Because of the apparent age of the Catholic Church?

Question

does that make it the most logical choice for persons looking for a Christian church to worship in?

Catholics claim that the Catholic church was founded by the Apostle Peter - I'm not saying it is or is not, I'm asking "if it's suppose to be the oldest Christian church" does that make it the right church to join?

Answer 1

Saying the Catholic Church was founded by Peter is self aggrandizing. The Roman Catholic church has its roots with Constantine and centered the church in Rome. Peter had nothing to do with the Catholic church. In fact, Jesus' prophetic report card regarding both the Constantinian and Roman Catholic church eras were not exactly "glowing". (see link below for the study)

As for the Catholic church being a "logical" choice. If logic were involved, one would have to take in to account the heinous history the Catholic church had of keeping its people in ignorance, and burning those who sought to educate them or give them the Bible in their own native language. The St. Peter's basilica was built on the notion that you could "buy your loved ones out of hell" through indulgences. Wasn't it Peter that condemned Simon the Sorcerer for trying to "buy the Holy Spirit"?

The most logical choice for churches to attend are those that faithfully teach the Word of God in a clear, and simple manner without agenda or doctrinal agendas. That requires your own personal study and prayer time.

Answer 2

The “first church” is the church that is recorded in the New Testament, especially in the Book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul. The New Testament church is the “original church” and the “one true church.” We can know this because it is described, in great detail, in Scripture. The church, as recorded in the New Testament, is God’s pattern and foundation for His church. On this basis, let’s examine the Roman Catholic claim that it is the “first church.” Nowhere in the New Testament will you find the “one true church” doing any of the following: praying to Mary, praying to the saints, venerating Mary, submitting to a pope, having a select priesthood, baptizing an infant, observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as sacraments, or passing on apostolic authority to successors of the apostles. All of these are core elements of the Roman Catholic faith. If most of the core elements of the Roman Catholic Church were not practiced by the New Testament Church (the first church and one true church), how then can the Roman Catholic Church be the first church? A study of the New Testament will clearly reveal that the Roman Catholic Church is not the same church as the church that is described in the New Testament.

Answer 3

Age has nothing to do with it.

Authority, power, grace, and truth, have everything to do with it.

The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ on Peter and the apostles, who established it throughout the world, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Inspite of what others might contend, and in spite of the obvious human weaknesses of many who belong to, or even govern the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church today still teaches exactly what was originally handed down to it by Jesus and the apostles.

The Catholic Church is also the church that compiled, wrote, and produced all the authentic scriptures, that maintains seven valid sacraments for the purpose of freely and efficiently distributing God's grace, that holds the authority to celebrate the Mass, wherein Jesus Christ becomes truly and substantially present on the altar for us, and the church that is officially charged by Christ with the job of teaching and baptizing all nations, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave his power, authority, grace, and personal guarantee to no other person or group, so the Catholic Church is completely unique, as a divinely founded institution which not only spans all the ages of man, but heaven and earth, as well.

Jesus remains at the head of his church. The Holy Spirit remains the church's official advocate, and Spirit of Truth. The pope is the official earthly leader of the whole church, and the bishops are responsible for governing the church on the local level.

Finally, the Catholic Church maintains a tradition of unparalleled theological and historical scholarship, complete with precise documentation, which makes it possible for anyone to verfy the truth of all these claims.

I have already. I invite you to do so, too.

Answer 4

There are the "Four Marks of the True Church"; One, Holy, Cathiolic (Universal), and, as you have stated - Apostolic.

In your search for Jesus' Church, you must look to the one, the only one, that has all four of the above marks.

The Church Is One (Rom. 12:5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 12:13, CCC 813–822)
Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–32). Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church.

His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2).

Although some Catholics dissent from officially-taught doctrines, the Church’s official teachers—the pope and the bishops united with him—have never changed any doctrine. Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12–13), but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.

The Church Is Holy (Eph. 5:25–27, Rev. 19:7–8, CCC 823–829)
By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn’t mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad members in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21–23).

But the Church itself is holy because it is the source of holiness and is the guardian of the special means of grace Jesus established, the sacraments (cf. Eph. 5:26).

The Church Is Catholic (Matt. 28:19–20, Rev. 5:9–10, CCC 830–856)
Jesus’ Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt. 28:19–20).

For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28).

Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19).

The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius’s time, which means it probably went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

The Church Is Apostolic (Eph. 2:19–20, CCC 857–865)
The Church Jesus founded is apostolic because he appointed the apostles to be the first leaders of the Church, and their successors were to be its future leaders. The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Scripture and oral Tradition (2 Tim. 2:2).

These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary’s special role, and much more —even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself.

Early Christian writings prove the first Christians were thoroughly Catholic in belief and practice and looked to the successors of the apostles as their leaders. What these first Christians believed is still believed by the Catholic Church. No other Church can make that claim.


When you have found the Church with all four of the above marks, you've found His Church.

Answer 5

It was founded by Jesus the apostle Peter founded his See in Rome and his successors rule over the church as Christ appointed Peter. If it was founded by Jesus I'm guessing that'd be the most logical choice then a church founded by a man, no?

Answer 6

Christianity is essentially a criminal business enterprise... the longest-running and most successful MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) scam in history. Their product is the 'illusion' of salvation... and the pay-plan doesn't kick in until after you're dead. By then, it's too late to complain about having been ripped off, for 2 reason:

1) There's nobody to complain to

2) You're dead, so you can't complain, even if you wanted to... further complicated by the fact that since you're dead, you don't even know you've been scammed.

Anyway... if you want to get involved with something like that, then go with the Catholics... they've been scamming people longer than the others... they created all of the basic marketing materials... so, presumeably, they should be better at it. Besides... the Pope is 'The Godfather'.

Answer 7

Age alone does not make a church the "right church". the "right church" is the one that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and brings the members of the church to the fullest communion with God and contains all the truth.

This just happens to be the Catholic Church

Answer 8

Peter became a christian in Isreal
Paul was heading to Damascus to persecute christians (before his Damascus experience).
The day of Pentecost was in Isreal.
The church at Antioch were first to be called christians.
who fed christians to hungry lions for not changing their views?
Catholicism was started in Rome.

Answer 9

It doesn't matter how old they are; what matters is that their teachings vary considerably from what can be found in the Bible. One of the ten commandments is don't make graven images and bow down in front of them; the Catholics have statues in their churches, and they do bow down in front of them. Also in the first two centuries there was no Pope, and there is no Trinity.

Answer 10

The fact that it was founded by St. Peter (I will say it was) makes it more convincing than a Church founded by old Bob who read his Bible while drunk and had an idea for a mega-church in my opinion.