"One True Church" Question

[TexanKnight]

Was having a discussion about the Book of Acts with a friend who is not Catholic. She brought up this verse:

Acts 10:34 (NAB)

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

 

[Godfollower]

Was having a discussion about the Book of Acts with a friend who is not Catholic. She brought up this verse:

Acts 10:34 (NAB)

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

I wouldn’t say that it doesn’t matter, and I also wouldn’t say that “fear[ing] God and act[ing] uprightly” is enough. But the Church teaches that salvation is possible even to persons who have not joined the Catholic Church.

817 In fact, “in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame.” The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ’s Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism - do not occur without human sin:

Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.

818 “However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers … All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church.”

819 “Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to “Catholic unity.”

CCC ¶¶ 817-19 (emphasis added).

Keep in mind, though, that it’s a lot harder to do what God commands if you persist in staying in a church that is in schism from the Church He appointed. As one small example, say you grow up in a church that teaches that it’s nice to go to church on Sundays, but it’s okay if you miss a lot as long as you show up every once in a while. That’s going to make it a whole lot harder on you to make it to church every single Sunday. In turn, those absences from church are going to make it harder to deal with other people in everyday life, because part of what you get out of going to church and worshiping God together with other Christians is the grace that allows us to be more Christ-like. This can lead to being more worldly, rude, greedy, etc., in our dealings with others, because you don’t have that constant reminder to turn the other cheek when others are rude. So it’s possible to fall away from the straight and narrow through drift and inertia.

All things being equal, it’s much better to join the Church Jesus established on earth and go to Mass every Sunday, and so on, because that helps – not “guarantees” but helps – us on the path to salvation.

 

[jschutzm]

Be careful about people who cherry pick 1-3 verses. Read the entire section… starting before that and reading past it to around verse 47

What is being talked about here is preaching or spreading the gospel to the Gentiles. Originally, the Apostles only converted Jews, those who were circumcized. It was a matter of debate whether Christ’s command to go out and preach the word applied to non-Jews or not.

Peter is saying that he now sees that God shows no partiality of who is called to believe, be it Jew or Gentile.

THAT is what he is talking about. Cornelius was not of a different denomination… he was a convert to the 1 TRUE faith and Christ’s church.

If you really want to read into this passage a message about Protestant vs. Catholic - and seeing how the Catholic church believes itself to be the 1 true church founded by Christ through St. Peter… then you could argue that this verse shows that everyone should CONVERT to Catholicism.

But making this verse about different Christian denominations is reading a bit into things.

---

This is a perfect example, though, of a well meaning ‘bible alone’ Christian who is reading into the bible, their own fallible interpretation. We ALL tend to do this, so we need to be VERY careful when reading the bible. Cross check our interpretations with historical Christianity. Did ALL previous Christians interpret things that way? - Particularly the early Christians from the 1st through 4th centuries. Those Christians who knew about the events surrounding Christ’s life. Or those who knew people who knew Christ, etc.

Lastly, our interpretations should never minimize God’s power, create dissention and break unity, and should never make the faith about ‘private’ interpretation/revelation.

 

[TexanKnight]

Thanks. Kinda what I told her, but wanted folks smarter than me to pitch in.

 

[Lancer]

Not read in context…totally out of context

Peter is comparing the Old Covenant (Jews only are chosen)… to…the New Covenant (all nations/peoples are chose)…all stand as equal “candidates” for Divine blessing and son-ship* [paraphrasing from:** Ignatius Catholic Study Bible–New Testament* pg 225 note.

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND EDITION

The Church - prepared for in the Old Covenant

761 The gathering together of the People of God began at the moment when sin destroyed the communion of men with God, and that of men among themselves. **The gathering together of the Church is, as it were, God’s reaction to the chaos provoked by sin. This reunification is achieved secretly in the heart of all peoples: “In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable” to God.**156

762 The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he will become the father of a great people.157 Its immediate preparation begins with Israel’s election as the People of God. By this election, Israel is to be the sign of the future gathering of all nations.158 But the prophets accuse Israel of breaking the covenant and behaving like a prostitute. They announce a new and eternal covenant. "Christ instituted this New Covenant."159

The Church - instituted by Christ Jesus

763 It was the Son’s task to accomplish the Father’s plan of salvation in the fullness of time. Its accomplishment was the reason for his being sent.160 "The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God, promised over the ages in the scriptures."161 To fulfill the Father’s will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church "is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery."162

“The sacred mystery of the Church’s unity” (UR 2)

813 **The Church is one because of her source: “the highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.”**259 The Church is one because of her founder: for "the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross, . . . restoring the unity of all in one people and one body."260 The Church is one because of her “soul”: "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church’s unity."261 Unity is of the essence of the Church:

What an astonishing mystery! There is one Father of the universe, one Logos of the universe, and also one Holy Spirit, everywhere one and the same; there is also one virgin become mother, and I should like to call her "Church."262
262 St. Clement Of Alexandria, Pæd. 1,6,42G 8,300. Date of birth unknown; died about the year 215. St. Clement was an early Greek theologian and head of the catechetical school of Alexandria.
​

**816 "The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. . . . This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in (subsistit in) the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him."267

The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism explains: "For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God."268**

Pax Christi

 

[JRKH]

Was having a discussion about the Book of Acts with a friend who is not Catholic. She brought up this verse:

Acts 10:34 (NAB)

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

Question - - What constitutes acting uprightly?? and who determines that??

