What do you think of the Pope saying thier is *Only one true Church*?

Question

Pope: Other denominations not true churches
Benedict issues statement asserting that Jesus established ‘only one church’ Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches.

Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Benedict, who attended Vatican II as a young theologian, has long complained about what he considers the erroneous interpretation of the council by liberals, saying it was not a break from the past but rather a renewal of church tradition.
Thoughts

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19692094/

Answer 1

Just another statement of "Jesus Christ is the only true way", but this time it excludes other Christians.

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 2

The word Christian means Follower of Christ. In order to be a Follower of Christ, you need to acknowledge him as the Head of the Church because that is what is taught in the Bible.
The Catholic Church claims that the Pope is the head of the Church. Therefore by definition, Catholics cannot be considered Christians. The correct designations for Catholics is Paptist which means Follower of the Pope.
Also, the Catholic Church claims that their religion goes all the way back to the original group of believers and that Peter was the first Pope. However, the idea of one person being Head of the entire Church didn't come into existence until four hundred years after Peter died. Therefore, he could not have been the first Pope.
In summary, Catholics are not Christians. They are using the name of Jesus as a marketing tool to promote their own religion.

Answer 3

According to the Scriptures there is only one true church.

Read Ephesians 4:1-6 - 1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

You might notice that in the Book of Acts were the Apostles set up churches there is no mention of denominations. They were setting up churches in different cities but each one had the same teachings based on what Jesus taught. This is the first church and there should never have been a second.

Somewhere down the road man has turned this one church into 1000's and 1000's of different churches who believe different things based on what man thinks or feels. That is one of the major problems facing Christianity today is the division among the different churches and it is a shame.

Answer 4

I suppose he's following traditional catholic theology that elevates the catholic church to be the true original church. This is because Peter was probably one of the early leaders or indeed possibly the first leader (ie bishop) of the Roman church. Jesus said "on this rock I shall build my church" to Peter, who's name given to him by Jesus means rock. So they believe that the Roman church is meant to be in control. I think Peter was very important in the early church, but early churches were not highly organised - in those times sea voyages and travel took months so it was impractical anyway.

I think myself the Romanosupremacy idea is faulty theology. E.g. in 1 Corinthians, Paul tells us not to rate one glamourous and talented apostle over another, that Jesus the Anointed One is the one we should look up to.

Christians are meant to unite in Christ. An individual or backing organisation is unwise to elevate one person to a godlike position of authority - they are human and are going to get many things wrong. A good church structure is useful, and in a sense it would have been nice to just have one such organisation, but perhaps more loosely structured than the current Roman Catholic church.

Answer 5

There is no justification of the Pope in the bible. Peter was married and Jesus healed his mother -in-law. Acts 20 Paul warned of the corruption that was going to come out of the the true church when men would seek followers after themselves. 1 Tim 4 speaks of how in the last days men would be forbidden to marry and to eat meat.

The scripture in Matt teaches that we are not to call any man in the spiritual world Rabbi, or Father for we only have one father. But like anything else: who create counterfeit money and doesn't call it real when trying to deceive.

Answer 6

In short, it sucks!

I believe there is only one true church, but it's not Benedict's, or any other of the professed denominations. It is the church within you. My view is that Jesus was teaching this, the only path to God is through you, directly. He was I feel, killed for this reason; the power of the established church was threatened. Once dead, they warped his teachings to suit.
If you want the truth about the Supreme Being, the Force, or whatever you chose to call it, you must talk directly to it. The temple Christ was professing is your body. It is within you. Any information you get on the topic through a "man" is contaminated.

Answer 7

Here is the full text of the new document that states nothing new: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html

Most Christian denominations believe that each of them is the fullest version of the Church of Christ.

While the Catholic Church also believes that she is "the highest exemplar" of the mystery that is the Church of Christ, she does not claim that non-Catholic Churches are not truly Christian. The Catholic Church teaches:

Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.

Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church.

All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him.

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

It is no surprise. The only reason different sects exist to begin with is because the founders believed everyone else was in the hand of the devil. The pope is just saying what everyone else already thinks of every *other* sect.

Answer 9

Even if he believes it, it was really dumb of him to say it. Almost everyone thinks that their way is the only way. So what's the point? If he wants to have a legacy anywhere near as great as her predecessor, he might want to promote tolerance, equality, and peace; rather than being a rabble-rouser that is proving to be more divisive than anything. All he is going to do by promoting Catholicism's dominance over the world is to shrink his supposedly "only one true church" by chasing the liberals and moderates out. There are a lot of liberals and moderates in the Catholic church. I don't think he can afford to isolate them. That was pretty dumb.

Answer 10

He was trying to prevent the Catholics from going to other churches. If they believe their church is the only church that offers eternal salvation, they will think twice before going to Protestant churches. Many people believe their church is the only correct one because it makes them feel better than the others.

Answer 11

That is only a political move against the JWs and others for securing exclusivity in what they hope to be the New World Order. The Pope is in for it, the Zionists are in for it, and The JWs are in for it.