Catholicism was the first Christianity. Other Christian sects must be wrong? Agreed?

Question

Why or why not?

Answer 1

I have to agree. It is pure history.

Answer 2

There was not first Christianity. And if you phrase it that way, Christianity comes 1st, not Catholicism, and by your logic, Christianity would be right and other denominations wrong.

But I do get what you are asking, You're asking if Catholicism came 1st, then religions which stem from it must be deviated, and therefore, wrong.

This form of thinking would be wrong then. Even if Catholicism was first, which we don't know, you can't judge with your logic!

Is your relationship with God based on logic? I believe its based on faith.

Is change necessarily wrong? There is the Old and the New testament, which shows that there are changes in the way people worship God, like how we can now pray to God directly instead of going up a mountain to burn some sheep. I hope you aren't rigidly following just one testament, and for that matter, you should be following God instead of the beliefs of others in what you feel is the correct sect. Don't follow blindly!

Answer 3

Long before the Catholic church, there were atleast 20 books already accepted by the ORIGINAL Christian movement from the days of Jesus for the New Testament. The 4 Gospels, Acts, Pauls letters, Peter 1&2, John 1-3, Revelation. rome was trying to become a superpower and the RC church started to help this along. Constantine felt if he donned crosses on his flags and uniforms he could have the support of the Christian faith and call it a holy war, thus the crusades. This movement birthed the catholic church into what it is today, and the pagan rites in it followed suit as to attract the large pagan groups around Rome at the time. this in no way means that TRUE Christians accepted this and is why many true christians died at the hands of the Roman empire. The RC church translated the Greek and Hebrew texts with Latin Vulgate and corrupted it to take control in becoming the "universal" church. This is where the belief that pope's. priests, etc can forgive sins (confessional) because they would accept money for this. they killed anyone who threatened to use anything other than Latin to preach the "word". The reformation changed all of this. NO, the Catholic church was NOT the true Christian faith and is not today with their cathechisms that proclaim the Pope to be God on earth.

http://planttel.net/~meharris1/mikescorner.html

Answer 4

First of all, Catholicism was not the 'first' Christianity, nor is there more than *one* "True" Christianity...the Precepts of Christ, for whom the movement was named.

Catholicism's contributions to society have been, in part:

1) The Inquistion

2) Millions of cases of male-on-male child molestation

3) A hypocritical religion that espouses one way of life while living
the antithesis of it

4) A nice working relationship with La Cosa Nostra

5) A "wink and nod" arrangement with Adolf Hitler regarding the
persecution and murder of millions of people

6) A great way of thinking where one is indoctrinated from birth
that one is inherently bad, and the only way to get better is to
give money to an organization that participates in nothing
or less than an aggressive policing effort of the very minds
of men.

And that vile beast known as Catholicism makes Christianity wrong? Well if Catholicism is Christianity, then I guess Christiantiy is wrong. And if its not, Catholicism has been blaspheming the very spirit of God for which the hottest of fires have been reserved...

Case closed.

"You've never been licked, until you've been Catholiced!"

Answer 5

Agree.

Tertullian
"Where was [the heretic] Marcion, that shipmaster of Pontus, the zealous student of Stoicism? Where was Valentinus, the disciple of Platonism? For it is evident that those men lived not so long ago--in the reign of Antonius for the most part--and that they at first were believers in the doctrine of the Catholic Church, in the church of Rome under the episcopate of the blessed Eleutherius, until on account of their ever restless curiosity, with which they even infected the brethren, they were more than once expelled" (Demurrer Against the Heretics 30 [A.D. 200]).

Irenaeus of Lyons
"But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the succession of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. With that church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition" (Against Heresies 3:3:2 [A.D. 189]).

Lactantius
"It is, therefore, the Catholic Church alone which retains true worship. This is the fountain of truth; this, the domicile of faith; this, the temple of God. Whoever does not enter there or whoever does not go out from there, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation. . . . Because, however, all the various groups of heretics are confident that they are the Christians and think that theirs is the Catholic Church, let it be known that this is the true Church, in which there is confession and penance and which takes a health-promoting care of the sins and wounds to which the weak flesh is subject" (Divine Institutes 4:30:11-13 [A.D. 307]).

Answer 6

I would not agree. When you look at the new testament you see many churches. None of which seem to be practicing Catholicism. This does not mean that Catholicism is not an early denomination but I wouldn't call it the first.

Answer 7

Not true on both counts.

The first organized Christians were organized by St Paul into what later became the Orthodox Church.

Later christians' idea of Christ's teachings are not necessarily worse or less appropriate to today than the first ones'

Answer 8

No, I don't agree...and I'm Catholic. Even the Catholic Church teaches that all Christian denominations (as well as other religions) teach and adhere to at least some elements of the Truth.

Even within the Catholic Church, many adherents, or priests, or even entire parishes ignore or don't believe some elements of the Truth. This doesn't make somebody "wrong"; just less filled.

Answer 9

Disagree.

The 'church' Jesus established was not organized by men, but ordained by God. Christianity is a work done in men's hearts by faith in the redemption of Jesus at the Cross, and the assembling of like-minded believers (the Church) was performed through the Holy Spirit drawing them together for fellowship, not by men establishing locations and doctrines for other men to follow.

Catholicism may well be the oldest Christian religion, but I believe that when men try to overlay their 'understanding' as an outline to define in an absolute term what 'Christianity' is, they oftentimes will interject tradition or add layers of requirements of which God does not approve.

Even in the Apostolic days of the Church, these kinds of mistakes were made. For example, they cast lots to replace Judas, and his replacement is not referred to again in the canon of scripture. On the other hand, Jesus chose and sent Saul of Tarsus, renamed as Paul, who authored the vast majority of the New Testament. Get the picture?

Answer 10

Not so! Jesus established the first church on himself and not on Peter as some suppose. The Lord/Jesus is refered to as "the Rock" something like 48 times in the Bible and Christ would never establish his church on ordinary man. Jesus said to Peter that "on this rock will I build my Church" the rock is himself and he refered to Simon as Peter which by interpretation means "Petros" which means "pebble" or "little stone" You can read all about the end of the Catholic Church in Revelations Ch.17 V1-9 where the Lord will destroy it during the tribulation as he refers to it as "Mother of harlots"

Answer 11

wrong. Catholicism has changed significantly. Which is why Martin Luther split when he did. But the truth is, no of us know. Nor will we till we die. So why focus on the past, the future is much more interesting.