 |

Home
Church Community
Statement of
Beliefs
Contact Us Search Our Site
Bible
Study Resource
|
 |
 |

Particulars
of Christianity:
301
Roman Catholicism
Roman
Catholicism (Part 1)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 1)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 2)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 3)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 4)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 5)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 6)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 7)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 8)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 9)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 10)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 11)
Roman
Catholicism (Part 12)
Addendum:
In Their Own Words
Introduction
The Roman Catholic Church boasts itself to be the true church
of Jesus Christ and the sole possessor of authentic Christian
teaching. It distinguishes itself from and discriminates against
all non-Roman-Catholic forms of Christianity on these grounds.
"Roman Catholicism - Christian church characterized
by its uniform, highly developed doctrinal and organizational
structure that traces its history to the Apostles of Jesus
Christ in the 1st century AD. Along with Eastern Orthodoxy
and Protestantism, it is one of the three major branches of
Christianity." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - From the time of the earliest
heresies the church has thought of itself as the one and only
worshiping community that traced itself back to the group
established by Jesus Christ." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - The claim of the Roman Catholic Church
to be the one legitimate continuation of the community established
by Jesus Christ is based on apostolic succession." - Britannica.com
Because the RCC (Roman Catholic Church) has been and is such
a significant contributor to modern theology, both Catholic
and Protestant, this claim deserves investigation by any Christian
who genuinely seeks to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and His
teaching.
In order to substantiate these claims the RCC must demonstrate
that its essential characteristics, in doctrine, in structure,
and in practice were evident in the first century Church,
the era in which the Apostles lived and taught. The history
of this period of the Church is largely restricted to the
New Testament record and a few epistles, which date to this
time. To be clear, it is not sufficient for the RCC to merely
demonstrate the existence of Roman Catholic traits in the
church of later antiquity (the 3rd and 4th centuries). It
is not sufficient for the RCC to demonstrate that Roman Catholic
scholars and clergy after the 3rd and 4th centuries claimed
that the RCC is the true church of Jesus Christ and the sole
possessor of authentic Christian teaching.
The prevalence of Roman Catholicism in the church of the 3rd
and 4th centuries does nothing to substantiate the claim that
the RCC is the authentic, original, and true church of Jesus
Christ and the sole possessor of authentic Christian teaching.
Likewise, the beliefs of 3rd and 4th century Roman Catholic
scholars and clergy that the RCC was the authentic, original,
and true church of Jesus Christ and the sole possessor of
authentic Christian teaching does nothing prove that RCC is,
in fact, such a thing. It only proves that Roman Catholic
scholars believed that it was.
In reality, evidence of Roman Catholicism in the 3rd and 4th
centuries only establishes that the RCC was a phenomenon or
development of that period. It cannot attest to the presence
of Roman Catholicism in the earliest Church or that Roman
Catholicism was proclaimed by Jesus Christ and His Apostles.
So, the principle question regarding the claims of the RCC
is whether or not Roman Catholicism is a product of the teachings
of Jesus Christ and His Apostles contained in the New Testament
record or is more accurately understood as a later phenomenon
or development. More specifically, with regard to this second
option, is Roman Catholicism a product of the 3rd and 4th
century merging of Roman imperialism and Neoplatonic paganism
with Christianity?
These questions can be answered by examining several fundamental
characteristics of Roman Catholicism and determining whether
they are derived from the teaching of Jesus Christ contained
in the New Testament or of Roman imperialism and Neoplatonic
paganism. As we examine the teachings of the RCC we will conclusively
demonstrate that while it is extremely difficult, if not completely
impossible, to derive Roman Catholicism from the New Testament
record of the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles,
there is more than ample evidence that Roman Catholicism is
a syncretistic blend of Christianity, Roman imperialism, and
Neoplatonic paganism.
Scripture and Tradition
As we begin our investigation it is first necessary to discuss
the New Testament scripture and the Sacred Tradition of the
RCC. Roman Catholicism recognizes two forms of authoritative
Christian writing or Apostolic teaching: 1) Sacred Scripture
and 2) Sacred Tradition.
