Hi,
I'm a fervent christian catholic and I've recently started a new youtube channel expose the lies against the Church of Jesus Christ.
A few years ago I was tested in my faith in Jesus and I began to look at the offers from protestant denominations.. I investigated their claims on catholicism and I came to the conclusion that the Roman Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ.
I think that the choice Catholicism/Protestantism DOES matter and I'm only here because I love you and because I've found the truth about the Catholic Church.
I want you to honestly look at the evidences presented in my videos. Please be open and watch it and come back to me.
(of course all the arguments in favor of the Church and against protestantism are not found in this video..)
God bless !
In Defense of the Faith - I commend you for your dedication to your faith. I have no wish to get into a detailed debate, but perhaps a few points are in order.
First, it seems to me that if the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox were to ever join with the Catholics to form one Church, then pressure would be on many Protestants to go along. However, such a move seems like a remote possibility any time soon. As others have stated, the EO and the OO also have Apostolic Succession and even your Church recognizes their sacraments as valid. Just because they are "not in union with Peter" and are thus "wounded", as has been explained recently, seems like an insufficient reason for a merger.
Second, this is one Protestant who has spent quite a bit of time studying Church history, including the Great Schism, the Crusades and the Inquisition. I have come to the conclusion that the Eastern Orthodox have just a valid claim to be the Church founded by Jesus as the Catholic Church. (I do not know if the Oriental Orthodox make the same claim.) As far as Papal supremacy, history shows mixed results and we cannot be reasonably certain as to when Papal supremacy became recognized. However, while I do believe that the East did eventually come to recognize some form of Papal supremacy, it is iffy as to exactly the form and extent of such supremacy. Still, the bottom line for me is the First Ecumenical Council in the 300's which produced the Nicene Creed. If the Bishop of Rome was really viewed as having Papal Infallibility at that time, then there would have been no need to call an Ecumenical Council and take a vote of the Bishops to decide matters of faith. Hence, it seems to me that the extent of Papal supremacy that is taught by Rome today, was not recognized in the 300's.
Third, I now rise to the defense of the dear late Father Leonard Feeney, who was excommunicated back in the 1940's for teaching the age old doctrine, "Outside the Church, There is No Salvation". Oh, yes, he was reportedly excommunicated for not obeying his Bishop, but we all know that the real reason is because he taught a strict definition of the EENS (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus) salvation doctrine, as was most definitely taught by Holy Mother Church back in the Middle Ages in the those two famous Papal Bulls. The first one condemned "the Greeks" (Eastern Orthodox) for rejecting the brief reunion that resulted from the Council of Florence. The second one specifically condemned "Jews, heretics, schismatics and pagans" and said that they could not go to Heaven, unless they reconciled with Mother Church prior to death. Now, though I disagree with Father Feeney, I cherish him for his faithfulness and his dedication. I have no doubt that Father Feeney was correct in his strict EENS interpretation, in terms of being faithful to the Magisterium's historic teaching.
Now, almost all of us here in C.F. are most thankful that the Catholic Church no longer holds to it's former strict salvation teaching, if for no other reason that such lends itself to much better relations between all four Christian groups. However, the fact remains, is that by now denying the former strict teaching of the salvation doctrine, the Catholic Church has basically given a "get out of jail free card" to the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox and the Protestants. Hence, there seems to be no real urgent reason for non-Catholic Christians to convert to Mother Church.
Fourth, while the Crusades trouble me some, what troubles me much more is that fact that Holy Mother Church authorized the use of torture during the Holy Inquisition for a period of 564 years, from the mid 1200's to the early 1800's. Such seems inconsistent with the Gospels and not only that, but the Catholic Encyclopedia itself says that a minimum of five Popes and probably more, mandated that the civil authorities burn heretics at the stake, under pain (threat) of excommunication if they failed to do so. Now, do not get me wrong. Protestants committed plenty of atrocities also, though the EO and the OO seem to have a better history than the Catholics and the Protestants. Regardless, the bottom line for me is that the doctrine of the Infallibility of the Ordinary Magisterium seems to fall apart by the fact that torture was authorized for 564 years. Yes, I know that many will claim that the authorization of torture was not a teaching, but an administrative act. Well, that seems like splitting hairs to me and is a distinction without a difference.
Fifth, I commend you for your thread. The Catholic Church today is just as faithful to the message in the Gospels as the various Protestant groups. I especially like Pope Francis for his condemnation of the death penalty and his emphasis upon helping the poor and homeless. It deeply saddens me when I see some Evangelical Protestants claim that Catholics are not true Christians. I like to point out that the beloved late Rev. Billy Graham accepted Catholics as Christians way back in the 1950's, but this fact still falls upon the deaf ears of some, mostly those in the Fundamentalist Protestant wing. The Catholic Church still maintains hundreds of hospitals through it's various religious orders and provides much needed services through Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services. It would be wonderful if some day in the future all four Christian groups could merge to form one body, but such seems like a fantasy dream at this point in time.
Six, I will probably now offend some by asking the many former Catholics on this forum, why not consider coming home to Holy Mother Church? It is perhaps very strange that it takes a Protestant to pose this question, but maybe it is easier for me to do the invitation than for active Catholics to urge former Catholics to consider returning? Perhaps you had a good reason to leave the Catholic Church or perhaps not, such is between you and God. Nevertheless, I again pose the invite, why not at least ponder the possibility of reconciling with Mother Church?