For the sake of brevity, anyone who calls themselves "Christian", and who are not Catholic, I have grouped all 38,000 different existing denominations as of April 2006, under the title of Protestant in this writing. I realize that many would prefer not to call themselves Protestant, but any Christian who is not Catholic is making a protest against the only Church which Jesus Christ founded whether they care to admit it or not.
The word "protest" comprises the first seven letters of Protestant.
Why Protestantism will never last:
1. Simply because Holy Scripture gave no one the authority to found another church other than the one which Jesus Christ founded:
There are now over 38,000* different non-Catholic denominations in the world today. Please show me the verse(s) in Holy Scripture which authorize any human person to found even one of those tens of thousands? Any sect without GOD given authority to exist, is a false man-made sect.
*World Christian Encyclopedia, April 2006. It is a Protestant publication.
2. Simply because Holy Scripture has said it will not survive:
"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."
Psalms 127:1.
What is meant by the "house that the Lord builds"? Notice that it is a singular "house" and not houses. The answer is in the New Testament:
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
1Timothy 3:15
Thus the house built by the Lord is the singular Church of the living GOD.
These verses teach us that GOD founded His one and only Church and none other.
In the Old Testament, there was only one Jewish temple, the singular House of GOD, and it was centered in Jerusalem.
In the New Testament, again GOD set up His one and only Church, and today it is centered in Rome.
This is shown in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus said, "And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Notice that Jesus did say "church" and not "churches" in this verse.
Wouldn't you have to agree that each of these three verses alone, negate all of those tens of thousands of individual man-made sects?
However, there are additional verses which reinforce those three:
"According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
1Corinthians 3:10-11
No other foundation means, no other church but the one which Jesus Christ founded.
"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."
Matthew 7:24-27
Notice that Jesus mentioned the house (Church) built upon the "rock" here. This verse gives us a hint of what Jesus will say later in Matthew 16:18. He is the "wise man" who will build His one Church on "rock". It is clear that the "fool who built his house on sand", represents all denominations which were not founded by Jesus Christ.
As Psalms 127:1 said, "those who build it labor in vain". And as Matthew 7:27 continues, "the rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined".
"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand."
Mark 3:24-25
"A (meaning only one) house divided against itself"?
A much worse case situation would be 38,000+ houses divided against themselves, would it not?
3. Simply because not one of the thousands of sects can show that it was founded by GOD:
Not one can trace its history back before 1500 A.D.. There are no genuine historical documents that any one of them can find to "prove" that their origins are any older. By the time the first one came into existence, the Catholic Church was already approaching 1500 years of age.
However, all of them can only trace their heritage back to a mere human person founder, and never back to Jesus Christ.
Doesn't Psalms 127:1 seem to echo, echo, echo, here?
Here is a sampling of some of the Protestant denominations and their founding dates:
1521, Martin Luther started Protestantism by forming the Lutherans.
1521, Thomas Munser, a Catholic priest, started Anabaptists a few months after Lutherism.
1525, Mennonites started by Grebel, Mantz, and Blaurock in Switzerland.
1534, Henry VIII started the Church of England (Anglican).
1536, John Calvin, teaching predestination, formed the Calvinists.
1560, John Knox, who studied under Luther, started Presbyterians.
1582, Congregationalists were started by Rob Brown, as a branch from Puritanism.
1609, John Smyth formed the Baptists in Holland.
1639, Roger Williams started the Baptists in America. They have since splintered severely.
1647, George Fox started the Quakers in England.
1739, John and Charles Wesley started the Methodists.
1770, Universalists were started by John Murray in New Jersey.
1774, Theophilus Lindley started Unitarians.
1789, Samuel Seabury started Episcopalians.
1793 to 1809, the Churches of Christ had four separate human persons as founders.
1803, Evangelicals were founded by Jacob Albright in Pennsylvania.
1830, Joseph Smith founded the Mormons in Palmyra New York. See Galatians 1:8-9
1860, William Miller, a farmer, started the Adventists.
1863, Ellen Gould White started the Seventh-Day Adventists.
