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Monday, May 5, 2008

The Holy Catholic Church




Michael L writes: The RCC has played on ignorance and used religious intimadation since its very unholy beginning. It was never the true church but a counterfiet. The command is not to come in but to come out of this church.


My response: Hello Michael, while I am always glad for people to share their views with me, I also have to respectfully disagree when it comes to views like yours to my Church. I do not believe the Catholic Church (you specify only the Latin Rite- but I assume you mean the whole Catholic Church) has "played on" anyone's ignorance. The Church has done what Christ commanded her to do in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."). This is what the Catholic Church has been doing for more than two thousand years. The Catholic Church had a very holy beginning as it was Christ to founded her. Jesus is speaking with Simon in Matt. 16:17-19, when He (Jesus) changes Simon's name to "Peter" (which means 'rock') and tells Simon Peter that on that rock (Peter) Jesus is going to build His Church. Matt. 16:17-19 "Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter [Rock], and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades [Hell] will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
This is the holy beginning of Christ's Holy Catholic Church. The Church "came alive", if you will, at Pentecost [Acts 2] (something we will all be celebrating on May 11th), but she was founded in Matt.16 as I've shown with the above scripture.
I will give you that in history there were men in the Church who probably did and have used the Church to attempt to intimidate. That was and is wrong. God doesn't need men to intimidate people into anything. We need to do God's will and let God deal with everything else. We are responsible for our actions and should try to live our lives as Christ wants us to and that does not include intimidation in my opinion, for whatever that is worth as I can't speak for anyone else. Now, there is something that you may or may not be implying here. I have come across more than one anti-Catholic who feels that the Churches use of excommunication is a 'tool for intimidation'. IF you are referring to this as an intimidation I have to disagree with you. Excommunication is not to intimidate, but to correct someone in severe error who is not only harming themselves but also more than likely harming others by their erroneous and or sinful actions. To see this in scripture please read 1 Corinthians 5 about expelling the immoral brother from the Church. Again, this is meant as a last action by the Church to correct someone, show them how dangerous and grave their actions are in the hopes of them repenting and coming back into the Church. This is completely biblical and if you think its intimidation than that is something you'd have to take up with God as it's His way of the Church dealing with these type of serious ongoing situations.
I really don't know what you mean about "counterfeit" church, the Holy Catholic Church is not a counterfeit as she is the ONLY church on earth created by Jesus Christ in scriptures. All the churches that came after her are better described as "counterfeit" than the Catholic Church. These later churches were begun my men- well meaning men most of them, but still by men not by Jesus Christ as the Catholic Church was in the bible.
You then mention a command that is not found anywhere in scripture. You say there is a command to not enter the Catholic Church, this is completely false as I've shown with the Great Commission given by Christ to His Church. It is our Lord's desire that we all are united in our faith and belong to the Church He founded and gave to the world. This is the only Church where all God's Seven Sacraments can be found. These are blessings and wonderous gifts from God to us and He wants everyone to have these and be united in His Church. Jesus didn't preach about thousands of differing denominations and opposing doctrines. He didn't want believers divided over doctrines and beliefs. Jesus never told anyone to leave His Holy Catholic Church.




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