** planter654**, I know that you were saying that surely there is some truth in this article. Often, though not always, the truth is somewhere between two positions. This is one of the cases where the truth is definitely all on one side, however.
I hope that you’ll find my response to this article useful.
The article you linked actually sabotages its claims critically from its own mouth, right in the beginning.
While enduring the early persecutions of the Roman government (65-300 A.D.), most of professing Christianity went through a gradual departure from New Testament doctrine concerning church government, worship and practice.
Just look at this. In one sentence, this Protestant article acknowledges that all the Early Church Fathers, the immediate successors and friends of the disciples who received their doctrine straight from Christ, were pretty much Catholic! In fact, it starts the point of departure from Christian teachings at 65 AD!!! That acknowledges that the entire Early Church was pretty much Catholic right from its origins!
It’s true that it says that this was a gradual process. It probably asserts that because we don’t have testimony from the first century AD about every Catholic doctrine. As we get the records of more and more Church Fathers, the teaching of the Early Church becomes more and more clear. That doesn’t mean that their beliefs were changing- only that our documentation of what they believed has become more thorough.
I find this an amazing and wonderful admission of this article. In order to back its claims, it has to argue that all the Early Christians were pretty much Catholic and falling into paganism, and that therefore
nobody had it right after the first apostles died, until the Reformation! It has to say that Jesus initiated a religion and no one followed it properly until the Reformation, 1,500 years after Christianity began. In fact, in view of the fact that the Early Reformers all believed in things like the immaculate conception, the perpetual virginity of Mary, and the authority of a church hierarchy, it’s probable that they’d actually have to say that nobody had it right until the 19th or 20th century.
The admission of this article that the Early Church Fathers were Catholic is enormously destructive to its claims.
Local churches ceased to be autonomous by giving way to the control of “bishops” ruling over hierarchies.
The New Testament also uses the word “bishop” to describe the apostles, and the epistles refer to a church hierarchy on several occasions.
The simple form of worship from the heart was replaced with the rituals and splendor of paganism.
The Old Covenant practice was always very ritualistic. Christianity has also always involved ritual and symbol. Jesus implemented things that carried ritualistic and symbolic significance as well as dynamic spiritual reality, such as baptism and the Eucharist. Those are rituals as well as mighty spiritual realities. Ironically, many Protestant groups now refuse to acknowledge the spiritual power of these sacraments and believe that they are purely symbolic. In other words, they consider them to be
only ritual, and practice them as only ritual and as nothing more.
Ministers became “priests,”
Here’s a quote I found from a Catholic who could defend it:
NT texts that address the question of the ministerial priesthood:
At the Last Supper, Jesus instituting the eucharist [Mt, Mk, Lk] referred to its repetition by his apostles. Paul recalled this tradition in 1 Cor 11:23-26.
Acts mentions several times the laying on hands for authorizing special tasks. For example, see 6:6, 13:3,14:23.
Paul recalls his ordination of Timothy. See 2 Tim 1:6,7; 1 Tim 3:1, 4:14. The Council of Trent cited the 2 Timothy text in defending the priesthood against Protestant reformers.
Paul entrusted Titus to appoint priests – see Tit 1:5.
and pagans became “Christians” by simply being sprinkled with water. This tolerance of an unregenerate membership only made things worse.
I have trouble understanding what this point is. The crucial importance of baptism in cleansing a person of sins is clear in many passages of the New Testament. Besides, new believers had to go through a Confirmation process to ensure they knew the doctrines of the Church (a practice now completely rejected in many Protestant denominations), as well as a long waiting period as they adjusted to Christian life and beliefs (could last years), and Church doctrine was enforced on pain of excommunication. Heresies were vigorously fought.
SPRINKLED PAGANISM is about the best definition for Roman Catholicism.
They were instructed re: salvation through Jesus Christ and baptised by imersion or pouring. (where does this sprinkle come from?)
.