1865, William Booth started The Salvation Army.
1879, Mary Baker Eddy started Christian Scientists.
1879, Charles Russell started the Jehovah's Witnesses.
1875, New Age was started by Helena Blavatsky. See Colossians 2:8
1895, French Abbe Alfred Loisy, and English Jesuit George Tyrrell started Modernism.
1901, Pentecostalism was started in the United States.
1914, Felix Manalo started Iglesia ni Cristo.
1914, Assembly of GOD was started by a General Assembly in Arkansas.
1919, Church of the Nazarene was started by a Union at a General Assembly.
1930, Independent Churches of America (IFCA), a consortium of churches .
1934, Evangelical Reformed was started by Union at a General Assembly.
1952, L. Ron Hubbard started the Church of Scientology.
1965, Chuck Smith began Calvary Chapel.
1968, Disciples of Christ, separated from the Churches of Christ.
1974, Ken Gullickson started the Vineyard Christian Fellowship.
Pentecostal Gospel, and other splinter Pentecostal groups, are some of the hundreds of new sects founded by mere men in the 20th century.
Go here to see many more.
Were any of these sects founded by GOD, or were they all founded by mere human creatures? "Has Christ been divided up?" 1Corinthians 1:13
Again! "Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it." Psalms 127:1 "
4. Simply because they refuse to search for, and to believe the truth:
Who, other than the Catholic Church, really knows the truth of what the Catholic Church teaches?
The answer to that one is that NO ONE outside of the Catholic Church does. However, Protestants continue to believe "what they are told" instead of searching for the truth for themselves as Holy Scripture demands.
If you had a Ford to fix, would you take it to a Ford, or to a Chevrolet dealer?
It is the same principle when you want to learn the truth of what the Catholic Church teaches.
You must always go to the source for the truth of what comes from that source.
Why then do anti-Catholic militants continue to perpetuate lies against the Catholic Church, from which they learned from other non-Catholic militant sources?
Those who refuse to go to the source, and who continue to believe the lies of others will be met with the wrath of GOD.
Believe me, their end will not be pretty, and will not be at all what they had expected. They believe they are doing GOD a "service", but instead, they are incurring His wrath. It is one of satan's ways to deceive the innocent.
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth."
Romans 1:18
All of those who refuse to go to the Catholic Church to find the truth of what it teaches, but instead believe what they are told by others, are guilty of Romans 1:18, since they have suppressed the truth.
"...to those who by patience on well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury."
Romans 2:7-8
Factious? Who is more factious than the 38,000+ Protestant factions?
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death."
Revelation 21:8
Wow! Look what happens to liars? Fire and sulphur awaits them. Does that sound like heaven?
"But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life."
Revelation 21:27
"Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood."
Revelation 22:15
Liars will surely get their just "rewards", but it is certain that the "rewards" will not be in heaven.
All of us are obligated to search for the truth, and the consequences for failing to do so are fearful:
"The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness"2Thessalonians 2:9-12
There are many verses which continue this same theme. See the consequences link for many more.
IF YOU WISH TO AVOID ALL OF THIS WRATH, THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE. IF YOU HAVE NOT GONE TO THE SOURCE TO LEARN THE TRUTH, THEN DO NOT PROPAGATE THE LIE. IF YOU HAVE REFUSED TO GO TO THE SOURCE FOR THE TRUTH, THEN YOU DESERVE WHAT YOU GET. REMEMBER THAT GOD ALWAYS GETS THE LAST LAUGH.
HE IS THE JUST JUDGE OF YOUR IMMORTAL SOUL.
BE SURE THAT YOU READ THE LAST LINE OF THIS SECTION # 4.
"Truth has always bothered people and is never comfortable."
Cardinal Ratzinger, October 9, 2000
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However, He who has refused to acknowledge the truth in life will be forced to confront it in death.
5. Simply because they simply refuse to take advantage of the teaching of Holy Scripture and the stories about those in the past who were disobedient to GOD's chosen Father Figures. If you will recall, GOD has always spoken through a Father Figure and not through the populace as a whole, be it through the great prophets, or through Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, John the Baptist, Simon Peter, or through Saint Simon Peter's unbroken line of successors down through almost two thousand years.
