Did Simon magus form the gnostic church, Roman Catholic Church, or both?

[DictatorCzar]

I’m very confused about the church. Many people claim that Simon magus made the gnostic church or the Roman Catholic Church. Which one is true?

 

[Zaccheus]

I’m very confused about the church. Many people claim that Simon magus made the gnostic church or the Roman Catholic Church. Which one is true?

Neither.

That Simon Magus formed the Catholic Church is just one more of the many lies the enemies of the Church like to beat us over the head. with.

There is no such thing as “the Gnostic Church”. Gnosticism is a heresy that crops up now and then.

 

[Thom18]

Simon Magus was the leader of a heretical sect, so it well could have been the gnostics. He certainly didn’t found our Church; Christ did that.

 

[DictatorCzar]

Where’s the evidence. I would like to understand it more.

 

[Zaccheus]

Where’s the evidence. I would like to understand it more.

What evidence? Do you expect us to produce documents to prove that Simon Magus did not found the Catholic Church?

First tell us what makes you think he did, and what evidence you believe there is for that claim.

 

[DictatorCzar]

In Acts, he was claiming to be Simon the apostle and converting everyone to be heretics.

 

[Wesrock]

In Acts, he was claiming to be Simon the apostle and converting everyone to be heretics.

Okay. The Church follows Peter, Paul, and the other apostles, and has its foundation in their teachings and the churches they established. The early church fathers also reject Simon Magnus’ heresies. Some of them do link him to the gnostic heresy (though he didn’t found a church).

What evidence is there for him founding the Roman Catholic Church? This is a claim pushed by really anti-Catholic people. We may have our ecclesiological disagreements, but we don’t need to stoop to that.

 

[RealisticCatholic]

I’ve never heard the claim that he founded the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ. Even the title “Catholic Church” reaches back to the earliest days — the earliest written reference by a disciple of the Apostles, Ignatius of Antioch, who knew the Apostles John and Peter.

 

[Zaccheus]

In Acts, he was claiming to be Simon the apostle and converting everyone to be heretics.

What? In Acts, he tried to bribe Peter to give him the power to bestow the Holy Spirit on others. Peter’s reply: (verse 20) Acts 8 NIV

“May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God."

 

[CatholicSpirit]

Simon Magus? He was a sorcerer and did not start the church. I’m shocked that anyone would make such a claim as this… truly…

 

[ZMystiCat]

In Acts, he was claiming to be Simon the apostle and converting everyone to be heretics.

Where are you getting that from? The story in Acts with Simon Magus, Acts 8:9-24, doesn’t have him claiming to be Simon Peter. It has him going to Peter and hoping to buy the ability to confer the Holy Spirit by laying on of hands, hence the term “simony”.

Simon Magus? He was a sorcerer and did not start the church. I’m shocked that anyone would make such a claim as this… truly…

Well, there are people who think it was Emperor Constantine who founded the Catholic Church. I’ve also heard one Gnostic claim that Paul’s mission was to destroy the Church.

 

[CatholicSpirit]

I see, so it was a legitimate question after all. Quite shocking!