Why do Catholics break the Commandment about Idols?

[God4me]

A Catholic response: God's blessings

Some Protestants accuse the Catholic Church of having dropped one of the 10 Commandments. "You're idolators! You worship statues! And because you do, your Church dropped the commandment against graven images!"

The truth, of course, is that the Catholic Church did not and could not change the Ten Commandments. Latin Catholics and Protestants simply list them differently. It is incredible that such a pernicious lie could be so easily spread and believed, especially since the truth could easily be determined by just looking into the matter. But the rumor lives.

Now, below are the ways in which Protestants and Roman Catholics enumerate the Commandments:
Most common Protestant listing:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
Honour thy father and thy mother
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour
Thou shalt not covet ​

Latin Catholic listing:

Thou shalt not have other gods besides Me
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day
Honor thy father and thy mother
Thou shalt not murder
Thou shalt not commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods​

So what the heck? What did happen to the commandment about graven images in the Catholic listing? Did the Church just "drop" a commandment?

Um, no. The Old Testament was around long before the time of the Apostles, and the Decalogue, which is found in three different places in the Bible (Exodus 20 and Exodous 34 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21), has not been changed by the Catholic Church. Chapter and verse divisions are a medieval invention, however, and numbering systems of the Ten Words (Commandments), the manner in which they are grouped, and the "short-hand" used for them, vary among various religious groups. Exodus 20 is the version most often referred to when one speaks of the Ten Commandments, so it will be our reference point here. Here's how the relevant portion of Exodus 20 reads:
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]2 [/TD]
[TD]I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6 [/TD]
[TD]And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8 [/TD]
[TD]Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9 [/TD]
[TD]Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10 [/TD]
[TD]But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11 [/TD]
[TD]For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12 [/TD]
[TD]Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not kill. [SUP]1[/SUP] [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not commit adultery. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not steal. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17 [/TD]
[TD]Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

So we have 16 verses and Ten Commandments (this we know because of Exodus 34:28 and Deuteronomy 4:13 which speak of the "Ten Words" of God). How to group these verses and Commands? Here's how different groups have handled this:
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEE9E9, colspan: 3"] Verses Grouped Together[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Counted as Commandment # [/TD]
[TD="width: 30%, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]Jewish [/TD]
[TD="width: 30%, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]Latin Catholic, Lutheran [/TD]
[TD="width: 30%, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]Eastern Catholic, Orthodox, Most Protestant[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]2 (commandment to believe)[/TD]
[TD]3, 4, 5, 6[/TD]
[TD]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]3, 4, 5, 6[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]4, 5, 6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]8, 9, 10, 11[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]8, 9, 10, 11[/TD]
[TD]12[/TD]
[TD]8, 9, 10, 11[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]12[/TD]
[TD]13 [/TD]
[TD]12[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]13 [/TD]
[TD]14[/TD]
[TD]13 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]14[/TD]
[TD]15 [/TD]
[TD]14[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]15 [/TD]
[TD]16[/TD]
[TD]15[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9[/TD]
[TD]16[/TD]
[TD]17a (commandment against lust) [/TD]
[TD]16[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]17 [/TD]
[TD]17b (commandment against greed) [/TD]
[TD]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

When the Commandments are listed, they are often listed in short-hand form, such that, for ex., verses 8, 9, 10 and 11 concerning the Sabbath become simply "Remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy." Because Latin Catholics group 3, 4, 5 and 6 together as all pertaining to the concept "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me," we are accused of having "dropped" the commandment against idols. That Eastern Catholics list the Commandments differently never enters the equation for people who think this way; they are simply against those they probably call the "Romish popers" and that's that (I hope it doesn't bother them that Jews would accuse them of totally forgetting the First Commandment, or that Latin Catholics could accuse some Protestants of skipping lightly over the commandments against lust. And why don't the Protestants who have a problem with our numbering system go after the Lutherans for the same thing, anyway?).

Bottom line:

• chapter and verse numbering in the Bible came about in the Middle Ages
• the Catholic Church (which includes Eastern Catholics, too) has two different numbering systems for the Commandments given, one agreeing with the most common Protestant enumeration;
• the Latin Church's numbering is the most common in the Catholic Church and is the one referred to by Protestants who, ignoring Eastern Catholic Churches, accuse the Catholic Church of having dropped a Commandment;
• no Commandment has been dropped, in any case, but the Latin Church's shorthand for the Commandments looks different than the typical Protestant version because of how the Commandments are grouped;
• everyone knows how to find Exodus 20 in the Bible, anyway -- even us stoopid Latin Catholics; and
• we don't care how they are grouped together; we only care that they are understood and obeyed -- not because we are under the Old Testament Moral and Ceremonial Law with its legalism and non-salvific ritual (we aren't!), but because we are to obey God as children of the New Covenant, whose moral law includes the Two Great Commandments (to love God and to love our neighbor) which surpass the Decalogue, and whose Sacraments surpass empty ritual, being media of grace.

