In the age we live in, The Church Age, all Christians are Royal Family, Royal Priests and Royal
Ambassadors. We have been given the privilege of communing directly with God, by reason of the
ascension and session of Jesus Christ. That event changed everything in Heaven, for until that
happened all of God's dealings with men were anticipating the work of Christ. The comlpex system
of worship of the Levitical Priesthood was a shadow form of worship that looked ahead to the cross.
Animal sacrifices, burning incense, eating the shewbread, all ceremonies that represented some aspect of
salvation or the future work of Christ on earth. But now that the cross is historical fact we have a New Covenant.
In times past a priest was a "go between", but now Jesus Christ is our Chief Priest and we stand before
the Throne of Grace, so to speak, and speak with God personally. We cite our sins to him, explained fully
in the Rebound Section on this site.
Attendant to our new status is a privacy issue. We all have a right to conduct our priesthood as we see
fit, without prying or interference from any other party. To rely on a holy man to act as a priest in our
behalf is not only a distortion of our New Covenant, but leads to abuses such as levying fines and penance
for sins, threatening the believer with damnation if they break a rule or commit a really bad sin. So, the
believer becomes enslaved to the go between because they come to believe that the church has the power to
cancel their salvation.
This is blasphemy of the most virulent stripe. And just because the religion I allude to has been around
a couple thousand years, so what? All that proves is that Satan has had his hooks into us since the Garden.
Human tradition may be impressive to us, but it doesn't impress God in the slightest.