Expert: Sal - 11/12/2008

Question
Dear Sal,

            Long time no speak ^_^ I have a problem I try to defend my faith and since we are Christian-Jewish founded by Christ, this expert said that he doesnt agree with my beliefs....

He said:

We are coming from fundamentally different views and will never agree on this. Hopefully we can agree to disagree.

The Jews are the Jews, the Elect of God as Paul (Rom 11) and others make clear. They always have been, they always will be.

I have shared my views -- which are coming from a more Protestant (Baptist) perspective -- and you have shared yours, which are more Catholic. Catholics and Protestants have several fundamental differences in doctrine and belief. In the main I believe Baptist doctrine is closer to the teachings of Jesus and his disciples than Catholic doctrine. In the main, I agree with them.

It has not been my intention to insult you or your faith, but to honestly and frankly answer your questions/comments according to my beliefs and studies.

Like most Protestants, I do not believe the Roman Catholic Church is the Church established by Jesus, I do not believe Peter was the first Pope, I do not believe the verse: "Upon this rock..." was referring to Peter (the reference was to the rock of one's faith in God through Jesus).

I believe rather that through Constantine and the Papal acceptance of various Pagan doctrines the Church was contaminated and that the Reformation was an attempt to restore the original Church to doctrinal purity. That attempt was not entirely successful.

"The Church of God" is the assembly of all who place their faith in God through Jesus, regardless of denomination etc.

Jesus is not Catholic,
Jesus is not Protestant,
Jesus is Jewish.

If you wish to continue this discussion feel free to write back, but there is no way you and I will agree on this. If you wish to continue discussing this, may I suggest topic specific questions/comments rather than such long posts. Then you will get a detailed reply from me.

I know the Catholic church is the only real true church! Yes Jesus was a Jew but he was Christian so that makes him Catholic DUH ^_^ I feel sad for those who dont trust the true faith Catholicism! I really do....

Why can't these man-made faiths see that Catholicism is the only true religion! The Vatican issued a document Tuesday restating its belief that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church of Jesus Christ. I tell these people all the time why Catholic is correct!

I always say to people "WHETHER or not you are Catholic, you may have questions about the Catholic faith. You may have heard challenges to the Catholic Church’s claim to be the interpreter and safeguard of the teachings of Jesus Christ."

Such challenges come from door-to-door missionaries who ask, "Are you saved?" I say yes but many just dont know what to say, from peer pressure that urges you to ignore the Church’s teachings, from a secular culture that whispers "There is no God."

You can’t deal with these challenges unless you understand the basics of the Catholic faith. When I get attacked by my faith meaning when non catholics attack me and call me a cult memeber or a antichrist I just tell them look you dont know what you are talking about my faith is pure truth I give them a booklet and I say here educate your self. An that shuts them up. Hehe ^_^

In Catholicism you will find answers to life’s most troubling questions: Why am I here? Who made me? What must I believe? How must I act? All these can be answered to your satisfaction, if only you will open yourself to God’s grace, turn to the Church he established, and follow his plan for you (John 7:17). Is what I tell them...

Catholics have the four marks of the true church. The other faiths like Baptists,Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants, and others alike are not truth but man made! Greek Orthodox was part of Catholicism but broke off in Schismatic beliefs! 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.

Do you think that this expert that answered to me like that is a heresy? 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).

I feel like I am a doctor of the church :D I am called to religious life but I am still finding what nunnery is right for me in the future....  

Answer
Dear Jacqueline:

You are so right. Unfortunately our separated brothers and sisters in the Lord are blinded to the glorious truth of the One True Church established by God Himself our Lord Jesus Christ. Protestants can't see the truth because the Devil has blinded them. Here is what St. Paul wrote on the subject:

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:3-5).

The so-called "experts" that you wrote to does not even realize that most Protestant scholars now acknowledge that St. Peter IS the Rock of Matthew 16!

God Bless You,
Sal