Expert: Joe Norman - 12/8/2011

Question
I hear sometimes Peter of the Bible being called the first pope or that he set up the Catholic church. But so many people say Catholicism is not christian, so could you talk a little about this. Thanks so much.

Answer
Hi Josh,

You have heard the false teaching that Peter was called the first pope or that he set up the Catholic church because this is exactly what is taught within the Catholic church. They want to convince everyone that the church which was established in 33 A.D. on the Day of Pentecost was the Catholic church but this is just not supported by Historical records. The Catholic church is a perversion of the true original church. When you study carefully the New Testament you see that each local church was independent and autonomous. There was no overarching governmental system of priests and cardinals with one POPE in the highest authority over the entire religion. Each local church appointed a group of men to be "elders" or "overseers" or "shepherds" or "pastors" of the local church. All these titles refer to the same position and these men were appointed from among their own number but the men had to meet the qualifications which Paul listed in I Timothy chapter 3. They also appointed "deacons" which were responsible for organizing specific work of the local church and ensuring it's all done decently and in order.

One of the mistakes Catholics make is they completely misunderstand the passage where Jesus tells Peter...

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

This is taken from Matthew 16:13-19. There are two Greek words meaning rock. One which actually means a small rock is translated as Peter. The other refers to a large rock and the large rock is the rock Jesus says He will build HIS church. The rock is NOT Peter but rather it is the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. No one is baptized into Jesus Christ and His church until they first confess Jesus is the Son of God.

History indicates that the very first official Pope was Emperor Constantine and he became Pope at about 312 A.D. when Constantine immediately had the Roman eagle replaced by a cross on his battle standards. Constantine also made Christianity #the perverted version# the official religion of the Roman Empire and even today the Catholic government is organized exactly like the Roman government was organized.

One other point I'd like to make is that Catholics are taught that ONLY the priests have the authority and ability to correctly understand God's Word and so the members are discouraged from studying God's Word themselves and to completely trust the priest and Catholic tradition. As time went by the Catholic church changed more and more until it no longer had any resemblance to the church as it was originally organized.

The whole purpose of the "church of Christ" is to restore the original church in our modern times. We seek to abandon all man-made creeds and doctrines and to only use God's Word to guide us in all we do and teach. We see this as the ONLY way to truly be part of the Lord's church today. If you have further questions or would like me to explain something in more detail please let me know.

In Christian Love, Joe Norman