The Authority of the Catholic Church on Doctrine

The first 4 centuries of the Catholic Church resulted in a number of defining doctrines that have set Christians firmly on the road we now travel. The doctrine and mystery of the Trinity is just one of these. Others include the Catholic Church changing the Sabbath from the 7th day to the 1st day of the week by its own authority as to “not judaiz by resting on the Sabbath” (canon 29 of the Synod of Laodicea ) as if the Jews picked the day themselves. Also, the greatly debated and disputed establishment of and proper observation of Easter to replace Passover. As well as the observance of Christmas to worship the birth of Jesus with the full knowledge that Jesus was not born on December 25th and that the apostles did not ever annually celebrate Jesus birth.

Each of these doctrines of the Catholic Church are celebrated without question and defended as sacred traditions of Christianity. We have wrapped ourselves in the established teaching and practices of “the church fathers” and others who have come before us secure in the idea that our actions are following the path led by Jesus. It is precisely us applying our own traditions to worship God, traditions which God did not establish, that Jesus condemned the Jews for.

Each major Christian denomination that does not consider itself subject to the central authority of Rome has renounced the authority of the Roman Catholic Church even calling it an abomination and as with Orthodox Catholics declaring the pope the Anti-christ. But the questions I ask myself here is, “if the Roman Catholic Church is not God’s one true church as they claim to be, at what point did they cease to be God’s one true church? Was it in the sixteenth century with the Protestant Reformation, the Inquisition of the Middle Ages or perhaps 1054 with the Great Schism between the east and west or was it much earlier? Perhaps 325 AD at the Council of Nicea or was it even before that?” And why despite the many declarations of apostacy against this church throughout the ages do these doctrines continue without question?

When Jesus surveyed the landscape of Judea he found the traditions of the worship of God by the Jews dead works. What would he say of our enlightened traditions of today? Has God’s plea that we would obey the statutes He established changed so much or has God been consistent on this point ?

If the apostles were alive today, would they recognize the church we ascribe to Peter? Or does Jesus’ gospel message of “repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” mean a whole lot more than doing 60km in a 50km zone when no one is looking?

The only thing I am really certain of is that it is all happening according to God’s divine plan just exactly as He expected, whatever that might be and we are to do the very best with what we have.