Is Catholicism the Oldest Christian Faith?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#1
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#1
Why do people stray from it if it were the original Christian doctrine? How does one know one's Christian walk is true with thousands of Christian sects each purporting to be the truth and damning other sects to hell? Why do we put so much faith in our own opinions and call it God's opinion? Doesn't Christianity claim value to humility? How does thinking our opinion is God's opinion classify as such?
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#2
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#2
Searcher92 said:
Why do people stray from it if it were the original Christian doctrine? How does one know one's Christian walk is true with thousands of Christian sects each purporting to be the truth and damning other sects to hell? Why do we put so much faith in our own opinions and call it God's opinion? Doesn't Christianity claim value to humility? How does thinking our opinion is God's opinion classify as such?
Click to expand...
Why do people attack Catholics as false, when we're the mutant spawn that arose from the original church? How does one reconcile their beliefs knowing that Catholicism came first?
 
Dave-L

Dave-L

Banned
#3
Jan 17, 2020
4,792
736
113
#3
Searcher92 said:
Why do people stray from it if it were the original Christian doctrine? How does one know one's Christian walk is true with thousands of Christian sects each purporting to be the truth and damning other sects to hell? Why do we put so much faith in our own opinions and call it God's opinion? Doesn't Christianity claim value to humility? How does thinking our opinion is God's opinion classify as such?
Click to expand...
There are only two groups found in all of Christendom. Those who believe in free will to save them. And those who trust DIRECTLY in God to save them.
 
blue_ladybug

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
#4
Feb 21, 2014
70,924
9,673
113
#4
Christianity came first, actually. Christianity comes from Jesus, and He was here long before any of us were. :)

Sorry but catholicism is not Christianity. Many catholics use rosaries and pray to Mary, among other things. Christians don't do that..
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#5
#5
Searcher92 said:
Why do people stray from it if it were the original Christian doctrine? How does one know one's Christian walk is true with thousands of Christian sects each purporting to be the truth and damning other sects to hell? Why do we put so much faith in our own opinions and call it God's opinion? Doesn't Christianity claim value to humility? How does thinking our opinion is God's opinion classify as such?
Click to expand...
Catholicism is not the original Christian doctrine. It originated with man and has changed much during its 1900 years.
The only true doctrine was taught by Jesus and those few men He chose and directed to record His teaching in the Scripture.
It is not about what so called Christian sects, including catholicism, teach, it is all about what Jesus teaches in His Holy Scripture.
It is not for us to interrupt or put our own spin or meaning on Scripture, it is for us to properly study and understand Scripture.
Catholicism has put its own spin and meaning on Scripture for 1900 years.
 
J

jaybird88

Guest
#6
#6
coptic church and ethiopian church both go back to the first few centuries.
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#7
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#7
blue_ladybug said:
Christianity came first, actually. Christianity comes from Jesus, and He was here long before any of us were. :)

Sorry but catholicism is not Christianity. Many catholics use rosaries and pray to Mary, among other things. Christians don't do that..
Click to expand...
Your faith comes as a schism of Lutheranism and not even the original Lutheranism (unless you are Lutheran) but the versions that broke off after Lutheranism, yet you claim superiority of your Christian faith over the original practices?

How exactly does that add up to truth? If you were born before Martin Luther, all there was was Catholicism so tell me exactly how is your faith superior to Catholicism? How are they not Christians?
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#8
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#8
SpoonJuly said:
Catholicism is not the original Christian doctrine. It originated with man and has changed much during its 1900 years.
The only true doctrine was taught by Jesus and those few men He chose and directed to record His teaching in the Scripture.
It is not about what so called Christian sects, including catholicism, teach, it is all about what Jesus teaches in His Holy Scripture.
It is not for us to interrupt or put our own spin or meaning on Scripture, it is for us to properly study and understand Scripture.
Catholicism has put its own spin and meaning on Scripture for 1900 years.
Click to expand...
You do realize the Bible is vastly interpreted. How do you not interpret the Bible for yourself? Do you stone witches as the Bible tells you to? Do you really think that's a good idea? After all, there's no such thing as interpretation and only the Bible. This is why the Pope exists to make the interpretation for a modern world. No matter how you try to cut, people interpret the Bible, they don't actually practice things like that.
 
S

Sipsey

Well-known member
#9
Sep 27, 2018
1,502
713
113
#9
Searcher92 said:
Your faith comes as a schism of Lutheranism and not even the original Lutheranism (unless you are Lutheran) but the versions that broke off after Lutheranism, yet you claim superiority of your Christian faith over the original practices?

How exactly does that add up to truth? If you were born before Martin Luther, all there was was Catholicism so tell me exactly how is your faith superior to Catholicism?
Click to expand...
Don’t Roman Catholics believe that a Priest can forgive their sins?
 
