Thank you for your thoughtful reply. We need to start with some basic beliefs that hopefully everyone can agree to:
1.False religion appeared quickly, but since the Holy Spirit was sent to protect the elect, it is not possible for Church as a whole to fall into apostasy.
2.The elect will not believe false doctrines.
3. Jesus started a Church and it has received authority directly from Him to Teach and Baptize.
4. We are not to judge the Church, but we need to learn from it’s teaching.
5. Christian unity is very important so the world will know Jesus was sent by the Father. ( John 17 )
6. The Church has existed on earth from 33ad to the present.
7. Reading the Bible is no guarantee against believing false doctrine or teachers. Every cult and denomination claims to get their beliefs from the Bible, and yet, they all disagree on such things as the Trinity, divinity of Jesus, baptismal regeneration, infant baptism, mode of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the Mass, the OT canon, apostolic succession, divorce, etc. etc.
8. Corporately, even when Israel forgot the covenant, and even with the hypocripsy of the Pharisees, Jesus still worshipped in the Temple.
9. We are not supposed to privately interpret the Bible to oppose what the Church teaches.
10. Satan takes great advantage of the confusion in the Christian world to set up false groups ( LDS, JW, SDA )
11. Without the authority of the Church, we would have no definitive way of knowing which books belong to in the canon and which are spurious.
12. The main criteria used by the Church to set the canon was by Sacred Tradition. Did the book teach what the Church has received from the Apostles orally? Was the book read at Mass?
13. The Holy Spirit will not lead someone to believe a doctrine today, that He led someone in the 1st or 2nd century to believe the opposite.
So, you see why i am so strong in my belief Christians need to be unified in the Church and not be arguing or opposing it. God bless you.
UNMITIGATED NONSENSE YET AGAIN.
I assume RC’s consider Peter one of the elect.
He believed false doctrine for a time. Sheesh.
Sometimes it seems like y’all don’t even read y’all’s own junk.
This is not to attack, rather to notice changes during many years. It is true in most all churches. ‘Secular Christians’ is a term I heard in Sunday School last week. It serves to allow us to act according to convenience, and our own wants. God forgive us as we grow in the direction of the worlds teaching and become willing to allow man to set the standards. This has occurred over the centuries. We know it, ... if we simply study history. Go's Word is true. We must know it for our self and not simply through teachers. Like the Bereans, look to see if these things are true.
Glory be To God the Father, Jesus Christ and the HOLY SPIRIT!