Church Fathers: Door to Rome

[tgm21234]

wayoflife.org/files/4074b9fdcb5ca916653014d7bce8cf3b-129.html

 

[Wesley7]

Interesting thread title.

 

[OchsFam]

I will first admit that I did not read the entire article.

I got to “The fact is that the ‘early Fathers’ were mostly heretics!” and couldn’t stop laughing.

I guess that is one route to go. If you don’t agree with the first Christians, call them heretics, that’s the solution for the fallacies this church spreads. I have heard some protestants say they “can only agree with the early fathers as much as they agree with scripture” which at least sounds more legit than what this guy is saying. I suppose in the end, they are both ways of saying the same thing.

Thanks for the laugh this morning.

God Bless.

 

[izoid]

This is a new low as far as evangelistic tactics go. Call yourself a Catholic and start a thread that hints to a Catholic view. Then point people to an Anti-Catholic site. And to think, these are the people who know the truth.

Here is where I stopped reading:

Therefore, the “church fathers” are actually the fathers of the Roman Catholic Church. They are the men who laid the foundation of apostasy that produced Romanism and Greek Orthodoxy.

 

[ralphinal]

I should have stopped where he said that all we need is the Bible and no other writings. Therefore, his junk is useless as well.

But, I have to post some of the errors he is talking about

Ignatius (c. 50-110)

Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch in the early second century. He was arrested in about A.D. 110 and sent to Rome for trial and martyrdom.

1. He taught that churches should have elders and a ruling bishop; in other words, he was exalting one bishop over another, whereas in scripture the terms “bishop” and “elder” refer to the same humble office in the assembly (Titus 1:5-7).

1. He taught that all churches are a part of one universal church.

1. He claimed that a church does not have authority to baptize or conduct the Lord’s Supper unless it has a bishop.

These relatively innocent errors helped prepare the way for more error in the next century.

Justin Martyr (c. 100 – c. 165)

When Justin embraced Christianity, he held on to some of his pagan philosophy.

1. He interpreted the Scriptures allegorically and mystically.

1. He helped develop the idea of a “middle state” after death that was neither heaven nor hell. Eventually this doctrine became Rome’s purgatory.

Irenaeus (c. 125-202)

Irenaeus was a pastor in Lyons, France, who wrote a polemic titled Against Heresies in about A.D. 185.

1. He supported the authority of the bishop as a ruler over many churches.

1. He defended church tradition beyond what the Scripture allows. For this reason he is claimed by the Roman Catholic Church as one of their own.

1. He taught the Catholic heresy of “real presence,” saying, “The Eucharist becomes the body of Christ.”

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 230)

1. Clement headed the allegorizing school of Alexandria from 190 to 202. This school was founded by Pantaenus.

1. Clement intermingled the philosophy of Plato with Christianity.

1. He helped develop the doctrine of purgatory and believed that most men would eventually be saved.

Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 255)

Tertullian lived in Carthage in North Africa (located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in modern Tunisia, between Libya and Algeria).

1. Though he fought against Gnosticism, he also exalted the authority of the church beyond that allowed by Scripture. He taught that the church’s authority comes through apostolic succession.

1. He believed that the bread of the Lord’s Supper was Christ and worried about dropping crumbs of it on the ground.

1. He adopted Montanism, believing that Montanus spoke prophecies by inspiration of God.

1. He taught that widows who remarried committed fornication.

1. He taught that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.

1. He classified sins into three categories and believed in confession of sins to a bishop.

1. He said that the human soul was seen in a vision as “tender, light, and of the colour of air.” He claimed that all human souls were in Adam and are transmitted to us with the taint of original sin upon them.

1. He taught that there was a time when the Son of God did not exist and when God was not a Father.

1. He taught that Mary was the second Eve who by her obedience remedied the disobedience of the first Eve.

Now, we should point out that Oregin is NOT an Early Church Father because he did teach some junk. By and large, however, this goofball does a good job of showing how the Catholic CHurch existed in the early second century

And how in God’s name did he get that Leo the Great was the first Pope?

 

[OchsFam]

And how in God’s name did he get that Leo the Great was the first Pope?

He is probably one of those who ignore Irenaeus and believe that the Pope was established by Constantine.

 

[Nine_Two]

He is probably one of those who ignore Irenaeus and believe that the Pope was established by Constantine.

Yes but St. Leo the Great was nearly a hundred years after the death of Constantine. Its like randomly picking someone.

 

[ralphinal]

He is saying “Look, these men were clearly Catholic (or Orthodox, either way), and they were teaching these heresies in the second, third, and forth centuries” while trying not to say “See, it proves that the Catholic (Orthodox) Church existed back then and we did not.”

What a maroon