Footnote:
[SUP]1[/SUP] The Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate (the official Scripture of the Church), and the original Douay-Reims phrase the Fifth Word as "Thou shalt not murder"; later Douay-Reims versions, such as the Challoner, and the King James Bible, etc., phrase it as "Thou shalt not kill." "Thou shalt not murder," however, is the original intent and the meaning of the earliest texts. Catholics, of course, have 2,000 years of Church teaching and the Magisterium to interpret Scripture, and the meaning of the Fifth Commandment is that one is not to take innocent life. It doesn't entail pacifism, ignoring the needs of self-defense and justice, worrying about squashing bugs, etc.

Catholics DO have other gods, They have Mary and the departed saints to whom they pray to.
Catholics MUST believe they are God, as 1000s of people from all over the world pray to then, all at the same time, So Catholics MUST believe Mary and the departed saints are omnipresent, Making them God.

Praying to many gods, came from the Catholic background of the pagan church that the Catholics came from, and they still have pagan rituals.

 

[Polycarp]

Catholics DO have other gods, They have Mary and the departed saints to whom they pray to.
Catholics MUST believe they are God, as 1000s of people from all over the world pray to then, all at the same time, So Catholics MUST believe Mary and the departed saints are omnipresent, Making them God.

Praying to many gods, came from the Catholic background of the pagan church that the Catholics came from, and they still have pagan rituals.

I have an important question for you to ponder and reflect upon: What is prayer, and is all prayer a form of worship?

Do you know what Communion Of The Saints is? What is "praying to the saints" really about? Is there a biblical basis for it? Are the departed saints really dead or are they alive in Christ and connected to us through His mystical body?

Do Catholics really believe Mary is omnipresent? What do they have to say about that accusation?

 

[DeaconMike]

One of the Commandments DeaconMike is we are not to bow down to Statues and Pictures. We do have pictures of Pope John Paul II bowing down to a statue of Mary, praying to the Statue.

Pope John Paul II saw no problems with Worshiping Mary as his Savior and God.

He will spend Eternity in the Lake of Fire, not with God.

Dear Mike Henderson
I have a picture of a Protestant kneeling in front of his bible. Am I to assume he is worshipping a book?

 

[Polycarp]

"The Lord did not prohibit statues; he prohibited the adoration of them. If God truly meant that we were not to possess any statues at all, then he would later contradict himself. Just five chapters after this commandment in Exodus 20, God commanded Moses to build the ark of the Covenant, which would contain the presence of God and was to be venerated as the holiest place in all of Israel. Here is what God commanded Moses concerning the statues on it:

And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends (Ex. 25:18–19)"
- Tim Staples, ex protestant, former southern baptist.

 

[God4me]

I have an important question for you to ponder and reflect upon: What is prayer, and is all prayer a form of worship?

Do you know what Communion Of The Saints is? What is "praying to the saints" really about? Is there a biblical basis for it? Are the departed saints really dead or are they alive in Christ and connected to us through His mystical body?

Do Catholics really believe Mary is omnipresent? What do they have to say about that accusation?

I know the Catholics pray to Mary and the departed saints
And they MUST believe Mary is Omnipresent, otherwise how could she hear and answer everyone's prayers at the same time? ?
So it's a FACTS that Catholics believe Mary is Omnipresent, NOT an accusation.
Are you trying to defend the erroneous Catholic church ?

 

[mailmandan]

Praying to many gods, came from the Catholic background of the pagan church that the Catholics came from, and they still have pagan rituals.

I recently watched a video that connects the origin of the Roman Catholic Church with paganism. It sounds like when Roman Catholicism was born in the early 4th Century, it basically tried to blend Christianity with pagan practices. That would explain a lot!

[video=youtube;-KvQa9MPbIs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KvQa9MPbIs[/video]

 

[Polycarp]

I know the Catholics pray to Mary and the departed saints
And they MUST believe Mary is Omnipresent, otherwise how could she hear and answer everyone's prayers at the same time? ?
So it's a FACTS that Catholics believe Mary is Omnipresent, NOT an accusation.
Are you trying to defend the erroneous Catholic church ?

