Why there are so many denominations and religions in the world

[KGM]

I have some relatives that call themselves christians. They don’t claim to follow a religion and don’t go to a church that considers itself to be a denomination. They don’t believe in a visible church. They believe that there is a group of people who are called believers which makes up the “church”. They believe the Catholic church went apostate way back in the 4th century and there are early signs of this in Galatians.

In a letter to my husband My sister-in-law tried to explain to him the reason why there are so many religions and denominations. In a nutshell she said that it is satan’s way of basically hiding the real true church of believers (which he is out to destroy so he can prevent the second coming). She says that satan is trying to hide the true church by creating a bunch of religions and denominations to mislead and misguide all people since Christ. She calls these churches counterfeits. She says that satan’s churches are empowered, but not by the Holy Spirit. She says these churches lead people to satan and to hell.

If her explanation is true (which I don’t believe it is) then it seems peculiar to me that God would from the time that Jesus left this earth make it so difficult to become one of these believers. For the first 1500 years the Catholic church was the only church on record to have guided christians. It was then at the time of the reformation that a bunch of denominations sprouted. We are now 2,000+ years from Jesus’ death. From what she claims it seems impossibole to me that this church of believers could not have existed during the time the Catholic church ruled for 1500 years. If this is the case, where is there any historical evidence that they did exist? Anyone out there know of any? And if this church of believers did not exist during the 1500 years prior to the reformation (but has since cropped up) then why has God made it so difficult for this church of believers to come to fruition. It would seem that the gates of hell prevailed against the church for 1500 years if this is the case (which cannot be because God’s word is true).

I am writing all of this because I become disgusted at times with these explanations. I write on this forum because there are few people I can talk to about this. I don’t know too many people who could offer feedback. So any comments would be appreciated.

KMG

 

[Malachi4U]

The faith of your relatives speaks for itself. Keep your "F"aith intact and follow Christ and the Church He established on earth, the Catholic Church.

PS, your relatives go to a nondenominational denomination church. Perhaps they should find out who and when their denomination was established and if it’s in apostacy? (It was most likely founded when their preacher started preaching or invented the opinions he has now?)

 

[Verbum]

Hi KGM,

From what she claims it seems [impossible] to me that this church of believers could not have existed during the time the Catholic church ruled for 1500 years

I’m not sure I understand what you mean. This Church of believers existed and still exists, because it has Christ’s unconditional guarantee that he is with us "until the end of times.

Could you expand?

Verbum

 

[KGM]

Verbum:

Hi KGM,

I’m not sure I understand what you mean. This Church of believers existed and still exists, because it has Christ’s unconditional guarantee that he is with us "until the end of times.

Could you expand?

Verbum

What I’m trying to say is this. My sister-in-law claims that the Catholic Church is an apostate church. She sees the church which Christ spoke of as being an invisible church of believers. Not an organized body. If the Catholic Church was the only christian church up to the time of the reformation, then my question to these people who believe in an invisible church is this: where was this church during this time? Were these believers part of the CC or did they operate outside the Church? Yes there existed the CC, but she would argue that this is not the true church because Christ never meant there to be an organized body called the Catholic church. She is a bible believing christian and has come to this conclusion from reading the bible.

In other words to her the Catholic church and the church of believers are two distinct groups and one is not the other. In my original post I questioned the existence of this church of believers (differentiating the two). I’m not arguing against the Catholic church as a group of believers. I’m arguing against the fact that some of these bible believing christians claim there to be an invisible church. Where were they in the first 1500 years of christianity? Why don’t we have historical evidence of their existence?

 

[Little_Mary]

I feel your pain, KGM. I, too, have a handul of in-laws and friends who believe in the invisible church and judge the Catholic faith based on inaccurate information they have been given.

In my experience, they **do not want to hear or consider that they may be wrong. ** I ask repeatedly for them to just listen. I assure them that they don’t have to agree - just acknowledge the accurate teaching. No They say. They turn a deaf ear.

It’s frusturating, infuriating, and heartbreaking. Let me know if you ever get through to any of them.

 

[Verbum]

Hi KGM,

Oh? An invisible Church? I have found a site that speaks to this. See. here.

