Historically, the Catholic Church cannot trace its origin back to the 1st century.
Biblically, the Catholic Church cannot trace its origin back to the 1st century.
The doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church cannot trace its origin back to the doctrines and practices of the 1st century church of Christ.
The doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church cannot trace its origin back to the teachings in the bible.
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Catholics claim that their church is the only Christian church that can trace its roots back to the first century but i doubt it, because their claim is very impossible for them to prove especially if we will compare their doctrines, practices and beliefs to that of the 1st century church of Christ. Everything in the Catholic Church is far different to the church that was established by Christ, and i am 100% sure that the Catholic Church is not the church of Christ not because i am a non catholic but because ive examine basic facts about the history of the Catholic Church and some of its doctrines and practices.
We do not deny that the Catholic Church in the beginning was the church of Christ. But saying that the Catholic Church is the "church of Christ" based on its teachings (which is very important because those are the things that will bring us salvation) is very hard to accept.
How about you, will you accept that the 1st century church of Christ is the Catholic Church if youve learned that there are so many new doctrines and practices invented by the Catholics after the death of the apostles? I mean, these:
| 200 AD | Immersion of infants who are dying, but considered sinless. (Tertullian V.12) |
| 250 AD | North Africa region is first to practice infant baptism and reduced the age of baptism from minors to all newborns. This is opposed by other regions. |
| 257 AD | Baptism by sprinkling for adults instead of immersion first used as an exception for those on sick beds, but it caused great dispute. |
| 300 AD | Prayers for the dead |
| 320 AD | Special dress code of the clergy in worship |
| 325 AD | At the general council of Nice, 325, it was proposed indeed, probably by the Western bishop Hosius, to forbid entirely the marriage of priests; but the motion met with strong opposition, and was rejected. |
| 325 AD | The date for Easter was set. |
| 379 AD | Praying to Mary & Saints. (prayers of Ephraim Syrus) |
| 385 AD | In the West, the first prohibition of clerical marriage, which laid claim to universal ecclesiastical authority, proceeded in 385 from the Roman church in the form of a decretal letter of the bishop Siricius to Himerius, bishop of Tarragona in Spain. |
| 389 AD | Mariolatry begins with Gregory Nazianzen, who mentions in a eulogy, how Justina had besought the virgin Mary to protect her virginity. |
| 400 AD | Impossibility of apostasy or once saved always saved, (Augustine XII.9) |
| 416 AD | Infant baptism by immersion commanded of all infants (Council Of Mela, Austin was the principal director) |
| 430 AD | Exhalation of Virgin Mary: "Mother of God" first applied by the Council of Ephesus |
| 502 AD | Special dress code of the Clergy all the time. |
| 500 AD | The "Habit" of Nuns (Black gowns with white tunics) |
| 519 AD | Lent |
| 526 AD | Extreme Unction |
| 593 AD | The Doctrine of Purgatory popularized from the Apocrypha by Gregory the Great |
| 600 AD | First use of Latin in worship (Gregory I) |
| Beginning of the Orthodox/Roman Catholic church as we know it today in its present organization. | |
| 607 AD |  First Pope: Boniface III is the first person to take the title of "universal Bishop" by decree of Emperor Phocas. |
| 608 AD | Pope Boniface IV. turns the Pantheon in Rome into a temple of Mary ad martyres: the pagan Olympus into a Christian heaven of gods. |
| 670 AD | Instrumental music: first organ by Pope Vitalian |
| 709 AD | Kissing of Pope Constantine's feet |
| 753 AD | Baptism by sprinkling for those on sick beds officially accepted. |
| 787 AD | Worship of icons and statue approved (2nd council of Nicea) |
| 787 AD | Rome (Latin) and Constantinople (Greek) part ways and begin the drift towards complete split, resulting in two denominations emerging in 1054 AD. |
| 965 AD | Baptism of bells instituted by Pope John XIII |
| 850 AD | Burning of Holy Candles |
| 995 AD | Canonization of dead saints, first by Pope John XV |
| 998 AD | Good Friday: fish only and the eating-red meat forbidden |
| 1009 AD | Holy water |
| 1022 AD | Penance |
| 1054 AD | Roman Catholic church breaks away from the Orthodox church |
| 1054 AD | Roman Catholics officially embrace instrumental music, Orthodox reject instrumental music down to the present time. |
| 1079 AD | Celibacy enforced for priests, bishops, presbyters (Pope Gregory VII) |
| 1090 AD | Rosary beads: invented by Peter the Hermit |
| 1095 AD | Instrumental music |
| 1190 AD | Sale of Indulgences or "tickets to sin" (punishment of sin removed) |
| 1215 AD | Transubstantiation by Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council |
| 1215 AD | Auricular Confession of sins to priests instituted by Pope Innocent III, (Lateran Council) |
| 1215 AD | Mass a Sacrifice of Christ |
| 1217 AD | Adoration and Elevation of Host: ie. communion bread (Pope Honrius III) |
