Roman Catholicism: The One True Church?

Rapture Ready ^ | Stephen Meehan

[Old Yeller]

For years, growing up as a Roman Catholic, we were taught that we were members of the one true church. It was impressed upon us regularly by the parish priest during Mass while giving his homily; by the nuns all throughout my Catholic parochial school years of second through seventh grade.

It was impressed upon us during our preparation to receive for the first time the sacraments of Penance, Communion and Confirmation. And while attending CCD classes all the way through high school. (CCD is the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, an association established at Rome in 1562 for the purpose of giving religious education, normally designed for children.)

It was an established fact that we understood and we never questioned the validity of it. And to be honest, it was a matter of pride, that we were privileged enough to be members of the correct church, while all others had belonged to something else that didn’t quite measure up to the status of the Roman Catholic Church.

After all, how could it be possible that Roman Catholicism is not the one true church?

Look at what Rome has to offer: It has the priests, the nuns; the bishops; the cardinals; and of course, the Pope. They have the Sacraments; the statues; the holy water; the incense; the Stations of the Cross; the Eucharist - in which Chris supposedly physically manifests Himself into the wafer after the consecration by the priest during the Mass; the Marian apparitions—which appear mainly to Roman Catholics.

And they have the Vatican, where the Vicar of Christ (who they believe is Christ’s representative on earth), governs the faithful and makes infallible proclamations and doctrine. How can this not be the one true church? No other organization on the face of the earth comes close to offering to its flock what Rome provides for its faithful.

But, of course, to be true, one must adhere to what has been established as truth and not teach or practice what is contrary to the truth. We read in Scripture a few passages that declare what is truth and what is not. Jesus proclaimed in John 14:6:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.”

[Steelfish]

Well, here’s the short answer:

“Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works.”

-—the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 198

Catholic belief is succinctly expressed in the profession of faith or credo called the Nicene Creed:

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Steelfish,
I continue to wish you the best as I point out that this latest post appears to be more of what you always post.

I’ve asked you before to post the exact list of traditions Paul referred to. I’m still waiting for you to post it. Until you do, it is just one more factless claim of yours. It does not exist.

Even if there are people who are “shallow”, those are the people Christ died for. Not only that, they’re sinners too. Not only that, but there are huge numbers of them in Catholic churches too. Well, they would be there if they were part of the 12% of Catholics who attend services. They too need eternal life and are a mission field ripe for harvest.

I will continue to do my best to share His amazing Gospel of Grace that alone can give them eternal life. I wish the same for you.

Now please, I would truly like to see you post facts to support any of your claims. If not, I will continue to wish you the best and hope you hear His voice.

Best

[smvoice]

So several “truths” make up the “one truth” that you’re talking about? Where in the Nicene Creed will I find the gospel of the grace of God? Since that is the gospel that saves it seems it should be the ONE TRUTH of Christ, above all else.

[WVKayaker]

kayaker is kind. He calls “Catholics” cultist. I wonder what term he’d use to describe the vapid rot spewed by the likes of David Koresh, Joel Osteen, Billy Graham and the rest of the crowd?

Well, thanks for that "kind" reply.

I couldn't read most of that screed, but I saw a reference to my valid characterization of the Roman Catholic group as a cult. It is a group of people indoctrinated into the "traditions" that have ben told to ignore what they see in Scripture. Pay attention on Sunday and we will explain it.

While loaded (please notice that I took the time to format this reply) with verbiage, there is no content. That post just lumps a group of famous and infamous people, one of which is a most revered Christian evangelist of our day and expect everybody to see your wisdom and sincerity. Neither are displayed in that screed.

Please try and find some evidence to support your claims. Ad hominem, innuendo, and absolute are typical replies when one has no truth to reveal. In the meantime, the current batch of FRoman apologists are doing more trolling and seems to be the best they offer! That is most tragic.

Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

[metmom]

We have seen so-called mainline Protestant and Evangelical denominations ordaining married gay and lesbian pastors as apart of their interpretation of scriptural warrant, and sections of their congregations heading for the hills.

Ahem.....

Vatican appointee says gay sex can express Christ’s ‘self-gift’

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3292017/posts

Do yourself a favor and quit while you're ahead.....

[smvoice]

Ironically the “sections of their congregations heading for the hills” that humored steelfish are MILES above the RCCs, who, instead of running away, defend the indefensible with straight faces and no clue of the irony of their position.

[Mark17]

OK, that was FANTASTIC! You guys are great with this!

😇😄 Why, thank you. 😲😊

[CommerceComet]

Maybe after reading this you may like to take cover under a roc.

You had my hopes up for a moment but then as I proceeded along, I realized it was just the same old same old. Its like talking to a broken record. Someday, hopefully, you'll realize that insults, slogans, isolated quotes, unsupported assertions, non-sequiturs, etc. are not compelling argumentation regardless of the quantity. Despite the relative brevity of this response, I have already invested far more time than the substance of your post warranted.

I'll pray for you.

[DeprogramLiberalism]

Last post about the epistle of James (post #402 - other related posts are #213 and #338) we witnessed that James was simply flat-out wrong in his assertions about the rich. This next piece of evidence is an assertion that is flat-out wrong about God.

