Expert: Kaylan - 5/17/2004

Question
Dear Servus,

I was talking to a friend the other day who is pentecostal and he says that somewhere in the bible it says that it is the "chosen" denomination.  I am baptist and was looking for a baptist or nondenominational church and he told me that I should go to a pentecostal. He said that he will show me bible verses but has yet to show me any. Also aren't denominations "man made"?  If you can understand my question (I had a hard time writing this) can you help?  

THANKS
Betty

Answer
Since I do not believe in protestantism (having left it at 16 yrs of age), I do agree that all but one Church is man-made. Christ founded one Church ("Upon this rock I will build My Church."), not 30,000 different churches.

Protestantism follows the belief that anyone can interpret Scripture (sola scriptura) but we know from recorded history that everyone can vary in their reading of Scripture (most protestant churches were found by a member leaving that denomination in order to follow their own ideas and start up their own church...imagine if everyone did this!), thus the reason we have some churches that proclaim one thing and others that proclaim another yet claiming to be the same 'Christian'. And worse can result from this wayward teaching such as churches like Jehovah Witnesses or Mormon. Jehovah Witness are not even Christian as they deny the Divinity of Christ and the Holy Trinity. Mormon is similiar in that it is not even Christian yet veils itself in "Christianity".

From a personal standpoint I grew up protestant but after reading the Bible and spending time in serious prayer, I felt drawn to the Catholic Church. I truly believe that Jesus founded only one Church and He gave His authority to the one Church through the Holy Spirit and thus for centuries it continues to guide the faithful. And as our Lord promised, "And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." It truly hasn't despite all the difficulties it has faced over the centuries.

Given that you are coming from a protestant background as I once did, I believe the best place for you to look in regards to your questions are history. The Pentecostal church is not the chosen church though I'm sure their leaders tell everyone that, just as some fundamentalist churches do to their members. I'm sure the Mormon leaders say the same thing to their members and so forth. The Greek Orthodox church teaches it's members that it's the true Church even though history reveals that it broke away from the Catholic Church in the beginning. The same is true of protestantism which was created by men in the 1500's. They even removed 7 books from the Bible and denied themselves most of the Holy Sacraments bringing us to the hundreds of protestant churches scattered throughout and dividing the people's rather than uniting them in One Faith.

Back to the question...yes, I recommend reading not only Scripture and asking God to help you find the Truth but also to look at history and see where all these other churches were created and by whom.

Here are some sites to check:

Unbroken History:
http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp

Excerpt:

AN UNBROKEN HISTORY



Jesus said his Church would be "the light of the world." He then noted that "a city set on a hill cannot be hid" (Matt. 5:14). This means his Church is a visible organization. It must have characteristics that clearly identify it and that distinguish it from other churches. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return.

Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most of today's Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.)

Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century, in the fifth century, and in the first century, faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Christ to the apostles, omitting nothing. The line of popes can be traced back, in unbroken succession, to Peter himself. This is unequaled by any institution in history.

Even the oldest government is new compared to the papacy, and the churches that send out door-to-door missionaries are young compared to the Catholic Church. Many of these churches began as recently as the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. Some even began during your own lifetime. None of them can claim to be the Church Jesus established.

The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000 years, despite constant opposition from the world. This is testimony to the Church's divine origin. It must be more than a merely human organization, especially considering that its human members— even some of its leaders—have been unwise, corrupt, or prone to heresy.

Any merely human organization with such members would have collapsed early on. The Catholic Church is today the most vigorous church in the world (and the largest, with a billion members: one sixth of the human race), and that is testimony not to the cleverness of the Church's leaders, but to the protection of the Holy Spirit.



FOUR MARKS OF THE TRUE CHURCH



If we wish to locate the Church founded by Jesus, we need to locate the one that has the four chief marks or qualities of his Church. The Church we seek must be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The Church Is One (Rom. 12:5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 12:13, CCC 813–822)
Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–32). Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church.

His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2).

Although some Catholics dissent from officially-taught doctrines, the Church's official teachers—the pope and the bishops united with him—have never changed any doctrine. Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12–13), but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.

The Church Is Holy (Eph. 5:25–27, Rev. 19:7–8, CCC 823–829)
By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn't mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad members in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21–23).

But the Church itself is holy because it is the source of holiness and is the guardian of the special means of grace Jesus established, the sacraments (cf. Eph. 5:26).

The Church Is Catholic (Matt. 28:19–20, Rev. 5:9–10, CCC 830–856)
Jesus' Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt. 28:19–20).

For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28).

Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19).

The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius's time, which means it probably went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

The Church Is Apostolic (Eph. 2:19–20, CCC 857–865)
The Church Jesus founded is apostolic because he appointed the apostles to be the first leaders of the Church, and their successors were to be its future leaders. The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Scripture and oral Tradition (2 Tim. 2:2).

These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary's special role, and much more —even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself.

