- The Protestant communities of faith that departed from the Latin rite of the Catholic Church , and continue fracturing themselves. Whatever their accomplishments are, their existence is wholly secondary to the Latin Church of Rome, of whom they received everything they continue to keep.
This is all I meant: that genetically the Protestant communities are children of Rome.
= = = =
I still read and construe history differently.
1. Believers did not receive from organizations and certainly not from human focused; human established; human structured organizations of any kiind or origin--and especially not RELIGIOUS organizations given to lording it over one another.
2. Believers received directly from CHRIST--KING OF KINGS; LORD OF LORDS; RULER OF ALL THAT IS.
3. Further, Christ left His Spirit to carry on a continual daily refilling of each believer; moment guidance of each believers; moment by moment praying always of each believer . . .
4. If anything, a much greater case than being a blessing can be made that particularly the Roman hierarchy and organizational edifice from approximately 200 whatever it really became established has been brutal to believers FAR MORE than it has been supportive and encouraging of them having a DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
instead of a parasitic relationship with the organization and the hierarchy.
5. Believers everywhere have no SECONDARY EXISTENCE to one another nor to any human organization nor to any congregation.
6. BEFORE THE CROSS IS THE UTMOST OF LEVEL PLAYING FIELDS. Those not willing to be equal before The Cross shall be in danger of losing the benefits of The Cross or at least suffering serioius discip;ines.
7. As best as I can recall, EVERY effort in The Gospels to out rank another even disciple or believer WAS SLAPPED DOWN FIERCELY by Jesus The Christ.
8. There is no genetic delivery of Biblical truth from the Romanist tradition, imho. Whatever good may have filtered to other Christian groups from the Romanist traditions had already been wholesale delivered by Christ and His Spirit directly in a myriad of ways through a myriad of channels throughout the centuries including before the Romanist traditions began in 200 whatever AD.
9. God doesn't have grandchildren. He only has Children.
10. The Romanist tradition and all other human constructions and organizations will be tested and judged on what they did each and collectively with what God gave them. How well did they match up as being conformed to the image of Christ? No appeals to so called spiritual genetic ancestors will avail a gnat's fart's worth of benefit.
BTTT
Truly, God does not "need" man much less any institution of man to accomplish His will.
However, I also happily receive the promise that everything works together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. And the Roman Catholic Church - as well as other Christian confessions - are part of that "everything" which works together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
As hosepipe puts it, "God didn't come to establish a religion but rather a family."
The religion was already in place from the law and the prophets. Christ came to fulfill the law and the prophets, and neither will change until the new heaven and new earth.
It's all "about" Him, therefore religious labels just don't mean much of anything to me.
your 1-10 is not a "reading of history". It is a summary of certain anti-clerical beliefs, sincerely held by many today, but with scant relation to history or scripture.
I'll only address what is a matter of scriptural or historical record.
1-2,5. The instance of conversion in the Scripture are numerous when a prozelytising effort of a particular witness is bringing about the conversion. The woman at the well volunteers to convert her Samaritan village; Philip converts the Eunuch, Peter converts Cornelius. Christ asked the apostles to proselytize the world. He did not have to do that: He is God. If He wanted to convert everyone Himself, He would not need the structure of the Church, that He has built, promised to marry, and promised that it not fail.
4. The Catholic Church is not blameless, but out of her bosom came the scriptures that you read, the heresies that the Protestant abhor just as much as we do were smashed by it, and due to her missionary effort the gospel is known on all continents and in all races. If the centralizing power of the word as explained by the Church were not there we would have an Arian church, a Donatist church, a Docetist church, a Marcionite church, an Albigensian sex club, ...
Christ said "like the Father sent me, so I sent you", and St. Paul agreed "unless one is sent, he cannot teach". It is not enough to read the scripture and form an opinion, one has to be sent before he can teach. The Church is that transmission belt. If Christ wanted something different He would have appeared to everyone like He appered to Paul, or he would have written the gospel Himself, like Mohammed wrote the Koran. He chose to spread the word the way He does, through the fallible men of His Church.
7. Vanity was "slapped". The response to vain designs by James and John was not "I shall entertain no hierarchy" but rather "can you drink my cup?". If Christ disliked hierarchy per se, he would not elevate Peter (whose martyrdom is the only one predicted in personal terms), and he would not relate status with service and martyrdom.
8. The gospels and the Epistles were written in 1 c. The sorting out of other writing continued till the early 5 c. before the Canon was established. I have no clue why "200 AD whatever" is used as any kind of a birthdate for the Church. The scriptural birthday of the Church is the Pentacost, as the Holy Ghost descended onto the disciples in the Upper Room. That was 50 days following the Resurrection, AD 33.
10. We are all judged by how well we carry our Cross, true. But the Great Commission to transform the world has not been rescinded. The Church is at work, and her cross is always standing.