Why can't people see how Protestantism has led to a confusion of Christian doctrine?
I see a lot of people questioning the most basic principles of what it means to be a Christian. For example, the divinity of Christ.
This is because they have no earthly shepherd with authority given by God. In other words, they have no pope. It's every man and woman to fend for themselves in this world which has Satan roaming around looking for people to confuse.
Protestants are left with the confusing task of trying to reinvent Christianity.
As a result, we now have over 33,000 conflicting and competing Protestant denominations trying to say what it means to be a "Christian". But not one of these has any apostolic authority.
Christ founded only one Church. Look into history and do a process of elimination to which Church has been universally united in doctrine for the past 2,000 years.
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Martin Luther was an anti-Semite... Someone that breeds hate (for Jews and Catholics) is bound to disrupt the entire meaning of anything they're trying to teach..
Are these the only reasons for you to be against Protestantism? I didn't hear you say anything about being worried about people, their faith, and in what will bring them closer to God. Maybe, protestants are just as fed up with control as many Catholics. Pious attitudes will turn anyone off and especially if love is not at the core.
I agree. It always struck me a stupid. If I were a Christian I'd have to be Catholic.
I don;t see how you can say you believe in Scripture Alone and reject the authority of the men who chose which books went into those scriptures. If you believe the book, you have recognized the authority of the people who put it together.
Also, what do they think, truth was gone from the earth for 1400 years until Martin Luther arose? Who they then disagree with on most things.
He said he was founding one church and it was Catholic? Where?
Even if he had, I wouldn't trust the passage, it wouldn't be consistent with anything else he said.
How could there possibly be confusion with about 40,000 to 50,000 different Christian Denominations with as many different theologies and self-interpretation of scripture? Oh yeah, they can't all be right, can they?
You must be a Catholic. Don't you realize that when Jesus died, the veil was ripped in two and that signified that we no longer had to go through a priest to get to God??? That is my main problem with the Catholic faith, you put SO much faith in a man behind a curtain to absolve you of your sins. He can't forgive you no more than my Baptist pastor can. Only Jesus can forgive you.
I'm glad I don't have a pope sitting in a foreign country telling ME how to live my life and how to run our church. The audacity of it all; he has no clue what it means to be an American Catholic, so why do you listen to him? Oh he's your earthy shepherd. Well, Jesus is the only shepherd you need.
He founded only one Church but that church is not a specific building, denomination or leadership
the "Church" are the people who truly believe in Christ and give their lives to Him - God will not be asking what was your denomination when you die - He will be asking did you believe that Jesus died for your sins
The Pope taught his people, that Protestant churches "don't count" apparently. (At least according to the Catholics I know). So, I'm not too big on the Catholic faith. I was taught to only pray to God. No special prayers to Mary etc. We are to worship one God. That's what I believe. How do we know for sure that God chose the Pope and not a group of Catholics in a high position? I'm sorry but after going to the services a few times and being told my church doesn't count it left a bad taste in my mouth for it. My church believes any church that believes in God counts! I'd rather be where we aren't judging everyone as the Bible tells us not to do.
If you start a club and tell everybody you're coming right back, you shouldn't be surprised that some 71 thousand days later a few splinter groups have shot up.
But, you know, Protestantism arose out of the hypocrisy and idiocy of the Catholic Church. Come on, selling indulgences? Paying money to get people's souls out of hell? Is that really was Jesus was all about? Or had your own church, the Catholic Church, turned Christianity into a huge money machine?
Have you ever thought
that; is the way God wants it.
I guess you don't think He is in the world today.
Not involved in today.
Far away pie in the shy.
By and By.
