Catholicism: A New Dawn In America

I was sweating for a long time regarding the Catholic Church. I thought it was done for after all the abuse of its history upon its own congregation and the indigenous people world wide. However, my latest analysis of the situation and the conclusion I draw allows me to deliver this message of hope to Catholicism.

If you don't blow it this time, Mr Pope, it seems there is every chance that you will get a new start in the U.S. The migrants are bringing you a new dawn. As the meek they are inheriting the U.S as the original settlers seem to have given up on their society. We see that firmly displayed here at ATS. It is a good measuring tool of the severe state of their psychological decay. They are killing themselves with chemical warfare through recreational drugs and hedonism of the most scabby kind. Perhaps a cataclysm might wake them up? May be G-D will try that approach upon them? I would try it before totally giving up on them. Death can be the greatest teacher of all.


San Francisco Street Drug Users (outgoing)

The migrants, being Catholics, will have lots of babies and are not spoilt. They will replenish America and the Vatican will be very empowered by this. Also, I see China will be changing soon. The Catholic Church, in a free China, will gain a huge congregation.

Hey, Mr Pope, just when you thought it was the end a new beginning comes. Mr Pope, you have been a good Pope. Under your watch you have quite successfully handled the abuse scandals and the Church's corrupt past very well. You have resisted the Woke onslaught and not given into pressure. Please remain as true as you can to Christ and you will have a great future.



I feel glad for you. I was very angry at you before, but thanks to a good Pope there is hope. You have been a Pope of hope. I am not a Catholic. I am freelance Christian. All denominations are my denomination. You are all my family, from the Russian Orthodox Church to the Ethiopian Church, to the Coptics of Egypt, the Greek Church, the Methodists, Anglicans. I have prayed with you all in your Churches and with your Priests. I have prayed with the Jews at the wall too.


Catholic Migrants arriving at Martha's Vineyard (incoming)

You are going to make it. G-D wins every time and HE will win this battle too. We must navigate this dark spell as a storm at sea and we will make it to shore.



HalleluJAH!

a reply to: Avengelist

So you along with the Pope blow off the native Americans who like the Aztecs were killed off by the Latinos who imigrated from Spain.

Mexican and Latinos orginated from Spain.

Please read history and take stupid AOC along for the ride.

a reply to: Avengelist

You seem to be worshiping the church and a man. What is up with that?

originally posted by: Avengelist
Mr Pope, you have been a good Pope.

He's a TERRIBLE Pope. He hates America and Americans. He has said that he feels 'honored' when Americans say they don't like him. He wants wide open borders, which means no borders, which means NO COUNTRIES. He is against the free market system, and he wants a new world wide tax imposed on the productive nations to 'redistribute wealth' to the unproductive nations ... all money to be overseen by the Vatican of course. He try's to crush actual authentic Catholics and imposes his own radical liberal thoughts about what Catholicism should be on them.

He's been terrible for the Catholic Church and he's an enemy to the people of America.

originally posted by: Avengelist
... We must navigate this dark spell as a storm at sea and we will make it to shore.

If you really want to make it to shore, the Bible advises us not to follow every wind of teaching as for example taught by different religions or denominations.

“So we should no longer be children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in deceptive schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14)

That's because of the source of such teachings:

“However, the inspired word clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired statements and teachings of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, whose conscience is seared as with a branding iron.”(1 Timothy 4:1,2).

Knowledge (gno'sis) is put in a very favorable light in the Christian Greek Scriptures. However, not all that men may call “knowledge” is to be sought, because philosophies and views exist that are “falsely called ‘knowledge.’” (1Ti 6:20) Thus Paul wrote about some who were learning (taking in knowledge) “yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” (2Ti 3:6, 7)

“... having an appearance of godliness but proving false to its power and from these turn away. From among these arise men who slyly work their way into households and captivate weak women loaded down with sins, led by various desires, always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” (2Ti 3:5-7)

“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning away from the empty speeches that violate what is holy and from the contradictions of the falsely called ‘knowledge.’ By making a show of such knowledge, some have deviated from the faith.

