AgLiving06 said:
I've never understood the fascination with Matthew 16:16-18 as a prooftext for Peter.
1. The text itself and the role of Rome have been highly debated throughout Church History. Anybody wanting to debate this has to admit that.
2. The primary challenge is this is the moment in Matthew where Jesus is finally proclaimed as the Christ in Matthew. Yet Rome sees this as the moment when Peter is exalted.
3. We aren't even out of chapter 16, and Jesus calls Peter Satan.
4. I actually think Luke 9:18-20 is the strongest rebuttal. Luke is writing after the fact. He clearly is meeting and interviewing people (likely Mary), and he leaves that part out. As the historian, it seems like it would have been of utmost importance to announce who the new leader of the Church was.
So all that to say, I think Rome likes to see this as "the verse" to prove the Pope nowadays, and if we are honest, it just doesn't work.
So many misinterpretations here..Where to begin. Peter being the 'rock' upon which Christ built his church has only been debated since the reformation...so not throughout history.
1. Jesus tells Peter "
You are Peter (meaning Rock), and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it". Jesus doesn't switch topics main stream to mean "and upon myself I will build my church". Christ knew Peter already understood Christ was the ultimate head. People read their own theology into the text.
3. Jesus rebukes Peter's actions, he did not literally mean Peter is Satan. Not even most protestants believe that.
4. Regarding leaving out what we think should be in each gospel isn't really an argument. The flip side of that would be well, if Jesus wasn't naming Peter to be the head bishop of his Church then why mention and call attention to Simon Peter? In fact, if you read the gospels at face value, they seem to even contradict each other in their narratives.
In the gospels, Jesus never explicitly stated that he is God, but the authors knew it. Jesus revealed this to them as time went on but he never just started out stating it. This is the beauty of how Christ teaches.
I realize it doesn't work for you and many others. But also realize, that provides comfort for you. Because to believe otherwise would force you to reconsider many understandings of scriptural interpretations. Not all, but many. And having been a protestant for a long time, I understand that. Its easy to rationalize it without really genuinely considering the alternative. And this is a big one, because if you accept that Christ established one true church (not invisible) then it could be disruptive in some peoples lives.