All these weird traditions have nothing to do with Christianity or the Bible, they are like superstitions over centuries. More and more got added.
“Pope throws holy salt over left shoulder, this is symbolic of the salty sweat of Jesus on the cross”
The praying to anyone but Jesus is unchristian in the extreme. There are no holy people besides Jesus, none of the Saints (all appointed by humans to some imaginary heavenly post) are any higher than any other dead human, we are all equal in the eyes of God.
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Who was the first person to be called a “Pope”? Was it Emperor Constantine?
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How do Catholics explain the Holy Roman Empire and the role of the Pope and their church in it?
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Jesus did not come to create a bureaucratic church, any time people come together to worship in his name, that is church. This does not require a Pope or a Catholic Church.
Does your Baptist Bible the text about Jesus giving Peter the Keys to the Kingdom....and Jesus told the Apostles that “what you Bind on earth shall be Bound in Heaven and what you Loose on earth will be Loosed in Heaven”??? If YOUR KJBIble doesn’t have those words, then it isnt a complete Bible....if it does have those words, you should HEED THEM....Jesus’s OWN WORDS....HELLO???
Of COURSE it’s a bureaurecratic Church!! Even in the time of CHRIST, the apostles had different charges....Judas was in charge of the PURSE......geesh.....hard to go from 12 to ONE BILLION and NOT have a bureaucracy!!!!!
No, it was a Patriarch of Alexandria, 100 years before Constantine, that preferred boogieman of fundamentalists. Nobody ever called Constantine "Pope".
How do Catholics explain the Holy Roman Empire and the role of the Pope and their church in it?
The Holy Roman Empire, a loose confederation of mostly German states ... that Holy Roman Empire? The Holy Roman Emperors (so-called) mostly didn't like the Popes, and the Popes didn't like the emperors. You're not still upset about the whole Henry IV thing, are you? (Look it up.)
So as far as the Holy Roman Empire, we're mostly agin' it.
You know, I am not Catholic.
However it is classless and sickening to hear someone critizie the faith, beliefs or rituals of others.
Give it a break.
“Jesus did not come to create a bureaucratic church, any time people come together to worship in his name, that is church. This does not require a Pope or a Catholic Church.”
Don’t be so sure you know what God intended for the earth. It’s all rather complex and well outside of your understanding.
The Church carried the Truth of the Lamb of God out of the holy land and to the world. That was a big job. The Church also carried much of science and learning through the dark ages. Another big job. The church may not be as wise or enlightened as you are today but possibly, SOMEWHERE along two thousand years it served a purpose.
Amen to that, the simple truth.
"Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Jesus, quoted in Matthew 18:20
The simple truth of the church is that Jesus is the head and we are the body.
Every born again Christian that hears the words of Jesus and believes in God who sent him, is saved and is a member.