– no rules or policies, and every person had a purpose in the church. The church didn’t belong to any pastor, bishop, Pope, or leader. The church belonged to the people.

Ernest also stated,

“A large part of the problems confronting us today cannot be solved within our traditional practice of erecting places of worship.”

He believes that the modern church has gone wrong by defining and organizing itself, and he has a point. 

“As He was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to Him, ‘Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!’

‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’”

- Mark 13:2

When Jesus said this, He meant that the buildings and structure didn’t matter. They were only dust in the wind. The focus of the modern church has been shifted from God and a personal relationship with Him, to worrying about pastors, numbers, hierarchy, buildings, and all the drama that comes with trying to implement rules and regulations. The church isn’t supposed to be about Sunday morning attendance, or collecting tithe. It was meant to be about relationship, fellowship, and love. Spreading the “Good News,” which eventually became “Good Spell,” which became “Gospel,” was the primary objective of the church. Telling others that they are forgiven, and the love and mercy of Christ is upon them. That is how the church started out - risking everything for what you believe in, and believing in something without the support system of pastors and ministers. Just crazy, unregulated, passionate faith.

If today’s church were more like the early church, without strict rules or regulations, I believe that the corruption and the abuse would cease. The power wouldn’t rest in a board of directors, or a pastor. It would rest with the people. The people who risk their lives for something that has meaning. They were powerless alone, but they had the power of God on their side. That is something that the modern-day church doesn’t have.

Works Cited

Ananias Receives Saul. Photograph. Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Ontario. Http://www.stmaryscathedral.ca/. 12 July 06. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.stmaryscathedral.ca/gallery/index.php?level=picture&id=366>.

Blue Letter Bible - NIV Translation. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.blueletterbible.org/>.

Chung, Connie. "CNN.com - Transcripts." CNN Connie Chung Tonight. CNN. 14 Aug. 2002. CNN.com International. Cable News Network, 14 Aug. 2002. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/14/cct.00.html>. Transcript.

Goodstein, Laurie. "Ousted Members Say Jehovah's Witnesses' Policy on Abuse Hides Offenses." The New York Times. 11 Aug. 2002. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/11/national/11WITN.html>.

Jones, Timothy P. Christian History Made Easy. Torrance, CA: Rose, 2005. Print.

Loosley, Ernest. When the Church Was Young. Auburn, Me.: Christian Pub. House, 1988. Print.

Spider-Man. Dir. Sam Raimi and Steve Ditko. By Stan Lee. Perf. Tobey Maguire. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, 2002. Film.

William H Bowen. Press Release Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses: Watchtower News. Silentlambs.org, 31 July 2002. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.watchtowernews.org/press073102.htm>.

"Your Child Is in Danger!" Editorial. Awake! 8 Oct. 1993. Jehovah's Witnesses: Watchtower Society Official Web Site. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.watchtower.org/e/19931008a/article_01.htm>.