Dude I can see it. But Catholics disagree on alto too. I found out here on Yahoo Answers that some catholics think the sign of peace is bad liturgy at mass. And some nut job in Kansas declared himself the true Pope. I don't follow the Church's teachings solely because I believe the Church is Apostolic. I follow them because I believe they are true. And some teachings I wish would change and I bet they will during my lifetime. I guess I think like a protestant that way. Ever church has her place, and God bless them all. Spiritual growth can be compared to physical or mental growth. Some people do better at a different gym, some people grow faster at a different school. Why can't the same be true of religion? The Pope said we do not have a monopoly on truth.
So funny! But for many Christians, so typical. (Shakes head.)
Cath: I'm right.
Prot: No, I'm right.
Cath: No, I'm right.
Prot: No, I'm right. ... ad infinity. [Yer both wrong.]
I agree with you except for the last point. Roman Catholics are notorious for claiming Jesus of Nazareth instituted the Roman Catholic Church. He did not! The Church is the only authentic Western Christian institution, however, the Eastern Orthodox Churches are equally valid, so be careful. Rome has ALWAYS claimed a supremacy over the East that it does Not have.
There is no scriptural basis in the Bible for the office of the Pope. Jesus said call no man Father. In the first 3 centuries and actually beyond that, all the Bishops were equal. There are no instructions anywhere in the Bible for naming a successor to Peter. All he did was preach the first sermon. Do what he said in Acts 2, and you will be a part of the true church.
PS. it's not whether I'm right or you are right, but the Bible is right, if you are not in line with the Bible, you are not right.
I am thinking you wanted a reply so here goes. I am one of these reinventing confused unguided pope less protestants.
GOD became flesh and died on the cross to redeem a lost and dieing world back to himself. Once we accept Jesus finished work on the cross as atonement for our sins then we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit or another form of GOD himself. This is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and the same Spirit that will guide us into all truth.
If we can agree on this point then I have some news for you.
You are my brother. I will see you in Heaven weather you like it or not. You and I are saints. We are a royal priesthood. A peculiar people. The children of GOD. We sir are the body of Christ. We are the one true Church. We are the believers. There will be many Catholics in Hell. There will be many Protestants in Hell also. It will all come down to our relationship with GOD through Jesus Christ. If you were standing in front of me I would kiss you on your cheek and hug you until you realized we are family. By the way. I'm a Southern Baptist.
May the Lord richly bless you.
Satan has fragmented the church. The protestant movement sought to educate people in the word of God. If it we're for the Protestant movement we would still be ignorant of His word because it would still be considered a sin to have the Bible translated into any other language than Latin.
On the subject of the Pope, I'm really not interested in having any association with any man on earth (other than Jesus himself) who thinks he's infallible, God's lone representative on earth and thinks he's so powerful that he can even cast angels out of heaven.
I believe the concept of "so la Scripture" (scripture alone). We will be united if we all read God's word and follow Him. Because of our sinful condition we will probably not reach this goal on earth but the Bible says we will all worship and be as one in heaven. All means Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, etc. etc. etc. together. God's people (and He knows who they are" will all be saved because that's why Jesus died. Everyone will be saved because of their own personal heartfelt relationship with God, not because the follow a pope or a pastor. God knows what's in our hearts and what's in there in relation to God will determine whether someone is saved or not.
Oh Golly! With respect I suggest you read history of Christianity much more closely and critically. Christ didn't establish a "Christian" Church, with or without a Pope. He seems to have set out rather to reform Judaism. The edifice we know now as Christianity, in all its forms from Roman Catholicism to Eastern Orthodox, Protestentism, and weirder variants, is man-made - as are most of the beliefs and interpretations supporting each one. How would one argue that the statements of an RC Pope are more valid than the declarations of a Buddhist Dalai Lama for instance? The authority of the Pope is based on beliefs (which is different from faith, which has no assumptions or expectations). Beliefs are merely things we are told. The Buddhist offers propositions which can be argued on evidence - with "beliefs" used as discard able aids to the process of acquiring insight (which is more challenging than mere belief). I don't think you can ascribe social decay to abandonment of the RC Church and Papal Authority, any more than to the abandonment of the Gods and Priests of Ancient Greece or Rome. You might consider that, perhaps? Good life.
