If each Christian Church could claim to be equal which one would you attend?
Remember eternity may depend on which one you choose?
Maybe the closest to your house, the friendliest or the one your best friend attends.
Luke 1:28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is
with thee: blessed art thou among women. [Douay Rheims - DR]
Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly
favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. [King James Version -KJV]
So, which is it... `highly favored' - `full of grace' - both/neither?
If you believe that God exists and that He is a loving Creator who cares about His
Creation, then you would have to believe that He would communicate with His
Creatures. Further He would want us to be happy in this life and in the life to come.
A loving and caring God would make sure that His Creatures would know His Will in
all things and not be mislead.
He could do this by sending prophets, which, of course, He did under the Old
Covenant.
Under the New and Everlasting Covenant He established a Church through His Son
on the Apostle Peter.
There was one head so there couldn't be any mistake as to what we need to know
from God.
Thank God for the Catholic Church because without it to guide us how could anyone
know the truth from falsehood?
There are 3 proofs that the Catholic Church was established by God:
1) SCRIPTURE:
The Promise:
Mat 16:18 "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and
the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven." [Revised Standard Version - RSV]
Which leads us back to the prophetic word in Isaiah 22:20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of
Hilki'ah,
Is 22:21 and I Will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and Will
commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Is 22:22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall
open, and none shaft shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Under the Old covenant Abraham also had his name changed and was called Rock:
Is 51:1 "Hearken to me. you who pursue deliverance, you who seek the LORD: look to
the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were digged.
Is 51:2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for when he was
but one I called him, and I blessed him and made him many.
The establishment:
We can see from Scripture that only Peter was given rule over the Church by Christ.
(John 21)
15 When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter: Simon son of John,
lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love
thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea,
Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed (4165) my lambs.
17 He said to him the third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter was
grieved, because he had said to him the third time: Lovest thou me? And he said to
him: Lord, thou knowest all Things: thou knowest that I love thee. He said to him:
Feed my sheep. (Douay Rheims = DR)
Peter was made First head of the Church after the his three-fold assurance of love:
"Feed my lambs!...Feed my lambs!...Feed my sheep!" (John 21:15-17). Here, as in Mt.
16:18 et seq., the words are directed solely and immediately to Peter. The "lambs"
and the "sheep' designate Christ's whole flock, that is, the whole Church (cf. Jn 10).
"Feed" in ancient and biblical language means, in its application to human beings,
rule or govern (cf.. Acts 20:28).
(Acts 20)
26 Wherefore I take you to witness this day, that I am dear from the blood of all
men;
27 For I have not spared to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
28 Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath
placed you bishops, to rule (4165) ("feed" King James Version) the church of God, which he hath purchased with
his own blood.
29 I know that, after my departure, ravening wolves will enter in among you, not
2) HISTORY:
Historically for the first one thousand years there was one visible
church! Not until 1054 AD. did we have a major split. There was one authority for all
those years, admittedly there were many heresies, but the existence of heresies would
only show that there must have been "one" truth!
catholic
Encyclopedia Britannica Article (Considered legal definitions in a court of Law)
(from Greek katholikos, "universal"), the characteristic that, according to
ecclesiastical writers since the 2nd century, distinguished the Christian Church at
large from local communities or from heretical and schismatic sects. A notable
exposition of the term as it had developed during the first three centuries of
Christianity was given by St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechesis (348): the church is
called catholic on the ground of its worldwide extension, its doctrinal completeness,
its adaptation to the needs of men of every kind, and its moral and spiritual
perfection.
3) COMMON SENSE: Against "the Bible Alone".
Before the invention of the "printing press" in 1450 the Bible alone was an
impossibility! Up until this time not even every church had a full copy of the bible.
Each parish would have parts of the bible and they would trade them off to each
other every so often so they could cover more of the bible. Only the places charged
with copying the bible from one generation to the next would have had whole copies
and perhaps as in every time, the very rich.
(Jesus didn't write a bible and give it to the world! He started His Church, "I tell you,
you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,")
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