Jesus Christ established one true church on Earth. He certainly didn't create hundreds of denominations so that they would fight amongst themselves, but instead he created a solid foundation and a system that worked in order to carry out the Great Commission. The Great Commission is to go around the world and baptize nations in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To do this, there has to be a clear and unambiguous mission. Jesus definitely did not intend to have his church involved in a civil war, or even battle. That's why he set up his true church the way he did. Every great organization has a structure, otherwise it cannot be unified. Such is the case with the Catholic Church. It is unified and strong, together as one it progresses.
The reason Chrisitanity is so big is because of Jesus Christ and because of the Church he founded. It would not have gotten to where it is today without the unity of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has stood from the time of Jesus, and still stands. Of course, all other "denominations" (besides Eastern Orthodox which came around about 1000ad) have come around in the last several hundred years. Their existence can all be traced back to some human who didn't like something about the True Church, or instead of trying to learn something for themselves, they broke away because of a misconception they held. The only church that can truly trace its history all the way back to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior is the Roman Catholic Church. Of course, uncomfortable with this fact which proves their illegimacy, some Protestants have tried unsucessfully to show that their churches are somehow connected to the beginnings of Christianity. I laugh at their stories, which are far more preposterous than any science fiction novel, or even a comedic book intended to create humour through absurdity.
If you want to find out for yourself, just read what the Church Fathers say back in the first and second centuries. These people were most definitely Catholic, in everything they believed. We have the unbroken chain, no one else does. If you want something funny to laugh at, just think about something some Protestants say. They say their religion survived underground or something for thousands of years and then suddenly emerged about fifty years ago or something. Now, these emergences usually occur after a particular individual decides he doesn't want to be Catholic anymore. After he has long decided to break off from the True Church, maybe decades later, someone from his new religion tries to connect his church to the original church. You might as well try to jump up and touch the sun, that's about how close Protestantism is connected to the Church the Savior of the World established. There is absolutely not a speck of evidence to show that there was some strange, mysterious underground church through several centuries. There's innumerable pieces of evidence that Catholicism existed since Jesus, and there's even evidence left by the worst and most outrageous heretics from throughout history.
To find out what the Bible says, and other information, I quote Catholic Answers (http://www.catholic.com):
Jesus said his Church would be "the light of the world." He then noted that "a city set on a hill cannot be hid" (Matt. 5:14). This means his Church is a visible organization. It must have characteristics that clearly identify it and that distinguish it from other churches. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return.
I think that pretty much says it.
As usual, I am very interested in feedback, and would love to receive your questions or comments. Please email me at philinaberdeen at gmail.com (change the format first).
Philip Lynch
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