Read of the rebellion against the authority of Moses by Korah (Core) and his followers. The story is in Numbers 16:1-35. Here is Korah's demand in verses 1-3. See how the demands of Korah are echoed by Martin Luther thousands of years later:
"Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, (and Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, son of Pallu, son of Reuben) took two hundred and fifty Israelites who were leaders in the community, members of the council and men of note. They stood before Moses, and held an assembly against Moses and Aaron, to whom they said, "Enough from you! The whole community, all of them, are holy; the LORD is in their midst. Why then should you set yourselves over the LORD'S congregation?""
Isn't this last line reminiscent of the demands of Luther?
Read about how Moses pleaded with him not to break away in verses 10-11:
"He has allowed you and your kinsmen, the descendants of Levi, to approach him, and yet you now seek the priesthood too. It is therefore against the LORD that you and all your band are conspiring. For what has Aaron done that you should grumble against him?"
Read Acts 5:38-39 for an echo of what Moses said to Korah and his followers.
GOD's Father Figure on earth at the time of Luther, did exactly as Moses had done with Korah, as he too had pleaded with Luther to end his rebellion. However, like Korah, Luther was adamant, and refused the overtures of GOD's Father Figure on earth, the Pope.
Be sure and read of the ending of Korah and of all of his followers in Numbers 16:25-35.
It is not pretty.
Then there is the story of Miriam and Aaron who rebelled against the authority of Moses in Numbers 12:1-15. "(vs 2) They complained, "Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks?
Does he not speak through us also?" And the LORD heard this."
This is essentially the same argument of which Korah had against Moses.
See what happened to Miriam in verse 10 for her disobedience to the authority of Moses?
Again, it is not pretty what happened to her.
"But these people revile what they do not understand and are destroyed by what they know by nature like irrational animals. Woe to them! They followed the way of Cain, abandoned themselves to Balaam's error for the sake of gain, and perished in the rebellion of Korah."
Jude 1:10-11
How many Catholic teachings are reviled by those who refuse to go to the source for the truth of what the Catholic Church teaches and instead prefer to believe what they are told by others?
We all know the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-26 where Cain was banished from the land that was given the special protection of GOD. The one Church which Jesus Christ founded is also given special protection by GOD. See Matthew 16:18, 28:20, John 14:16-18, Ephesians 5:23.
Balaam was paid by king Balak to put a curse upon Israel. However, GOD prevented Balaam from doing so and instead Balaam gave Israel a blessing. Read the whole story of Balaam in Numbers 22-31. Read this and see how Martin Luther cursed the Pope, GOD's Father Figure on earth. Balaam met his end by being executed by the sword of Israel in Numbers 31:8.
Who is the Father Figure in the tens of thousands of Protestant sects? There is none because the first Protestant, a lowly priest without any authority, said one was not needed. Since GOD always had a Father Figure isn't that a rebellion against the will of GOD? Do you think GOD obeyed the first Protestant and agreed that a Father Figure was no longer needed? If you say yes to that one then you have just elevated the will of a lowly man or woman above the will of GOD.
Those who fail to profit from the teaching of Holy Scripture regarding the grave human errors committed in Biblical History, are doomed to repeat them again....and have!
6. Simply because, as Holy Scripture teaches us, that none of them can have the fullness of truth:
"Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that �they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.'"
Luke 8:10
Since truth is one, the fullness of truth can be in only one Church, the one founded by truth Himself.
7. Simply because they all teach something different:
Since Jesus Christ is truth, that means truth is one. It stands to reason that if each of the tens of thousands of individual sects teach something different to distinguish themselves from the others, then which one, if any, teaches the one truth?
This principal is born out simply by analyzing what each one teaches:
One has infant Baptism, another bans it. One worships only on Saturday, whereas another on Sunday. One has female ministers, another says that is not biblical. One says the Eucharist is the Body of Christ, whereas another says it is only a symbol. I could go on and on through every subject. Every doctrine taught by one is denied by another, except for the existence of GOD. Every one of these tens of thousands of sects acts as if they had their own Pope. If that does not sound bad enough, some sects even teach a "feel good" theology, if it feels good for you, then it must be the truth. By doing this, each individual member becomes his or her very own pope. Instead of thousands of popes, running around, each proclaiming the truth, we have millions.