Ja.1.13b God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

This is another case in which nowhere else in Scripture is James’ assertion corroborated. In fact, in Genesis a case can be made that God clearly placed Adam and Eve in a position of temptation by placing them in the garden with access to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why would God have made the fruit appear “good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” if His purpose was not to place them in a position of temptation? If His purpose was the choice between the two trees then obviously the opportunity to choose the tree of knowledge of good and evil was presented as a tempting selection. And what about Job? Did not God place Job in the position of being tempted to “Curse God and die!” as his wife so succinctly put it? And of course in the most famous of all prayers, taught by Christ, “And lead us not into temptation.” If God did not lead into temptation, why would Jesus teach His disciples to pray that God not lead them into temptation? And one last event – what about when Christ was led out into the desert to be tempted by the devil?

Clearly God has utilized temptation as a tool to test men, and even His own Son. James was simply flat-out wrong. No, the epistle of James is not the result of the inspiration of God. James is not canonical. The RC church has been promoting a major canonical falsehood since “382 at the synod of Rome, under Pope Damasus I”. Just as James is a fraudulent so-called Scripture, so is the RC church a fraudulent so-called “one church”.

[DeprogramLiberalism]

>>>Maybe you don’t want to be taught by those instructed by Christ to teach His ONE truth. Maybe DeprogrammerLiberalism might be able to point to that ONE truth?<<<

One truth? Christ teaches lots of truths. Here's one.

===

Creation runs on the natural law of sowing and reaping.

Nothing can be sown without consequences being reaped.

Nothing can reaped without causes first being sown.

Everything is a reaping of what has been sown.

Everything that is sown generates a reaping.

===

You have sown sin and will reap the curse of condemnation through the Old Covenant Law.

God offers you a new contract (the New Covenant to replace the curse of the Old Covenant Law).

But first what has sown must be reaped, and what needs to be reaped must first be sown.

God responds by creating a new contract (the New Covenant) with mercy and grace.

Mercy is that Christ reaped the penalty of the curse of the Law on the cross that you have sown through sin.

Grace is that you reap the blessings of Christ that were sown in His resurrection.

===

Temporally, here's how it works.

You acknowledge the gift of a new contract - belief.

The gift is the opportunity to be right with God - righteousness.

Belief is the acceptance of the new contract that makes you right with God.

The gift is God offering you His hand - the New Covenant contract.

Belief is you offering your hand - the resulting handshake makes your relationship right with God - righteousness (the New Covenant).

If you withdraw from the contract by discontinuing belief, the New Covenant contract is no longer in effect for you.

Grace and mercy are only in effect in the new contract (the New Covenant).

Withdraw from that contract and you withdraw from the benefits of mercy and grace.

===

Creation runs on the law of sowing and reaping.

Therefore God cannot grant salvation to someone without fulfilling the natural law of sowing and reaping.

God cannot break his own law. And you cannot escape it. 

Mercy and grace are how God fulfills the natural law of sowing and reaping to provide salvation.

The curse must be reaped - mercy. The blessing must be sown - grace. Christ did both for us.

[Elsie]

Don’t you EVER preview your stuff before you post it?

[Elsie]

Hey!

Even this Prot can agree with that!

Nothing in there about Mary except and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

Nothing in there about Canonizing 'Saints'

Nothing in there about ANATHEMAs...

Nothing in there about "This is my blood"...

Nothing in there about 3 children seeing MAry in Portiugal...

You see what I'm getting at?

The NC is the utter simplification of what is believed NECESSARY!

Stick with the basics and you can do no wrong.

 

 

1 Corinthians 4:6
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit,

so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying,

 "Do not go beyond what is written."

Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.

[Elsie]

Don’t get all puffed up now!

They just sayin’ it ‘cause it’s true.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

David Koresh was about as far from “Protestant” as you can get. He declared HIMSELF “god.” Joel Osteen is a male Oprah. He even put a global looking “O” on his stage.

What I don’t understand is what Catholics have against Billy Graham. As far as I understand he’s always been a decent, honorable preacher. His son operates “Samaritan’s Purse,” a private charity that does some wonderful things.

Perhaps Catholics should spend more time dealing with those planks in their eyes such as Pelosi, Kerry, the Kennedys, etc...

[metmom]

Or this guy that the pope appointed......

Vatican appointee says gay sex can express Christ’s ‘self-gift’

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3292017/posts

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Paging Mr. Steelfish... please report to Aisle 4

We’re still waiting for your (claimed) list of authoritative traditions. You should have no problem showing it was compiled before 100 AD.

We need it desperately, to educate all the shallow Protestants on Free Republic, so we can in turn take it to the “protestant fish that swim in the shallow waters.”

Do they post the List of Inspired Traditions on the Vatican website? If so, you should be able to copy and paste it. If they have a link to actual pictures of this list from the archives, please post that too.

[ex-snook]

Yep, the one true Church representing God. That’s why it is continually under attack.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Yep, the one true Church representing God. That’s why it is continually under attack.”

So that is why the Protestant Church is under attack!

[MamaB]

You are right. Thanks.