If the Protestants have it right, that the Reformation restored Christianity to its true teachings, then...?

Question

why aren’t Protestants united under those true teachings?


Why isn’t there a sort of Protestant Vatican? Jesus only gave us one faith and set down one Church, yet there are thousands of different protestant denominations. They don’t all teach the same things and they don’t all believe the same things, yet they each claim to be right. How is this supposed to make any sense? How does this match with the one faith and one Church that Jesus gave us?

Wow. It’s almost incredible how hard it is to get a straight answer out of people.

Dr. Death, care to try again?

THAT IS what I said, I watch you’re videos. I now assume you aren’t even Christian so why did you bother?

Spiker, your “invisible” church still doesn’t account for so many different denominations believing different things. How does this match the one faith, one Church Jesus gave us?

Fallen engel, are you talking about religions like Christianity vs. Islam, or vs. Judaism? If so, I wasn’t. I’m talking about Protestantism (Christianity). Jesus didn’t have to say which one was better then the other because there WAS ONLY ONE that He founded: Catholicism.

Answer 1

If the Protestants have it right, that the Reformation restored Christianity to its true teachings, then... how come the earliest Christians didn't have a whole lot in common with them regarding worship and beliefs?

Answer 2

Jesus instituted the Church, not churches.

"It is to Peter that he says: 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church' [Matt. 16:18]. Where Peter is, there is the Church. And where the Church, no death is there, but life eternal" (On Twelve Psalms 40:30 [A.D. 394]). st. Ambrose

Is it charitable to say that those who have separated themselves from the Church are no longer in communion with what the Church teaches and promises? Past Church Councils have declared this.

They have no valid priests, deacons, or bishops, no valid eucharist, etc...Many gatherings are no different than at concert arenas. This is true christianity?
If they do not partake in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and eat the Euchatist, do they have life in them? (Jn 6:53)
If this is the Protestant church is the true church and there can only be one, then the first 1500 years of the Catholic church were just a sham, that includes the institution of the Church by Jesus Christ himself.

Answer 3

St Alphonsus de Ligouri set aside Tuesdays for the Mother to pray for her disassociated children.

Sadly, the Protestant reformation only showed its children how to fall even farther away, as a maple seed spins away from its tree to land in strange soil. The protesters protested more and fractured more yet were united against their true roots. Let us hope that some ancestor in their far past who was united strongly to Our Mother the Church, will add their pleading prayers to the Lord so that the children of the Protestants are shown great mercy. And not just Protestants, but heathens and fallen away Catholics.

We should pray the Chaplet of Mercy often so that the Mercy of God falls upon us all and makes of our hearts flesh, rather than stone.

Also remember the teaching of the Church that the children of the Protestants do not fall under the same anathema. (I think iamacatholic once answered quite well regarding this dilemma)

Christ also said, in one of the gospels: "daughter-in-law will be set against mother-in-law" and "I have come not to bring peace, but a sword."

Answer 4

Any truthful study of the beliefs and practices of the apostles and the early church fathers, right up through the time of Constantine, will show that the church Jesus founded existed constantly and visibly in the world, maintained essentiallly the same beliefs, practiced the faith in much the same manner, and accepted the very same form of church government, from the very beginning.

That church remains one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic to this day.

The protestant reformers invented a whole new religion when they broke away from the one, true church ... a religion that Jesus Christ and the apostles never taught ... a "faith" tradtition that had absolutely no divine authority or power ... something that cannot truly be called a church, at all.

Any benefits the present day protestant groups obtain from their limited participation in "the muystical body of Christ" is due solely to the grace and power that remains concentrated in the Catholic Church ... the authentic church of which they are still a part ... although essentially separated from much of it, due to their track record of unbelief and heresy.

Revisionist history and subterfuge is all their leadership can rely on, to keep their confused and fragmented groups from becoming completely Catholic.

Answer 5

I'm not sure if the Reformers claimed to have restored Christianity to its true teachings. A reference for this would be helpful. Martin Luther wanted to clear out corruption in the church and get people to understand the immense worth of the Bible, which he'd found liberated him from vainly trying to earn salvation. John Calvin said the 3 distinguishing marks of an authentic church are: true preaching of the Word; the proper administration of the sacraments; the faithful exercise of church discipline. Of course, RCism disagrees with Protestant views on all 3 points, but that's another Q!

