Tools: Absolute power corrupts (*1)

A familiar idea, often viewed narrowly in a political sense.

Sadly, all institutions carry this risk, even church denominations, public charities, and universities. But bureaucracies are the worst.

Organizations often develop like this:

a. They tend to aggregate authority-seeking leadership

b. They create a new identity to distinguish themselves from others with which they have common roots

c. They become rigidly orthodox to their (new) traditions

d. They punish internal dissent from the new ways

e. They subordinate the original mission to the self preservation of the leadership

f. They compete with, rather than ally with, institutions with the same purported goals

Warning signs of corrupt institutions:

g. Leadership acquires material wealth

h. Leadership exempts itself from the rules

i. Merciless purity (for subordinates)

j. Secret activities reserved for elites

I think any church hierarchy becomes deeply corrupted as it matures. Churches that ally themselves with government authorities are usually seduced by opportunities.

Here’s a historic example:

In the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic ‘morphed’ into the Empire. The emperor first became the ‘Pontifex Maximus’ (Highest Priest) of the pagan cults; within a lifetime he became a god and was himself worshiped. In the 4th century, the emperor made Christianity the state religion, and took control over Christian doctrine. By the 5th century, the church had developed an elite hierarchy to ‘assist’ in the functions of governance. As the empire fell, the church became the secular authority, and the mission changed to one of amassing lands and wealth.

The Russian Orthodox church is a historic and contemporary example; it has allied itself with Putin as it had with the Tsars.

Hence, I believe the highest human authority in any church should be the local pastor, chosen by the flock and answering only to them.

(*1) Lord Acton’s famous quote: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

01/08/2024