Full Question
I am Catholic. A Protestant told me that the people are the church, but I’m pretty sure that is not true. Can you help me? What is the Church?Answer
Your friend was correct as far as he went. The Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium, stated the Church is the people of God. Protestants see this as pretty much it. They understand church
as a name for a structure-less body of people who follow Christ and
believe in his divinity as the second Person of the Holy Trinity,
revealed in the Bible alone.
Catholics, on the
other hand, understand the Church also in terms of a hierarchical
structure, with definite authority given to it by Jesus in the person of
Peter and therefore to his successors. We see in Scripture much
evidence that Jesus gave personal attention to the apostles, preparing
them to minister after he was no longer with them. “Anyone who listens
to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who
reject me reject the one who sent me” (Lk 10:16). There was no reason
for him to prepare them for only their lifetime. The early Church
Fathers verify this. The early Church does not fall into the Protestant
vision of a structure-less, sacrament-less body of believers. It was
hierarchically structured and sacramental. The canon of the New
Testament, on which Protestants base all their faith, is the product of
this Church.
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5 comments:
https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/saint-peter-and-his-keys/
"...And anyone who will carefully read the New Testament Scriptures will be assured that Peter was never a Roman Pope, that he never forgave sins, that he never prayed to Mary, that he never preached Purgatory, that he was never a Christian priest, that he never had a building called a cathedral, that he never wore ecclesiastical garments, that he never claimed that bread and wine could be turned into the body and blood of Christ; that he never prayed for the dead, that be never had silver and gold, that he was never called “Reverend Peter”, “Father Peter”."
Yes, I know that is the traditional Protestant teaching, however, it wasn't this way for 1500 years, or even in the time of Luther and Calvin. The Catholics have enormous Biblical studies citing chapter and verse for everything they teach going back to the church fathers, not just to the 18th or 19th century, so it comes down to who has the longest track record and who determined what is in the Bible. And who has given the Berean Bible Society the authority to decide?
...so it comes down to who has the longest track record and who determined what is in the Bible." May I humbly suggest you read it for yourself? {II Timothy 2:15}. The Bible is what I base my opinion on. I merely sited BBS as a point of reference. The Holy, inerrant, Spirit-inspired Word of God is what we should live by...not a fallible human's interpretations...teachings which have been subject to change throughout the centuries. God and His Word NEVER changes. The same yesterday, today and forever. Also, Peter was married. Never been able to rectify that with Catholicism...Could give many more examples of what the Bible has to say about that religion...chapter and verse.
Decided not to publish my rebuttal?
I'm sorry, Sue, but I can't find it--I've scrolled through my e-mails (comes there first) and depending on how many offers for furniture and books and miracle cures I get, sometimes I miss the important stuff. Can you resend?
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