This is truly a blessing! Thank you for sharing it. Rest assured of my prayers.
Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most of today’s Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.)
Wonderful link. I didn't know that precious little book was on the web! Thanks.
Just like the issue of salvation outside of the RCC above, you are wrong about what caused this split.
"the Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054."
"The Great Schism" was due to two basic arguments on which these two bishoprics could not agree. A new roman bishop was trying to consolidate his power by declaring the primacy of his bishopric in Rome. But that wasn't the real problem.
In those days the issue of the procession of the Holy Spirit was accepted as a perfect triune relationship. eg. Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the HS coming from co-equal contributions from both the Father and the Son.
This new roman bishop decided to throw his weight around. So, he deliberitly issued an inflammatory letter proclaiming that the HS only followed from the Father through the Son and then on down to the Holy Spirit.
God is suddenly perfect not triune, He's deconstructed by this man from Rome, made up of unequal parts.
Why was this a big deal? In the Eastern Church they had spent the last 500 plus years fighting against this same heresy in the Arian churches, this statement was and still is an abomination.
Now you know the truth, maybe you might open your eyes to other issues that are being used by the enemy to divide us. That's my prayer anyway. Agape, DrMike
Just like the issue of salvation outside of the RCC above, you are wrong about what caused this split.
"the Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054."
"The Great Schism" was due to two basic arguments on which these two bishoprics could not agree. A new roman bishop was trying to consolidate his power by declaring the primacy of his bishopric in Rome. But that wasn't the real problem.
In those days the issue of the procession of the Holy Spirit was accepted as a perfect triune relationship. eg. Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the HS coming from co-equal contributions from both the Father and the Son.
This new roman bishop decided to throw his weight around. So, he deliberitly issued an inflammatory letter proclaiming that the HS only followed from the Father through the Son and then on down to the Holy Spirit.
God is suddenly perfect not triune, He's deconstructed by this man from Rome, made up of unequal parts.
Why was this a big deal? In the Eastern Church they had spent the last 500 plus years fighting against this same heresy in the Arian churches, this statement was and still is an abomination.
Now you know the truth, maybe you might open your eyes to other issues that are being used by the enemy to divide us. That's my prayer anyway. Agape, DrMike
This is a totally untrue statement.
Cardinal Hosius (Catholic, 1524), President of the Council of Trent:
"Were it not that the baptists have been grievously tormented and cut off with the knife
during the past twelve hundred years, they would swarm in greater number than all the Reformers.
" (Hosius, Letters, Apud Opera, pp. 112, 113.)
The "twelve hundred years" were the years preceding the Reformation in which Rome persecuted Baptists with the most cruel persecution thinkable.
Sir Isaac Newton:
"The Baptists are the only body of known Christians that have never symbolized with Rome."
Mosheim (Lutheran):
"Before the rise of Luther and Calvin, there lay secreted in almost all the countries of Europe persons who adhered tenaciously to the principles of modern Dutch Baptists."
Edinburg Cyclopedia (Presbyterian):
"It must have already occurred to our readers that the Baptists are the same sect of Christians that were formerly described as Ana-Baptists.
Indeed this seems to have been their leading principle from the time of Tertullian to the present time."
Tertullian was born just fifty years after the death of the Apostle John.
Why don't you tell the whole story? What were Luther's complaints against "The Church?" Look into his many forerunners who were shut up shut out and otherwise silenced. You will find that the Reformation began long before 1517. The Catholic church has existed since Christ, I'll grant you that. But the Roman Catholic church did not really develope until after Constantine--300 years after Christ!