The background image is reused with permission from user "midiman" over on Flickr. See his image post here.
Excuse Me...
I was stopped on a local college campus on my way out of a conference and invited to a Bible study by a total stranger. I seized the opportunity to discuss Christian history, theology differences, and similarities between me (Catholic) and him (non-Catholic). He was totally polite, loving, and respectful, and I am honored that he obliged me to talk his ear off for a few minutes. We left each other and agreed to do some homework to answer each other's questions. These posts represent my homework--a promise to answer his questions.
The Church of the Apostles
"Why can't our modern churches be more like the church of the apostles?"
Claim #1: The early fervor slowly died off after the apostles until church became just a lackadaisical religious practice instead of a relationship with a saving God. The Catholic Church began imposing its rule to keep people in the pew.
Response: St. Paul's letters prove that churches all over the area were at risk for disorganization, factions, and lax attitudes. Does this mean that the Christ's teachings are invalid? Of course not. Evidence of early Church keeping faith sharp: St. Cyprian, a bishop of Carthage who died in 258, saw murderous persecutions cause many Christians to hide their faith--and he was hard on "returning" Christians to make sure that their faith was real.
Claim #2: The early church was stable for about 300 years until the Council of Nicea when the Catholic Church appeared and started throwing all these funny made-up rules into the mix.
Response: If the claim is true, then before 325 AD we shouldn't see evidence of Catholic practice and teaching. For the claim to be true, we should see 1st and 2nd century mainstream Christian leaders teaching the opposite of the modern Catholic Church. However, the opposite is true. We see the Catholic Church upholding the same things the apostles and early Christians lived and died for. This blog aims to address some of the specific instances.
Argument: I believe that the Roman Catholic Church has the fullness of the faith handed down by the apostles--started by Jesus. The fire and the passion are there. The grace of God is present, as promised.
The problems among its members--a (sometimes) poor religious education, or a desire to quit when it gets hard--are the problems of all Christian denominations, and have existed since the beginning. (Hint: That's why Paul had to write so many letters and the apostles had to do so much traveling!)
Now You Write
In these answers, I would like to include guest articles written by Catholics and non-Catholics. Please contact me if you want to write one.
Rules
If you'd like to be part of this conversation, please feel free to respond to any of these posts. You have full permission not to agree. You must be respectful, and when possible, cite and explain evidence to support your claims.
