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ccross
Matthew 16:18 "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it". Christ was very clear that the Church will not ever fall. Any "prophesy" that says otherwise is false and not from God.
ccross
We need to understand that the Church itself will never fall even though people inside the Church will, and do fall all the time. A common misunderstanding is that the Pope is infallible which only is apllicable when he speaks "from the seat of Peter". A pope can have opinions and make statements that are not bound by infallibility, and as we have seen there have been a few evil popes in the past. Christ also spoke about wolves in his Church, just like one of his apostles betraying him. The point is that the Church itself will never fail or go astray.
And yes the Bible was referring to the only Church that goes back to Peter, the Catholic Church. If he wasn't talking about an actual institution that is visible and concrete than what would be the point of creating a church at all? We cannot pay any attention to any protestant denominations because they have nothing to do with the church founded by Christ. Simple logic shows that none of them could exist anyways without the Bible, and the bible would not exist today had the Catholic church not decided the Canon and then, of course, kept it safe for 1500 years before Martin Luther decided to betray Christ.edit on 9/13/2013 by ccross because: (no reason given)
adjensen
reply to post by ouvertaverite
So, your theory is that, within a handful of years of Jesus' death, God allowed his church to fall into corruption, derailing his plan of salvation, and condemning untold millions of believers that he supposedly loves, until some brainbox in the 1500s, 1800s or later set a small number of followers straight?
Kind of an ineffectual god you've got there.
AfterInfinity
reply to post by adjensen
Kind of? 'Kind of' doesn't even begin to cover it. That god is more ineffective than an inflatable dartboard. Or a screen door on a submarine.edit on 16-9-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)
adjensen
reply to post by ouvertaverite
I don't think that you read what I wrote, or maybe you just didn't understand it. Your belief that the church fell into apostasy within a generation of Christ's death is as nonsensical as it was when Joseph Smith claimed the same thing when he founded Mormonism.
ouvertaverite
adjensen
reply to post by ouvertaverite
I don't think that you read what I wrote, or maybe you just didn't understand it. Your belief that the church fell into apostasy within a generation of Christ's death is as nonsensical as it was when Joseph Smith claimed the same thing when he founded Mormonism.
the roman church was rendered unto ceasar by a certain bishop after another who couldn't see it as the official religion of the putrid empire died. could you explain what you're implying? there have always been a few who kept the teachings, but they were routinely murdered by the romans--so, notwithstanding, the faithful never ceased to be. look at the fruits of your abominable golden palace! murder is not mercy--calling a mortal man your spiritual father is not following jesus of scripture or inspiration, it is only begging for abject exploitation of you and your children.
ouvertaverite
adjensen
reply to post by ouvertaverite
I don't think that you read what I wrote, or maybe you just didn't understand it. Your belief that the church fell into apostasy within a generation of Christ's death is as nonsensical as it was when Joseph Smith claimed the same thing when he founded Mormonism.
the roman church was rendered unto ceasar by a certain bishop after another who couldn't see it as the official religion of the putrid empire died. could you explain what you're implying?
adjensen
ouvertaverite
adjensen
reply to post by ouvertaverite
I don't think that you read what I wrote, or maybe you just didn't understand it. Your belief that the church fell into apostasy within a generation of Christ's death is as nonsensical as it was when Joseph Smith claimed the same thing when he founded Mormonism.
the roman church was rendered unto ceasar by a certain bishop after another who couldn't see it as the official religion of the putrid empire died. could you explain what you're implying?
I'm implying that you don't know what you're talking about, and we can start with your belief that the church was started by Caesar. You don't seem to understand thing one about early church history, which is probably where your ignorance of the relationship with the Catholic church and the Roman government begins.
I'd suggest you go to your local library or bookshop and get a copy of James Hitchcock's History of the Catholic Church and enlighten yourself.
ouvertaverite
i mean, from a logical perspective, this argument strikes me as insane--only explained through extreme childhood indoctrination and deceit.
adjensen
ouvertaverite
i mean, from a logical perspective, this argument strikes me as insane--only explained through extreme childhood indoctrination and deceit.
I wasn't raised in the Christian church, so I guess you'll need to find another explanation.
Jesus said where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there. He didn't say "where two or three are gathered, that's the church." Westboro Baptist reads the same Bible that you do, but I'm guessing that their interpretation of scripture is different than yours -- and that's what "me and my Bible alone" all too often results in.
ccross
Matthew 16:18 "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it". Christ was very clear that the Church will not ever fall. Any "prophesy" that says otherwise is false and not from God.