Confusion of Christian doctrine? Protestants? Apostolic authority? Wow you must be kidding. Since I assume you are serious please let me respond in kind.
You don't think that Catholics have contributed to the confusion of what it means to be a Christian? For the Catholic, salvation does not come through personally receiving Christ as Savior but is a lengthy process that begins with baptism and thereafter depends upon ones continued relationship to the Church. Salvation comes through participation in the sacraments, penance, good works, suffering for ones sins and the sins of others here and/or in purgatory, indulgences to reduce time in purgatory, and almost endless masses and Rosaries said on ones behalf even after ones death. Yeah that's not confusing.
What about the Church's claim to an unbroken line of Apostolic succession?
-This is the sole Church of Christ which in the creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Savior, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it...
The Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter, is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.-
-Vatican II
The claim that the popes are the successors of the apostle Peter is the cornerstone of Roman Catholicism. Is there actually an unbroken line of 264 popes succeeding Peter?
For apostolic succession to occur, each pope must choose his own successor and personally lay hands on him and ordain him. This was the procedure when Paul and Barnabas were sent forth by the church at Antioch on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:3). Timothy's appointment to the ministry was also by the elders laying hands upon him (1Timothy 4:14), as did Paul when he imparted a special gift to Timothy (2Timothy 1:6). This biblical procedure, however, has never been followed with regard to successors of the bishops of Rome or the popes. A pope's successor is chosen not by him, but after his death by others; and it has most often been done in the most ungodly manner.
Furthermore, there is no record that Peter was ever Bishop of Rome, and therefore no Bishop of Rome could ever possibly be his successor. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (178-200), provided a list of the first 12 Bishops of Rome. Linus was the first. Peter's name does not appear. Eusebius of Cesaria, the Father of Church history, never mentions Peter as Bishop of Rome. He simply Say's that Peter came to Rome "about the end of his days" and was crucified there. Paul, in writing his epistle to the Romans, greets many people by name, but not Peter. That would be a strange omission if Peter had been living in Rome, and especially if he were it's Bishop.
Few Catholics know that popes quarreled and fought with one another, excommunicated one another, and sometimes even killed each other. It is difficult to find even a few among the popes after the fifth century who exhibited the basic Christian virtues. Their lives as recorded in the Catholic Encyclopedia read like an unbelievable soap opera of lust, madness, mayhem, and murder. Nevertheless, all of these master criminals, poisoners, adulterers, and mass murderers are considered to have been infallible when they spoke ex cathedral.
But I digress. You are right in that Jesus founded only one Church. A Church in which He alone is the head, not a pope or any other man. But the Roman Catholic Church itself denies this claim.
-Every cleric must obey the Pope, even if he commands what is evil; for no one may judge the Pope.
-Pope Innocent III (1198-1216)
So ask yourself this, who is it that is guilty of trying to reinvent Christianity? Stop placing the blame on ism's and schism's, and open your eyes to the role in which we all have played. It's not about Catholics or Protestants, it's about Jesus Christ and His Church (the body of believers, the faithful).
Blessings!
Protestants being thus impious enough to make liars of Jesus Christ, of the Holy Ghost, and of the Apostles, need we wonder if they continually slander Catholics, telling and believing worse absurdities about them than the heathens did? What is more absurd than to preach that Catholics worship stocks and stones for gods; set up pictures of Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints, to pray to them, and put their confidence in them; that they adore a god of bread and wine; that their sins are forgiven by the priest, without repentance and amendment of life; that the pope or any other person can give leave to commit sin, or that for a sum of money the forgiveness of sins can be obtained ? To these and similar absurdities and slanders, we simply answer: "Cursed is he who believes in such absurdities and falsehoods, with which Protestants impiously charge the children of the Catholic Church. All those grievous transgressions are another source of their re probation."
Why can't people see how Protestantism has led to a confusion of Christian doctrine?
