Right and/or Righteous: CPB

"There is a difference between being right and being righteous. Being right means you know how to talk the talk; being righteous also means you can walk the walk. Historically speaking, Christians believe there was only ever One who could do both perfectly, and since He could and did walk the walk, He is the One who can talk the talk, that is, authoratively tell us what is right. But one mistake that is constantly being made is the assumption that because someone or some institution is not righteous in all their actions they cannot be right in the standards they admittedly have a hard time living up to. The Church has many scandals; the worst right now is the terrible instances of pedophilia. Many people who have not the least intention to belonging to any church anyway declare that this is a good reason not to believe in anything they preach. But the right and righteousness of the church extends from God and not from any of the members. It is better to have an objective system of right and wrong in place that will convict you of sin (and thus enable you to repent and amend) even if you do not live up to it."