Priesthood

Title	Priesthood
# of Words	719
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.88

Priesthood

Priesthood

     The position of priesthood in the church has been evident since the
earliest existence of the church.  Jewish priests first were established in the
seventh century BC performing religious ceremonies.  They were even more
established around 950 BC due to the establishment of the Temple in Jerusalem.
     The major role of the traditional Jewish priest was to perform
sacrificial rituals. According to the Bible, the Temple was built as a place for
God to live with the people.  It was the holiest building that existed, and
needed to be kept holy by the priests.  Their role of the priests was to perform
animal sacrifices to God as an offering.  The priests performed these sacrifices
as specialists on behalf of a community or congregation in order to restore the
holiness of the community and of the Temple.  It was believed that if there was
sin among the people then God would not come and be with them.
     After the Temple was destroyed during the war with Rome, these animal
sacrifices were stopped, and there were no more active Jewish priests.  The
religious leadership in the synagogue was led by the rabbis.
     In the Protestant religion there exists a "priesthood of all
believers"("Priesthood", 529). This meant that each member in the community
serves as his or her own priest, with direct access to communication with God.
Protestants believe that the role of the priest is an "officiating
mediary"("Priesthood", 529), rather than a one who performs ritual sacrifices.
This stems from the Protestant belief that Jesus Christ served as "the ultimate"
sacrifice, and therefore there is no use in animal sacrifices.  Protestants also
do not call their religious leaders "priests" because the name itself implies
that he is of a higher level than his fellow man or that he has more access to
God than others.
     There exists two different forms of priesthood: hereditary and
vocational priests.  A hereditary priest is a limited position in that it can
only be held by a person who a direct descendent of the tribe of Levi.  This
tribe is one of the original 12 tribes of Israel as set forth in Genesis 49.
There exists among this tribe one High Priests who head of the other priests. He
is the only priest who was allowed to view the holy Ark of the Covenant during
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