"The Catholic Response:

When Catholics say we are praying to God and praying to saints we are talking about qualitatively different things as different as a monkey is to a man. The Protestant generally only has one species in mind when he thinks of prayer—prayer to God that necessarily includes adoration. But one need only pick up a dictionary to discover there are in truth different definitions and therefore different usages of the same word in English.

Prayer:

The act or practice of praying.

An earnest request; entreaty; supplication
(a) humble entreaty addressed to God, to a god, etc.: (b) a request made to God, etc.; as, her prayer for his safe return; (c) any set formula for praying, as to God.
Prayer is not, by definition, necessarily equated with the adoration that is due God alone. Prayer can certainly involve an act of adoration when it is directed to God, but the term does not necessarily denote adoration. It can simply mean “an entreaty.”

Is prayer necessarily an act of worship? No, it is not."
- Tim Staples.

I can give you the link that expands on this if you are interested.



**Saints in heaven are not omniscient:

"If being in heaven were like being in the next room, then of course these objections would be valid. A mortal, unglorified person in the next room would indeed suffer the restrictions imposed by the way space and time work in our universe. But the saints are not in the next room, and they are not subject to the time/space limitations of this life.

This does not imply that the saints in heaven therefore must be omniscient, as God is, for it is only through God’s willing it that they can communicate with others in heaven or with us. And Boettner’s argument about petitions arriving in different languages is even further off the mark. Does anyone really think that in heaven the saints are restricted to the King’s English? After all, it is God himself who gives the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Surely those saints in Revelation understand the prayers they are shown to be offering to God."




God4Me, I am sharing with you what I have come to conclude into my investigations into the claims of the Catholic Church. I'm not satisfied with protestant explanations for catholic beliefs. I just want to know the truth.

 

[Ahwatukee]

I recently watched a video that connects the origin of the Roman Catholic Church with paganism. It sounds like when Roman Catholicism was born in the early 4th Century, it basically tried to blend Christianity with pagan practices. That would explain a lot!

[video=youtube;-KvQa9MPbIs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KvQa9MPbIs[/video]

Good morning Mailman,

This is very true. This is why she is called "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of all prostitutes." From what I understand and which makes perfect sense, when Constantine deemed Christianity as the official religion of Rome, along with it came the pantheon of god's that were being worshiped, which was transposed over onto the saints, which is why they still pray to saints. The queen of heaven worship which stems from Babylon, was transferred upon Mary and mother and son worship which also stems from Babylon was transferred upon Mary and Jesus. Within the RCC we can see many of the religious rituals and practices that stemmed from Babylon. A big red flag would be that Egyptian pagan obelisk sitting out in the middle of St. Peter's square. Satan wasn't getting anywhere by killing Christians and so it appears that his strategy was to pollute the church with Babylonian paganism while still calling it the church, although a counterfeit. For the most part, it worked as there are over 1.2 billion who have been deceived. And what do you think is going to happen to that number when the false prophet, whom I believe will be a future pope, begins to perform the miracles, signs and wonders? It will pull all of the other pseudo christian sects into it like a moth to a flame.

 

[Polycarp]

" There where Jesus Christ be, there be the Catholic Church."
-Ignatius Of Antioch, student of John The Apostle. Martyred in 108 AD.

 

[KenAllan]

Do you not realize Polycarp that that which you Pray to is your God?

When you Pray to Jesus you are saying Jesus is God. When you Pray to a Bible you are saying that Bible is God. When you Pray to Mary you are saying Mary is God. When you pray to a Saint you are saying that Saint is God.

Matthew 6:9-13
[SUP]9 [/SUP]“Pray, then, in this way:


‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
[SUP]10 [/SUP]‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
[SUP]11 [/SUP]‘Give us this day our daily bread.
[SUP]12 [/SUP]‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
[SUP]13 [/SUP]‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Jesus taught His Disciples how to Pray. He did not start off with 'Hail Mary', no, He started off with 'Our Father'. Which shows we are only to Pray to God, not to God and Mary and the Saints, and our Friends and the Mail man or our dog!

Will you Catholics ever accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Or will you continue to Worship Satan as your god? Its up to you Polycarp. Worship God only and enter into Paradise or Worship Satan (Mary) and spend all Eternity in the Lake of Fire.

You do know the Mary of the Catholic Church is Satan?

