I recently heard an eminent theologian say it is a shame that the word “ecclesia,” (usually translated by the word assembly, the root of such words as ecclesiastical etc.,) is used by the Catholic hierarchy.

How dare they use a word that referred to the glorious Athenian democracy when talking about a monarchical male dominated cabal like the Roman Catholic hierarchy? 

Shouldn't we Catholics be allowed to vote on what we believe?

I'm very concerned.

Demi Kratick

It never fails to amaze me what a bumper crop of dim bulbs that the late 20th century American theology has produced.

First of all, the “glorious Athenian democracy” to which he referred,  was a mercifully short lived disaster. It started with the reforms of Cleisthenes in 507 BC.  It ended with the defeat of the Athenians by Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the great, in 338 BC at the battle of Chaeronea. 

In that brief span of about 140 years, the “glorious Athenian democracy” excluded all women, slaves and foreigners from voting.  Thus, maybe a quarter of the population had voting rights.

With their votes, they managed to exile their greatest leaders, execute Socrates, create an empire that enslaved other Greek speaking states and plunged all of the Greek world into a civil war.  A war that so weakened her, she was easy pickings for Philip and his son, Alexander.  The consequence being that Greece had no real political freedom until modern times - 2,300 years later. 

Is your eminent theologian referring to that “glorious Athenian democracy?”  If so, he is talking about the wrong place. 

The word ecclesia is a translation of the Hebrew word qahal by the Jews of Alexandria, Egypt about 300 BC.  The assembly of Alexandria, the capital of Greek speaking Egypt, where the Scriptures were first translated from Hebrew into Greek in the text known as the Septuagint, was hardly a democratic decision making body. More important, these were not Alexandrian Greeks doing the translating.  They were Jews, Old Testament Jews. 

The assembly of the people, the Qahal, was not a deliberative body; it was God’s people gathered to hear God’s word spoken.  They didn't vote on what God had said.  They were there to listen and to obey.

Moses didn't take a vote at the foot of Mt. Sinai.  Had he done so, I’m sure that troublesome sixth commandment would have been voted down.  That would certainly have put the Almighty in His place!  How dare an old Hebrew desert deity tell us how to live in the 21st century?!  We’ll leave that to the theologians! (I’m joking, in case any of the dim bulbs are reading this.) 

Anyway, you can’t vote on the truth.

Remember what I am always telling you.  God has this problem he thinks he’s God.  Your job is to hear him as clearly as you can and to obey as well as you can.  That’s my job too, just like it’s pope’s job and the bishops’ job.  God help us shepherds, and that includes theologians, if we fail to listen and obey.

Rev. Know-It-All