This constant mentioning '1500 years', 'Church Fathers', 'Tradition', etc., by some posters, as proof of being THE Church, is just your opinion, no matter how large the congregation.
Consider:
Satan is transformed into an angel of light, and his ministers into ministers of righteousness.
To achieve that level of deception, is there a line the devil will not cross when wanting to look 'Christian'?
Can you imagine Satan saying, "Oh, I would not lay claim to preserving the scriptures." ? Answer: He knows that God will not let his word pass away. So the devil, who can quote it cover to cover, is more than willing to cross that line. He's gotta look like an angel of light.
Can you imagine Satan saying, "No, I would never set up my own lineage of church leaders, or even claim Peter and the other apostles as their predecessors, to further enhance my way as legitimate." ? To appear to be an angel of light, the line is crossed in hastily.
Upon seeing the phenomenon of the pouring out of God's Spirit on Pentecost, can you imagine Satan saying, "I'm going to need a long, long time to make something that would look like God's church." ? I can't, since the devil is the master deceiver. He would waste no time. In fact, the apostles said such deceivers were present even then.
Sure, some of Satan's efforts are easier to spot than others (such as the ones that claim to be the last prophet from God), but how to spot them?
By the WORD OF GOD, of course.
Of course everything I say is my opinion, just as everything in your post is your opinion. Pointing out that what I say is my opinion does not show whether what I am saying is true or false. Claiming that it is "just my opinion" implies that what I am saying is not true. But merely asserting that what I am saying is not true does not show that what I am saying is not true. Some evidence or argumentation is needed.
Consider:
Satan is transformed into an angel of light, and his ministers into ministers of righteousness.
Catholics agree.
To achieve that level of deception, is there a line the devil will not cross when wanting to look 'Christian'?
Catholics agree.
Can you imagine Satan saying, "Oh, I would not lay claim to preserving the scriptures." ? Answer: He knows that God will not let his word pass away. So the devil, who can quote it cover to cover, is more than willing to cross that line. He's gotta look like an angel of light.
I don't fully understand what you are saying here.
Can you imagine Satan saying, "No, I would never set up my own lineage of church leaders, or even claim Peter and the other apostles as their predecessors, to further enhance my way as legitimate." ? To appear to be an angel of light, the line is crossed in hastily.
Ok, I think I understand what you are saying here. If I understand you corectly, you are saying that the Catholic Church could be a big deception fobbed on us [Catholics] by Satan, since Satan won't spare any effort to appear like an angel of light.
So, I think we can agree that there are (at least) two possibilities: (1) the Catholic Church is a big deception fobbed on us [Catholics] by Satan, or (2) Protestantism is a big deception fobbed on [Protestants] by Satan. Now comes the hard work of determining whether (1) or (2) (or something else) is the case.
Sure, some of Satan's efforts are easier to spot than others (such as the ones that claim to be the last prophet from God), but how to spot them? By the WORD OF GOD, of course.
According to whose interpretation? Yours? If you have followed this thread, you can see that appealing to Scripture does not resolve the disputes, because everyone has a different interpretation. And who gets to decide what even counts as "the WORD OF GOD"? You? What makes you special?
-A8