“It’s pretty clear that Christianity isn’t true because, if Jesus were really in charge of the universe, he would have helped his followers reunite by now”?
It seems unfair for you to hint at something negative/troubling and then, when asked, decline to elaborate. In fact, you “may cause [more] to stumble” this way than if you were to give your case. They’ll be left wondering, potentially for some time, and can never evaluate your reasoning as strong and thus accept its implications or weak and thus dismiss them.
If they’re that weak in their faith, then a web forum is the last place they need to be on. They need to contact their spiritual father and/or confessor and speak to them.
I’m merely trying to be charitable. I’m Agnostic so there’s obviously an understanding that I look at the world through secular eyes.
But, all right. I’ll humor you.
The reason the churches aren’t in communion is simply because there is no Holy Spirit guiding the church and there is no City that Sits on a Hill. Every conclave and gathering is a function of men making purely secular political decisions through a religious lens while arguing about theological matters that no one can prove to the point that they call respected teachers Haters of God within the same councils.
The churches have fallen out of communion because that is the nature of men. Empires rise and empires fall, regardless of political structure. The church is not immune to this because the Holy Spirit doesn’t exist.
The church is not the body of Christ. If so, then how can Christ’s body be torn or separated from itself? How can the Orthodox and Catholic churches be out of Communion with each other if they are of the same body? If they are the same body, then how can priests refuse Communion to members of that body? If they are not the same body, then why aren’t the two churches doing their best to convert each others’ members to the One True Faith? If one church says that members of the other church can take Communion, but the other side refuses this same gesture to members of the former, then which one is correct? Either someone is partaking in an illicit Eucharist or the other is causing people to be denied their Communion in a malicious and unfair way. How is one to tell which is the true Body when both have legitimate arguments to be made about which is the true church? If you pick Catholicism, do you side with the proper church in Rome or do you ally yourself with separatist organizations like SSPX and Sedevacantists? If you side with the Orthodox, do you keep yourself with a mainstream Patriarch or do you ally yourself with separatists like the Old Believer sects? What about the Oriental Orthodox? Do you ally yourself with the Chalcedonian or non-Chalcedonian Orthodox? They both have valid claims to ancientness and truth.
It’s all make believe. It’s a bunch of men dressed up in robes playing make believe to argue points over something not provable that most likely doesn’t exist.
Do you think it’s better now that I’ve said this? Or should I have kept quiet?
