Whom should a Protestant believe?

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BrianH

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If I were to decide Protestantism is just a bunch of hooey…

should I join the;

Catholic Church
Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodox
Assyrian Church of the East
To be fair, I think I should also include

The Old Catholic Church
SSPX(I live 2 blocks from one!)

All have Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture but yet they seem to disagree.
 
BrianH said:
If I were to decide Protestantism is just a bunch of hooey…

should I join the;

Catholic Church
Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodox
Assyrian Church of the East
To be fair, I think I should also include

The Old Catholic Church
SSPX(I live 2 blocks from one!)

All have Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture but yet they seem to disagree.
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That is a short list compared to the Protestants…

The only thing those Churches have in common is a belief in Apostolic Succession which is more Ancient than the Protestants which stem from the Reformation Period of 1517.

Catholic Church came out of 29-33 A.D.
Orthodox came out 1054 A.D.
SSPX came out of Vatican II.

I don’t know how the others you mention came about so I won’t say anything.
 
Mannyfit75 said:
That is a short list compared to the Protestants…

The only thing those Churches have in common is a belief in Apostolic Succession which is more Ancient than the Protestants which stem from the Reformation Period of 1517.

Catholic Church came out of 29-33 A.D.
Orthodox came out 1054 A.D.
SSPX came out of Vatican II.

I don’t know how the others you mention came about so I won’t say anything.
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I dont know Manny, the Orthodox think you guys split from them when the Roman church overasserted their authority…who am I to decide who is right??
 
Since I would want to belong to the Church Jesus founded, I would join only a Church that recognizes and submits to the authority of the successor of Peter - the Pope. It is that Church that Jesus called His Church.

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Rock (Peter), and on this rock I will build my church, …

Nita
 
BrianH said:
I dont know Manny, the Orthodox think you guys split from them when the Roman church overasserted their authority…who am I to decide who is right??
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Orthodox Church believes all bishops to be equal in authority, and together they make up the authority of the Church, but does not believe in One authority.

The Catholic Church is the only Church that has one Prime Minister, the Vicar of Christ, who will minister the sheep, whom Christ left behind. “Feed my sheep, feed my lamps.”

Orthodox does not fulfill the fullness of Christ’s Church, but the Catholic Church does.

Even the Orthodox Patriarch admits that the Pope is the key for Christian unification. I read that somewhere in Catholic.org news article.

So which Church should one go to? Let St. Ignatius give an answer.
St. Ignatius Letter to Smyrnaeans in 107-110 A.D):
You must all follow the lead of the bishop, as Jesus Christ followed that of the Father; follow the presbytery as you would the Apostles; reverence the deacons as you would God’s commandment. Let no one do anything touching the Church, apart from the bishop. Let that celebration of the Eucharist be considered valid which is held under the bishop or anyone to whom he has committed it. Where the bishop appears, there let the people be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the** Catholic Church**. It is not permitted without authorization from the bishop either to baptize or to hold an agape; but whatever he approves is also pleasing to God. Thus everything you do will be proof against danger and valid.
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As you can see. This quote is before 1054 A.D. There was no Orthodox Church then. The Church was One. It was a Catholic Church.

So which one is the True Church. What Church existed before 1054 A.D?

Was it Orthodox or Catholic?
 
I left the Eastern Orthodox Church because of the Primacy of Peter. That is the only reason. Even though I could go to an eastern rite church, I attend a roman rite one. The Norvous Ordo pales in comparison to the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - you won’t see female “altar servers” during that.
 
Mannyfit75 said:
Orthodox Church believes all bishops to be equal in authority, and together they make up the authority of the Church, but does not believe in One authority.

The Catholic Church is the only Church that has one Prime Minister, the Vicar of Christ, who will minister the sheep, whom Christ left behind. “Feed my sheep, feed my lamps.”

Orthodox does not fulfill the fullness of Christ’s Church, but the Catholic Church does.

Even the Orthodox Patriarch admits that the Pope is the key for Christian unification. I read that somewhere in Catholic.org news article.

So which Church should one go to? Let St. Ignatius give an answer.

As you can see. This quote is before 1054 A.D. There was no Orthodox Church then. The Church was One. It was a Catholic Church.

So which one is the True Church. What Church existed before 1054 A.D?

