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No one comes to God except through Christ, absolutely -- and, if you read St. Paul, the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ on earth. So, no one comes to Christ except through the Body of which He is the Head -- the Church.

What a bunch of clap-trap....What a Satanic lie

In Christianity, no one can get into the body/church unless they first go thru the Head of the body, Jesus Christ...Just the opposite of what you are stating...

Joh 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Jesus is the door...Your religion is NOT the door...Jesus never cliamed any church being the door...

You claim you are the 'sheepfold' and you claim you are the 'door' to get to the sheepfold...And when you get thru the door into the sheepfold, you can then see Jesus...

For those of you who are interested in what Jesus says, Jesus has a far different version...

Joh 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

You guys that spew this stuff are a large pack of wolves, as Jesus says...

No one gets into the sheepfold/church until they first come to Jesus...Jesus is the door...

In Christianity, no one can get into the body/church unless they first go thru the Head of the body, Jesus Christ...

The Church is the means on earth that Christ gave us to preserve and teach the Good News revealed in His Word -- and ALL those who comprise His adopted Children comprise His Mystical Body. That is exactly what the article says, and it is absolutely correct. If you have a problem with that, take it up with St. Paul. He taught it.

But if every Christian is part of the Mystical Body, why do they all have differences of opinion on doctrine? They cannot all be right. There can only be one Truth. And so, as the Church accurate teaches, not all Christians are in FULL communion with the Mystical Body of Christ. Those in FULL communion are those whose beliefs and practices are one with the Word of God in the Bible and the infallible teachings of those Scriptures by the Magisterium of the Church. Every heresy that claims it is inspired by the Holy Spirit cannot logically be, and of course, are not each right.

If you look at the history of the early Church, you will see that it continually struggled against heresies and those who promited them. We also see the Church responding to those threats again and again by convening councils and turning to Rome to settle disputes in matters of doctrine and discipline. For example, Pope Clement intervened in a controversy in the Church at Corinth at the end of the 1st century and put an end to a schism there. In the 2nd century, Pope Victor threatened to excommunicate a large portion of the Church in the East because of a dispute about when Easter should be celebrated. In the earlier part of the 3rd century, Pope Callistus pronounced the condemnation of the Sabellian heresy.

In the case of these heresies and/or conflicts in discipine that would arise, the people involved would defend their erroneous beliefs by their respective interpretations of Scripture, apart from Sacred Tradition and the teaching Magisterium of the Church. A good illustration of this point is the case of Arius, the 4th-century priest who declared that the Son of God was a creature and was not co-equal with the Father.

Arius and those who followed him quoted verses from the Bible to "prove" their claims. The disputes and controversies which arose over his teachings became so great that the first Ecumenical Council was convened in Nicaea in 325 A.D. to settle them. The Council, under the authority of the Pope, declared Arius' teachings to be heretical and made some decisive declarations about the person of Christ, and it did so based on what Sacred Tradition had to say regarding the Scripture verses in question.

Here we see the teaching authority of the Church being used as the final say in an extremely important doctrinal matter. If there had been no teaching authority to appeal to, then Arius' error could have overtaken the Church. As it is, a majority of the bishops at that time fell for the Arian heresy. Even though Arius had based his arguments on the Bible and probably "compared Scripture with Scripture," the fact is that he arrived at an heretical conclusion. It was the teaching authority of the Church--hierarchically constituted--which stepped in and declared he was wrong.

I hope you do not believe Arius was correct in his belief that the Son was created. Do you? Of course not. So let me emphasize again: Arius presumably "compared Scripture with Scripture," but nonetheless arrived at an erroneous conclusion. If this was true for Arius, what guarantee do you, or does ANY Protestant have, that this is not also true for your (their) interpretation of a given Bible passage? If you know for certain that Arius' interpretations were heretical, this implies that an objectively true or "right" interpretation exists for the Biblical passages he used.

The issue, then, becomes a question of how we can know what that true interpretation is. The only possible answer is that there must be, out of necessity, an infallible authority to tell us. That infallible authority, the Catholic Church, declared Arius heretical. Had the Catholic Church not been both infallible and authoritative in its declaration, then believers would have had no reason whatsoever to reject Arius' teachings, and the whole of Christianity today might have been comprised of modern-day Arians.

It is evident, then, that using the Bible alone is not a guarantee of arriving at a doctrinal truth -- and so even your claims to base your authority solely in Jesus are based on the Bible, and assume a doctrinal truth that comes from your particular Protestant tradition. But there are THOUSANDS of them, all with conflicting claims on doctrinal matters. If this is the "church," it is not the "pillar and ground of truth" promised to us by Christ, and Christ is not a liar -- a claim that would truly Satanic.

