BanjoBoyd@aol.com wrote: > > Being limited as a student of the English Bible, I had come to think that > Clergy/Laity was an artificial distinction that, though traditional, had > developed outside of the New Testament. Though I now learn that these words > can be traced back to the Greek KLHROS and LAOS, it still seems to fall short > of the New Testament. The only place in the N. T. where I found KLHROS is > referring to a class of persons was in I Peter 3:5, (KJV: heritage) where, > much to my suprise, it seems to be equlivant to "the flock" (ie: the laity!?) > > > ...and since "lay" comes from "LOAS," does that mean that a "lay-person" is a > "people person?" [ : ^}> ) > > The Barbarian
Hello Banjo;
The whole word group surrounding KLHROS is fascinating and well worth
study but I think that it has always something to do with inheritance
and does not emphasize any unique group in the body of Christ. The LAOS
accoding to LSJ can mean "foot soldiers or soldiers as a group, the
crowd at a play, and in the OT the people in distinction from the
priests and Levites." Of course in the NT the priesthood of the
believer, one of the pillars of the Reformation, eliminates that
dichotomy since all believers are capable of offering the various
bloodless sacrifices commanded in NT writing.
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Rev. John M. Sweigart
Box 895
Dover, Arkansas 72837
Cumberland Presbyterian Church
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