Im not implying that Ive arrived or have it all on the ball…Im just merely revealing the scriptural contradiction the catholic doctrine harbors. True followers of Christ, not of forefathers, wouldnt leave anything out of the Bible as it relates to their doctrine. Show me the reference God makes to the Church as Catholics in the Bible. PLEASE!!! It says In Acts that the Apostles were referred to as Christians and I dont recall the tradition of the Apostles’ Acts having anything to do with calling a man that supposedly harbors the ability to reconcile us to God (as if Christ didnt do that for us at Calvary) father.
Well you won’t find the term in the Bible because there was no need to create the term until people started to question the teachings of Christianity and the Apostles (and that happened pretty early on). The word “catholic”, as you may or may not know, is simply an English word that is a synonym for “universal”, although it is not commonly used outside of the context of religion anymore. The earliest recorded usage of the word is from a document from St. Ignatius of Antioch dating to around 110 AD. It is likely from the way that it is assumed that the reader would understand the term that it was probably already in common usage. Here is the quote:
Chapter 6. Unbelievers in the blood of Christ shall be condemned.
Let no man deceive himself. Both the things which are in heaven, and the glorious angels, and rulers, both visible and invisible, if they believe not in the blood of Christ, shall, in consequence, incur condemnation. “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.” Matthew 19:12 Let not [high] place puff any one up: for that which is worth all is faith and love, to which nothing is to be preferred. But consider those who are of a different opinion with respect to the grace of Christ which has come unto us, how opposed they are to the will of God. They have no regard for love; no care for the widow, or the orphan, or the oppressed; of the bond, or of the free; of the hungry, or of the thirsty.
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Chapter 7. Let us stand aloof from such heretics.**
They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect, that they also might rise again. It is fitting, therefore, that you should keep aloof from such persons, and not to speak of them either in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets, and above all, to the Gospel, in which the passion [of Christ] has been revealed to us, and the resurrection has been fully proved. But avoid all divisions, as the beginning of evils.
Chapter 8. Let nothing be done without the bishop.
See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the
Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.
I have included some of the surrounding material to put it into context. I’d also like to point out the particularly interesting fact that the reason the term came into use, a term used to refer to those who accepted the minimum universal (or Catholic) requirements deemed necessary to be considered Christian, was because a few groups were questioning the doctrines of the Real Presence in the Eucharist and the authority of Bishops. So, the document also proves that these other ideas were around from the very beginnings of Christianity. Oh, and keep in mind the date of the document. These “bishops” that a few groups were failing to obey would likely have been appointed by the Apostles themselves (or at the most, been a single generation removed). 110 AD is only 10 years after the death of John. If the bishops indeed had it wrong, then the Apostles must have been
terrible teachers!
Other early references to the use of the term Catholic are included in the Martyrdom of Polycarp from 155 AD, and the Muratorian Fragment, dated to around 177 AD.
