You say you’re part of “a church.” But there is only one Church, founded by the apostles, and if you were part of the true church, you wouldn’t call it “a” church.
I’m not trolling. Matthew 13:13-15.
You said salvation comes through the Church, and not through Christ. That conflicts with the Bible, but when I said so, you said that only the Church has the right to interpret the Bible. You say my version of Christianity only existed in the past few hundred years, which implies that you’re decrying Protestantism in favor of Catholicism, but Catholics and Protestants alike have those verses, which have existed for about 2000 years. You say that the Church, founded by the apostles, is the authority, but in another comment, you complained that modern Christianity follows Paul (an apostle) and only keeps Christ for the branding. Either that, or you’re saying that’s the Church you’re a part of, but that would be a strange statement to make.
If you at least tell me what people call your version of Christianity, I can get a frame of reference to discuss this proper. And if you’re convinced that I’m just going to use that to google “disproof of <whatever it is>” and parrot that[1], then how about instead you describe your theology, including why you think Jesus died on the cross and how you think the Church is responsible for salvation, preferably with Bible verses to back it up, and I can meet you there?
You are resorting to accusations of heresy because I believe in the saving power of the son of God and refuse to concede that your Church, which you won’t even identify beyond “it’s the same one it’s always been,” is a higher authority. I believe that my church is part of the Church, being a global body of believers who follow the Bible and find salvation in Christ, which has persisted since the onset of Christianity.
If you are unwilling to engage in proper discourse, then my hands are tied, and my best course of action is to assume that you are a troll who wanted to own me for trying to correct someone else’s misunderstanding by being aggressive at me with something ridiculous. Maybe you’re hoping to get me to re-evaluate my comment and expose my hypocrisy, but I already gave my comment a second evaluation before I posted (and a third just now to be sure,) and there’s no hypocrisy here. I don’t have a problem with you coming at me to show where I’m wrong, but you have to actually show where I’m wrong, not just repeat your claim and accuse me of heresy for not believing it. Show me where the Bible supports it, because that’s where my beliefs are rooted, or at least demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit. So far, all I’ve seen is aggression, and that’s not a good approach for changing hearts. If you review what I said to Bones, I was firm, but kind.
I wasn’t planning on it, for the record. I was probably just going to go to Wikipedia to review the beliefs so that I can see where you’re coming from and address that. ↩︎
You’re already in error to ask for support for positions based on the Bible, because the Church determines the Bible’s meaning, not the other way around. If you’re evaluating claims against what you think the Bible means, your religion is based on yourself, not on God’s Church, and you are a heretic and stand condemned.
The reasons for Christ’s death are deeper matters to discuss with those in the Church. The Church is responsible for salvation because it was ordained by God through Christ to be His physical manifestation in the world; there is no other way to Him.
