The Only Church Jesus Founded requires that its priests be celibate. The Pastor Bobs don’t like that! “Do those Catholics think they’re better than we are? Well, they aren’t! We’re just as good as they are, even if we are married and have families!”
Most Pastor Bobs disagree vehemently when asked if celibacy is necessary for the clergy. In one of the oddities of Pastor Bobism, they actually turn to The Catholic Church to justify their position: “St. Peter was married. Some Catholic priests used to be married! That means we can be married, too! We’re just as good as they are, even if we aren’t celibate!” Strangely, while using Peter’s one-time marriage (his wife may have passed away) to support their belief in married clergy, they do not use Jesus’ appointment of Peter as head of The Only Church Jesus Founded to indicate that they should be in that Church, as well.
Those able to see that contradiction and act on it may “have life in” them as they move toward The Body and Blood. Others hide the contradiction and another little dead place appears in their brain around that short-circuit. That absurdly narrow focus of the Pastor Bobs is, once again, evident to all but them.
Catholics ask a simple question: “Jesus was celibate. Isn’t it appropriate for priests in The Only Church Jesus Founded to be as much like Jesus as possible?” Celibacy shows that priests in The Only Church Jesus Founded are more like Him. Who wouldn’t respect that sort of commitment?
That brings us to Luke 9:57-62 “As Jesus and His disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to Him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head.” And to another He said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But He answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
Now, we see the message to Pastor Bobs: And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
We reasonably conclude that if Jesus says those who would follow Him to the point of being in the clergy can’t even go home and say good-bye to their families, then it is absurd to believe He would want them to start families and be distracted by all the earthly concerns involved. The passage is a Pastor Bob warning.
Many find that “Preaching beats working!” and become Pastor Bobs. Part of that process is reaching this Jesus-ignoring conclusion: “Jesus isn’t going to tell me that I can’t be married and have a family and preach His Word if that’s what I want to do.”
That overly independent mindset represents similarly prideful personalities and vanities in their congregations. “I follow my own path. I am not going to let someone tell me that I can’t divorce and remarry when I want. I do whatever I want in whatever sort of relationships I want. No one is going to tell me I can’t be free! In our church, we believe in many things that Jesus taught and some of what is in The Bible!”
Self-exaltation is anti-Catholicism. Are prideful people are better off as Pastor Bobs and being in little factions than being totally separated from God and His Word? I wish I knew! Still, it’s safest for all souls to be moving toward The Only Church Jesus Founded with all possible speed.
