Is the church merely a human institution?

Answer 1

A:

The Catholic hierarchy would assert most strongly that the Church is not a human institution because it was founded by Jesus, through the apostle Peter and because it is guided by the Holy Spirit.

Another view is that although the Church may be based on the teachings of Jesus, it is nevertheless a human institution. It is no more than tradition, and a second-century tradition at that, that Peter went to Rome to lead the Church there. For example, if it is more reasonable that Peter remained in the eastern Empire, then a case could be made for the Orthodox Church being the legacy of Peter and that the Roman Church, as a separate institution, is a human institution. Regardless of the merits of these arguments, the Catholic Church came into existence and evolved under human control after the time of Jesus.

The view that the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit is at odds with the high proportion of corrupt and incompetent popes, especially through much of the Middle Ages. If the Holy Spirit really guides the Church, why has he not guided it in always choosing good and able popes? Why has the Holy Spirit allowed so much corruption, debauchery and sin to exist within the ranks of the Church? The answer again seems to be that the Church is merely a human institution.

A third, non-religious view is that if God does not exist, as some would say, then the Church is by definition merely a human institution.

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Catholic AnswerIf by "church" you are referring to the various protestant denominations and such, then, yes, of course, they are merely human institutions, obviously, as every single one of them can point to a human founder, and a date at which they were founded: the Lutherans by Martin Luther in the 16th century, The Anglican Church in the same century by Henry VIII and his daughter, Elizabeth I, etc. The Catholic Church, however, is a much different story, as it was founded directly by God (see St. Matthew 16:17-19) who guaranteed It until the end of the world and appointed St. Peter and his successors as His Vicars on earth and send the Holy Spirit to guide it always. This can be proved beyond any shadow of human doubt by the very fact that 2,000 years later, it is still here, doing precisely what Our Blessed Lord said it was supposed to be doing, despite the fact that every single member, saving Its founder - Jesus Christ, and His Blessed Mother, have been sinful human beings. Our Blessed Lord, for instance, guaranteed that the Church would always teach His people, and every single pope, despite some specular sinners, has always supported the deposit of faith. At one point in history, an Arian was elected to the papacy, and the Arian heresy thought they finally had the upper hand and would take over the Church. The Arian heretic did an abrupt about-face, and upheld orthodox Catholic teaching. Only the most wilfully blind and prejudiced could possibly think that the Church was not divinely instituted and protected to this day. There is no way in the world that the Catholic Church could have survived half a century with the human leaders we have had if it was not divinely instituted and guaranteed.

Answer 2

I guess it depends on which church ;)