This post is admittedly long. If you want a shorter version with just the major take-aways, try this version instead. What does Christ want the structure of the Church to look like? And what did the early Church look like? Broadly speaking, there are two camps: Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans: Local churches were run by a… Continue reading Were Early Churches Governed by Individual Bishops, or Groups of Elders?
Tag: church structure
A Simple Case for the Visibility of Christ’s Church
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with a gazillion Bible verses on particular topics, and the sheer volume can make it hard to remember any of them in the moment. To (hopefully) remedy that, here’s a “basic case for the visiblity of the Church,” meaning that it intentionally relies upon only a handful of (easy-to-remember) Biblical passages.
Most Protestants Are No Longer Protestant
Historically, two doctrines more-or-less defined Protestant theology: sola fide (justification and salvation are “by faith alone”) and sola Scriptura (doctrines are established “by Scripture alone”). But do Protestants today even believe in these doctrines? A fascinating pair of Pew surveys, marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, decided to find out by surveying large numbers of Protestants in the U.S. and in eight different Western European countries. The results were fascinating, and we Catholics ought to be paying close attention.
5 Radical Lessons Christ Reveals About the Kingdom of God
The idea of the “Kingdom of God” is absolutely central to the Christian Gospel. The first words out of the mouth of Jesus in St. Mark’s Gospel are “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). St. Matthew says that Jesus “went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people” (Mt. 4:23). And we pray for the coming of this Kingdom every time that we pray the Lord’s Prayer. So what do we mean by the “Kingdom of God,” and how should it impact our approach to the Church, to civil society, and to our own responsibilities?
Did Vatican II Change Church Teaching On the Church?
Chances are, if you’ve done any reading about the Catholic Church’s vision of “the Church,” you’ve probably come across the claim that everything changed at Vatican II. Prior to Vatican II, as the story goes, the Catholic Church thought that only she was “the Church;” after Vatican II, she recognized that the Orthodox and Protestants (and perhaps even non-Christians!) also form part of the Church. But is it true?
What’s the Biblical Model of Church Leadership?
Protestants often assume that the monarchical structure of the Catholic Church is due to Catholics relying too much on structure of the Roman Empire and not enough on the structure established in the Bible. Perhaps it would be better to say that it’s Protestants who are overly indebted to the structure of the United States and Western liberal societies, to the extent that they’ve ignored that God established a Kingdom, and not a Democracy. Consider how the People of God were governed throughout all of history.
Why Must Catholic Clergy be Called by the Church?
The Catholic Church requires all aspiring priests and deacons to request ordination, and then to be called by their bishop. Why does she do that? Because it’s the Biblical model. And this explains where the women’s ordination movement, and the Protestant Reformation, have gone wrong.
(Why You Can’t Have) Jesus Without the Church
Contemporary Christianity is fond of pushing Jesus without the Church. Like its secular counterpart (in which people claim to be “spiritual, but not religious”), it’s an attempt to have the relationship without the rules. If I’m lonely or going through a tragedy, I can pray, but I don’t have to worry about fasting when I don’t want to, or being associated with a bunch of fellow believers that I look down upon.
But Jesus-without-the-Church is a rejection of Jesus.
The Catholic Church Doesn’t Look Like the Early Church? Good.
It’s frequently objected that the Catholic Church doesn’t look like the early Church. Good. It’s not supposed to.
The Good Shepherd and the Great Apostasy
Some Protestants view John 10 as rendering the Church unnecessary (for example, for setting the canon of Scripture), since Jesus says that “My sheep hear My voice.” In fact, this passage is actually a ringing endorsement of the necessity of the Church.