Read the historical facts. Churches that believe the fundamental doctrines below have existed since the time of Jesus Christ, when he founded the first church with the apostles.
These churches were never a part of the Catholic church or any other church but have always existed from the time Jesus Christ founded them, therefore they did not come about in the Protestant Reformation and cannont be called Protestant either.
Where can we find this church today?
2007-06-28 10:49:50 · 30 answers · asked by Me 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES
1. A spiritual Church, Christ its founder, its only head and law giver.
2. Its ordinances, only two, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. They are typical and memorial, not saving.
3. Its officers, only two, bishops or pastors and deacons; they are servants of the church.
4. Its Government, a pure Democracy, and that executive only, never legislative.
5. Its laws and doctrines: The New Testament and that only.
6. Its members. Believers only, they saved by grace, not works, through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.
7. Its requirements. Believers on entering the church to be baptized, that by immersion, then obedience and loyalty to all New Testament laws.
8. The various churches--separate and independent in their execution of laws and discipline and in their responsibilities to God--but cooperative in work.
9. Complete separation of Church and State.
10. Absolute Religious liberty for all.
2007-06-28 10:50:08 · update #1
The Trail of Blood--by James Carroll
2007-06-28 10:52:44 · update #2
The only church that holds to these fundamental doctrines today is an Independant, Fundamental, Baptist Church.
2007-06-28 11:02:15 · update #3
Yes, I know that and I am proud to be a member of A Baptist Church. The Baptist Church was never a part of the Catholic Church,
2007-06-28 10:55:35 · answer #1 · answered by loufedalis 7 · 2⤊ 10⤋
No, sorry, If you read up on your religious history the Restoration Churches all derive from previously Catholic sects.
After the Catholics got control of power in Rome they quite effectively exterminated all of the other Christian sects.
There are no Essenes, no Arians, none of the other sects survived.
By the way, point nine is exactly opposite to what the Fundamentalist Churches have always been attempting and are deliberately striving for now. Your Baptists Convention is trying very hard the estabish Dominionism and a world wide Theocracy.
2007-06-28 11:00:54 · answer #2 · answered by ? 5 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Baptists are Protestant and all the doctrines you outlined were derived from the Catholic Church's heritage.
Baptists are Protestants whodid not exist before the Brownists of the late 16th-early 17th century-some 1600 years after Christ.
Independency as a church polity came about in the 17th century and is not ancient.
Fundamentalism began in the late 19th Century as a reaction to 19th century Modernist Protestant accomodations to the Enlightenment and Secularism.
I'm afraid your particular subfamily of Baptist Protestantism does not bear a strong similarity to the Apostolic and Sub Apostolic Church and cannot be taken seriously by historians as some sort of hidden Gnostic fellowship of those who joined in rejecting some of the same parts of Historic Christianity from before the 16th century Protestant revolt in some sort of underground succession.
2007-06-28 11:14:34 · answer #3 · answered by James O 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Rumor and myth. Not possible, basically. I think you may want to do a bit more research before you really get into this. Honestly - I am not trying to be mean, just telling you that this has been said for hundreds of years yet there is little proof. Nearly 100% of Christian churches TODAY came from the ROMAN (as in Rome - as in the rulers of the known world exposed to Christ) Catholic church. There may be a sect out there, but I wouldn't believe that there is enough proof to say that they have NEVER been in any way influenced by the Roman Catholic tradition.
2007-06-28 11:01:10 · answer #4 · answered by yarn whore 5 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Sorry, but when you Add Baptistt to church you label it a Baptis church. The only church that has never been a part of the Catholic church is the churches of Christ. Their mission is to restore New Testament Christianity, but are today in very huge danger of turning into just another man made denomination.
They are the only ones who do not use instruments of music which was never commanded or practiced in the first century.
Look at how denominational churches have perverted worship by their praise and worship activities that have contemporary rock style concerts.
BB
2007-06-28 11:18:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Rule One when researching historical "facts": Know your source. Carroll has a very large anti-Catholic axe to grind, takes considerable liberties with history, and has been fairly thoroughly discredited by historical scholars.
Rule Two: Use more than one source, and see Rule One.
When I started studying church history independently of tracts, self-published booklets and what I was told from the pulpit, I was a Baptist.
I'm now Catholic.
2007-06-28 13:56:06 · answer #6 · answered by Clare † 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Copts.
Armenians.
Church St. Thomas started in India.
Irish Celtic church (which did accept Catholic structure and overrule eventually).
Churches in Greek East Roman Empire gradually disassociated from Roman Catholic side due to different historical experience - in the West we had to cope with barbarian hordes and the chaos they brought. (That may well have made the highly hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic church sensible.)
Most western European churches originally gained their adherents from former Catholics, as the Catholic church was the only show on the road in Western Europe for centuries. If they hadn't got rather corrupted through abuse of power it might not have happened !
2007-06-28 11:02:06 · answer #7 · answered by Cader and Glyder scrambler 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
God bless you man. I applaud you for reading other books outside the Bible and try to gain better knowledge. I read that Trail of Blood book. I swore to it for a long time. I thought the map or events was AWESOME. Then I started reading other historical books. I saw that some of Carroll's dates were off and then I found that the descriptions of the people and Christian sects were not correct. After some comparison of this "Trail of Blood" book with other books I have decided that Mr Carroll's book is not a good source of Historical documentation. I have also seen similar books from other denomination with "so called" historical facts claiming that their denomination is the real denomination.
2007-06-28 11:36:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
There is no reliable historian that finds any significant part of the Baptist religion before 1200. Works such as J. M. Carroll’s infamous “Trail of Blood”, have been critically examined by Baptist scholars and found to be without any support whatsoever.
2007-06-28 11:06:01 · answer #9 · answered by t_rex_is_mad 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Then can you explain why the Baptist church of today seems to be a very narrow minded and bigoted church. How can followers of Christ support a war based on lies and meant only to steal oil. Where is the love and compassion in your church. The Baptist used to be gentle church, but now seems to be a hateful church.
2007-06-28 11:06:37 · answer #10 · answered by Jim San Antonio 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Yes, that's true there are groups of people mostly in home home churches ...But beware they don't look ,act or function like the church we know and see today..There are scattered groups all over the globe that operate more like the church that was the apostles started, and they operate in power outside of the four walls and rules of organized religion (Christianity)
Frank Viola is one Breaking the boundaries and confines of man made traditions..There are others but this is one that sticks out in my mind..He has very good reading material also.. Good Luck!
2007-06-28 11:16:36 · answer #11 · answered by oso_loco1961 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