If this crap is the Church, then Christ is not God. If Protestantism is the true Church, then there is no God at all.
I've been thinking about your statement since I first read it five or six hours ago. I didn't reply at first because I didn't want to fly off the handle. But now that I've calmed down, I want to point out a couple things.
First, "Protestantism" is not a church. Protestants see the "church" (used in the general sense) as the Body of Christ, the members of which are Christians. And however obnoxious some Catholics on this forum may be, I would never say that we have no need of their parts of the body (1 Cor. 12:12-26).
You've gone a step further. Not only do you have no need of other parts of the body, but you've declared that if this "crap" is the Church, there's no God. You want to mock or write off as "crap" the faith of more than half of all Christians.
Second, this is the difference I see when I talk to Roman Catholics or read their remarks here: It's all about their church -- their institution -- not Christ. It's all about "welcome home," rah-rah, ka-ching, we've got another one for "our side." It's not about winning someone to Christ, it's about winning one for the "real" team. Your focus is frightening. I almost never encounter this in Protestants or members of the Orthodox faith.
One of the claims of the Catholic Church is that we hold the Deposit of Faith in its entirety, as much as was revealed by God, and the authority to proclaim, teach, and protect it. And so anyone who is outside of it might well be participating in the life of Christ, thus making him or her a Christian; even so, without being a member of the Catholic Church, that Christian is living a life that is lacking.
For a Catholic to not rejoice when one enters the Catholic Church and not have sadness when one leaves is to deny that we have that fullness. It is about Christ, because we not only desire all to have Him, but to have Him in His fullness.
I dont think you know many Orthodox. They feel the same way about their Church as Catholics do about ours.
I should and do apologize. I got overheated. But, my mind has not changed.
God became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ dwells in his Church. The Church is not a bunch of people who come together because they each believe in Christ. The Church is an organic unity in which Christ dwells and is manifest in his sacraments (which are other forms Christs manifestation).
The church cannot be created. The Church is given to humanity at pentecost. It is not a club or voluntary association. It is not a legal entity. It is Christ’s body carried to each generation through the laying on of hands of clergy and the baptism of the faithful. Its unity is organic, real, visible.
It is not your churches which are unworthy of respect, but you idea of church that is so impoverished that it excuses the historical and real mess the reformation has made of things. Every time protestants make a mess, they invent a new theology to excuse it. Gay theology is just the latest example of this.
Protestant ecclesiology is first of all a misnomer. And, secondly, it is just wrong. By spiritualizing the church as some entity known only to God that included the true believers or the saved or whatever you comfort youselves in your folly and utter rejection of the unity that Christ prayed for.
The zillions of Protestant Churches are the origin of relativism and thus are responsible for the ongoing breakdown of Western Civilization.
It should also be noted that Protestants are the majority of US citizens. However, they are only about 1/3 of Christians. Othodoxy numbers roughly 1/10 of Christians and Catholics, about 6/10 of Christians.
FWIW, another poster raised an interesting idea about the differences between RC's and other Christian groups. The RC's are focused on the physical, whereas other Christian churches are focused on the spiritual.
And offensive. Thank you for your post, I haven't calmed down yet! :-)
Great answer, Glenmerle. I wanted to reply myself but I’ve been sick all week and I didn’t want to make myself sicker by answering in an unseemly manner. You said it all.