There is ONE Truth and Christ gave the Catholic Church, and ONLY the Catholic Church, the authority to teach it infallibly. BUT remember, the Mystical Body of Christ includes ALL Christian believers, whether or not they are in full communion with the Church. Christ comes into the world through anyone who sincerely loves and serves the Lord -- but without full communion in the Church, they lack the special grace the Church's teaching provides in helping to preserve them from falling into heresy -- a pathway that could potential endanger their souls because it can eventually lead them to grave violations of morality.

The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ.

Acts 9:1-5 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting..."

We know Saul was persecuting Christians. Yet Christ asks Saul, "Why are you persecuting ME." The implication is obvious: to persecute the Chruch is to persecute Christ, becuse the Church is his mystical body.

As St. Paul said:

1 Cor. 12:12-14:
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

The Church is also described as the Spouse of Christ.

Eph 5:23
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.... For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

See also: John 3:29 & Matt. 9:15, as well as Revelations 19:7, 21:3, and 22:17.

The obvious implication here is that Christ treats the Church the way a husband treats his bride--that is, with love, nourishing her, guarding her and sacrificing for her. In addition, as Christ's bride, the Church functions as a wife should function--depending upon the protection of her spouse and begetting and nurturing the children of our Lord, His adopted sons and daughters, so that they can be brought to eternal life.

In addition, the Bible also refers to the Church as the Kingdom of God.

Matt 18: 23
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants".

Also see: Matt 22:2, 16:19.

In this analogy, God is the King. He provides the rules, defends his subjects, and provides a means for justice -- rewarding those who are just and punishing the unjust.

The Bible also refers to the Church as a Sheepfold.

Like 12:32
Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom.

Also see: Matt. 15:24 and 1 Peter 2:25:54.

Christ cares for His Church in the same way a shepherd cares for his flock -- caring for them, feeling them, leading them and watching over them.

The Scriptures also compare the Church to the Mountain of God.

Hebrews 12:22
But you are come to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God.

Also see:Matt 5:14, Gal 4.

The Church is like a mountain in that she is strong, immovable, visible, stable, and will endure for all time.

Domus Dei, or the house of God, as well as the foundation and Pillar of Truth, are other ways the Church is described in the Scriptures.

Timothy 3:15
That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

See also: 1 Peter 2:5; Eph. 2:19-20; Matt. 16:18; Gal. 6:10.

This way of understanding the Church as a house seems especially appropriate -- a homestead in which the Lord's flock is sheltered and kept. When someone leaves the "house" of the Church, they do not divine the Church, anymore than a person leaving a house divides the house. Rather, by leaving, they separate themselves from the house/Church. Anyone can leave, anyone can return, but the house always persists as a unity and does not depend on it's occupants to be as a whole. It's unity relies only on it's foundation, the Lord.

St. Paul told us, "Let us work good to all men, especially to those who are of the household of faith." Indeed, the Church-hood that unites us in Christ is a fortress like a well-built structure -- stronger and more enduring than any flesh could be.

So What?

The implications of these Biblical descriptions of the Church are clear and profound. First, they reveal how Christ saves us, yet He chooses to do so through the Church which He founded as the instrumental means of Salvation. Indeed, it was this instrumental means of Salvation, the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit sent by our Lord, that the inspired books of the New Testament were delivered to the world as the good news of our salvation through Christ.

Christ certainly did not need us. He did not need a Church. He is God! And yet, nevertheless, the Scriptures reveal how our Lord chose and founded the Church for the application of his redemption and for the Glory of the Church which He likewise uses as a means to Glorify Himself.

As members of the Body of Christ, each person of the Church has their own unique purpose and role--although, like parts of any body, not equally -- which gives meaning to our lives. Each part of the Church works for the salvation of souls -- a key purpose of the Church both on earth and in heaven.

The Church is Supernatural Society, (what we term Totus Christus - the whole Christ) as it has a divine origin and continues to receive the graces of its founder (Jesus Christ, the Son of God).

The Head of the Church is Christ, and He ultimately rules the Church.

Ephesians 1:22
he hath subjected all things under his feet and hath made him head over all the church,

Christ bestows grace upon the Church both as God and Man. In His divinity He bestows grace on the Church authoritatively and instrumentally as Man (as His humanity was the instrument of His divinity).