Early Christian writings prove the first Christians were thoroughly Catholic in belief and practice and looked to the successors of the apostles as their leaders. What these first Christians believed is still believed by the Catholic Church. No other Church can make that claim.



Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth



Man's ingenuity cannot account for this. The Church has remained one, holy, catholic, and apostolic—not through man's effort, but because God preserves the Church he established (Matt. 16:18, 28:20).

He guided the Israelites on their escape from Egypt by giving them a pillar of fire to light their way across the dark wilderness (Exod. 13:21). Today he guides us through his Catholic Church.

The Bible, sacred Tradition, and the writings of the earliest Christians testify that the Church teaches with Jesus' authority. In this age of countless competing religions, each clamoring for attention, one voice rises above the din: the Catholic Church, which the Bible calls "the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).

Jesus assured the apostles and their successors, the popes and the bishops, "He who listens to you listens to me, and he who rejects you rejects me" (Luke 10:16). Jesus promised to guide his Church into all truth (John 16:12–13). We can have confidence that his Church teaches only the truth.



THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHURCH



Jesus chose the apostles to be the earthly leaders of the Church. He gave them his own authority to teach and to govern—not as dictators, but as loving pastors and fathers. That is why Catholics call their spiritual leaders "father." In doing so we follow Paul's example: "I became your father in Jesus Christ through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:15).

The apostles, fulfilling Jesus' will, ordained bishops, priests, and deacons and thus handed on their apostolic ministry to them—the fullest degree of ordination to the bishops, lesser degrees to the priests and deacons.

The Pope and Bishops (CCC 880–883)


Jesus gave Peter special authority among the apostles (John 21:15–17) and signified this by changing his name from Simon to Peter, which means "rock" (John 1:42). He said Peter was to be the rock on which he would build his Church (Matt. 16:18).

In Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, Simon's new name was Kepha (which means a massive rock). Later this name was translated into Greek as Petros (John 1:42) and into English as Peter. Christ gave Peter alone the "keys of the kingdom" (Matt. 16:19) and promised that Peter's decisions would be binding in heaven. He also gave similar power to the other apostles (Matt. 18:18), but only Peter was given the keys, symbols of his authority to rule the Church on earth in Jesus' absence.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, called Peter to be the chief shepherd of his Church (John 21:15–17). He gave Peter the task of strengthening the other apostles in their faith, ensuring that they taught only what was true (Luke 22:31–32). Peter led the Church in proclaiming the gospel and making decisions (Acts 2:1– 41, 15:7–12).

Early Christian writings tell us that Peter's successors, the bishops of Rome (who from the earliest times have been called by the affectionate title of "pope," which means "papa"), continued to exercise Peter's ministry in the Church.

The pope is the successor to Peter as bishop of Rome. The world's other bishops are successors to the apostles in general.



HOW GOD SPEAKS TO US



As from the first, God speaks to his Church through the Bible and through sacred Tradition. To make sure we understand him, he guides the Church's teaching authority—the magisterium—so it always interprets the Bible and Tradition accurately. This is the gift of infallibility.

Like the three legs on a stool, the Bible, Tradition, and the magisterium are all necessary for the stability of the Church and to guarantee sound doctrine.

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This site has a wealth of information:
http://www.newadvent.org/

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To Tell You the Whole Truth:
http://www.scborromeo.org/truth/truth.htm

This is very useful, Christian Timeline:
http://www.scborromeo.org/truth/truth.htm

Origins of Christian churches:
http://www.scborromeo.org/truth/c4.htm

Example:
Pentecostal founded by Charles F. Parkham in 1901 Topeka, KS

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Origins of non-Christian religions:
http://www.scborromeo.org/truth/c3.htm

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Questions about the Faith:
http://www.scborromeo.org/glad/glad.htm

Quick and easy questions with Scripture references.

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History of Baptists:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02278a.htm

Excerpt:

The first Baptist Church in the United States did not spring historically from the English Baptist churches, but had an independent origin. It was established by Roger Williams (c. 1600-83). Williams was a minister of the Church of England, who, owing to his separatist views, fled to America in search of religious freedom. He landed at Boston (February, 1631), and shortly after his arrival was called to be minister at Salem. Certain opinions, e.g. his denial of the right of the secular power to publish purely religious offences and his denunciation of the charter of the Massachusetts Colony as worthless, brought him into conflict with the civil authorities. He was summoned before the General Court in Boston and refusing to retract, was banished (October, 1635).

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Protestantism:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12495a.htm

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Please let me know if you need any further information upon this. :)

You might also enjoy these other sites I frequent:
www.ewtn.com
www.savior.org
www.ignatius.com (bookstore)
www.tanbooks.com
www.getfed.com
www.marian.org (Divine Mercy website)

"Jesus, I trust in You." - Divine Mercy Prayer

Right now I feel that all Christians need to make their faith more important to them. Islam is growing and Christians, failing in their own faith, are allowing it to become even larger. We must unite and become strong in the Faith. (St. Joan of Arc, pray for us.)