Not a building. Not a committee. Not a tradition. Christs people are the church.
This always cracks me up. No-one on any side claims that “buildings” are the Church. But then they go on to say “committees” and “traditions” are not the Church.
So what, pray tell, are you really saying? “Real” Christians don’t use buildings, form committees, or follow traditions ?
Sounds to me like you’re saying homeless vagrants who know nothing of history and avoid each other at all costs are the “real Christians”.
I’m sorry, but that’s just ludicrous. But it’s basically what you’re saying.
Your idea of "the church" is this massive orthodox system of priests, bishops, cathedrals, traditions, ceremonies, teachings and every other pomp that defines "the church".
Christs church is the poor dirty farmer, the scared little child, the ill and sad widowed woman. That is the church of Jesus Christ.
Not men playing dressing up like devil worshipers of the past in fancy buildings calling themselves the authority of Christs church.
When any man or woman speaks against the plain teachings of the scriptures, they are to be corrected. With scripture.
Not defended with "tradition".
So what you’re saying is that the Church consists in only those people who believe the Bible means what you say it does.
If that’s the Truth, where’s the evidence of that? Why isn’t there some singular “Biblical Church” that lives according to this “plain meaning of Scripture?
What specifically are you objecting to about the Orthodox Church ?
Christians were all pretty unanimous for the first 1500 years that these houses and buildings and these committees and these traditions were pretty darn important to Christendom. They may not have agreed exactly which ones constituted the True Church, but everybody basically agreed that they were part of the whole package.
You’re arguing they were all full of shit. I’m sorry, that just strikes me as obviously false.
I don’t see any reason to believe they were the ones full of shit.
>Why isn’t there some singular “Biblical Church” that lives according to this “plain meaning of Scripture?
There is. That is literally Christs church. There are not many. Doubt more then a few hundred thousand. But like Christ said, "few" will find eternal life. Not 2 billion catholics/protestants.
>You’re arguing they were all full of shit.
Not at all. The disconnect is you believe the orthodox/catholic system was ever Christs church.
Christs church was constantly hunted. Murdered. 3 entire races were slaughtered for their belief in the biblical Christ.
The Heruli, Vandals and the Ostrogoths. All 3 were non trinitarian (arian) nations who paid for their faithfulness and defiance of heresy with their lives. Same as the Waldensians and numerous other poor groups of souls who are lost to history. Hundreds of millions of Christians have perished at the hands of the papacy and other so called "christian churches".
But the bible said it would happen. It says men would kill thinking they are doing Gods service. And it will continue to be so until the end.
If mens traditions and teachings do not align with the scripture, there is no light in them.
btw, Daniel 7 records the sad fate of those 3 nations if you are interested. Plucked up by the little horn (papacy).
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