Yeah right. An invisible, disorganized, chaotic and scattered “church” led by men (all be they different men or women whatever the case may be) is somehow preferable?
No thanks. I’ll stick with the Fathers, Doctors and Saints of the visible One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Catholic Church founded by Jesus himself.
So you're Eastern Orthodox, then?
Yeah right. An invisible, disorganized, chaotic and scattered “church” led by men (all be they different men or women whatever the case may be) is somehow preferable?””
Local assemblies in fellowship with other theologically correct assemblies are indeed visible and not scattered. The Holy Spirit and the Savior do not leave us without guidance.
When an assembly goes astray, we cut it out like cancer.
In the Roman system, which was extracted from the Roman Empire’s structure and not Scripture, cancer is kept inside the assembly to spread.
I refer you to drug-fueled homosexual parties at the Vatican, cardinals and bishops of your hierarchy that support homosexuality, and pedaphile priests in seemingly every country who are supported, hidden and protected as they are shuffled into fertile fields of unsuspecting children. Even your hierarchical Pope (again not a NT church office) is a rogue leader.
In short, when the Empire system fails, but failures are coddled. In the Biblical system, disease is cut out to protect the assemblies.
“No thanks!” I’ll take the pattern of Scripture over a worldly system
Then you really should read all they wrote, on things like faith and works, which the FIRST Ekklesia Fathers wrote. Then dig into what later ‘church’ fathers wrote. Just regurgitating what recent Org leaders tell you believe is lazy and shows ‘not approved’.
Doncha just LOVE your Pope??!!
God apparently didn't have any problem with it as there is NOWHERE to be found in any Scripture the command to all come together under one head and follow that man.
Speaking of which, Roman Catholicism is all under one head, the pope, who is currently Pope Francis.
How's that being under one head working out for y'all? Cause I don't see that it's preferable to individual congregations in any way.
Matter of fact, the advantage of smaller groups is that if the leader goes off the rails, there are fewer people who are going to affected by that.
BTW, the church is the body of Christ.
One body, many parts. How is that *disorganized*?
1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.