Apologetics for the Masses #510 - Will the Real Church of Christ Please Stand Up

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Topic

Comparing the Catholic Church of Christ and the Campbellite Church of Christ to the Bible's Church of Christ

General Comments

Hey Everyone,

Three things:

1) I've started a new Facebook page - Questions Protestants Can't Answer. Would love to have you join me there! But, even moreso, I would love for you to invite your Protestant friends to check it out. I would like for it to engender robust discussion between Catholics and Protestants and, hopefully, open some folks' eyes as to the truths of the Catholic Faith and the lack of consistency in much of the Protestant faith traditions. I've already posted the 1st question for Protestants.

2) I got kicked off the Protestant Facebook page - Advanced Apologetics - for posting apologetics questions they couldn't answer. Go figure. (More on that in future newsletters.) Which is how I got the idea to start the Facebook page mentioned above. I have all these questions I've compiled over the years that Protestants can't answer, and if they're not going to let me ask them on their Facebook pages - even on one called Advanced Apologetics - then I thought I'd just start my own Facebook page and challenge them to come and answer them there.

3) Apparently, some of the email platforms out there - gmail, comcast, hotmail, yahoo, and a few others - have occasionally taken to identifying this newsletter as spam. That's because we send out some 60,000+ emails at a time. Even though my web guy has contacted them on numerous occasions to try and work through being blacklisted by these folks, it still happens from time-to-time.

So, one way to try and make sure you continue to receive these newsletters, and to help us stay off the spam lists at some of these servers, is to save this email address - admin@biblechristiansociety.com - in your address book. Also, if you know how to whitelist an email address, then please whitelist that same email address. And, if you know how to whitelist a website, then please whitelist: www.biblechristiansociety.com.

Thanks!

Introduction

A bit of a short newsletter this time around. For any and all of you that have to deal with family members, friends, co-workers, etc. who are members of the Church of Christ that was, essentially, starting by the Campbells in the early 1800's - which is why I call it the Campbellite Church of Christ - here's a newsletter you can share with them. The Campbellite Church of Christ believes they are the one and only true Church of Christ and that their church is an exact replica of the church of the 1st century as found in the Bible. Well, I would love to have any of them respond to the points I make here.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

A Comparison of the Catholic Church of Christ, the Campbellite Church of Christ, and the Bible's Church of Christ

1) Church of Christ in the Bible: "And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues." (1 Cor 12:28)

Campbellite Church of Christ - No Apostles, no prophets, no workers of miracles, no healers, and no speakers in various kinds of tongues.
Catholic Church of Christ - Apostles, prophets, workers of miracles, healers, and speakers in various kinds of tongues.

2) Church of Christ in the Bible: Had men who had been given the authority, by Jesus Christ, to forgive or retain sins. Matthew 9:6-8; John 20:21-23; James 5:14-16

Campbellite Church of Christ: Has no such men.
Catholic Church of Christ: Does indeed have such men.

3) Church of Christ in the Bible: Called a church council to discuss and decide disputed doctrinal issues. (Acts 15: 1-21)

Campbellite Church of Christ: Has never called a church council to discuss and decide disputed doctrinal issues.
Catholic Church of Christ: Has called more than 20 councils in the last 2000 years to discuss and decide disputed doctrinal issues.

4) Church of Christ in the Bible: Had the authority to bind and loose matters on earth that would be bound and loosed in Heaven. (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18).

Campbellite Church of Christ: Claims no such authority.
Catholic Church of Christ: Binds and looses disciplines such as priestly celibacy, whether it is okay to baptize via immersion, sprinkling, and pouring; people's sins in Confession; dogmatic statements such as the Immaculate Conception, and so on.

5) Church of Christ in the Bible: Had leaders of whom it could be said: "He who hears you, hears Me, and he who rejects you, rejects Me." (Luke 10:16).

Campbellite Church of Christ: Does not claim to have such leaders.
Catholic Church of Christ: Does indeed have such leaders - the Pope and the Councils that speak infallibly on behalf of Christ.

6) Church of Christ in the Bible: Had many charismatic gifts of the Spirit. (1 Cor 12:4-11).

Campbellite Church of Christ: Claims the charismatic gifts of the Spirit no longer exist in the Church.
Catholic Church of Christ: Has all the charismatic gifts of the Spirit.

7) Church of Christ in the Bible: Had leaders of the Church who had authority over the entire Church, not just their local church. (Acts 15:19-20)

Campbellite Church of Christ: Have leaders who only have authority in their local church.
Catholic Church of Christ: Has leaders who have authority over the entire Church.

8) Church of Christ in the Bible: Held to the Apostles' teaching and to the traditions as Paul delivered them by word of mouth or in writing. (Acts 2:42; 2 Thes 2:15)

Campbellite Church of Christ: Rejects all tradition. Got their beliefs from the Campbells' personal interpretations of the Bible developed some 1800 years after the death of Christ.
Catholic Church of Christ: Has stood fast in its beliefs that have been passed down from the 1st century teachings of the Apostles via both written and oral tradition.

Closing Comments

I hope all of you have a great week! Please pray for us, and rest assured that we are praying for you.

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