Wherein does the authority lie? What is the ending for this chaos?
Opinions, opinions, all of these Protestant denominations are guided by mere human personal opinion only, even though they all say they are guided by the Holy Spirit. How can that possibly be? How could one Holy Spirit teach such variances of doctrine? The answer is that He could not, for the Church which Jesus Christ founded is not governed by mere human opinions, but by GOD given doctrinal truth, and that truth, like GOD, is one.
GOD has no regard for the opinions of men, but only for doctrinal truth, as Scripture tells us:
"...Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth."
Mark 12:14
Why do Protestants ignore this verse as well as so many others that I have listed in this writing?
Aren't they simply picking and choosing the verses which "feel good" for them, while at the same time rejecting those verses which clearly show the error of which they are in?
"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, �Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.""
Matthew 16:13-17
These verses offer a perfect example of personal opinions (for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you) none of which were correct, and then GOD given doctrinal truth (but my Father who is in heaven).
Peter, the first Pope, was the only one who had doctrinal truth, because he was given it directly by GOD. All of the rest merely had an opinion.
Did the Holy Spirit prompt those who merely had a personal opinion?
Not at all, since none of them expressed the truth, and Jesus Christ did say the truth was revealed by the Father to Simon Peter only.
I have asked non-Catholics, "What is the pillar and foundation of truth?" I am told, it is the Bible in many cases. Here is another verse ignored by those who find it to be too "uncomfortable" to ponder;
"But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth."
1Timothy 3:15
So who has the truth according to Holy Scripture? Is it the opinions of millions of pseudo popes in 38,000 different sects, or is it the one and only Church which Jesus Christ founded?
"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. GOD is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth."
John 4:23-24
True worshipers must worship in truth. This is a command and not a suggestion. If you are not in the "pillar and foundation of truth", which is the only Church which Jesus Christ founded, then you are not abiding by Holy Scripture.
"That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;"
Luke 12:47
It is the will of GOD that we worship in truth. Those who refuse to accept the truth, which comes from the one Church founded by Jesus Christ, will face the consequences at death.
"For the Holy Spirit and we have decided to lay no further burden upon you but this indispensable one..."
Acts 15:28
However, the Holy Spirit did guide the Apostles in the first Catholic Church Council, the Council of Jerusalem in 49 A.D., as shown in the above verse. It is so clear that this was a decision made not by the opinions of mere human creatures alone. This process continues to this very day, for the Holy Spirit has been guiding the Church which Jesus Christ founded ever since then.
Here is the proof of what I just said:
"And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you."
John 14:16-17
Here is yet more proof:
"I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."
John 16:12-13
Did you notice the future tense in these verses, "he will guide you...", and "he will declare to you the things that are to come"?
Holy Scripture clearly has said that the Holy Spirit will guide the Church which Jesus Christ founded, and He will guide it for ever. This is proof positive that the Spirit could not possibly be guiding any of the tens of thousands of sects which are each teaching something different from the one truth, and whose teachings are based solely upon the opinions of mere human creatures.
If the Holy Spirit were teaching them, then they would have to be all in agreement with one other. Isn't that true? However, it is so obvious that they are not in agreement at all, and in so many ways.
"And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers."
1Thessalonians 2:13
Scripture has so clearly told us not to obey the opinions of men, but only the truth of GOD.
"But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men"." Acts 5:29
Doesn't this one verse alone pre-empt all of us from obeying the opinions of men?
No? Well here is another one:
"If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of GOD is greater..." 1John 5:9
"May the GOD of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind towards one another according to Jesus Christ; that in one spirit, you may with one mouth glorify the GOD and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 15:5-6
How many one's do count in those 2 verses?
Does it say you shall be tens of thousands of minds, anywhere?
