Catholics Vs. Nondenominational Christian

[LoneYankee]

Since there's an obviously large number of extremely well-educated people, including but not limited to our priests, registered on this site, I naturally assume it's among the best places to post this topic.

So I was over my buddy's house yesterday, playing Halo 3, when his roommate and friend came in and started playing too. Somehow, we go on the topic of nondenominational Christians and Catholics. I found myself defending my being Catholic when they simply repeated that innumerous men over the years inserted their bias into the Church, that Jesus didn't intend for there to be a Church, and that our second Pope was practically no one important.

So, I'm sure I'll get plenty more (reliable) information now. I just want more facts and logic to defend my side of the story. Namely, why is important that we follow our Church?

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Well, first, it's just silly to claim that the second pope was no one important. He only reigned for a short time and didn't publish anything, but that's forgivable, seeing as he was busy serving those who were being martyred, only to die a martyr's death himself. What is more important is that a slightly later pope, St. Clement I, who was alive at the same time as St. John, was asked by Churches closer to John what he thought. That means that those in the early Church preferred the Bishop of Rome's advice to the Apostle John's. That's not a mark against St. John, but it speaks to the authority of the pope. What's more, we still have the letters from Pope Clement, meaning that they were honored and preserved by the early Church.

The reason we follow our Church is because it is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Our Church alone is THE Church, the ONE Church, founded by Christ. This is provable because she is Apostolic, but I'll get to that in a moment. Our Church is holy, filled with saints and the work of angels, and while she is also in constant need of further purification in her members, she is nonetheless in herself the spotless Bride of Christ. Our Church is Catholic (universal or "according to the whole")...the fastest way to find out whether any other Church is catholic or not is to look at the name; it either indicates that it is non-Catholic (Methodist, Baptist, Anglican, Episcopalian, etc.) and therefore not "according to the whole" faith, but only to parts, or it indicates that it is only for a specific place (First Baptist of Wilshire, Second Street Methodist), which wouldn't be all that bad (because we ourselves are "Roman" Catholics or "Byzantine Catholics," etc.) if not for the fact that they don't believe the same things as those belonging to similar congregations in different areas, whereas Roman Catholics and Byzantine Catholics, though in different places and serving different peoples, believe the same truths. Lastly, and most important to your question, the Church is apostolic. This means that, by her very nature, the Church is sent forth, and this sending forth is accomplished through an unbroken chain of bishops, those who were ordained by the apostles. Non-denominational Christians do not have this, because they do not accept priesthood. However, it is clear that this is an important attribute, because without it, where would the Church receive her authority? For non-Catholics, the Bible is the authority, but they have no one to interpret it, which is necessary (Acts 8:30-31), and consequently, they all disagree among themselves. For us, however, there are two sources of Revelation, the Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church, and one authority through which they come to us, the Magisterium (the body of all the bishops, who are from the apostles). The Scriptures and Tradition are authoritative, because they come to us from God, but they are connected to God through those who heard God's Word and taught it. Who wrote the New Testament? Catholic bishops, i.e. the Apostles, the Magisterium. Who defined the faith when misunderstandings arose and therefore helped to spread the Tradition of the Church? Catholic bishops, the Magisterium. This is why Jesus gives the Apostles His authority in Matthew 28.

As for the pope, he is the leader of the Apostles, not above them, but in the front of them, in order to serve them.

I hope these can help:

[url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=49644"]Apologetics on Apostolicity[/url]

[url="http://catholic.com/library/scripture_tradition.asp"]Catholic Answers on Revelation[/url]

[url="http://catholic.com/library/church_papacy.asp"]Catholic Answers on the Church and the Papacy[/url]

God bless,

Micah