Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
And yes, the Catholic church was the authority that decided which books would be in the first Christian Bible.
"The Catholic church was the only church to have a Bible for many centuries.
The Bible doesn't say anything about the Bible.Yes, you are right, the letters were BIG, but not capitalized. My mistake.
The Bible claims to be the word of God, that makes it the final Authority.
The apostles chose to go against the tradition of men, but they did not go against Jesus/God.
Constantine did not found a new church. There were no Protestants before the 16th century.The Catholic Church did not even exist initially when the first Christians and early churches were already circulating the letters and writings which make up the Bible. Once the Catholic church came into power it did try to hold a monopoly on the Bible, but the it did not decide the canon of scripture. The scriptures were inspired by God as He directed humans to write it and it is God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who has decided which writings compose His Word as it is God who has preserved the scriptures through history.
"If the Roman Catholic Church wasn’t needed to decide which books were included in, or to interpret, the Old Testament, then surely it wasn’t needed for the New Testament either. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church didn’t even exist in its present form with dominance of a “pope” in Rome over the other churches until nearly a thousand years after Christ. For the first 800 years the church councils were called by the emperors and not by the bishops of Rome, who were themselves subservient to the emperors. Moreover, no church council decided what books would be included in the New Testament. The inspired writings were recognized by consensus of the entire body of believers on the basis of the Holy Spirit indwelling them, not by decree of a council.
The writings of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (martyred 116) demonstrate a familiarity with most of the New Testament, which he quotes as authoritative Scripture. Likewise Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (69- 155), quotes much of the New Testament in his letter to the Philippians. One can reproduce almost every verse in the New Testament from quotations found in personal letters written by Christians within 100 years after Christ. The New Testament was accepted and used by common consent because the same Holy Spirit who inspired its writing indwelt the Christians to enable them both to recognize and to understand it.
It was not until the Third Council of Carthage in A.D.397 that the canonical books of the New Testament (the same 27 we have today) were listed as such. This was only after these books had been referred to as Scripture for more than 300 years both by individual Christians and as the final authority in previous council arguments against heresy."
Question: Is it not true that the Roman Catholic Church gave us the Bible? This is what Catholic friends tell me and they substantiate that claim…. Why don't you admit this?
That decision was probably one of the most unfortunate and destructive in history, and we're still recovering from the damages.When Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire,
Constantine did not found a new church. There were no Protestants before the 16th century.
When Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, the non-catholic Christians didn't go found a different Church.
ilIt was the same church, with different structure because it was no longer underground.
And what happened to the original Church once Christianity was legalized?. It up and vanished! Is there evidence that there were any non Catholic churches in the 6th Century?I never said there were Protestants earlier. I said there were early Christians and early churches that were simply that: Christians, not Catholics, not Protestants and these Christians and churches had the scriptures before the Catholic church existed.
"The Roman Catholic Church claims that the early Christians were all Roman Catholics, and that (aside from the Orthodox Church) all Christians were Roman Catholics until the Protestant Reformation. It claims that the Apostle Peter was the first Pope, ruling from Rome. It also claims that it gave us the Bible.
But do these claims stand up to the test of history? Or are they false credentials?"
Were the Early Christians Roman Catholics?
Mary Ann Collins
(A Former Catholic Nun)
Were the Early Christians Roman Catholics?
It would have been nice if Shamanism or Buddhism became the religion of the Empire.That decision was probably one of the most unfortunate and destructive in history, and we're still recovering from the damages.
Are you done trolling?God will punish gay people.and send them to hell
You seem to follow a depressing spirituality where the Holy Spirit failed to guide the Church and let every Church on the face of the earth become Pagan and Satanic for over a thousand years. May I ask which sect you belong to?I never said there were Protestants earlier. I said there were early Christians and early churches that were simply that: Christians, not Catholics, not Protestants and these Christians and churches had the scriptures before the Catholic church existed.
"The Roman Catholic Church claims that the early Christians were all Roman Catholics, and that (aside from the Orthodox Church) all Christians were Roman Catholics until the Protestant Reformation. It claims that the Apostle Peter was the first Pope, ruling from Rome. It also claims that it gave us the Bible.
But do these claims stand up to the test of history? Or are they false credentials?"
Were the Early Christians Roman Catholics?
Mary Ann Collins
(A Former Catholic Nun)
Were the Early Christians Roman Catholics?
I said the Bible is gay and the God of Scripture preferred men over women in ways that are far from subtle. I explained why there is evidence in Scripture that the God it promotes has tendencies that appear homosexual.I'm not trolling you are the one trolling said in your words God is gay. No he is not.
God will punish gay people.and send them to hell
That mentality left me morbidly depressed, hating myself, and suicidal. My life as a child and teenager were miserably because of that sentiment.God will punish gay people.and send them to hell
For once I appreciate one of your posts.Whoah...who told you that? Show me in the Bible where God is against gay people and is going to send them to hell?...this is the kind of ignorance that gives God a bad name.
Follow me here.....The Bible says that God condemns immoral sexual conduct....no matter the gender. It isn't a person's gender preference that makes them unacceptable to God, because those who are gay can choose not to practice immorality just as much as heterosexual people can. Being gay is just another way that sin affects people. Acting on one's sinful tendencies is what God finds unacceptable. He will never condemn a person for something they cannot change. You can't make a gay person into a hetero because it isn't something they choose. Their conduct is what they choose....just like you do.....do you understand? We are not their judges. Jesus is.
Who decides how Jesus judges?Whoah...who told you that? Show me in the Bible where God is against gay people and is going to send them to hell?...this is the kind of ignorance that gives God a bad name.
Follow me here.....The Bible says that God condemns immoral sexual conduct....no matter the gender. It isn't a person's gender preference that makes them unacceptable to God, because those who are gay can choose not to practice immorality just as much as heterosexual people can. Being gay is just another way that sin affects people. Acting on one's sinful tendencies is what God finds unacceptable. He will never condemn a person for something they cannot change. You can't make a gay person into a hetero because it isn't something they choose. Their conduct is what they choose....just like you do.....do you understand? We are not their judges. Jesus is.