The ekklesia JESUS established is based upon believing in Jesus as Savior. PERIOD. Your religion, catholiciism, as you put it 'the christian world' is not that Ekklesia. So in all generations, people can be born from above by The Holy Spirit after the fashion of Peter preaching on Pentecost or sharing the Gospel in the house of Cornelius, without 'your institutional hierarchy' even being involved. Salvation cometh by HEARING and hearing by The Word of God ... not some pagan rite of eating the food offered to idols, as catholic Mass conducts the rite.
And there are doubtless many such born from above members of Christ's body right there in those pagan-based halls of catholic empowerment. I've known one or two who did not adhere to the pagan rites of Mass or the Mariology demigoddess nonsense, yet they stayed in that other religion's system because of family or loved ones, all the while KNOWING they are alive in Christ by the Spirit of God in them. They are troubled souls, but they gave been born from above and are out of the reach of the god of catholiciism.
Oh we know --because we have witnessed it for several weeks, intensely-- your ilk will plead that Peter was the first Pope of the catholiciism institutional religion. Or the dogma that the first eucharist was on the night before Jesus went to the cross for our redemption (so the Remembrance was instituted BEFORE the sacrifice thus showing it is indeed a remembrance of what He did once for all forever at the Cross, a sacred memorial to show the Lord's death for us until He returns, for us!). These fantasy claims of this other religion, catholiciism, are not supported by scriptures unless one reads a huge amount into the very sparse verses dragged out of context to play word games.
This 'christian world' of the catholic church constitutes another gospel, one which requires the followers to eat the flesh, blood, soul and divinity of the god of this other gospel. And that heresy too is only supported in catholiciism by ripping one or two verse out of the context of all the Word, ignoring the extensive use of parables ands sacred metaphors by JESUS, and in open defiance of the Law which JESUS said would not pass away and which exposes the catholic Mass as a pagan blasphemy.
But to the utter consternation of the god of catholiciism, a father of liars and lies, there are actually human beings believing in Jesus without adhering to the blasphemous dogmas of catholiciism. You could say God's Spirit Saves some inspite of the catholiciism commands to blaspheme the Lord of Hosts by committing pagan rites to empower the institution of that catholiciism 'christian world'.
Kolokotronis, you papist you!
LOL what a riot!
The other blanket assumption is that everyone else or anything else that is not Catholic is wrong.
The mentality fails to recognize that truth is out there and Catholicism is not the sole possessor of the truth.
It's also assuming that God did indeed *let* error go for 1500 years, not trusting the God ALWAYS has a remnant and that He did not neglect the salvation of men's souls.
It's also that without the Catholic church what would men do? How could God manage without Catholicism to keep people on the straight and narrow.
A lot of erroneous assumptions about the character and integrity of God.