Seb_Maya

Church is seen as the chosen vehicle by God through which one can achieve salvation. However it seems to me that Jesus "saves" not the church. Jesus never went to church to worship in his lifetime. My point being perhaps there is a divine origin in the bible, but it ceratainly has been changed and edited over time. There are many more gospels than the canonical ones. In 200AD or so Bishop Ireneaus helped to found the Catholic (Universal) church, in attempt to establish a church with a strong social an political structure, where strict episcopal authority reigned. The founding church fathers chose the gospels that supported their own ideas of christianity, it became the "orthodox" doctrine/rituals and all others were robustly labelled heretics.
Even hundreds and hundreds of years ago mankind seemed to shape and edit circumstances for his own gain. Bishop Ireneaus claimed that only the bishops could truly communicate with God. Something which now is seen as "wrong" by many orthodox churches who say that everyone should have communion with Christ and a relationship with God.