30,000 Denominations! What happened to unity?

Oblio · Apr 6, 2005

You speak of unity but deny a different part of the body because it doesn't carry out the same function as you. How can the eye understand the function of the foot?

St. Paul speaks here of the different individual members of the catholic (universal and united as one) Church, each having differing gifts, not of a myriad of differing denominations each with differing doctrines and dogmas. This is obvious for the thousands of competing Protestant denominations would not spawn from the RCC until some 1500 years after St. Paul wrote this Epistle.

countrymouse33ad · Apr 6, 2005

From the OP:

The church (Orthodox) still exists today! why is everyone rebelling against the Church Jesus himself appointed to be built?

Most people simply don't know that the original Church never changed or ceased to exist. When you tell them, they think it can't be true. How could over half the world have gone for so long without knowing this? How could God have allowed it? Those were questions I asked at first.

Wakeup2god · Apr 6, 2005

St. Paul speaks here of the different individual members of the catholic (universal and united as one) Church

Where does he use the word Catholic in his writing. That's a man made term. Surely he talks to and about the body of believers who are true Christians or followers of Christ. The new testament church bears little resemblance to the Catholic church. More to a community who didn't even have churches, they met in houses. The church (Catholic/Protestant or other) and all it's religeous practice and paraphinalia came much later.

Sorry don't mean to cause unrest but as someone who doesn't go the orthadox way but is born again I accept you as part of the bigger body but don't fully understand your ways.

Peace be unto you.

NewToLife · Apr 6, 2005

Where does he use the word Catholic in his writing.

It's implied. The term catholic does not refer to the current Catholic church, in english its probably best to think of the word as meaning universal. That is to say Paul recognised a single church with unity of belief and praxis. In short the point is that there was one church, not many denominations.

countrymouse33ad · Apr 6, 2005

Wakeup2god said:
Where does he use the word Catholic in his writing.

Click to expand...

Where does Paul use "Trinity" in his writing? Yet, because you are posting in the "Christians only" section at CF, you do believe in the Trinity. Or you have at least claimed you do.

Surely he talks to and about the body of believers who are true Christians or followers of Christ.

Click to expand...

The body of believers, or followers of Christ, is what the Church consists of. I suppose you could say that the disciples (all of them, not just the twelve) were a group of believers during the days leading up to Pentecost, but from that time on, they were joined together by the Holy Spirit as the Church, the body of Christ on earth. Yes, some congregations met in houses, some met in synagogues, some met in the Temple while they were allowed (not for very long.) The Church is only fully the Church, lawfully the Church, when it is united in one holy and apostolic Faith. That is why unity in truth is so important to us as Christians in the Orthodox Church.

Rilian · Apr 6, 2005

NewToLife said:
It's implied. The term catholic does not refer to the current Catholic church, in english its probably best to think of the word as meaning universal. That is to say Paul recognised a single church with unity of belief and praxis. In short the point is that there was one church, not many denominations.

The Greek roots of the word actually connote wholeness, being nearly literally "pertaining to the whole". Universal I think was something that was applied later, but both meanings are completely appropriate. St. Ignatius of Antioch, whose writings form part of the earliest Christian corpus (dating to nearly the same time as the composition of the last portions of the canonical New Testament) described the presence of the bishop and the eucharist as being the fulfillment of this wholeness or catholicity. All of the bishops in the churches in communion with one another then form the other level of catholicity.

moses916 · Apr 6, 2005

The Holy Spirit could say one million different things if He so wishes. You speak of unity but deny a different part of the body because it doesn't carry out the same function as you. How can the eye understand the function of the foot? But without each other the eye would not trvel and the foot would break toes etc... The work together for the same ultimate goal though - the body. How many different functions or parts are there to the human body? It's the ideology that you are right and the others are wrong that cuts the nose off to spite the face.

The Holy Spirit reveals the truth about God. Can he tell 24000 different denominations 24000 different things? i am not trying to pass judgement, i'm just trying to get ppl who visit this forum aware of this! If the Holy Spirit tells 24000 different things, wouldn't he be contradicting himself because there is only one right truth about God?

Matrona · Apr 6, 2005

Moses, where did you get that cute little puppet in your avatar? It's adorable!

moses916 · Apr 6, 2005

haha u mean domokun, he's a character on a japanese tv show that i don't understand, but he's amazin! u can find many pics of him online, just search his name (domokun)!

Matrona · Apr 6, 2005

moses916 said:
haha u mean domokun, he's a character on a japanese tv show that i don't understand, but he's amazin! u can find many pics of him online, just search his name (domokun)!

Ah, so we both have avatars from Japanese TV shows!

moses916 · Apr 6, 2005

haha yeah! Go DOMO AND PIKA.... however u spell ur avatar's name!

Maximus · Apr 6, 2005

Wakeup2god said:
Where does he use the word Catholic in his writing. That's a man made term. Surely he talks to and about the body of believers who are true Christians or followers of Christ. The new testament church bears little resemblance to the Catholic church. More to a community who didn't even have churches, they met in houses. The church (Catholic/Protestant or other) and all it's religeous practice and paraphinalia came much later.

Sorry don't mean to cause unrest but as someone who doesn't go the orthadox way but is born again I accept you as part of the bigger body but don't fully understand your ways.

Peace be unto you.

I would like to recommend you read the writings of those Christians who came immediately after the Apostles and knew them.

Early Christian Writings (Penguin Books) is a collection of those writings.

Another good collection of the same writings is the book The Apostolic Fathers.

It is amazing that in all the years prior to the advent of John Wycliffe in the 14th century, there were no Christians who believed the distinctive doctrines of Protestantism. Why such an historical gap? Does it make sense?

Investigate for yourself. That's what I did.

30,000 Denominations! What happened to unity?

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