May the undeserved kindness be with you.” (1Ti 6:20,21)

Jesus Christ set up just one church, or congregation. That congregation was a spiritual body, a spiritual family. Meaning that it was a gathering together of people chosen by God’s holy spirit​—all recognized by God to be his “children.”​—Romans 8:16, 17; Galatians 3:26.

Jesus taught that only one way was used by God to direct people to the truth and to life. To illustrate that important truth, Jesus compared the way to everlasting life to a road. He said: “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.”​—Matthew 7:13, 14; John 14:6; Acts 4:11, 12.

We should not think of that first-century congregation as “a world-wide, universal, organized society such as we mean nowadays when we talk about the catholic church,” says The New Dictionary of Theology. Why not? “For the simple reason,” it says, “that such an organized, universal society scarcely existed.”

No one can rightly disagree with the fact that the early Christian congregation bore no resemblance to the institutionalized church systems we see today. But it was organized. Individual congregations did not operate independently of one another. They all recognized the authority of a governing body in Jerusalem. That body​—consisting of the apostles and older men of the Jerusalem congregation—​helped to preserve the unity of the congregation as the “one body” of Christ.​—Ephesians 4:4, 11-16; Acts 15:22-31; 16:4, 5.

What happened to that one true congregation? Did it become the mighty Catholic Church? Did it evolve into the denominational, fragmented Protestant church system that we see today? Or did something else happen?

To find the answers, let us carefully consider what Jesus Christ himself said would happen. You may be surprised to learn that Jesus expected his congregation to disappear from view and that he would allow such a sad situation to continue for centuries.

Identifying his congregation with “the kingdom of the heavens,” he said: “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man that sowed fine seed in his field. While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat, and left. When the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared also. So the slaves of the householder came up and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it come to have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’ They said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ He said, ‘No; that by no chance, while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the harvest season I will tell the reapers, First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up, then go to gathering the wheat into my storehouse.’”​—Matthew 13:24-30.

Jesus explained that he was “the sower.” “The fine seed” pictured his genuine disciples. His “enemy” was Satan the Devil. “The weeds” were counterfeit Christians who infiltrated the early Christian congregation. He said that he would let “the wheat” and “the weeds” grow together until “the harvest,” which would come at “a conclusion of a system of things.” (Matthew 13:37-43) What did all of this mean?

Soon after the death of the apostles, apostate teachers from within the congregation began to take control of it. They spoke “twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29, 30) As a result, many Christians ‘fell away from the faith.’ They were “turned aside to false stories.”​—1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:3, 4.

By the fourth century C.E., says The New Dictionary of Theology, “Catholic Christianity had become the official . . . religion of the Roman Empire.” There was a “coalescence of ecclesial and civil society”​—a merging of Church and State that was diametrically opposed to the beliefs of the early Christians. (John 17:16; James 4:4) The same source states that in time, the whole structure and nature of the church, as well as many of its fundamental beliefs, was changed radically “under the influence of a curious and thoroughly unhealthy combination of O[ld] T[estament] and neoplatonic models.” As predicted by Jesus Christ, his genuine disciples were hidden from sight as counterfeit Christians flourished.

Jesus’ listeners knew how difficult it was to tell genuine wheat from weeds, such as poisonous bearded darnel, which during the growing season has an appearance much like that of wheat. So Jesus was illustrating that for a while, it would be difficult to distinguish true Christians from the counterfeit variety. This does not mean that the Christian congregation ceased to exist, for Jesus promised to continue to guide his spiritual brothers “all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matthew 28:20) Jesus said that the wheat would continue to grow. Even so, through the ages, genuine Christians​—individually or in groups—​no doubt did their best to adhere to Christ’s teachings. But they no longer made up a clearly identifiable, visible body, or organization. They were certainly not identical with the visible apostate religious system that throughout history brought nothing but disgrace and dishonor to the name of Jesus Christ.​—2 Peter 2:1, 2.

