Do you doubt the persecutions? There were 12 Apostles chosen by Christ. How many were martyred? Have you read the writings of the early Church fathers? How many of them were martyred? I guess you misunderstood my point. Seeing that you don’t have the post I was commenting on with my comments, we can’t see them in context. Of course I understand that persecution in the 1st century was aweful.
Yes, we know they sold everything and gave to those that needed. But where can we take that the Church ‘owned’ public structures equal to a Church? I don’t understand the question. The majority of the population was still Jewish, who operated out of the Temple and synagogues and those men played a major part in the persecutions. And yet Jesus said He didn’t have a place to lay His Head.
Christians were given a choice once captured. They could renounce their faith, make an offering to, and affirm that the Caesar was a deity. Must have been scary. I wonder how I’d hold up under that pressure.
Research the history. It wasn’t until the time of Constantine, and his predecessor, that Christianity was legalized and it was at these times that the Church was ‘allowed’ to own properties and properties was returned to Christians. The Bible is clear, so I’m not sure how history will help in this discussion.
Most assuredly there were ‘Churches’ in the Old Testament, only they were called the Temple and synagogues. There were many ‘laws’ of the old covenant, but Christ called the new as, ‘new and everlasting covenant’.
**Mat 5:17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. **
Christ spent three years in His ministry with the Apostles. If we sat down and read the Gospels, how long would it take, a day, two days, or three at the most? John told us, twice, that there were many things Christ did with His Apostles, and if they were all written, the world itself could not hold all the books. In my opinion, a lot of people miss out entirely by rejecting, and some take for granted, the oral tradition. Christ taught the Apostles a lot of things and told them the Holy Spirit would come and teach them all things. You make this point often.
Whether Protestant or Catholic, we don’t have as many ‘laws’ upon us as they did in the Old Testament. Catholics have more sacraments and we follow the things written and from Tradition. Protestants see a lot of ‘traditional’ practices of Catholics and confuse them with Tradition. Christians have the same number of ‘rules’, that number is confused and not agreed upon by Protestants, among the denominations. Those ‘rules’ each of them accept, came from the teachings of the Catholic Church, during the reformation. The number each has, depends on what each denomination decided it would take and believe.
Real quick, Protestants use many things to object to Catholicism, including the reformation itself. The reformation is a very good indicator that there was only one Church prior to the reformation. If the reformers were at least partly correct, it indicates there were two churches: the church Jesus set up and one that strayed from important truths. If Protestants believe there was a reformation, they are unsubstantiated in their claims against the practices of the Catholic Church prior to the reformation. Not true. If the church was incorrect. Either it existed and needed a reformation or it didn’t. You can’t claim that in the 1500s, the Church had become corrupt and needed a reformation and at the same time deny all the practices for all the 1500 years preceding the reformation. Who said I reject ALL the teachings? Some Protestants are so ‘anti-Catholic’ that they can’t bring themselves to agree with any part of the Catholic Church’s history. So what? I have started a thread to discuss each Church’s view of the reformation and would appreciate everyone’s (name removed by moderator)ut there. The name of the thread is ‘
Protestant view of the reformation.’
It is one and the same. The Greek word was ‘didaskalos’.
G1320
διδάσκαλος
didaskalos
did-as’-kal-os
From G1321; an instructor (generally or specifically): - doctor, master, teacher.
Now, if these were set by God, teachers are a part of the authority, which were appointed. While we’re all called to share the Gospel, we are all not appointed as teachers ourselves and should defer to those who are appointed by the authority. They are part of church authority.
1Ti 2:7 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle (I say the truth, I lie not), a doctor of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Doctor or teacher, it is a part of the hierarchy Paul said was set by God, who gave authority to men when He built His Church.
1Co 12:28 And God indeed hath set some in the church; first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly doctors: after that miracles: then the graces of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations of speeches.
I also “fast” as penance… Like fo lent.
I assumed your congregation was part of the worldwide UMC but I see what you were focusing on. God bless!