There shouldn't be things like denominations such as catholic and baptist. It should just be Christian

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Church is just all believers.
  • Not my mindset. How would you respond?
    I might play devil’s advocate here for apologetic purposes. 😁
 
I don’t see the word catholic in the bible. Just something man made. The original church was not catholic. They were just believers.
 
Believers of what? People don’t believe the same things. It makes sense to have different churches so everyone can have support for whatever they believe.

I never understand the need some people have for everyone to believe the same things.
 
The statement isn’t entirely false. We all should be united. And in some sense, all Christians that have been baptized are. It’s just that, unfortunately, full unity doesn’t exist right now.

The problem with the “no denominations” stance is that unity of this nature requires agreement. Take baptism for example. Catholics, Lutherans, and Presbyterians, among others, baptize infants. Baptists, Nazarenes, and Assembly of God, among others, don’t. Further, those denominations that baptize infants tend to be very much against re-baptism, whereas those who are against infant baptism tend to be very much for the re-baptism of those who were baptized as infants. (I actually remember once a Baptist pastor (I think John Piper) told a Presbyterian one (I think Tim Keller) that many people at that Presbyterian pastor’s church wouldn’t be able to receive communion in the Baptist church since they were, by Baptist standards, not baptized.) Obviously, that will cause dilemmas, especially if either side as reasonable convictions as they seek to prevent others from disobeying God (whether or not they actually are).

Also consider Communion. Catholics believe in transubstantiation and that no one should receive unless they also believe it, and we shouldn’t take of Communion at other churches where they don’t believe it. Further, we believe the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life”, so permanently abstaining doesn’t make sense. However, all Protestant groups to my knowledge reject transubstantiation. Again, we have a serious dilemma.

Also consider the administration of the sacraments. Catholics and Presbyterians, among others, believe that it must be done by an ordained minister. Baptists might be far more lenient and may not even believe in sacraments. Further, among those who believe the person must be ordained, the requirements of that ordination is different. Since Presbyterian ministers didn’t receive authority from a valid bishop, we wouldn’t recognize their authority. Again, we have a dilemma.

And don’t even get me started on apostolic succession and the Pope!

I could go on and on, but the basic summary is that the “no denomination” only works if we either all agree to the extent that none are seen as in disobedience and/or heresy or we water down Christianity to the point that it is practically meaningless. Notably, I don’t think I’ve ever met a non-denominational who wasn’t Baptist or Pentecostal at their core. Sure, they still water down the faith quite a bit, but they’d also probably be put off by some of the beliefs and practices of Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Anglicans.

So while there is some truth in the sentiment that there shouldn’t be all this division, achieving that through non-denominationalism is a pipe dream.
 
Let’s begin our prayer time in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit…
What do you mean you don’t make the sign of the cross?

And here we go.
This is a broken world.
 
To paraphrase Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers: “Catholicism isn’t one denomination among many: it’s the common denominator!”
 
The Acts 9, 31 makes reference to “ekklesia kata holos,” which means “the Church throughout all.” Kata+holos is the word for “universal.” It would pass into English as the word “Catholic.”

-Fr ACEGC
 
Perhaps one should instruct one self what does it mean to be Catholic. Where does that word comes from, who used it to apply it to what.

The word comes from ancient Greek καθολικός, pl. καθολικοί, derived from καθ’ ὅλου ( kath’olou , “generally”) from κατά ( kata , “down”) and ὅλος ( holos , “whole”), meaning “concerning the whole, universal, general”

Who used it first? again:
The ecclesiastical title of the Nestorian and Armenian patriarchs.
However the first recorded use of the word to describe “The Church” comes from:
Church father Saint Ignatius of Antioch

The first use of the term “Catholic Church” (literally meaning “universal church”) was by the church father Saint Ignatius of Antioch in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans (circa 110 AD). Ignatius of Antioch is also attributed the earliest recorded use of the term “Christianity” (Greek: Χριστιανισμός) (in Catalan) 100 A.D.

I hope this help in your quest for the truth.
Peace!
 
Pope Benedict XVI…
The risen Lord instructed his apostles, and through them his disciples in all ages, to take his word to the ends of the earth and to make disciples of all people,” retired Pope Benedict wrote. “‘But does that still apply?’ many inside and outside the church ask themselves today. ‘Is mission still something for today? Would it not be more appropriate to meet in dialogue among religions and serve together the cause of world peace?’ The counter-question is: ‘Can dialogue substitute for mission?’

“In fact, many today think religions should respect each other and, in their dialogue, become a common force for peace. According to this way of thinking, it is usually taken for granted that different religions are variants of one and the same reality. The question of truth, that which originally motivated Christians more than any other, is here put inside parentheses. It is assumed that the authentic truth about God is in the last analysis unreachable and that at best one can represent the ineffable with a variety of symbols. This renunciation of truth seems realistic and useful for peace among religions in the world.

It is nevertheless lethal to faith. In fact, faith loses its binding character and its seriousness, everything is reduced to interchangeable symbols, capable of referring only distantly to the inaccessible mystery of the divine.
Click to expand...
 
Guest1 said:
I don’t see the word catholic in the bible. Just something man made. The original church was not catholic. They were just believers.
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The Church founded by Christ existed for years before the first word of the Bible was written. St. Paul calls the Church the “pillar and foundation of truth”…why do you suppose he didn’t call Scripture that? Well, when you see how the man-made invention referred to as “Sola Scriptura” allows Scripture (and the beliefs that follow) to be twisted beyond recognition, as evidenced by the plethora of denominations, you’ll understand.
 
ZMystiCat said:
So while there is some truth in the sentiment that there shouldn’t be all this division, achieving that through non-denominationalism is a pipe dream.
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Its a world only God can create, which He will when He returns.

Too many humans think they know better then other human who think they know better then the human who think know better then they do.

As for the Catholic church not being a denomination, well that depends on which human you ask. 🙂
 
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Something not in the bible, you say? Neither is the Trinity, the Sacred Table of Contents or “Bible” for that matter.

Where did Jesus teach to base His Church on any writings at all? writings?

Didn’t.

Did he paste the Keys to the Kingdom to a scroll?

Nope. He sent Apostles to make disciples.

Saint Ignatius of Antioch, in the year 107 called the Church “universal”, i.e. "catholic - from the Greek.
 
This is true, and up until the schisms of the 400, there really wasn’t a need for a distinction between types of Christians. Of course, you had the occasional Schism and heresy before that, but this is when it started largely.
 
No it’s not. Because Catholicism didn’t break away from anything, a denomination would have to break away from something. Think of the word in terms of mathematics.
 
Guest1 said:
Church is just all believers.
  • Not my mindset. How would you respond?
    I might play devil’s advocate here for apologetic purposes.
Click to expand...
In RE: to the OP Title, there were no denominations for 1000 years, then there was East and West. 500 years later, Martin Luther got his panties in a bunch and instead of working for reform within the Church, decided he would rather create a schism that has now, at least in the USA, snowballed into over 26K Protest-ant denominations on the government books. And, if I “feel called,” it’s perfectly legal for me to create my own denomination, be ordained as the minister of it online, and there we go, I can have my own custom flavor of Protestantism.

Yet, there is 1, True, Catholic Church that has come down from the Apostle’s who walked this very earth with Our Lord. Hmmmm.
(“One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church”) <— added this edit for clarity from the Creed

Oh, and I own a book (bought for apologetics ammo with my mother) by Jimmy Swaggart, that says Catholics and Christians aren’t the same, meaning he thinks Catholics aren’t Christians. Talk about putting a cart before a horse!
 
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