The free gift of grace to undeserving sinners was the core teaching then and still is now, in ALL Protestant denominations. This emphasis is the biggest difference. RCism emphasises papal authority and tradition. Yet they share basic agreement on the Trinity and other important Christian doctrines.

The hundreds (NOT thousands!) of Protestant denominations share a very few Confessions but submit them to the authority of the Bible (not tradition). Francis Schaeffer likened truth to a table top rather than a pyramid. The top of a pyramid allows room only for one interpretation to stand, from which no dissent can be tolerated (the RC stance?) A table top allows room for a number of interpretations but, nevertheless, has clearly demarcated sides over which it is possible to fall. So that's why there's room for different views in Protestantism though not in RCism. "But the man who loves God is known by God"(1 Cor 8:3)! Hallelujah!?!

Answer 6

I don't recall the chapter, but in the Gospells there is an instance when some of the apostles came to Jesus and told how they found a man who was preaching Jesus and that man was not one of them. Then Jesus said "those who are for us, are not against us."
So the truth is only at the center of all the developments, not all Christians have the truth.

Why are Christians not united under a single hierarchy?
Because as Jesus said: "my kingdom is not of this world."
As to Church structure it is my opinion that Jesus was extremely minimalist in this regard, we are not to charge money for teaching the gospel. They were always very modest when it came to money. And back to the question of the kingdom, there is no Christian Politic; it is incidental.

So then what is the truth?
Jesus: "I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father but through me."

Answer 7

The Church is made up of people, and Christ is it's head. The Church is not exclusive and denominations are man-made. It would be arrogant in the extreme to claim that only one denomination was right and that every other denomination was wrong. Jehovah's Witnesses do this. I do so hope you're not suggesting that only Catholics can be saved.

But, to go back to your question - why isn't there a sort of Protestant Vatican? Well, I guess that's because the Reformation was all about getting away from domination by a bunch of men and having to believe that a man was infallible. As well as all the other Romish practises and beliefs that Protestants don't agree with. Please don't get me wrong - I am not having a go at Catholics. I believe that God looks at each individual and He knows who are His. Rather than highlight differences, I think we would do better to simply look to ourselves, as individuals, and ask if our worship is pleasing and acceptable to God. To do that, we need to study God's Word and prayerfully ask for the Holy Spirit to lead and direct us. We need to repent of our sins, be baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Let God get on with the business of judging.

Answer 8

David L! I too don't recall the chapter but in the gospel there is an instance when Jesus pray to the Father saying " that they maybe one as I and you are one"!!! And pastorart1974! You have to come out of the false pretence that the protestants churches are only difference among themself like the difference orders of the Catholic Churches! They is so difference like different religions! Wake up and smell the fresh air!!!

Answer 9

According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense.

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.

Answer 10

Bible believing Protestants are united under the teachings found in the Bible.

There are hundreds, not thousands of denominations around and the differences between most of them are pretty minor, like the differences between different orders of Priests or Sisters in the Catholic Church.

For example I can show you a list of 50 denominations which agree on everything which is important and they agree that where the they disagree is not that important.

Their differences are organizational in nature and not theological.

The last two conferences I attended are attended by people from over 50 different denominations, I'm sure, but the organizers don't even ask which denominations people are from yet we are all in total agreement on what the gospel is all about.

One was held at a large Baptist church building in Orlando, but the conference organizers weren't even Baptists.

1800 church planters attended that conference and most attendees did not know or care what the denominational backgrounds were of the speakers.

Next month in Denver there will be a conference of about 3 to 4 hundred Biblical Counselors who will have probably at least 50 different denominations represented, but the organizers of that conference won't ask which denominations people come from either. They won't announce where the speakers are from, denomination wise.

In September I'll attend a conference in Grand Rapids on the subject of Internet Evangelism. Again, those who attend won't be concerned with and most won't ask about the denominational backgrounds of those who attend.

Pastor Art

Answer 11

Danny, there's one small detail about the early churches that the denominations and sects tracing their history to the Reformation rejected: Apostolic authority. The early churches certainly considered themselves under it, but the reformers wanted no part of it. If no one has the authority to define church doctrine, then anyone can define his own. And they have, many times over.

According to Justin Martyr and others, the worship of early Christians was also distinctly liturgical and Eucharistic. But you'll not find that widely acknowledged, either.