"What the soul is to man's body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Holy Spirit does in the whole Church what the soul does in all members of one body. But see what you must beware of, see what you must take note of, see what you must fear. It happens that in the human body, or rather, off the body, some member, whether hand, finger, or foot, may be cut away. And if a member be cut off, does the soul go with it? When the member was in the body, it lived; and off, its life is lost. So too, a Christian man is Catholic while he lives in the body; cut off, he is made a heretic; the Spirit does not follow an amputated member."
Saint Augustine of Hippo, Sermons, 267, 4, 391-430 A.D.
8. Simply because they teach an "ear tickling" theology:
"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths."
2Timothy 4:3-4
The time is not coming any longer, AS PROTESTANTISM HAS BROUGHT IT UPON US NOW.
Read on for proof of this...
Now you can pick and choose any type of theology which sounds comfortable to your "itching ears".
If you have a fear of hell and do not want to accept it, well do not despair, for there are many who will tell you that there is no hell, as it simply is a myth. Never mind what the Bible says on the subject, believe our human "opinions" instead. Does that make you feel better now?
Do you scoff at the notion that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, in spite of what Holy Scripture in John Chapter 6 teaches us?
Well do not be concerned, for you have a wide choice of those who teach that it is only a symbol.
Are you unsure of your salvation? Never fear, for some will tell you that you are saved now and forever, regardless of how many sins you commit in this life. So go out and have a good time and rest assured that you are saved no matter what you do. Isn't that comforting for the "itching ears", and doesn't it make life seem so much easier by not having to be anxious as to where you will spend eternity?
Is having children a bother for you? Never fear, for many of them teach that abortion is a simple solution for you, although they will not call it abortion, but "pro-choice". That title does sound much less harsh, than the murder of the innocents as it really is. How much "choice" does the completely innocent child in the womb have? And of course, they will never tell you that you are committing murder by doing it, will they? What do you suppose GOD has to say on this subject, or do you care? Read this abortion file for the answer as to what GOD thinks of murder in the womb.
"Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, �Did God say, �You shall not eat of any tree of the garden�?� And the woman said to the serpent, �We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, �You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.�� But the serpent said to the woman, �You will not die. For GOD knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like GOD, knowing good and evil.� So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate."
Genesis 3:1-6
So what is different today? Not a thing.
Many today still would rather listen to the serpent with his "easy theology", than to listen to GOD.
So just take your very own list of what you want to believe, and what you refuse to believe, and just go shopping through the 38,000+ sects from which you have to choose, and maybe someday you will find the one which suits your "opinions". If you cannot find one, you can always think about starting another one which does fit. After all, most of those 38,000+ were started in that very same manner.
Now show me the verse in the Bible where Jesus Christ gave anyone the authority to be cafeteria Christians who say, "I will take this because it is to my liking but I will reject that because it isn't"?
9. Simply because in all of Protestantism there is no central governing body:
Who in all of Protestantism has any GOD given authority to be the central governing body?
The answer is that there isn't anyone.
Holy Scripture tells us that authority was given by GOD to His one and only Church.
Echo, Psalms 127:1
"Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves."
Romans 13:1-2
Just imagine a United States with 38,000+ presidents at the same time? How long would the country last? In which direction would the country head? Surely it could head in only one direction, and that direction is straight down. It would be impossible to govern and it would simply stagnate, die, disintegrate, and decay. If you put just five people together in a room could you get them all to agree with one another all of the time? How about tens of thousands in the same room? Simple common sense should tell sane people that more than one heads of state, or heads of GOD's Church, at the same time, simply would never work. But alas, where is common sense today?
When these sects have an internal dispute over doctrine, they simply split and form yet another sect.
Baptists alone are split into over a score of major splinters and scores more of minor ones.
In 2000 the Southern Baptists split yet again over doctrinal disputes such as the ordination of women and other issues. Most of the others are factious also. Can you see now why trying to govern by personal opinion is self defeating?
Is all of this chaos in obedience with the command of Jesus, "...that all may be one,..." as He said in John 17:21-22?
