DHK, realizing that this is a Baptist site I am limited in pointing out the truth of Catholicism. I was banned for trying to speak the truth of the teachings of Christ's Church, so,I must hold back from defending Christ's Church.
Read this thread through. The RCC is not Christ's Church and never has been. Some have posted lengthy lists of complete heresies which the RCC believes in. I posted how the RCC practices both blasphemy and idolatry to this very day. The church of Christ would never do that. The RCC doesn't even fit the definition of a "church."
Let's see If Christianity is a book religion, would that be permissible to discuss ? If so, please explain how did it flourish during the first 1500 years of Church history when the vast majority of people were illiterate?
I am not so much concerned with "religion" as I am with Biblical Christianity, or which the RCC does not fit. Read the book of Acts. Paul went on three different missionary journeys and established over 100 churches. Each church was a local independent autonomous church. There was no denomination, no hierarchy involved. Paul wrote 13 epistles. Each one was addressed to either a local church or a pastor of a local church. In the Book of Revelation Jesus wrote to seven churches or the pastors of seven local churches. The Bible has much to say about local churches, but never a denomination or a universal church--nothing whatsoever that describes the monstrosity of the RCC.
These churches continued under different names for more than 1500 years as attested by the RCC itself. Cardinal Hosius attested that the Waldenses flourished for 1100 years going back to the time of the Apostles.
To say that the vast majority of these people were illiterate is only demonstrating your own ignorance.
Have you read all the works of Augustine yet?
How about all the voluminous works of the Early Church Fathers?
Who did these people write for and why?
Did you know that when Alexander the Great conquered the "world" the one great thing that he gave the world at that time was a universal language, even as the Romans to come gave the world a network of roads. Greek was so universal that it was said "even the slaves could read." But that was in the time of Christ.
Do you think that all of a sudden all the Jews gave up their synagogue education?
There were great works of history that came out of that period of time, as well as in the areas of theology and literature. To say that people were illiterate is foolish indeed. There are still nations today where the illiteracy rate is high, but that doesn't stop Christianity from flourishing.
How could the Apostle Thomas establish the church in India that survives to this day (and is now in communion with the Catholic Church) without leaving them with one word of New Testament Scripture? Thank You and God Bless.
And why couldn't he?
Catholics have a penchant for names, relics, and idoatry.
What is the name of the church you put on your profile?
St John the Baptist
This is the name of a Catholic Church?? How ironic. John the Baptist stood against everything Catholic. He would condemn the whole thing.
Thomas never condoned anything Catholic and existed well before the RCC ever came into existence. He brought Christianity to India, not Catholicism.
He came with what NT documents he had. He didn't have to have them all.
There were others that followed Thomas. History simply mentions him as the first one.