The apostle Paul foretold something else that would mark this counterfeit religious system. He wrote: “Let no one seduce you in any manner, because [Jehovah’s day] will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed.” (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4) This “man of lawlessness” is none other than the clergy class that exalted itself into a ruling position over the “Christian” congregation.

The apostasy started in the apostle Paul’s day. It accelerated once the apostles died and their restraining influence disappeared. It would be marked, said Paul, by “the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception.” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-12) How accurately that describes the activities of so many religious leaders throughout history!

In support of their claim that Roman Catholicism is the one true church, Catholic leaders say that their bishops have “a life-giving contact with the original apostles by a current of succession which goes back to the beginning.” In truth, this claim of apostolic succession has no historical or Scriptural basis. There is no credible evidence that the church system that arose following the death of Jesus’ apostles was ever directed by God’s holy spirit.​—Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:19-21.

And what of the other churches that sprang up following the so-called Reformation? Did they return to the model of the early Christian congregation? Did they restore the purity of the original Christian congregation? It is true that following the Reformation, the Bible became available to many of the common people in their own language. Yet, history shows that these churches continued to teach erroneous doctrines. *​—Matthew 15:7-9. (*: See the chapter “The Reformation​—The Search Took a New Turn” in the book Mankind’s Search for God, pages 306-28)

Note this, however. Jesus Christ definitely foretold that his one true congregation would be restored during what he called a conclusion of a system of things. (Matthew 13:30, 39) The fulfillment of Bible prophecies shows that we are now living in that time. (Matthew 24:3-35) That being true, each of us needs to ask, ‘Where is that one true church?’ It ought to become more and more clearly identifiable.

Maybe you feel that you have already found that church, or congregation. It is important that you make sure. Why? Because as in the first century, there can be only one true church. Have you taken the time to make sure that your church closely conforms to the pattern set by the first-century Christian congregation and that it loyally adheres to the teachings of Jesus Christ? Why not examine this now? For example concerning this subject:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare* [“We do not wage warfare.” Lit., “we are not doing military service.” ...; Lat., non . . . mi·li·ta'mus.] according to what we are in the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things. For we are overturning reasonings and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God;” (2 Cor 10:3-5)

“A careful review of all the information available goes to show that, until the time of Marcus Aurelius [121-180 C.E.], no Christian became a soldier; and no soldier, after becoming a Christian, remained in military service.” (The Rise of Christianity, by E. W. Barnes, 1947, p. 333) “It will be seen presently that the evidence for the existence of a single Christian soldier between 60 and about 165 A.D. is exceedingly slight; . . . up to the reign of Marcus Aurelius at least, no Christian would become a soldier after his baptism.” (The Early Church and the World, by C. J. Cadoux, 1955, pp. 275, 276) “In the second century, Christianity . . . had affirmed the incompatibility of military service with Christianity.” (A Short History of Rome, by G. Ferrero and C. Barbagallo, 1919, p. 382) “The behavior of the Christians was very different from that of the Romans. . . . Since Christ had preached peace, they refused to become soldiers.” (Our World Through the Ages, by N. Platt and M. J. Drummond, 1961, p. 125) “The first Christians thought it was wrong to fight, and would not serve in the army even when the Empire needed soldiers.” (The New World’s Foundations in the Old, by R. and W. M. West, 1929, p. 131) “The Christians . . . shrank from public office and military service.” (Editorial introduction to “Persecution of the Christians in Gaul, A.D. 177,” in The Great Events by Famous Historians, edited by R. Johnson, 1905, Vol. III, p. 246) “While they [the Christians] inculcated the maxims of passive obedience, they refused to take any active part in the civil administration or the military defence of the empire. . . . It was impossible that the Christians, without renouncing a more sacred duty, could assume the character of soldiers, of magistrates, or of princes.”—The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, Vol. I, p. 416.

Regarding Christian neutrality, the New Catholic Encyclopedia asserts: “Conscientious objection [the legal term for refusing military service] is morally indefensible.” An article in the Reformierte Presse states that a report by African Rights, a human rights organization, on the 1994 Rwandan genocide established the participation of all churches, “with the exception of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”