| 1230 AD | Ringing bells at Mass |
| 1251 AD | The Scapular, the brown cloak worn by monks invented by Simon Stock |
| 1268 AD | Priestly power of absolution |
| 1311 AD | Baptism by sprinkling accepted as the universal standard instead of immersion for all, not just the sick. (Council of Ravenna) |
| 1414 AD | Laity no longer offered Lord's cup at communion (Council of Constance) |
| 1439 AD | Purgatory a dogma by the Council of Florence (see 593 AD) |
| 1439 AD | Doctrine of Seven Sacraments affirmed |
| 1480 AD | The Inquisition (of Spain) |
| 1495 AD | Papal control of marriage rights |
| 1534 AD | Order of Jesuits founded by Loyola |
| 1545 AD | Man-made tradition of church made equal to Bible (Council of Trent) |
| 1545 AD | Apocryphal books added to Bible (Council of Trent) |
| 1546 AD | Justification by human works of merit |
| 1546 AD | Mass universally said in Latin (see 600 AD) |
| 1547 AD | Confirmation |
| 1560 AD | Personal opinions of Pope Pius IV imposed as the official creed |
| 1864 AD | Syllabus Errorum [Syllabus of Errors] proclaimed that "Catholic countries" could not tolerate other religions, (no freedom of religion), conscience, separation of church and State condemned, asserted the Pope's temporal authority over all civil rulers (Ratified by Pope Pius IX and Vatican Council) condemned |
| 1870 AD | Infallibility of Pope (Vatican council) |
| 1908 AD | All Catholics should be christened into the church |
| 1930 AD | Public Schools condemned by Pope Pius XII (see 1864 AD) |
| 1950 AD | Sinners prayer, invented by Billy Sunday and made popular by Billy Graham. (Some Catholics now use this) |
| 1950 AD | Assumption of the body of the Virgin Mary into heaven shortly after her death. (Pope Pius XII) |
| 1954 AD | Immaculate conception of Mary proclaimed by Pope Pius XII |
| 1995 AD | The use of girls in the traditional alter boy duties |
| 1996 AD | Catholics can believe in Evolution (Pope John Paul II) |
source: bible.ca
I become enlightened in some things when i read about the origin of the Catholic Church by gotquestions.org:
Question: "What is the origin of the Catholic Church?"
Answer: The Roman Catholic Church contends that its origin is the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ in approximately A.D. 30. The Catholic Church proclaims itself to be the church that Jesus Christ died for, the church that was established and built by the apostles. Is that the true origin of the Catholic Church? On the contrary. Even a cursory reading of the New Testament will reveal that the Catholic Church does not have its origin in the teachings of Jesus or His apostles. In the New Testament, there is no mention of the papacy, worship/adoration of Mary (or the immaculate conception of Mary, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the assumption of Mary, or Mary as co-redemptrix and mediatrix), petitioning saints in heaven for their prayers, apostolic succession, the ordinances of the church functioning as sacraments, infant baptism, confession of sin to a priest, purgatory, indulgences, or the equal authority of church tradition and Scripture. So, if the origin of the Catholic Church is not in the teachings of Jesus and His apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, what is the true origin of the Catholic Church?
For the first 280 years of Christian history, Christianity was banned by the Roman Empire, and Christians were terribly persecuted. This changed after the “conversion” of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine “legalized” Christianity with the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313. Later, in A.D. 325, Constantine called the Council of Nicea in an attempt to unify Christianity. Constantine envisioned Christianity as a religion that could unite the Roman Empire, which at that time was beginning to fragment and divide. While this may have seemed to be a positive development for the Christian church, the results were anything but positive. Just as Constantine refused to fully embrace the Christian faith, but continued many of his pagan beliefs and practices, so the Christian church that Constantine promoted was a mixture of true Christianity and Roman paganism.
Constantine found that with the Roman Empire being so vast, expansive, and diverse, not everyone would agree to forsake his or her religious beliefs to embrace Christianity. So, Constantine allowed, and even promoted, the “Christianization” of pagan beliefs. Completely pagan and utterly unbiblical beliefs were given new “Christian” identities. Some clear examples of this are as follows:
(1) The Cult of Isis, an Egyptian mother-goddess religion, was absorbed into Christianity by replacing Isis with Mary. Many of the titles that were used for Isis, such as “Queen of Heaven,” “Mother of God,” and theotokos (“God-bearer”) were attached to Mary. Mary was given an exalted role in the Christian faith, far beyond what the Bible ascribes to her, in order to attract Isis worshippers to a faith they would not otherwise embrace. Many temples to Isis were, in fact, converted into temples dedicated to Mary. The first clear hints of Catholic Mariology occur in the writings of Origen, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which happened to be the focal point of Isis worship.