"In order that the full and living Gospel might always be
preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their
successors. They gave them 'their own position of teaching
authority.'"35 Indeed, the apostolic preaching, which is
expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be
preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end
of time."36 This living transmission, accomplished
in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct
from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it.
Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life,
and worship perpetuates and transmits to every generation
all that she [the Church] herself is, all that she believes."37"
- The Catholic Catechism, Part 1, Section 1, Chapter 2, Article
2, Roman Numeral I, verses 35-37
"Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound
closely together and communicate one with the other. For
both of them, flowing out of the same divine well-spring,
come together in some fashion to form one thing and move
towards the same goal."40 Each of them makes present and fruitful
in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain
with his own "always, to the close of the age."41" - The Catholic
Catechism, Part 1, Section 1, Chapter 2, Article 2, Roman
Numeral II, verses 40 and 41
"Roman Catholicism - But against the Protestant slogan
of sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone"), itself subject to misinterpretation,
the Roman Catholic Church advanced the argument that the
church existed before the New Testament. In fact, the church
both produced and authenticated the New Testament as the word
of God. For this belief, at least, tradition is the exclusive
source; and this furnished a warrant for the Catholic affirmation
of the body of truth that is transmitted to the church through
the college of bishops and preserved by oral tradition (meaning
that it was not written in the Scriptures). The Roman Church
therefore affirmed its right to find out what it believed
by consulting its own beliefs as well as the Scriptures.
The Council of Trent affirmed that the deposit of faith
was preserved in the Scriptures and in unwritten (not in the
Bible) traditions and that the Catholic Church accepts these
two with equal reverence. The council studiously avoided
the statement that they meant these "two" as two sources of
the deposit, but most Catholic theologians after the council
understood the statement as meaning two sources. Protestants
thought it meant the Roman Catholic Church had written a second
Bible." - Britannica.com
For, Roman Catholics both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition
are written forms of Apostolic teaching, are inspired by the
Holy Spirit, and are equally authoritative for understanding
Christian belief and practice. With all of this in common
why are these two authoritative sources yet distinguished
from one another?
At least one reason for the continuing distinction between
the two is their relative proximity to Jesus Christ and His
Apostles. The New Testament was written by the Apostles of
Jesus as well as other first century, first generation Christians.
Tradition, on the other hand, is the continued recording of
ongoing Apostolic teaching by second, third, and later generation
Christian scholars, clergy, and leadership as they expounded
on the teachings of Jesus Christ. As such, Tradition starts
small with only a few existing first century works. In the
second century it gains momentum with a few more significant
writings such as Irenaeus and Justin Martyr. By the third
and fourth centuries the writing of Sacred Tradition was flourishing
through the efforts of men like Origen and Augustine. Since
then it has continued to be added to by popes, bishops, and
many prominent theologians.
What is important to state as we begin our investigation of
Roman Catholic claims is that this discussion will not, at
least at first, be predicated upon a denial of Sacred Tradition.
While we do reject the Roman Catholic view that Tradition
contains Apostolic teaching, is inspired, and is authoritative,
our refutation of the claims of the RCC will not be based
upon this conclusion. Instead, what we will be doing is examining
the record of Church teaching from the New Testament and the
early 1st and 2nd century writings of "Sacred Tradition" to
see if they reveal a Roman Catholic Church or are conflicting
with Roman Catholicism.
If we find evidence of Roman Catholicism within the 1st and
2nd century Church writings we may conclude that the RCC is,
in fact, the true church of Jesus Christ and the sole possessor
of authentic Christian teaching. However, if sufficient evidence
of Roman Catholicism cannot be found in these early 1st and
2nd century writings, but does not emerge until the 3rd or
4th centuries, then we will conclude that the RCC is merely
a later phenomenon and seek to find those sources, which contributed
to its development.
We will show four things over the course of this examination.
