Protestants - When did the Catholic Church Begin?

[ahem]

Honestly, I do sympathize for Protestants. You all had no way of knowing that when Luther started the rebellion that you would be stuck with having to take on all the sins of very wild heretical breakaway Christian sect under the general banner of papal-rebellion. The legion of protestant sects now is so huge that you all are barely distinguishable from the legions of social and benevolent clubs all over the world.

Protestants now have sect representation at almost ever level in society from the extremes of Waco & Jim Jones to country revival tents and on up to middle of the road Protestants in the monarchical ruled Anglicans. That puts protestants in a fuzzy position in the food chain somewhere above unbelievers, and Temple Shriners but probably not not even on par (in my opinion) with The Knights of Columbus in the pecking order.

The only way to escape the farce (apart from coming back to The Catholic Church) is to ditch the “protestant” moniker and invent something new like the Mormons, Scientologists and Jehovah Witnesses did and call yourselves “non-Catholic” since that’s about all you all have in common anymore.

James

Like I wrote before, the tone of this forum sometimes degenerates to that which nonbelievers and pagans smugly point at to indicate their own moral superiority. If our mission is to reach people, we need our attitudes to be more generous.

I still believe that the organization with the deepest and longest standing history are the Orthodox, but that does not make me hostile toward Catholics, Protestants, or any of the other church traditions.

I love Chrysostom. I also love Aquinas, and the 3 Teresas. I love Bonhoeffer.

And so many others. They all inspire and educate me.

 

[Namesake]

The arguments of the Protestants here are extremely weak. They are telling us Catholic doesn’t mean universal. It’s like they can’t tell apple from oranges. Are they that un-educated? I’m sure they have taken some courses

Catholic means universal. OK?

 

[Namesake]

Now, if they started calling me a Papist… then “it’s on”!!! :knight2:

OK, maybe you are a papist.

 

[Mannyfit75]

Catholic means universal. OK?

I know that. There is a user here who said. “The early church is catholic church but not the same Catholic Church we see today.”

That is a false statement. The Catholic Church 2,000 yrs ago is the same Catholic Church today. It’s doctrine of the faith cannot changed.

 

[Mannyfit75]

OK, maybe you are a papist.

Please reframe from using that term.

 

[Mannyfit75]

Hey Manny…you don’t like it but the Roman Catholic Church is a real entity. I think you are a Roman Catholic, like it or not.

I am because I belong to the Latin Rite. However, if I ever move to the Eastern Rite Catholic Church which are not Roman. I would not be called Roman Catholic. I would be called Eastern Catholic, or Ruthenian Catholic, or Byzantine Catholic.

In case you didn’t know, the Catholic Church consist of 23 Rites. 22 of which are Eastern Rite Churches and the 23 Rite is the Latin Rite or Roman Rite.

I belong to the Roman Rite. However, if I want to describe the universality of my Church which I belong, I call myself Catholic so everyone will know that I belong the One Catholic Church which consist of both Eastern Catholics and Latin Catholics, and we are in full communion with the Pope.

It seem to be my observation that NCC are completely ignorant of the fact that the Catholic Church has 23 Rites and that 22 of them are Eastern Catholics which are not Roman or Latin.

 

[Mannyfit75]

Here is the brief overview of the Catholic Church from EWTN:

Source: ewtn.com/faith/teachings/chursum.htm

“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, A.D. 325, 381).

The Catholic Church is a single, unified, visible society, instituted by Jesus Christ in order to carry on His saving mission after His Ascension into heaven. Thus, the Church is endowed by Our Lord with everything necessary to accomplish this mission. First, Jesus gave the Church the authority to teach in his name, thus guaranteeing the truth of Her teaching. Second, he gave Her, in the Mass and the Sacraments, the means to sanctify men and draw them closer to God. Third, he gave Her the authority to rule and govern all men in those matters which pertain to salvation.

These powers were given by Jesus not to all the members of the Church individually, but rather to certain men, the Apostles, whom He chose especially to rule His Church. The apostles were united under the supreme authority of Simon Peter, whom Jesus chose to be the visible head of the Church on earth. The Apostles and their successors, the bishops, united under Peter and his successors, the Popes, have exercised this authority continuously since the time of Christ.

*The **Church is called Catholic ***because it is spread throughout the world, from end to end of the earth; also because it teaches universally and completely all the doctrines which man should know concerning things visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly; and because it subjects to right worship all mankind, rulers and ruled, lettered and unlettered; further because it treats and heals universally every sort of sin committed by soul and body, and it possesses in itself every conceivable virtue, whether in deeds, words or in spiritual gifts of every kind (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat. XVIII, 23).

 

[Grace_Seeker]

Well, “Christian” is only a word. The body of Christ is.

Yes, it is a word, and it means something. I understand it to mean one who belongs to Christ. So, are you suggesting that it either means something different or that there are those who do belong to Christ but that don’t belong to the body of Christ?

 

[Mannyfit75]

Yes, it is a word, and it means something. I understand it to mean one who belongs to Christ. So, are you suggesting that it either means something different or that there are those who do belong to Christ but that don’t belong to the body of Christ?

This itself is a different topic. You could make a new thread. Let us not derail this thread.

 

[Michael_Francis]

Thread closed because it has degenerated in charity and wandered far from its topic.
MF