dan said:
Is the Catholic Church the true church of Christ?
If so, which one?
If not, why not?
Did Peter really pass off the authority of the Church in a successive chain all the way to Constantine?
Did Christ actually promise Peter the Church would never fall?
Is there a church that is attacked more than the Catholic Church in this forum? (yes)
Why do people like Led Zepellin?
I do not believe the Catholic Church has any authority whatsoever. I have studied their history at greeat length and find only deception, lust and murder. It's all wrapped up in a nice package, but it is as the whited walls of a tomb. There history is repleat with political aspirations, rape, murder, incest, adultery, polygamy, unrest, rebellion, and thousands of unauthorized changes to the doctrine that Christ preached. I see it as a means to subjugate Christianity.
Peter was never told the Church would last until the second coming. His authority could not have been passed on because John was still living decades after this succession was supposed to have taken place. His would have been the ultimate authority. The chain from Peter to Constantine is also broken and weak. It cannot be substantiated with any degree of certainty.
Christ promised Peter that the gates of Hell would not prevail against the something. What was He referring to? What do gates do? They keep things in or out. What would Hell want to keep in or out. Obviously it wants to keep souls in it. The verb does not refer to the church (it is in the partitive genitive), it refers to something that rightfully belongs to Hell. What? The souls, obviously. Revelations says Christ has the keys to death and Hell. What do the gates of Hell want to accomplish? Keep Christ from using His keys to Hell to release the prisoners. Look up the many, many instances in which the Bible (Christ specifically) says He will free the souls from prison. What does Christ tell Peter in this passage then? He shall overcome (the proper translation of the word rendered "prevail" in this passage) the gates of Hell and free the souls that died without knowledge of the Gospel. For that Peter speaks in his writings of Christ preaching the gospel to the spirits in prison (in more than one instance).
Yes, there are a couple. The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seem to receive an unprecedented level of prejudice in all religious forums. I even saw a forum called "Mormonssuck.com." It's a pretty funny forum, but, c'mon, that's not necessary.
I like "Over the Hill and Far Away," but I can't really get into anything else.