(2) Mithraism was a religion in the Roman Empire in the 1st through 5th centuries A.D. It was very popular among the Romans, especially among Roman soldiers, and was possibly the religion of several Roman emperors. While Mithraism was never given “official” status in the Roman Empire, it was the de facto official religion until Constantine and succeeding Roman emperors replaced Mithraism with Christianity. One of the key features of Mithraism was a sacrificial meal, which involved eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a bull. Mithras, the god of Mithraism, was “present” in the flesh and blood of the bull, and when consumed, granted salvation to those who partook of the sacrificial meal (this is known as theophagy, the eating of one’s god). Mithraism also had seven “sacraments,” making the similarities between Mithraism and Roman Catholicism too many to ignore. Constantine and his successors found an easy substitute for the sacrificial meal of Mithraism in the concept of the Lord’s Supper/Christian communion. Sadly, some early Christians had already begun to attach mysticism to the Lord’s Supper, rejecting the biblical concept of a simple and worshipful remembrance of Christ’s death and shed blood. The Romanization of the Lord’s Supper made the transition to a sacrificial consumption of Jesus Christ, now known as the Catholic Mass/Eucharist, complete.
(3) Most Roman emperors (and citizens) were henotheists. A henotheist is one who believes in the existence of many gods, but focuses primarily on one particular god or considers one particular god supreme over the other gods. For example, the Roman god Jupiter was supreme over the Roman pantheon of gods. Roman sailors were often worshippers of Neptune, the god of the oceans. When the Catholic Church absorbed Roman paganism, it simply replaced the pantheon of gods with the saints. Just as the Roman pantheon of gods had a god of love, a god of peace, a god of war, a god of strength, a god of wisdom, etc., so the Catholic Church has a saint who is “in charge” over each of these, and many other categories. Just as many Roman cities had a god specific to the city, so the Catholic Church provided “patron saints” for the cities.
(4) The supremacy of the Roman bishop (the papacy) was created with the support of the Roman emperors. With the city of Rome being the center of government for the Roman Empire, and with the Roman emperors living in Rome, the city of Rome rose to prominence in all facets of life. Constantine and his successors gave their support to the bishop of Rome as the supreme ruler of the church. Of course, it is best for the unity of the Roman Empire that the government and state religion be centered in the same location. While most other bishops (and Christians) resisted the idea of the Roman bishop being supreme, the Roman bishop eventually rose to supremacy, due to the power and influence of the Roman emperors. When the Roman Empire collapsed, the popes took on the title that had previously belonged to the Roman emperors – Pontificus Maximus.
Many more examples could be given. These four should suffice in demonstrating the true origin of the Catholic Church. Of course the Roman Catholic Church denies the pagan origin of its beliefs and practices. The Catholic Church disguises its pagan beliefs under layers of complicated theology. The Catholic Church excuses and denies its pagan origin beneath the mask of “church tradition.” Recognizing that many of its beliefs and practices are utterly foreign to Scripture, the Catholic Church is forced to deny the authority and sufficiency of Scripture.
The origin of the Catholic Church is the tragic compromise of Christianity with the pagan religions that surrounded it. Instead of proclaiming the gospel and converting the pagans, the Catholic Church “Christianized” the pagan religions, and “paganized” Christianity. By blurring the differences and erasing the distinctions, yes, the Catholic Church made itself attractive to the people of the Roman Empire. One result was the Catholic Church becoming the supreme religion in the “Roman world” for centuries. However, another result was the most dominant form of Christianity apostatizing from the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the true proclamation of God’s Word.
Second Timothy 4:3-4 declares, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
And because i am not bias, i will also show you the FACTS about the Iglesia ni Cristo:
Historically, the Iglesia ni Cristo cannot trace its origin back to the 1st century, because this church is the re establishment of the 1st century church of Christ that we believe had apostatized. It was re established in 1914 (based on the prophecy about the ends of the earth) through Bro. Felix Manalo (we believed to be God's last messenger and not the founder of the church).
Biblically, the Iglesia ni Cristo CAN trace its origin back to the 1st century because the Iglesia ni Cristo or Church of Christ in english is the ONLY ONE CHURCH that Christ established.
The doctrines and practices of the Iglesia ni Cristo CAN trace its origin back to the doctrines and practices of the 1st century church of Christ. There may be some differences because the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) today is in the modern times.
The doctrines and practices of the Iglesia ni Cristo CAN trace its origin back to the teachings in the bible.