Magenta

Magenta

Senior Member
#10
Jul 3, 2015
61,137
30,282
113
#10
Searcher92 said:
Why do people attack Catholics as false, when we're the mutant spawn that arose from the original church? How does one reconcile their beliefs knowing that Catholicism came first?
Click to expand...
Catholicism did not come first. The original church were not exalting any pope nor praying to Mary and claiming she had no other children and ascended to heaven without dying. Why do you come to a site that views Catholicism as heretical to promote your false beliefs?
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#11
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#11
jaybird88 said:
coptic church and ethiopian church both go back to the first few centuries.
Click to expand...
Unless I'm mistaken, my friend, you're speaking of Orthodox Christianity, which was originally the eastern branch of Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire up until it broke off in what was known as the Great Schism (the first schism before Martin Luther) for a number of irreconcilable differences between the East and West, and the weakening of the Roman Empire. The head of the eastern church was in Constantinople.
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#12
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#12
Sipsey said:
Don’t Roman Catholics believe that a Priest can forgive their sins?
Click to expand...
False. The priest intercedes as the conduit(because of his position), but he does not forgive one's sins. He prays to God on your behalf.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#13
#13
Searcher92 said:
You do realize the Bible is vastly interpreted. How do you not interpret the Bible for yourself? Do you stone witches as the Bible tells you to? Do you really think that's a good idea? After all, there's no such thing as interpretation and only the Bible. This is why the Pope exists to make the interpretation for a modern world. No matter how you try to cut, people interpret the Bible, they don't actually practice things like that.
Click to expand...
You said "the Bible is vastly interpreted" and that is the problem.
It is to be properly studied and UNDERSTOOD.
I do not interpret the Bible.
It is not for the "pope' or any man to make interpretation.
Now if you choose to follow some sinful man elected by other sinful men as the supreme authority on Scripture, that is your choice and your problem.
I will follow Jesus.
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#14
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#14
Magenta said:
Catholicism did not come first. The original church were not exalting any pope nor praying to Mary and claiming she had no other children and ascended to heaven without dying. Why do you come to a site that views Catholicism as heretical to promote your false beliefs?
Click to expand...
The heretic belongs with the one who has no evidence for their beliefs.

Does debate scare you so much that you can't see the value in opposing views? Or are you afraid of the truth like a child afraid of its own shadow? Or that you have no facts to back up your position? Your religion came after Catholicism. That is truth.

What actual church was there before the Roman Catholics, besides this mystery "early church" that Protestants can't claim from any Christian denomination.

Here's a fact for you:

"Peter the Apostle, original name Simeon or Simon, (died 64 ce, Rome [Italy] ), disciple of Jesus Christ, recognized in the early Christian church as the leader of the 12 disciples and by the Roman Catholic Church as the first of its unbroken succession of popes. "
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#15
#15
From my limited associating with Catholics, I have concluded that most are very good people that have been brained washed so as to believe a false doctrine and worship the pope.
Very sad indeed.
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#16
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#16
SpoonJuly said:
You said "the Bible is vastly interpreted" and that is the problem.
It is to be properly studied and UNDERSTOOD.
I do not interpret the Bible.
It is not for the "pope' or any man to make interpretation.
Now if you choose to follow some sinful man elected by other sinful men as the supreme authority on Scripture, that is your choice and your problem.
I will follow Jesus.
Click to expand...
If an expert on the coronavirus tells me that there will be an epidemic if we don't take action, and some average Joe tells me that it is all hype, who do I believe?

Contrary to popular belief, the pope is not some infallible person, but his expertise and study in the book is what lets him decide what is right and what is true for Catholics. They do this to eliminate the confusion found in Protestantism where you have no actual set doctrines, which is a problem. Look at the churches that promote homosexuality as okay and then the churches that still say it is wrong. Who's right?
 
blue_ladybug

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
#17
Feb 21, 2014
70,924
9,673
113
#17
Searcher92 said:
False. The priest intercedes as the conduit(because of his position), but he does not forgive one's sins. He prays to God on your behalf.
Click to expand...
Why would people of any faith need a priest to pray to Jesus on their behalf? We can go to Jesus directly ourselves without a 3rd party intervention..
 
J

jaybird88

Guest
#18
#18
Searcher92 said:
Unless I'm mistaken, my friend, you're speaking of Orthodox Christianity, which was originally the eastern branch of Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire up until it broke off in what was known as the Great Schism (the first schism before Martin Luther) for a number of irreconcilable differences between the East and West, and the weakening of the Roman Empire. The head of the eastern church was in Constantinople.
Click to expand...
Coptic church was based in Alexandria going back to the first century

Ethiopian church is based in Ethiopia.

both places had long traditions of Judaism which were places the Apostles went first. some believe Acts 8 27 may be the beginning of the Ethiopian church.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#19
#19
Searcher92 said:
If an expert on the coronavirus tells me that there will be an epidemic if we don't take action, and some average Joe tells me that it is all hype, who do I believe?

Contrary to popular belief, the pope is not some infallible person, but his expertise and study in the book is what lets him decide what is right and what is true for Catholics. They do this to eliminate the confusion found in Protestantism where you have no actual set doctrines, which is a problem.
Click to expand...
You will never change your mind and you will never convince any one who is not a catholic that you are right.
I will leave you to your sad situation and pray for your salvation.
 
S

Searcher92

Junior Member
#20
Apr 8, 2014
22
15
3
#20
SpoonJuly said:
From my limited associating with Catholics, I have concluded that most are very good people that have been brained washed so as to believe a false doctrine and worship the pope.
Very sad indeed.
Click to expand...
Limited understanding is a problem because how can you build a house without the right measurements?

Brainwashed could be an argument used for anyone who has opposing views to your own. Doesn't it seem more probable that the first doctrine is the correct doctrine?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.