Roman Catholic Claim
Among
the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has
existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian
church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The
Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with
the pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established
during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most
of today’s Protestant churches are actually
offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.) |
Christian Response
We notice the Roman Catholic
includes the Catholic Church among the “Christian
churches” plural. Later on, Roman Catholics will argue
that there is but one Church. We shall answer that assertion
as it comes. For now, let us see that all of the confusion
within Rome stems from a faulty definition of the Church.
There is but ONE CHURCH and it is THE BODY OF CHRIST. The
Roman Catholic is so entrenched in his understanding of
the Church as an institutional structure
that he views all other “churches” in the same
way. The reality is that the Body of Christ is the ONE and
ONLY CHURCH though it meets in various local bodies as is
mentioned in the Bible, i.e., the Church at Corinth, the
Church at Ephesus etc. In today’s world there under
different denominational names affixed to those who call
themselves Christians. Sadly many of these denominational
names are not Christian even though they take the name Christian.
This is to be expected as the word Christian and the word
Church are not patented.
We would argue that the
Roman Catholic religion is not a Christian denomination
at all. We would argue that the Body of Christ has existed
since Jesus Christ established it through the Gospel. We
would argue that Roman Catholicism is a cultish religion.
All Christian denominations find their origin and validity
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and their adherence to the
Word of God. Rome has neither.
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