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I see, so it is your contention that everyone that was known as belonging to the catholic (meaning universal) church of Jesus Christ all became Roman Catholics and they are the ONLY true Christians? Tell me, how is it all the Apostles were Catholics when the word didn't even START being used to describe the universal church until the SECOND century?

I'll try to make this as simple as possible. You and I both believe that life begins at conception....after you were born, your parents, maybe 2 or 3 days later said to their friends, come over and see little Boatbums...we gave her that name!!!!and from then on you were known as Boatbums.

However, you were really Boatbums from the very moment of your conception, 9months and 3 days earlier....same baby, new name.

The Catholic Church was concieved when Christ named Peter to be its leader....something had to exist from that moment on that required a leader. Soon after its conception and birth, people began to refer to it(Peter's group) as Catholic, but they had been Catholic from the moment of conception......you=Boatbums....they=Catholic!!!.....see how easy that was???

>>Soon after its conception and birth, people began to refer to it(Peter's group) as Catholic<<

Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Oooops.

I'll try to make this as simple as possible. You and I both believe that life begins at conception....after you were born, your parents, maybe 2 or 3 days later said to their friends, come over and see little Boatbums...we gave her that name!!!!and from then on you were known as Boatbums. However, you were really Boatbums from the very moment of your conception, 9months and 3 days earlier....same baby, new name. The Catholic Church was concieved when Christ named Peter to be its leader....something had to exist from that moment on that required a leader. Soon after its conception and birth, people began to refer to it(Peter's group) as Catholic, but they had been Catholic from the moment of conception......you=Boatbums....they=Catholic!!!.....see how easy that was???

Your "easy" explanation is full of holes! Such as, I can change my name, can I not? If I do, then I am no longer called the same as what my parents named me, am I? There may be hundreds or thousands of people in the world of six+ billion that share the SAME name as I do, are they ALL me? Do they all share the same DNA? What you were attempting to prove - that "Catholic" was ALWAYS the name of the church Jesus established, whether or not anyone CALLED believers that - is nothing more than a presumption that makes a conclusion not in evidence. I am not my name, that is not what defines me, it is a way to identify only. "Christian" is not simply a name, it is not simply an identity, it is a designation of both who and what we are. We are identified as followers of Jesus Christ as opposed to Buddha or Muhammad. But, what truly makes us Christ's own is what we have believed in our hearts. He knows His own. He calls each one of us by name - and I doubt it is the one our parents gave us!

I'll try to make this as simple as possible - you seem to gravitate towards simple things. When Jesus told Peter and the others assembled there with him that upon Peter's profession of faith, Christ would build His church/assembly/body, He established that all those who would come to saving faith in Christ would become part of that called-out assembly. These followers of Jesus across the Middle East and the Roman empire became known by the appellation "Christian" because they followed the Christ. They were also referred to as "The Way" (Acts 24:14). However, NOWHERE in Scripture is there any mention of Christians being called "Catholic" and no writings of the Apostles ever make mention of it, either. The word "catholic" we know:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_term_%22Catholic%22

Sorry to break this to you, but your church doesn't own the copyright to the word, nor can they claim to be THE church Jesus established. As St. Peter - who you claim to be your first "Pope" - said, ALL believers are living stones being built up into the SPIRITUAL house of Christ, His body. The TRUE catholic church is the aggregate of all the Christian congregations which hold to the orthodox doctrines taught by the Apostles of Jesus Christ and preserved within the written word of God, the Holy Scriptures.

Anyone can claim to be the Christian church. How we know which ones follow the WAY from those who only say they do is what they teach and believe. There is a standard that was used almost from the start within Christianity which was explained in the “Vincentian Canon”. It is based on the Latin phrase: “Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est” (That Faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all). It asserted that all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. It reinforced the longstanding theological method used by the early Christians to know truth from error.

I can demonstrate that EVERYTHING I believe concerning the Christian faith has Scriptural back up and was believed from the start of the Christian faith. Unfortunately, your church cannot lay claim to that standard, in fact, they don't believe they are obligated to hold to that standard anymore. Now, who is it that has a legitimate claim to be part of the TRUE church Jesus established? Those who claim the name but who hold doctrines NOT taught from the start and who cannot prove their beliefs by God's word? Or, will it be those who both claim to be Christ's as well as demonstrate the longevity and universality of their doctrines AND can prove them by God's word? Somehow, I don't think you will find it so easy to answer this time.