10. Simply by looking at the extremely poor track record of previous heresies, because the survival rate of heresies against the Catholic Church are almost non-existent, with one exception...Islam, and the reasons for its survival are far different from the failures of all of the others:
Just look at the historical records of a few of the previous heresies before Protestantism was started by mere human creatures, and not by GOD. Scores of heretical movements sprang up over the centuries. Just a few of them are mentioned here, Judaizers, Ebionites, Simonians, Cerinthians, Basilidians, Carpocratians, Gnostics, Valentinians, Marcionites, Cerdonians, Docetists, Montanists, Encratites, Monarchians, Novatianists, Manichaeanists, Pelagianists, Arians, Nestorians, Icanoclasmists, Albigensians, Waldenses, Catharists, etc, etc, and etc.. Where are they all today?
They all died out, simply because "no lie is of the truth".
Truth cannot be refuted, and the lie cannot be proven.
Holy Scripture warns against persecution of the Church which Jesus Christ founded:
"Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God..."
1Corinthians 10:32
11. Simply because Protestantism is imploding, and the hand writing is on the wall to prove it:
In 1521, the year the reformation started, there was only one Protestant sect, Lutherism, the one which the first Protestant, Martin Luther founded. A short time later, Munzer, founded another one, then Zwingli, Calvin, and Henry VIII followed suit. By 1600 there were about 100. In 1900 there were 1000. By 1981 there were 22,000. In 2006, 38,000 were counted, all founded by mere human men or women. Where was their GOD given authority to do so? Protestant sects, as they become more numerous, are also becoming smaller and smaller. Do the calculations yourself. It is only a matter of time before each will become so small that it will become impossible for them to support themselves. At the rate things are going, it is inevitable that each member will become his or her own ecclesial community. You can only slice an apple into so many pieces before you are compelled to call it apple sauce, a form not even resembling the original.
"There is not enough time in the day for me to recite even the names of all the various sects of heretics."
Saint Ambrose of Milan, The Mystery of the Lord's Incarnation, 5,35, 382 A.D.
I must repeat myself here, for this next verse fits the topic of this #10 section as well as the #2 section above.
"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand."
Mark 3:24-25
A "house divided against itself"?
A much worse case situation would be 38,000 houses divided against themselves, all of which will surely not stand for long.
"But there were false prophets also among the people, just as among you there will be lying teachers who will bring in destructive sects. They even disown the Lord who bought them, thus bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their wanton conduct, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. And out of greed they will with deceitful words use you for their gain. Their condemnation, passed of old, is not made void, and their destruction does not slumber."
2Peter 2:1-3
Destructive sects? What does that sound like? Isn't dividing Christ into over thirty thousand pieces destructive? Maligning the way of truth? I thought truth was one, and if that is true as Scripture so clearly states, then there can be only ONE true Church. What about those words of condemnation and destruction in those verses? To whom do they apply?
"Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive." Sir Walter Scott
Why the Catholic Church will ever last:
1. Simply by just looking at its longevity record:
Soon it will have been in existence for 2000 years. It has endured attacks from within and from without for almost all of those 2000 years, yet it is still the oldest, longest lasting living institution on earth. These attacks were from the very beginning, and started with the Jews. Look what happened to them instead! Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and every Jewish priest was slain by the Romans in 70 A.D.. It takes a priest (Bishop) to make a priest and since the Jews had no priests to make new ones, that is the reason why they have no priests today, but only Rabbi's. The Aaronic priesthood came to a brutal ending. Judaism was almost completely destroyed. Then came the Romans who burned Christians at the stake and fed them to the lions. They, in turn, and their evil pagan empire with them, collapsed in 476 A.D.. Then came the Nestorians, Arians, Vandals, Moslems, Waldenses, Albigensians, Catharists, Protestantism, the French Revolution, Modernism, Naziism, Communism, Dissidents, and now Secular Humanism, Fundamentalism, Relativism, Indifferentism, and Hedonism. There are many more heretical groups and beliefs which are not listed here. Where are the above ones today? Since all of the listed heretical groups did their best to destroy the Catholic Church for 20 centuries, why do you think they failed? If all of that man made "power" could not destroy the Catholic Church, why then do some bigots of today think they can?
