Posted on 03/02/2013 9:41:30 AM PST by NKP_Vet
If we wish to locate the Church founded by Jesus, we need to locate the one that has the four chief marks or qualities of his Church. The Church we seek must be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.
The Church Is One (Rom. 12:5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 12:13, CCC 813–822) Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–32). Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church.
His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2).
Although some Catholics dissent from officially-taught doctrines, the Church’s official teachers—the pope and the bishops united with him—have never changed any doctrine. Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12–13), but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.
The Church Is Holy (Eph. 5:25–27, Rev. 19:7–8, CCC 823–829) By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn’t mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad members in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21–23).
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.com ...
Bump
I’m confused, where is the mark for homosexual clergy & pedophile enabling? Or would that be the mark of the beast? Catholic supremacists need to clean their own house before they elevate themselves by denigrating others.
Since the Church is not the members then, what exactly is the Church?
Serious question in response to the contention that Christ only commissioned one Church. Doesn’t the Catholic Church have various “rites,” its own version of Denominations? And doesn’t the RCC recognize the Orthodox Church as legitimate even though the OC doesn’t recognize the authority of the Pope or the RCC hierarchy?
Seems a little inconsistent to me. One of many inconsistencies.
Jesus gave the identifying mark at John 13:35, his disciples would have among themselves. The Catholic church fails.
Is it in your church. Sexual abuse is higher in Protestant Churches, homes, schools. The Catholic Church is way down on the scale. Look it up.
Were Catholics killed in England?
Were Catholics killed in France?
Were Catholics killed in Germany?
Were Catholics killed in Turkey?
Were Catholics killed in Egypt?
Are Catholics being killed in middle Eastern countries?
Nothing in the Bible would indicate this except by the most twisting of Scripture. Jesus was born a Jew, lived like a Jew and died like a Jew. Neither He nor His disciples lived in a Roman Vatican palace. They did not keep Sunday as their holy day even though they preached on that day as well as other days of the week. No disciple was declared Pope nor wore a funny hat and was treated like they were any better than any other person (no ring kissing)(further more no rings). I could go on but you get my drift.
Your ignorance of early church history is staggering.......why dont you and your fellow anti catholics actually read the church fathers, and note ths catholicity of HIS appointed church......
They appear more like the Roman army who were in ‘control’ over them - right down to their headdress.
We've read 'em...But apparently unlike you, we read the words of God in the scriptures as well...
That's how we can reject your religion...We know what God says about it...
Stop right there. Who said I'm anti-catholic? I am against their false teachings not against the members themselves.
Really? Your answer is “ we have less homosexual priests and pedophiles & pedophile enabling than the other churches so we are ok/the true church.”
I am POSITIVE that any church that has an entrenched homosexual clerical group should not be casting stones. If the recent report is true ( & no reason to think it is not), the RCC has a serious rot that compromises it completely. The RCC has a homosexual lobby within its power structure. They recruit & actively seek to advance a homosexual first, Catholic second agenda. That is an abomination.
The RCC needs to clean house or it will implode. IF the next pope embraces homosexuality, contraception, abortion, female clergy, it is over. It will be the final straw in a heavy load of deviance from Christ that will exclude it & it’s followers from God.
Like a broken record...whenever it is turned on, the needle returns to the same groove.
The touble is, when "the record" is more carefully examined, it can be seen that the comparisons have priests alone on one side, and pastors, sunday school teachers, bus drivers, janitors, just about whomever accused of the same crime if they can be in some way connected to other church groups, on the other side.
This was not only pointed out long ago, it was by explanation and example proven true.
Leaving a case much dependent upon unequal measurement (speaking of "scales") which continues on regards to other aspects.
It goes like this...:
some knuckelhead in an other-than-Roman Catholic Church does something wrong. It is easy enough to find examples of "wrong". That is pointed towards as proof, "see? that church produces "wrong" results!!! We told you! That wouldn't happen if ya'll just be Roman Catholic..."
But when someone anyone Roman Catholic does the same sort of "wrong", well then, it's just that person who is doing it. Not the "church", nor should it be looked towards as being "fruit" of the church, as it was just applied to be towards what can go occur in association to "other than RC" churches.
A recalibration of the instuments used in weighing (scales?) has long been in order...but some around here won't be having any of that, no sir-ee!
“IF the next pope embraces homosexuality, contraception, abortion, female clergy, it is over”.
Catholic dogma does not change. It makes no difference whatsover who the Pope is, The Holy Scriptures remain the same. You are not talking about a show of hands to determine what is right and wrong. Catholic Church dogma remains the same, after 2,000 years. What Jesus started does not change. The below words of JP2 concerning women ordination can also be applied to homosexuality, contraception, abortion, etc.
“On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone,” is remarkable for its bluntness and the absolute authority that John Paul asserts “in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance.”
“I declare that the church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held for all the church’s faithful,” he writes in the letter.
Fundamentals of their faith make it impossible to ordain women as priests, the Pope tells his bishops, noting that Jesus “acted in a completely free and sovereign manner” in selecting only men as his apostles—the first priests.”
No pope will ever do that. However, it is very possible that the next pope will quietly tolerate those encroachments. And there is no doctrine preventing the next pope from wholehearted embrace of socialism, which will be a wink and nod to the practitioners of those other sins regardless of 'official' pronouncements.
What false teachings?
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