Jehovah’s Witness Convert

http://www.abouttherosary.com ^ | September 20, 2014 | Robbe Lyn Sebesta

[Religion Moderator]

Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.

[af_vet_1981]

So, we have a Jehovah's Witness (whom I think almost everyone here would agree is a cult that came out of a primited restorationist group. In comparable terms, earlier primitivist movements, including the Hussites,[6]:13 Anabaptists,[6]:125–135 Landmarkists,[6]:69–71 Puritans,[6]:50–55 and the Waldensians have been described as examples of restorationism, as have many seventh-day Sabbatarians.) who becomes a Catholic and kicks over the hornets' nest. As I read all the comments on Catholics and Catholicism, I'm left with the single question, if not Catholics, who ? Is there any other group of Gentiles (we know that Jews who believe in Jesus did not survive in the Jewish communities as local assemblies past some certain date but disappeared into the murky history or merged with the Gentiles who believed. Thus, we are left with almost 1500 years to cover from the first Church unto the "reformation" of the 16th Century.

I am weighing any claims of authentic New Testament (Baptist) churches to see if they meet the standard of being holy, catholic, and apostolic. The LORD Jesus Christ said And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles wrote Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Now, it could be that I find the position that each local church is a fortress and kingdom unto itself a bit foreign. I tend to think of it differently, like Klal Yisrael (All Israel Together) which is a concept that every Jew is his brother and his brother's keeper along the lines of Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Now we know from the Bible Baptist link I posted, if you regard it as credible, The name Independent Fundamental Baptist is of recent origin and came into being because many modern day Baptist churches have compromised the Word of God and are teaching and practicing false doctrines. ... Baptists are not Protestants. ... Independent Fundamental Baptist churches have fellowship one with the other and often cooperate in such endeavors as evangelism. ... In recorded church history there is not one incident of a Baptist church being founded out of Roman Catholicism. ... Protestant churches are "state" churches and supported to some degree by government imposed taxes. ... Although many Protestants returned in part to a belief in the Bible as their authority for their faith and practice, yet not one of them EVER completely left all the doctrinal errors and false teachings of the apostate Roman Catholic Church. There has never been even one Protestant church that is doctrinally pure following the example and polity of the New Testament. Protestant churches continue the unbiblical practice of infant baptism and grace plus works salvation. Protestants have never accepted the principle of separation of church and state. ... n discovering who the first Baptists were, you must first identify to whom you are referring. You could mean those people or churches which held to the Baptists beliefs although they may not have called themselves Baptists. Or second, you could be referring to those who held to Baptist beliefs and were called by the name Baptist. There are historians and even one Baptist denomination that claims an unbroken line of churches from the time of Christ and John the Baptist. etc.

And so we have one contestant who claims an unbroken like of apostolic succession, as it were, in direct opposition to the Catholic Church. I find this is a key distinction from Protestants. I want to know approximately how many of these churches there are, who really believe they are the only true NT churches descended from the Apostles (I see now that they themselves count this two ways: by the letter and in spirit), and whether they do in fact form a union with each other, or are we left with an odd assortment of "one man shows" ala Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church, or Bill Gothard who made a living but did not really have, or obey, a church, running his own business so to speak.