Heretics and bigots have been trying to bury the Catholic Church for almost 2000 years, yet it is the Catholic Church which is burying them instead. Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat the errors of others before them, and in so doing they never profit from previous mistakes.
Today, the Catholic Church is far from "imploding", as Protestantism is doing. In fact it is going the other way. It is "exploding" instead, with well over 1.1 billion Catholics on earth today, which is one sixth of the entire population of the whole world. To what, or to "whom", would you say is responsible for this two millennia of longevity and endurance?
Name the Church which is fulfilling the command of Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19,
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations..."
These Persecutions were foretold by Jesus Christ Himself:
Matthew 5:11-12, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Luke 6:26, "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets."
Most of Protestantism does not speak well of Catholics or of the Catholic Church, so I would venture to say that these verses speak of the Catholic Church, wouldn't you? If you do not agree, then please give me the name of the church of which Jesus spoke in these verses?
"Fear not, for I am with thee: turn not aside, for I am your GOD. I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of My Just One hath upheld thee. Behold all that fight against thee shall be confounded (split into 38,000 pieces maybe?) and ashamed, as they shall be as nothing, and the men shall perish that strive against thee."
Isaiah 41:10-11
"And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail, for I am with thee, said the Lord, to deliver thee."
Jeremiah 1:19
Words of wisdom from two saints, one of which is also a Church Father:
"This Church is Holy, the One Church, the True Church, the Catholic Church, fighting as she does against all heresies. She can fight, but she cannot be beaten. All heresies are expelled from her, like the useless loppings pruned from a vine. She remains fixed in her root, in her vine, in her love. The gates of hell shall not conquer her."
Saint Augustine of Hippo, Sermon to Catechumens, on the Creed, 6,14, 395 A.D.
"It is an unhappy ending for those who attack the Catholic Church."
Saint Robert Bellarmine 1542-1621
Those who take pleasure in kicking "The Rock", have never learned that all they will ever accomplish is to hurt their own foot. They never learned either, that those who are ignorant of history are prone to repeat its mistakes. Where are all of these attackers today? Most are gone, some of the others are splintered so badly that they are practically impotent, and some are still with us temporarily. There will always be new ones popping up, like weeds amongst the wheat. After all, you cannot have a rose without a few thorns. "...And at harvest time I will say to the reapers: gather up the weeds first and bind them in bundles to burn; but gather the wheat into My barn."
Matthew 13:30
Who is the wheat here, and who are the weeds?
Did you not know that Jesus Christ is the savior of His Body the Church?
"... just as Christ is head of the Church, being himself savior of the body."
Ephesians 5:23
Well then,
"If GOD is for us, who is against us?"
Romans 8:31
That verse sums up this whole section into just 9 words.
I wonder if any of those who attack the Catholic Church have ever read or understood
Ephesians 5:23, and Romans 8:31?
They are the reasons why the Catholic Church still stands after 2000 years of persecution, and will continue to stand until the end of time. It is the promise of GOD.
What force on earth would give you trepidation, if the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings is with you?
2. Simply because Old Testament Holy Scripture says it will:
"And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and with human chastisements; but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul, whom I removed from my presence. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever."
2Samuel 7:12-16
"And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit which is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your children, or out of the mouth of your children�s children, says the Lord, from this time forth and for evermore."
Isaiah 59:21
"And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever;"
Daniel 2:44
"And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."
Daniel 7:14
3. Simply because New Testament Holy Scripture also says it will:
We have Scriptural guarantees of perpetuality from GOD Himself.
"And I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Matthew 16:18
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20
"And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you."
John 14:16-17
"I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."
John 14:18
"To Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus down through all the ages of time without end. Amen."
Ephesians 3:21
"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 12:28-29
"So now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or work, is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it. Else perhaps you may find yourselves fighting even against GOD."
