They Couldn't Do It.
What Makes You Think You
Can?
"The Church, instituted by the Lord and confirmed by the
Apostles, is one for all men; but the frantic folly of the diverse impious sects
has cut them off from her. It cannot be denied that this tearing asunder of the
faith has arisen from the defect of poor intelligence, which twists what is read
to conform to its opinion, instead of adjusting its opinion to the meaning of
what is read. However, while individual parties fight among themselves, the
Church stands revealed not only by her own doctrines, but by those also of her
adversaries. And although they are all ranged against her, she confutes the most
wicked error which they all share, by the very fact that she is alone and One.
All the heretics, therefore, come against the Church; but while all the
heretics can conquer each other, they can win nothing for themselves. For their
victory is the triumph of the Church over all of them. One heresy struggles
against that teaching of another, which the faith of the Church has already
condemned in the other heresy, for there is nothing which the heretics hold in
common, and the result is that they affirm our faith while fighting among
themselves."
Saint Hilary of Poitiers...
The Trinity, 7:4, Jurgens
865, 356 A.D.
This quote is as true today as it was over 1600 years
ago...
"Nothing under the sun is new,
neither is any man able to say:
Behold
this is new;
for it has already gone before
in the ages that were before
us."
Ecclesiastes 1:10
The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus
Christ in the early first century. From the first day of the existence of the
Church, it has been under attack by those seeking to destroy it. The attacks
have continued for almost 2000 years unabated, and continue to this
day.
Well, guess what? The Church which Jesus Christ founded is still with
us.
But what has happened to the attackers?
1. First it was the Jews who did not accept Christ. They accused him of all
sorts of lies and prodded the Romans to crucify Him. They persecuted the
fledgling Church right from the start. Read about the actions of St. Paul and
persecution by the Jews in Acts 7 and 8. What did the Jews receive for their
actions against the Church? Almost total destruction...
Jesus Christ said in
Matthew 24:2, "...there will be not be left here one stone upon another that
will not be thrown down." He was talking about the Jewish capital of Jerusalem.
His words were fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans totally destroyed Jerusalem
and the Jewish Temple. All the Jewish priests were put to death, and that is why
you will not find Jewish priests today, only Rabbi's, as it takes a priest to
make a priest. The Catholic Church was not destroyed, but Judaism almost was and
it was forever changed.
The Catholic Church continued to grow.
2. Next it was the Romans. They crucified Jesus Christ, and mercilessly
persecuted the Christians and tried, for hundreds of years, and through many
pagan Roman Emperors, to kill them all. What did the Romans receive for their
persecution? A pagan Roman Emperor, Constantine, was converted to Christianity.
(If you can't fight them, then join them). The Roman Empire began a long decline
and ended with Romulus in 476, after being almost completely destroyed by
invaders from the north.
The Roman Empire never recovered.
The Catholic
Church was not destroyed but the Roman Empire was.
The Catholic Church
continued to prosper.
3. Then came Islam. We all know of the terrible persecutions of the Church
in the middle ages. We remember all of those Crusade wars and the defeats of
brave Christian knights suffered at the hands of Islam.
Islam is still with
us, but so is the Catholic Church, and the Church emerged stronger than
ever.
4. Heretics have been attacking the Church from the very beginning, and in
every century since. Some come on with much fanfare and then eventually die out.
Who remembers the Simonians, the Cerenthians, Basilidians, Valentinians,
Marcionites, Ebonites, Montanists, Origenists, Arians, Nestorians, Lollards,
Photius, and hundreds of others? They all attacked the Catholic Church, but the
Church is still here, and they are all gone. However, some of these heresies
continue to crop up and like chamaeleons who change their colors, they are
disguised with new names. Heresies and heretics will always be with us. They are
the chaff mixed in with the wheat, and are the ones who will be cut down and
thrown into the unquenchable fire, while the wheat will be gathered into the
barn and saved, Matthew 3:12.
5. Then came Protestantism. Started by Martin Luther in 1521, it spread over
Europe in short order and caused 10 million Catholics to become protestant. It
was a blow to the Catholic Church but only a temporary one, as only a short 10
years later, the Church gained 10 million converts in central America. The
Church continued to grow, but cracks immediately began to show in the heresy of
Protestantism. Since they had no central authority, they began to squabble
amongst themselves over just what was the truth. Soon they split into various
sects, Lutherans, Baptists, Calvinists, Methodists, Anglicans, etc.. The splits
are still going on to this day. At the latest count, there are over 36,400
different protestant sects in the world today. To make matters worse, the
individual sects are further dividing themselves into smaller and smaller
pieces. Baptists alone are split into over 20 major pieces and over 80 more
minor ones. Presbyterianism is split into over 10 pieces. Lutheranism is split
into 18 pieces. Even Mormonism is split into at least four parts. There are
literally hundreds of Pentecostal Churches alone.
Protestants have never
learned that a house divided against itself cannot stand, Matthew 12:25. Also a
house built on sand and not on the 'rock', Matthew 16:18, will be washed away,
Matthew 7:21-27.
So What did Protestantism do to the Church which Jesus
Christ founded? It produced some temporary setbacks, but that is all. The Church
continues to grow, and is much larger now than it was when Protestantism
started. So what did Protestantism gain? Nothing more than a severe splintering
of the Body of Christ. It certainly did not attain its goal of destroying the
Catholic Church. In fact Protestantism is in great trouble today and will no
doubt go the way of Arius,
and Photius and the hundreds of other heretics in
the past.
6. Then along came Adolph Hitler, who vowed to destroy the Catholic Church.
Where is he and his 1000 year Reich today? They are gone, but guess what? The
Catholic Church is still here today.
7. We cannot forget communism and the damage it did to the Church over 75 years
of terror. Eastern Europe behind an iron curtain, the USSR, Ukraine, Lithuania,
Poland, and a score or so of other countries under the yoke of the bear. The
Soviet empire collapsed suddenly without a shot being fired. What caused the
sudden collapse which surprised almost everyone? It was the Blessed Virgin Mary
acting through her Vicar of Christ, Pope John Paul II. The collapse started in
Catholic Poland and with the help of our Polish Pope. Granted, communism is
still alive in parts of the world, but where is the Soviet Union, the main
adversary? And what about the Catholic Church which the communists tried to
destroy? It is making a comeback in those religion starved countries.
So now, how do you explain this remarkable survivability of the Church, which
Jesus Christ Himself founded, after seemingly overwhelming attacks, from within
and from without, and by many diverse forces, some with cunning ingenuity, and
for almost 2000 years?
It is very easily explained for anyone who knows and
loves Holy Scripture.
It
survives because Jesus Christ, Himself said it would,
Matthew 16:18, Matthew
28:20, and John 14:16-17.
Show me another institution
that has survived intact for 2000 years, and still to this day does exactly what
Jesus Christ commanded. Show me another institution that has withstood the
arrows and the barbs, the heresies and the heretics, the wars and the
subversions, that the Catholic Church has endured for so long. Explain to me how
and why the Catholic Church has survived for so long.
"If GOD is for us,
who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
Now I ask you, If ALL of the above
could not destroy the Catholic Church,
what makes you think anyone can?
If
you try to destroy the Church which Jesus Christ founded,
you fight against
GOD Himself. Acts 5:38-39
But then, some people just never do seem to get the
message...
"No weapon that is formed against thee will prosper;
and every tongue that resisteth thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn." Isaiah
54:17
Written by Bob Stanley, July 30,
1998
Updated March 1, 2004
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