As a "Source" of "Information" & Teaching before & after U become a Christian. Why have "Teachers" in schools if not to learn??? We also have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Just because U can read & write in the 4th. grade does that make U ready to take on the World??? NOT!!! I am Personally AGAINST ORGANIZED RELIGION & feel it is Evil, but just as God taught A. & E. we to need Help from those who have Studied before Us. Once we have become "Devoted" to the "Study of Scripture" we will have fewer Questions & be able to "Teach Others" as it was meant to be making U TOO a "Preacher"!!! John

Trust me on this one. The purpose of the "priesthood" is (and always has been) to make sure you have to go through them to get to God. In a non-formal way, this is still the case among protestant pastors/preachers. How many times have you heard church members say "I'll have to ask my pastor about this question."? If not, they would no longer have jobs.

I believe it is beneficial to have Godly leaders over you to impart wisdom and spiritual knowledge and to encourage you in your own personal walk in continuing to seek the Lord for yourself. Godly leaders also help steer you in the right direction when you are getting off track or falling into deception. Yes it's true you can get these answers yourself from the word of God but it is always good to get another pair of eyes to read the same scripture passage etc. to have someone mature in Christ to help you to understand the scriptures in the right context. Your preacher / minister has studied the word of God in greater detail and their insight can be very helpful to you. If you are not connected to the body of Christ (the church) then you could easily be led astray, thinking you are the only one who can hear from God corectly or let the fire of God go out in your life and backslide. When you are meeting with other believers you are accountable to each other, able to discuss scriptures together to find the correct answers and can pray for one another and talk about issues that are going on in your life. I know that going to Church and hearing the word of God builds faith in me and increases my desire to seek the Lord.