Acts 5:38-39
I believe Acts 5:38-39 sums up the turbulent history of the Catholic Church, and of its many attackers over the last 2000 years quite nicely. How could any human institution last for 2000 years while under constant persecution? Unrelenting futile attacks by hundreds of heretical groups for two millennia is indicative of the fact that the Catholic Church clearly is of GOD and is not of men.
How else could you possibly account for its survivability under such difficult circumstances?
I have listed many references from both the Old and New Testaments in which we have the promises of GOD that His one Church will be defended from within and from without by GOD Himself. Now if anyone does not believe that these verses apply to the Catholic Church, then pray tell me to which church do they apply? Not one Protestant denomination even appeared on the scene until almost 1500 years after Jesus Christ founded His Church, so it could not be any one of those tens of thousands that those verses address.
4. Simply because we can show by many means that Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church:
If you believe that Holy Scripture is inspired by GOD, then you must realize that it was the Catholic Church who gave the Bible to the whole world. The Catholic Church is the mother of the Bible, not the daughter.
There is proof from Apostolic Succession.
There is an unbroken line of successive visible Father Figures, the Popes.
There is a huge library of genuine historical documents from every one of the twenty centuries which can be researched by anyone. Hundreds of these writings mention the Catholic Church by name starting from 107 A.D..
Here are 140 reasons why it is the Catholic Church which Jesus Christ founded and none other.
For all of those who attack the Catholic Church, I ask you to show me just one reason why you think it is your denomination that Jesus Christ founded. Be sure to include genuine historical documents "proving" what you say. I am not interested in personal opinions, or in quotes from an anti-Catholic book, just the facts only please.
Also, in your "opinion", if Jesus Christ did not found the Catholic Church, then please give me the name of the person who did, since all churches on earth have a namable founder?
Do not forget your document(s) of "proof" of what you say. After all of this, where is the Catholic Church today? The Catholic Church, despite all of the slings and arrows from all quarters, is still here, still very much viable, still preaching and teaching the truth of Jesus Christ, as it has been doing for almost 2000 years, and... it is still growing even faster. Why? Simply because GOD is at the helm as I have shown. Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), and his heretical helpers, who cannot show that they have any authority whatsoever, have lost.
5. Simply because only the Catholic Church fits perfectly with what Scripture says about the trials and tribulations of the Body of Christ:
A message from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen...
"If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches in the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church which is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and of never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of GOD as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to GOD. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself The Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine." Msgr (at the time of writing) Fulton J. Sheen D.D..
Preface to Radio Replies Volume #1, Fr. Leslie Rumble and Fr. Charles Carty, a Tan Book.
6. Simply because the barque of Peter has Christ aboard:
"While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat."
Luke 5:1-3
" And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, �Save, Lord; we are perishing.� And he said to them, �Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?� Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, �What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"
Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-40, Luke 8:22-26
"Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you. O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled, I lay your pavements in carnelians, and your foundations in sapphires; I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of precious stones. All your sons shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In justice shall you be established, far from the fear of oppression, where destruction cannot come near you. Should there be any attack, it shall not be of my making; whoever attacks you shall fall before you. Lo, I have created the craftsman who blows on the burning coals and forges weapons as his work; It is I also who have created the destroyer to work havoc. No weapon fashioned against you shall prevail; every tongue you shall prove false that launches an accusation against you. This is the lot of the servants of the LORD, their vindication from me, says the LORD."
Isaiah 54:10-17
Of all of the heretical groups that have failed in the past 2000 years, not one heeded the many warnings of Holy Scripture.
Isaiah is not to be ignored here.
Also did you notice that when the storm (heretics and detractors) threatens the Barque of Peter (the one true church, prefigured by Noah's ark) that Jesus is there to calm the storm and to protect His Church? What happened to the storm? It was vanquished!
Do you, who attack the Catholic Church, heed the dire warnings of Holy Scripture? If 2000 years of constant attacks against the Catholic Church have failed, what makes you think yours will succeed?
The storm-battered barque of Peter will survive because Christ is aboard.
Luke 5:1-3
"So now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone.
For if this plan or work, is of men, it will be overthrown;
but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it.
Else perhaps you may find yourselves fighting even against GOD."Acts 5:38-39
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