RE: Catholicism would actually be the most likely controlled Christianity
January 1, 2017 at 11:44 am
The Catholic Church tries to brand itself by promoting one of the major selling points that it is 'original Christianity', that only it can trace itself back to the time of the apostles and show continuity from the past to the present. First off this not accurate to any intellectually honest person, the Eastern Orthodox have at least the same claim, but Catholics often push the Orthodox to the side as the Pepsi to their Coke, trying to convince you that there's basically no difference except the presence of a Pope.
But to me, the reasons to disbelieve this claim are simple: The Catholicism of the 21st century is pretty much unrecognizable to the Catholicism of the Council of Trent, and the Catholicism of the Council of Trent is pretty much unrecognizable to the Christianity of the early Church. Where is the continuity I ask? Catholics claim the differences can be accounted for in the "development of doctrine"; it is one thing for an acorn to develop into an oak tree, it is an entirely different matter for 2 + 2 = 4 to develop into 2 + 2 = 5. The latter is what the Catholic Church does while insisting that there is no contradiction.
But to me, the reasons to disbelieve this claim are simple: The Catholicism of the 21st century is pretty much unrecognizable to the Catholicism of the Council of Trent, and the Catholicism of the Council of Trent is pretty much unrecognizable to the Christianity of the early Church. Where is the continuity I ask? Catholics claim the differences can be accounted for in the "development of doctrine"; it is one thing for an acorn to develop into an oak tree, it is an entirely different matter for 2 + 2 = 4 to develop into 2 + 2 = 5. The latter is what the Catholic Church does while insisting that there is no contradiction.
