phernduke said:
What are your views of which is the true church and why?
Churches like to define themselves by what they believe -- about Jesus, about the Trinity, about sin and salvation, etc., -- and by their historical roots. So you'll find churches who tout their apostolic succession and/or their theological correctness as evidence that they should be considered the True Church.
You'll find other churches that stress their faithfulness to the Bible, although they usually interpret the Bible in a very selective manner, and although there's an obvious irony to equating True Christianity to commitment to a book. Many of these same churches also stress "accepting Jesus as your personal savior" or "having a personal relationship with Jesus," although neither concept is taught in the Bible they claim to base their faith on.
What you don't see is churches that have a serious commitment to following the teachings of Jesus. For instance:
Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
When Christians discuss such teachings, they usually try to take a more "practical" approach, and to assure each other that Jesus didn't really mean all those things quite literally, and that of course you really can make vows and take oaths, defend yourself, assert your property rights, and plan for your financial security -- that, indeed, you have a duty to do these things. And as for treating others as you'd like them treat you -- well, clearly, Jesus wasn't referring to homosexuals or Muslims or atheists or other undesirables. In fact, it's your Christian duty to make life miserable for those people till they see the error of their ways.
The truth seems to be that no church has a monopoly on Jesus. On the contrary, the vast majority of the churches have a serious commitment to the systematic negation of the teachings of Jesus. So I don't consider "What is the true church?" a valid question. Anything that has the word "church" in its title has an extremely high likelihood of embracing a worldview and a way of life that is completely incompatible with the teachings of Jesus.
A better question might be, "How does Jesus say we should live?"