 

[God4me]

I recently watched a video that connects the origin of the Roman Catholic Church with paganism. It sounds like when Roman Catholicism was born in the early 4th Century, it basically tried to blend Christianity with pagan practices. That would explain a lot!

[video=youtube;-KvQa9MPbIs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KvQa9MPbIs[/video]

It does explain a lot, The Catholics are taught that Jesus started there church through Peter, But history proves otherwise.

 

[God4me]

" There where Jesus Christ be, there be the Catholic Church."
-Ignatius Of Antioch, student of John The Apostle. Martyred in 108 AD.

The difference between Ignatius's "Catholic Church", and the Catholics Church, Is, Ignatius meant "The universal Church".
The universal body of Christ, Whereas the Catholic's, "Catholic church, is the erroneous religion that's here today, The RCC.

 

[KenAllan]

To the Catholics Peter is God. The Catholics teach Mary is God. They worship everything BUT God.

 

[God4me]

Good morning Mailman,

This is very true. This is why she is called "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of all prostitutes." From what I understand and which makes perfect sense, when Constantine deemed Christianity as the official religion of Rome, along with it came the pantheon of god's that were being worshiped, which was transposed over onto the saints, which is why they still pray to saints. The queen of heaven worship which stems from Babylon, was transferred upon Mary and mother and son worship which also stems from Babylon was transferred upon Mary and Jesus. Within the RCC we can see many of the religious rituals and practices that stemmed from Babylon. A big red flag would be that Egyptian pagan obelisk sitting out in the middle of St. Peter's square. Satan wasn't getting anywhere by killing Christians and so it appears that his strategy was to pollute the church with Babylonian paganism while still calling it the church, although a counterfeit. For the most part, it worked as there are over 1.2 billion who have been deceived. And what do you think is going to happen to that number when the false prophet, whom I believe will be a future pope, begins to perform the miracles, signs and wonders? It will pull all of the other pseudo christian sects into it like a moth to a flame.

Catholics still have pagan rituals, such as praying to their many gods.
The pagan church that the Catholics came from, worshiped many gods, and one of them was the sun god, and you still see the symbol of the sun in some Catholic churches.

 

[God4me]

"The Catholic Response:

When Catholics say we are praying to God and praying to saints we are talking about qualitatively different things as different as a monkey is to a man. The Protestant generally only has one species in mind when he thinks of prayer—prayer to God that necessarily includes adoration. But one need only pick up a dictionary to discover there are in truth different definitions and therefore different usages of the same word in English.

Prayer:

The act or practice of praying.

An earnest request; entreaty; supplication
(a) humble entreaty addressed to God, to a god, etc.: (b) a request made to God, etc.; as, her prayer for his safe return; (c) any set formula for praying, as to God.
Prayer is not, by definition, necessarily equated with the adoration that is due God alone. Prayer can certainly involve an act of adoration when it is directed to God, but the term does not necessarily denote adoration. It can simply mean “an entreaty.”

Is prayer necessarily an act of worship? No, it is not."
- Tim Staples.

I can give you the link that expands on this if you are interested.



**Saints in heaven are not omniscient:

"If being in heaven were like being in the next room, then of course these objections would be valid. A mortal, unglorified person in the next room would indeed suffer the restrictions imposed by the way space and time work in our universe. But the saints are not in the next room, and they are not subject to the time/space limitations of this life.

This does not imply that the saints in heaven therefore must be omniscient, as God is, for it is only through God’s willing it that they can communicate with others in heaven or with us. And Boettner’s argument about petitions arriving in different languages is even further off the mark. Does anyone really think that in heaven the saints are restricted to the King’s English? After all, it is God himself who gives the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Surely those saints in Revelation understand the prayers they are shown to be offering to God."




God4Me, I am sharing with you what I have come to conclude into my investigations into the claims of the Catholic Church. I'm not satisfied with protestant explanations for catholic beliefs. I just want to know the truth.

Catholics pray to Mary and the saints for help and protection, among other things, The point it, They do pray to these heavenly saints, whereas the Bible says there is only ONE heavenly mediator, [Jesus].


Catholics HAVE to believe Mary and the heavenly saints are omnipresent and omniscient, otherwise why would 1000s around the world, pray at the same time to them??.

The very fact that there is only ONE Heavenly mediator, [Jesus], proves how erroneous the Catholic doctrine of praying to the so-called heavenly saints, is.
One Catholic woman developed a tumour and I said she should pray to God, and she said, No I'm going to pray to the saints.
So you can see how much importance some Catholics put on the erroneous teaching.


