Based upon that principal, all Catholics should have joined the Reformers, since they were severely attacked, ridiculed, and subverted by Rome and pagans, yet simultaneously became fruitful and have spread worldwide - with much martyrdom.
Yet rather than using the persecution principal as the definitive mark by itself, the author should examined the core beliefs of churches in the light of the only wholly inspired-of-God and substantive record of what the New Testament church believed which is Scripture, especially Acts thru Revelation. Which shows how they understood the OT and gospels). In which distinctive Catholic teachings are not manifest .
But the Catholic Church—the word “Catholic” coming from the Latin language, meaning universal—has spread across the globe in spite of all attacks against it.
Actually, its spread much depended upon the unholy use of the sword of men in order to obtain power (even in the 4th c., pope Damasus 1 employed a murderous gang in order to obtain his papal chair, and then used the secular sword against theological competition).
And finally, here in North America, we had the Protestant English, who in their perpetual protest against apostolic authority, saw fit for 300 years to wage physical and cultural war to drive out the Spanish and French Catholics from this realm, clearing the field to make way for a Hebraic -Puritan oligarchy that we now know as the United States.
300 years in North America to make way for a Hebraic -Puritan oligarchy? Is he brainwashed? More delusion by an anti-America RC whom you evidently sanction. Obedience to the pope required RC rulers to exterminate all those she declared were heretics (which I think many TradCaths would like to do, or at least censor them), and thus, among other worthy reasons, many colonies opposed Catholicism obtaining a foothold.
Yet in contrast to Catholic countries such as Spain, it was here in America that Catholics obtained freedom of worship, and even predominated in many areas (now liberal), in a country that established separation of church and state. And Catholics also argue that the Revolution was wrong.
And so here we are. I was looking for the True Church, and I have found it.
Actually, based on his testimony and sophistry, he found delusion preferable to Scriptural Truth, and became an anti-American heretic, who attacks those in the one true church.
For the only one true church is the body of Christ, (Colossians 1:18) to which He is married, (Ephesians 5:25) the "household of faith," (Galatians 6:10) for it uniquely only and always consists 100% of true believers, and which spiritual body of Christ is what the Spirit baptizes ever believer into, (1Co. 12:13) while organic fellowships in which they express their faith inevitably become admixtures of wheat and tares, with Catholicism and liberal Protestantism being mostly the latter.
Not that I read your posts, but thanks for bumping the hatred.
Great post.
Catholics today don’t seem to want to know about the persecution and murder they perpetrated upon Christians. The ones I’ve talked with are actually woefully ignorant of history. I wonder how many will play along once they form the world super religion.
His first problem here is looking for something besides Christ. There is no *True Church* to join because Jesus does not endorse any one religion or denomination over and above another.
His instructions to people were to *Follow Me*.