Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Don't know what to make of this statement, bearbear.
Catholics would claim lineage back to Peter the first bishop of Rome and steadfast, faithful adherence to the scriptures.
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Catholics reject Sola Scriptura however don't they? The apostolic churches like Catholics and Orthodoxy are so leavened that staying in them is dangerous. However, if they had prevented leaven from entering the church starting from the council of Nicea then I would be Catholic. I think God's original intention was there to be one church and there are certain advantages of this that Protestants overlook.
For example if someone is in an adulterous affair and that person receives church disciplines via ex-communication in Protestantism, that person can just find another Protestant church to attend and take communion and no one would be the wiser. However, in the early church, the elder would let the bishop know and that person would be prevented from taking communion until they repent for the sake of their own soul.
Something like this was formalized for the "lapsi" who under extreme persecution by the Roman empire would break down and deny the faith via sacrificing to pagan gods to save their own life. There was a great controversy in the early church whether or not the lapsi could be forgiven and take communion:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapsi_(Christianity)