However, I don’t think it’s much use arguing with these people. Pray for them and show them charity.

Verbum

 

[Scott_Lafrance]

In response to the title question, it is becuase Satan would rather have use fighting against each other than against him.

 

[KGM]

Nicely put. Thanks Scott. I do not argue with them however. An unevitable conversation came up once where I had to disagree with my sister-in-law. Other wise it would have appeared that I did agree. We attempted to lead into a discussion, but soon I realized it would lead to nowhere except her feeling victory over me because I could not defend myself with scripture (which I don’t know too well). We do not spend time on a regular basis arguing over our differences. Although I feel it is wise to be prepared to defend our faith if need be. However, it does not mean we need to end up arguing or disgusted with one another. In fact at one point in our discussion my sister-in-law became upset and stomped her foot and raised her voice. I immediately stopped the conversation and told her I would not take part in the discussion if she wanted to act like that. Unfortunately, due to the way the church has divided, we do need to spend time defending it.

 

[teresas1979]

Originally posted by KGM:
If the Catholic Church was the only christian church up to the time of the reformation

Their argument is that the Catholic Church had all the power and was therefore the only christian church you were allowed to belong to visibly. I don’t think it is so much an *invisible *church they believe in as much as that the church is all those people who are committed to Christ rather than an institution. The Catholic authority is re-inforced by the fact that people were murdered for disagreeing with Catholic teachings so to disagree was to stay in hiding. Therefore visibly the Catholic church was the only church people could belong to as those who openly denied its authority were killed

 

[puzzleannie]

check out the great apostasy threads, excellent resources and rebuttals there, but this entire notion is cultish so if your relatives embrace it they will not respond to reason because they are brainwashed. Read Search and Rescue by Patrick Madrid

 

[Charlemagne]

KGM:

And if this church of believers did not exist during the 1500 years prior to the reformation (but has since cropped up) then why has God made it so difficult for this church of believers to come to fruition.
KMG

I call the “reformation” “The Protestant Rebellion”. That’s when all kinds of splinter groups were set up by men who essentially set themselves up as “their own pope”. They didn’t believe that what the Bishop of Rome said was true, but believed what they said was true.

 

[buzzcut]

KGM:

They believe the Catholic church went apostate way back in the 4th century and there are early signs of this in Galatians

KGM, excuse my ignorance, but where exactly in Galations is this, according to them?

 

[Exporter]

KGM:

Nicely put. Thanks Scott. I do not argue with them however. An unevitable conversation came up once where I had to disagree with my sister-in-law. Other wise it would have appeared that I did agree. We attempted to lead into a discussion, but soon I realized it would lead to nowhere except her feeling victory over me because I could not defend myself with scripture (which I don’t know too well). We do not spend time on a regular basis arguing over our differences. Although I feel it is wise to be prepared to defend our faith if need be. However, it does not mean we need to end up arguing or disgusted with one another. In fact at one point in our discussion my sister-in-law became upset and stomped her foot and raised her voice. I immediately stopped the conversation and told her I would not take part in the discussion if she wanted to act like that. Unfortunately, due to the way the church has divided, we do need to spend time defending it.

---

It is written,“If they will not listen to the Gospel, shake the dust of that village from your feet, and begone”. Your sister-in-law must be looking for a mystical unseen Church, or she uses her argument to avoid a Real Church. She sounds like she is cult fodder.

Did she say thet it was in the 4th Century that the Catholic Church went astray? I wonder how she knows that.

 

[KGM]

buzzcut:

KGM, excuse my ignorance, but where exactly in Galations is this, according to them?

Good question. I had the same question after reading it myself. I could not understand what she meant either. I never did go back and ask her because, as mentioned in an earlier post, I was not prepared to back up the CC teachings using scripture. I did post a question in another thread if you go under search (I don’t know how to create a link to it) under KGM you’ll find it there.

KGM

 

[KGM]

buzzcut:

KGM, excuse my ignorance, but where exactly in Galations is this, according to them?

Good question. I had difficulty understanding what she meant also. I posted a question in this forum which you can view for yourself. I don’t know how to create a link, but you can find it in search under KGM.