Peace
James

 

[Maryann_C]

Was having a discussion about the Book of Acts with a friend who is not Catholic. She brought up this verse:

Acts 10:34 (NAB)

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

Then why would Jesus pray to the father that they would be one AS he and the Father are one ? John 17 v 20-23. To say that Jesus INTENT is that we be one is not to deny that there are those outside of the Church that can not do his will in HIS name. Note when the disciples complained to Jesus that others not of their group were doing things in His name he said to let them…sorry can’t remember that scripture reference.

 

[tarboy]

how different is this what Christ said about what really mattered?

• Love God with all your heart and soul (fear God)
• Love your neighbor as yourself (act uprightly)

Was having a discussion about the Book of Acts with a friend who is not Catholic. She brought up this verse:

Acts 10:34 (NAB)

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

 

[JRKH]

Then why would Jesus pray to the father that they would be one AS he and the Father are one ? John 17 v 20-23. To say that Jesus INTENT is that we be one is not to deny that there are those outside of the Church that can not do his will in HIS name. Note when the disciples complained to Jesus that others not of their group were doing things in His name he said to let them…sorry can’t remember that scripture reference.

Yes Jesus did say this. He prayed for unity. The Apostles in their letters preached that we be of one mind, praise with one voice and to avoid disagreements and dissensions.
Jesus told us to take our troubles and “Tell it to the Church” and then to “Listen to The Church”.

The Church, visible and authoritative is not a “government of imposition”. It is a service organization that takes Jesus and the Apostles call to unity and provides the offices and resources needed to maintain said unity. It is a repository for all of the decisions of the past. It is an organization of discussion and debate, it provides a platform for the Bishops, theologians and even the laity to express ideas, thoughts opinions and insights.
All of these things come together then in the offices of the magisterium where the ideas are refined and checked against past writings and teachings. All of this happens over and over, back and forth, up and down until finally - if needed a finalized formal, documented teaching is promulgated.

Truly sincere Christians seek such unity. The Early Church did just this when the matter of circumcision was brought before the Council of Jerusalem.
The Church continues to do this today.

Peace
James

 

[JRKH]

On the matter of denominational differences… The Gospels can be somewhat confusing in this matter for Jesus was trying to break down the “institutionalized” view of the Law and get people back to understanding the spirit of it. In addition, He was seeking to bring people forward from the Law and into the realm of the Spirit - Love.

One the one hand Jesus says those who are not with us are against us…Then He says elsewhere nearly the opposite, those who are not against us are for us (Mr 9:40). He speaks of the need for repentance and baptism and then says that not all who cry "lord Lord will enter the kingdom…even though they performed signs…(Mt 7:21-29)

In the great passage of the judgement Jesus speaks of the acts of the just, “I was thirsty…” and the acts of the unjust…(Mt 25:31-46) Not one mention of faith or baptism or…

So - there can be no doubt that salvation is not based on denominational affiliation, but - as pointed out in other posts above - Christ intended for His Body of Believers to be “one as He and the Father are one”. Thus the ekklesia - the community, the body of believers should seek always to find full and complete and visible unity, one with the other.
The natural result of such seeking, in humility and prayer, is a single Church.

Peace
James

 

[ChrisCath]

[BIBLEDRB]Acts 10:34-35[/BIBLEDRB]

Doesn’t “fear of the Lord” and “works justice” also mean that there is obedience to God’s directives? Or is it simple adherence to the natural law?

 

[Jim_Dandy]

Was having a discussion about the Book of Acts with a friend who is not Catholic. She brought up this verse:

Acts 10:34 (NAB)

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

Ask her if her biblical interpretations are infallible.

No, it doesn’t matter which denomination one belongs to. All denominations are Protestant and are based on their founder’s – or founders’ – (mis)interpretation of the Bible, primarily the New Testament.

But the Church – the ekklesia founded by Christ – is another matter. Jesus Christ expects all who follow him to belong to His Church – the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – now 2,000 years old. This is the Church whose leaders wrote the New Testament and whose Bishps selected the contents and compiled the Bible. The thousands of Protestant denominations teach thousands of conflicting and competing doctrines. .

 

[James224]

Was having a discussion about the Book of Acts with a friend who is not Catholic. She brought up this verse:

Acts 10:34 (NAB)

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

No partiality regarding Jew or Gentile. Eph 4:5 says their is one faith.

 

[Todd_Easton]

Sounds like it does not matter what denomination you belong to as long as you fear God and act uprightly.

Thoughts?

If fearing God and acting uprightly was ordinarily sufficient, Peter would not have commanded Cornelius and the others with him to be baptized.