First we will show that the writings of the 1st and 2nd century
Church do not support the claims of the RCC, regardless of
whether or not they are considered authoritative. Second,
by extension, the claims and teachings of the RCC can only
be found in "Sacred Tradition" as we approach the 3rd and
4th centuries A.D. Third, those writings of "Sacred Tradition,"
which do contain distinctly Roman Catholic characteristics
or claims constitute a clear contradiction within Roman Catholicism
by contradicting the Sacred Scripture, which the RCC itself
upholds to be the inspired, authoritative, and inerrant Word
of God. And fourth, Roman Catholicism is only accurately understood
as a syncretistic blending of Christianity into Roman imperialism
and Neoplatonic paganism.
(For more on the idea of ongoing Apostolic teaching and the
development of Christian doctrine please see our article entitled
"The Foundation of Our Theology" in either the Our Approach
or In-Depth Studies sections of our website.)
A Disclaimer about the Protestant Reformation
As a disclaimer, it is not our intention to validate the claims
of Protestantism and the Reformation. While this task may
inadvertently be accomplished to some degree due to the nature
of our study, we do not consider ourselves to be Reformers
or Protestants. To be sure, we are grateful to Reformation
scholars who did so much to pull the Church away from the
deviant developments of Roman Catholicism and allow a return
to authentic Christian teaching. There is no greater accomplishment
of the Reformation than their affirmation of the sole authority
of the Scriptures for forming sound Christian doctrine (in
addition to the essential doctrine of sola fide, salvation
by faith alone).
As a movement, however, the objections and objectives of the
Reformation do miss the mark. In seeking simply to REFORM
only some of the more egregious Roman Catholic tangents, Reformation
leaders wholly adopted large doctrinal and philosophical elements
of Roman Catholicism. In doing so they incorporated no small
number of unsound theological traditions, beliefs, and practices,
which continue to be proliferated in modern Christianity today,
in both Roman Catholic and Protestant circles alike. Chief
among these are 1) the notion that orthodoxy is developed
through a gradual process of doctrinal crises rather than
being intact and understood from the onset of Christianity,
2) the acceptability of Christianizing pagan religious ideologies
and customs, and 3) the subjective spiritualization (allegorizing)
of Christian teaching contained in God's Word.
Instead of a Reformation, what was needed then and is still
needed today is a restoration. Instead of merely reforming
some undesirable developments what we need is a restoration
of original, authentic, and true Christian teaching, not just
in part, but in whole. We need to not simply reform bad theological
constructs into better ones, but completely abandon all beliefs
and practices, which not being founded in the teachings of
Jesus Christ and His Apostles were developed by other men,
however well-intentioned, in the 1,900 years plus since.
While the Protestant Reformation is the chief historical movement,
which has provided for Christians in the west to break free
of Roman Catholicism, we do not consider ourselves to be Protestants
or Reformers. We appreciate the contributions of Reformation
scholars, but our interest is not in validating or affirming16th
century Reformation theology, but returning to the 1st century
Christian teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. It is
this goal, which forms the basis for this examination of Roman
Catholicism and its claims to possess that teaching.
(For more information on our critique of Protestant Theology
please see the other articles on this website, specifically
in the In-Depth Bible Studies, Our Approach, and Brief Word
On sections.)
Apostolic Succession and Roman Papal Authority - the Superiority
of Peter
Analysis of Scriptural Evidence
One of the chief defining characteristics of Roman Catholicism
is its claim that the pope is the successor of the Apostle
Peter, who was appointed by Jesus as the leader of the Apostles
and of the Church. The RCC claims that this position bestows
upon the pope doctrinal authority over the Church and interpretational
authority over the Scriptures. This power ultimately rests
in the pope alone, but is supported and to a lesser extent
shared by the bishops of the RCC. In other words, through
the pope, the RCC claims the sole authority to pronounce what
the true teachings of Jesus Christ are.
The following series of quotes will affirm this decisively.
