That is another oxymoron, of the highest order.
When ‘Christianity’ became the official religion of the Roman Empire a few hundred years after Jesus’ ascension, it was not good for the church.
That turned into power for the Catholic Church, and power always generates a craving for more power.
And so, the Catholic Church found no limits to extending their power and control over the people—spiritually, financially, politically.
When the Reformation freed many Christians to rediscover a true relationship with God and reading the Bible themselves, the Catholic Church doubled down on their authority over the members.
It remains an amazing mystery how they can maintain so much control over so many people.
The massive power of the Catholic Church continues to this day—not much different from days of The Holy Roman Empire.
“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“An observation that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”
We see before our eyes today increasing corruption from such power—in the church.