Please do not distort the meanings of my words FRiend. I clearly indicated in the post you replied to (that I’m replying to now) that the Church was never the Roman Empire. This was to make the point to proudtobeanamerican1 that “I do not reject the authority of the Church simply because the Roman Empire persecuted early Christians.”
My point was/is that the Church was never the Roman Empire. This is historical fact. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used the phrase “never a political body”, but this was clearly modified/clarified by the phrase “never the Roman Empire”.
I noted your qualification.
I do think it’s important to stress the political nature of the power-mongering elite in all RELIGIOUS organizations. It’s part of what makes RELIGION so deadly—of any flavor.
I noted your qualification—silently, to myself.