"Roman Catholicism - The multiplicity and variety of
papal titles themselves indicate the complexity of the papal
office. In the Annuario Pontificio, the official Vatican
directory, the pope is described as bishop of Rome, vicar
of Jesus Christ, successor of the prince of the Apostles,
pontifex maximus ("supreme pontiff") of the universal
church, patriarch of the West, primate of Italy, archbishop
and metropolitan of the Roman province, sovereign of the state
of Vatican City, and servant of the servants of God. In his
more circumscribed capacities as bishop of Rome, metropolitan
of the Roman province, primate of Italy, and patriarch of
the West, the pope is the bearer of responsibilities and the
wielder of powers that have their counterparts in the other
episcopal, metropolitan, primatial, and patriarchal jurisdictions
of the Roman Catholic Church. What differentiates his particular
jurisdiction from these others and renders his office unique
is the Roman Catholic teaching that the bishop of Rome is
at the same time successor to St. Peter, prince of the Apostles.
As the bearer of the Petrine office, he is raised to a
position of lonely eminence as chief bishop or primate of
the universal church." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - Basic to the claim of primacy
is the Petrine theory, according to which Christ, during
his lifetime, promised the primacy to Peter alone, and, after
his Resurrection, actually conferred that role upon him.
Thus John 1:42 and, especially, Matthew 16:18 f.: "And I tell
you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Also John 21:15 f.: "Feed
my lambs . . . Tend my sheep." Vatican I, in defining the
Petrine primacy, cited these three texts, interpreting them
to signify that Christ himself directly established St. Peter
as prince of the Apostles and visible head of the Church Militant,
bestowing on him a primacy not merely of honour but of true
jurisdiction. In defining also that the Petrine primacy
was, by Christ's establishment, to pass in perpetuity to his
successors and that the bishops of Rome were these successors,
Vatican I cited no further scriptural texts. In defining
further, however, that the Roman pontiffs, as successors
in the Petrine primacy, possess the authority to issue
infallible pronouncements in matters of faith or morals,
the council cited both Matthew 16:18 f. and Christ's promise
to Peter at the Last Supper: "But I have prayed for you that
your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen
your brethren" (Luke 22:32)." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - The Roman Catholic Church claims
for itself a teaching authority that is unparalleled in the
Christian community…To teach with authority means that
the teacher is able to impose his doctrine upon the listener
under a religious and moral obligation. This moral obligation
does not flow from the nature of teaching, which of itself
imposes no obligation upon the learner; the learner is
morally obliged only to assent to manifest truth. Instead
it flows from the understanding that the Roman Church derives
its teaching authority from the commission given by Jesus
to the Apostles as contained in the New Testament ("He who
hears you hears me"). But whereas the response of the
hearers of the Apostles was faith, the response of the Roman
Catholic is expected to go beyond faith. The Apostles were
presumed to speak to those who did not yet believe, whereas
the Roman Catholic Church imposes its teaching authority only
upon its members. The definition of the teaching authority
must show that these modifications do not exceed the limits
of legitimate doctrinal development." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - The teaching authority is not
vested in the whole church but in certain well-defined organs.
These organs are the hierarchy-the pope and the bishops.
The Roman Catholic Church traditionally has divided the church
into "the teaching church" and "the listening church." Clergy
below the hierarchical level are included in "the listening
church," even though they are the assistants of the bishops
in the teaching office. The hierarchy alone teaches what
the Roman Catholic Church calls "authentic" doctrine."
- Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - The Roman pontiff is vested
with the entire teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church;
this was solemnly declared in the first Vatican Council.
This means that he is the only spokesman for the entire Roman
Church; the papacy carries in itself the power to act as
supreme pastor. It is expected that he will assure himself
that he expresses the existing consensus of the church, but
in fact the documents of the first Vatican Council are
open to the understanding that the pope may form the consensus
by his utterance." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - What is taught by all the bishops
is authentic doctrine; it is understood that they teach in
communion with the Roman pontiff, and a conflict of doctrine
on this level is simply not regarded as a possibility.
This consensus of the bishops is known as "the ordinary teaching."
"The extraordinary teaching" signifies the solemn declaration
of an ecumenical council, which is the assembly of the bishops,
or the most solemn type of papal declaration, known as a definition
of doctrine ex cathedra ("from the throne"), a term that
signifies that the declaration exhibits the marks of the teaching
of the supreme pastor addressed to the universal church."
- Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - The first Vatican Council declared
that the pope, when he teaches solemnly and in the area of
faith and morals as the supreme universal pastor, teaches
infallibly with that infallibility that the church has.
The infallibility of the church has never been defined, and
its extent is understood by theologians in the sense of pontifical
infallibility as limited to faith and morals." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - The object of authentic teaching
is defined as "faith and morals." Faith means revealed
truth. Morals theoretically means revealed moral principles,
but it has long been understood as moral judgment in any area
of human conduct." - Britannica.com
"Roman Catholicism - Dogma is the name given to
a proposition that is proclaimed with all possible solemnity
either by the Roman pontiff or by an ecumenical council.
A dogma is a revealed truth that the Roman Catholic Church
solemnly declares to be true and to be revealed; it is
most properly the object of faith." - Britannica.com
"Pope - Doctrinally, in Catholic churches, the pope
is regarded as the successor of St. Peter, who was head
of the Apostles. The pope, as bishop of Rome, thus is seen
to have full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the universal
church in matters of faith and morals, as well as in church
discipline and government." - Britannica.com
"Pope - The teaching of the Second Vatican Council
(1962-65) on the role of bishops counterbalanced the emphasis
on papal prerogatives while maintaining the view that the
authority of the bishops as a body cannot be separated from
that of the pope as its head." - Britannica.com
"Peter the Apostle, Saint - died c. AD 64, Rome
original name Simeon, or Simon disciple of Jesus Christ, recognized
in the early Christian church as the leader of the disciples
and by the Roman Catholic church as the first of its unbroken
succession of popes." - Britannica.com
"Papacy - office of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic
Church. He is pope by reason of being bishop of Rome and
thus, according to Roman Catholic belief, successor
in the see of Rome (the Holy See) to its first bishop,
St. Peter. The pope therefore claims to be the shepherd
of all Christians and representative (vicar or vicegerent)
of Christ. The claim of Petrine supremacy and (by virtue
of Peter's connection to Rome) Roman supremacy, is based on
Matthew 16:18-19. Papal supremacy is not acknowledged outside
the Roman Catholic Church. That church further holds that
God will not permit the pope to make an error in a solemn
official declaration concerning a matter of faith or morality
(see infallibility)." - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. 2001.
"Infallibility - Roman Catholics hold that the infallibility
of the church is vested in the pope, when he speaks ex cathedra
(i.e., from the chair of Peter, as the visible head of the
church) on matters of faith and morals. Definitive
pronouncements resulting from an ecumenical council, when
ratified by the pope, are also held to be infallible. The
pope speaks ex cathedra only rarely and after long deliberation.
The dogma of papal infallibility was enunciated by the
First Vatican Council (1870)." - The Columbia Encyclopedia,
Sixth Edition. 2001.
"The Church - It has been seen that Christ not only
established the episcopate in the persons of the Twelve but,
further, created in St. Peter the office of supreme pastor
of the Church. Early Christian history tells us that before
his death, he fixed his residence at Rome, and ruled the
Church there as its bishop." - Catholic Encyclopedia
"The Pope - The title pope, once used with far greater
latitude (see below, section V), is at present employed
solely to denote the Bishop of Rome, who, in virtue of his
position as successor of St. Peter, is the chief pastor of
the whole Church, the Vicar of Christ upon earth." - Catholic
Encyclopedia
"The Pope - We have shown in the last section that
Christ conferred upon St. Peter the office of chief pastor,
and that the permanence of that office is essential to the
very being of the Church. It must now be established that
it belongs of right to the Roman See. The proof will fall
into two parts: (a) that St. Peter was Bishop of Rome,
and (b) that those who succeed him in that see succeed
him also in the supreme headship." - Catholic Encyclopedia
"The Pope - History bears complete testimony that
from the very earliest times the Roman See has ever claimed
the supreme headship, and that that headship has been freely
acknowledged by the universal Church." - Catholic Encyclopedia
"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the
Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of
Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching
office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is
exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." 47 This means that
the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops
in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome."