If you are a Catholic, you wouldn't be satisfied with the protestants claims, as they say what the Bible says, whereas the Catholics say what the Pope, RCC councils and doctrines tell them to say.

 

[DeaconMike]

I know the Catholics pray to Mary and the departed saints
And they MUST believe Mary is Omnipresent, otherwise how could she hear and answer everyone's prayers at the same time? ?
So it's a FACTS that Catholics believe Mary is Omnipresent, NOT an accusation.
Are you trying to defend the erroneous Catholic church ?

Dear God Me

I would ask that you quote Cathoilc documents when citing what you think the Church teaches
I have no problem if you disagree with the teachings of the Church. That is your choice
It is another thing to make up what you think the Church teaches. If you want to disagree with Church teaching please at least get the doctrine right.
A good easy source you can use with biblical references is
The Catechism of the Cstholic Church. On line version. It's free and easy to use

 

[garee]

It does explain a lot, The Catholics are taught that Jesus started there church through Peter, But history proves otherwise.

They use Peter as if we were seeking our father in heaven . In the same way the of the apostate Jew, rather using the word Abraham as to our God in heavens understanding that he infallibly gives us.. They simply replace the word Abraham with the word Peter. Same false authority.Coming from the same father of lies

In that way they men take away our understanding form of Father in heaven. It is why God infallibly informs us to call no man on earth father, in that spiritual way. One is our father in heaven. We worship Him in that manner of Him not seen.Not the 3500 available disembodied worker with as familiar spirits as gods that some must as a law of their fathers called Patron saints.

This is as if it were men who did sanctify that which is Holy and set apart for His purpose. God has set aside no such thing as using a Image idol to put on a face (teraphim) on the legion (3500 and rising) when it comes up .This is seeing it always comes up as a legion , or workers with familiar spirit.And a face (image) is needed to give the illusion a person is communing with the right one they hope they are communing with gods.

That kind of faith of worshiping a disembodied worker that does work in us by His faith to both will and do His goof pleasure the Holy Spirit. It is reserved for God as a the father alone. We are to call no man father on earth in that usurping way.

Whether it Peter or Abraham men do blaspheme the Holy name they are called by.

 

[mailmandan]

The difference between Ignatius's "Catholic Church", and the Catholics Church, Is, Ignatius meant "The universal Church".
The universal body of Christ, Whereas the Catholic's, "Catholic church, is the erroneous religion that's here today, The RCC.

"Catholic" simply means "universal." It seems the Roman Catholic Church strictly applies this name to the Roman Catholic institution. I've heard people who attend the Church of Christ quote Romans 16:16, which says "All the churches of Christ greet you" and apply that name to themselves in an effort to try and prove they are the "True Church" as well, because the Bible spelled out the name of their Church. I suppose people who attend the Church of God may try and make the same claim after reading these passages of Scripture (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:22 etc..).

 

[DeaconMike]

The difference between Ignatius's "Catholic Church", and the Catholics Church, Is, Ignatius meant "The universal Church".
The universal body of Christ, Whereas the Catholic's, "Catholic church, is the erroneous religion that's here today, The RCC.

Dear Polycarp
St Ignstiius was not from The Roman Rite. He was actually from Antioc which would have made him an Eastern Rite bishop. Although that early in history the various Rites were not defined as they are today
So there are 23 different Rites within the Catholic Church. The Latin Rite which is the largest is what people think of as the RCC
But in all actuality all the Rites make up the Catholic Church. There are Byzintine Catholics Marion Rite Catholics Chaldean Catholics and so on. Each have there own bishops and Liturgy generally in there own language.
So when St Ignstuius is refering to the Catholc Church he is refering to all the Rites thst make up the Church. That is "where the bishop is so is Christ".
That is because the bishop holds the fullness of apostoiilc succession

 

[DeaconMike]

"Catholic" simply means "universal." It seems the Roman Catholic Church strictly applies this name to the Roman Catholic institution. I've heard people who attend the Church of Christ quote Romans 16:16, which says "All the churches of Christ greet you" and apply that name to themselves in an effort to try and prove they are the "True Church" as well, because the Bible spelled out the name of their Church. I suppose people who attend the Church of God may try and make the same claim after reading these passages of Scripture (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:22 etc..).

Dear Mailmadan

That is incorrect. The Roman Rite is just one Rite of 21 various Rites that make up the Church. Thst is why the Church is universal. Because it has the Liturgy in each culture in thre own time.