Was it Orthodox or Catholic?
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If I had only those two choices, there is no doubt in my mind I would chose the Orthodox because they resemble the early church better. As far as
Catholicism, I am not sure that Catholicism circa 2007 post Vatican II resembles your historic beliefs either. But thankfully I do not have to make THAT choice! I prefer your present beliefs because they are more ecumenical, don’t get me wrong please!
 
Nita said:
Since I would want to belong to the Church Jesus founded, I would join only a Church that recognizes and submits to the authority of the successor of Peter - the Pope. It is that Church that Jesus called His Church.

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Rock (Peter), and on this rock I will build my church, …

Nita
Click to expand...
Why were Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture not clear enough to avoid this split?
 
Find the Bishop of Rome and you will find the Church. That is one of the reasons Christ established the papacy.
 
BrianH said:
I don’t know Manny, the Orthodox think you guys split from them when the Roman church overasserted their authority…who am I to decide who is right??
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I would look into discerning “who left who”…

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (1Jn 2:19)

Did Catholics “leave” the Orthodox Church … or did the Orthodox leave the Catholic Church? Taking into consideration that the Eastern Churches fell into heresy during the Arian and Iconoclast controversies (while “Rome” stood alone in opposition to the same - maintaining the authority of the Pope to defend what is and isn’t “orthodox”) and later fully embraced the “Roman decisions” it seems to me that the Catholic Church in union with the See of St Peter - and it’s “assertion of authority” - is the original from which all others have left for whatever their various reasons.

Keep the Faith
jmt
 
BrianH said:
Why were Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture not clear enough to avoid this split?
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Because Authority in Christ’s Church is a “three legged stool” - the authority of Sacred Scripture, the authority of Sacred Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church (the Magesterium). Reject any one of the three and divisive error results - as the history of Christianity demonstrates.

Keep the Faith
jmt
 
BrianH said:
If I had only those two choices, there is no doubt in my mind I would chose the Orthodox because they resemble the early church better. As far as
Catholicism, I am not sure that Catholicism circa 2007 post Vatican II resembles your historic beliefs either. But thankfully I do not have to make THAT choice! I prefer your present beliefs because they are more ecumenical, don’t get me wrong please!
Click to expand...
Brian -

The truth is that if you were to convert to any of the churches you mention, you would be joining the Catholic Church. Even with all the schisms and cultural differences, they all contain the same doctrinal and structure. They all are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” Eph 2:19-20

Subrosa
 
Subrosa said:
Brian -

The truth is that if you were to convert to any of the churches you mention, you would be joining the Catholic Church. Even with all the schisms and cultural differences, they all contain the same doctrinal and structure. They all are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” Eph 2:19-20

Subrosa
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How much can you disagree and still be Catholic? Not a personal question but a rhetorical one.
Is it the Papacy? No, that does not do it.
The Immaculate Conception? No, that does not do it.
What does it? Apostolic succession?
Thanks, big question I know!
 
I won’t speak to the others, but beware the “Old Catholic Church”.

In our area, this “Church” consists of fallen away priests, and some pseudo-priests looking for flock. This church is NOT endorsed by the local diocese or the Vatican. They are popular in some circles because they supposedly will provide all the Catholic sacraments in a much shorter time than the real Catholic Church.

You want your kids baptized and don’t want to go to those silly classes, no problem.

You want married tomorrow, no problem.

You don’t want your kids to go through the diocesan mandated 2 year confirmation process, no problem.

Can’t receive the Eucharist at a real Catholic church because of your current marriage, or lack of it? No problem.

This is the “church” for check-box Catholics who want short cuts. Unfortunately, they are short cuts to nowhere.

.
 
Why were Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture not clear enough to avoid this split?
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This is like asking a Protestant: "why isn’t the Bible clear enough to avoid the various splits in the protestant christianity?

I would argue that it is not the Bible or Sacred Scripture – it is the people who for various reasons misunderstood or rejected them (out of pride or ignorance for example).
 
jay29 said:
I left the Eastern Orthodox Church because of the Primacy of Peter. That is the only reason. Even though I could go to an eastern rite church, I attend a roman rite one. The Norvous Ordo pales in comparison to the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - you won’t see female “altar servers” during that.
Click to expand...
Is there any special reason why you chose Latin Rite rather than Eastern Rite Catholic?
 
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