- The Catholic Catechism, Part 1, Section1, Article 2, Roman
Numeral III, Verses 47 and 48
Britannica.com, the Columbia Encyclopedia, the Catholic Encyclopedia,
and the Catholic Catechism all repeatedly inform us in clear
terms that Roman Catholicism claims the following facts:
1. Jesus appointed the Apostle Peter to a position
of sovereignty over the other Apostles and over the Church.
2. Jesus conferred upon Peter the authority to determine
what Church doctrine is.
3. Peter was bishop of Rome.
4. Peter recognized that he was to pass this unique
office and authority on to successive bishops of Rome, who
would also hold this same authority over the Church and over
Church doctrine, and so he did.
The Catholic Encyclopedia expresses the crucial importance
of this doctrine in the following quote.
"The Pope - The position of St. Peter after the Ascension,
as shown in the Acts of the Apostles, realizes to the full
the great commission bestowed upon him. He is from the first
the chief of the Apostolic band -- not primus inter pares,
but the undisputed head of the Church (see CHURCH, THE, III).
If then Christ, as we have seen, established His Church
as a society subordinated to a single supreme head, it follows
from the very nature of the case that this office is perpetual,
and cannot have been a mere transitory feature of ecclesiastical
life. For the Church must endure to the end the very same
organization which Christ established. But in an organized
society it is precisely the constitution which is the essential
feature. A change in constitution transforms it into a society
of a different kind. If then the Church should adopt a
constitution other than Christ gave it, it would no longer
be His handiwork. It would no longer be the Divine kingdom
established by Him. As a society it would have passed through
essential modifications, and thereby would have become a human,
not a Divine institution. None who believe that Christ came
on earth to found a Church, an organized society destined
to endure for ever, can admit the possibility of a change
in the organization given to it by its Founder. The same conclusion
also follows from a consideration of the end which, by Christ's
declaration, the supremacy of Peter was intended to effect.
He was to give the Church strength to resist her foes, so
that the gates of hell should not prevail against her. The
contest with the powers of evil does not belong to the Apostolic
age alone. It is a permanent feature of the Church's life.
Hence, throughout the centuries the office of Peter must
be realized in the Church, in order that she may prevail
in her age-long struggle. Thus an analysis of Christ's
words shows us that the perpetuity of the office of supreme
head is to be reckoned among the truths revealed in Scripture.
His promise to Peter conveyed not merely a personal prerogative,
but established a permanent office in the Church. And in this
sense, as will appear in the next section, His words were
understood by Latin and Greek Fathers alike." - Catholic
Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia speaks correctly in identifying
the critical significance of this subject for the Church.
Several statements deserve to be highlighted and kept in mind
as we continue our study.
For, the record the Catholic Encyclopedia asserts that:
1. "The Church must endure to the end the very same
organization which Christ established."
2. "If then the Church should adopt a constitution
other than Christ gave it, it would no longer be His handiwork.
It would no longer be the Divine kingdom established by Him.
As a society it would have passed through essential modifications,
and thereby would have become a human, not a Divine institution."
3. "None who believe that Christ came on earth to found
a Church, an organized society destined to endure for ever,
can admit the possibility of a change in the organization
given to it by its Founder."
From these quotes we understand that according to the Catholic
Encyclopedia any organization which deviates, changes from,
or adopts an organization of the Church different from that
which was originally intended by Jesus Christ is illegitimate.
These are pretty strong terms. We do not however object to
the Catholic Encyclopedia in this matter, but instead voice
our wholehearted agreement. If then, our study reveals that
the Roman Catholic church has adopted an organization for
the Church which is different from that taught by Jesus Christ
and His Apostles and exhibited in the earliest Church, then
according the Catholic Encyclopedia, Roman Catholicism is
an illegitimate body, which is not the handiwork of Christ,
but is merely a human, rather than divinely mandated institution.
So, if Roman Catholicism is the true Church of Jesus Christ
and possesses the true teachings of Jesus Christ then we should
be able to verify these claims in the New Testament record
and in the writings of early the Church. We will start first
with the scripture and then proceed to investigate other early
Church writings.
(Continued in next section.)
|
 |
|
 |

|
 |