What's the Catholic Faith?

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<h1>What's the Catholic Faith?</h1><strong> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Steve-0.aspx'>Steve-0</a></strong><br /><p>WHAT IS THE CATHOLIC FAITH? Most people who do not call themselves Catholics but believe in the false doctrine of the Trinity fail to realize that they hold the central teaching of their mother. Even the Catholic Church itself calls them Catholic in the Quicumque Vult of Catholicism. The Quicumque Vult states that, "A Trinitarian is a Catholic even though he or she may profess to be a Protestant." Therefore, Protestant Denominations such as Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, Wesleyan, Presbretyrian, and many others who claim to have left the Catholic Church, do not know that they have continued to indulge in the same spiritual fornication of their Mother. Many other Denominations such as various Baptist and Pentecostal groups have also retained the central teaching of their mother by refusing to reject the false doctrine of the Trinity along with Trinitarian Baptism into the Titles, rather than into the saving name of Jesus Christ. On October 4th, 1965 100 million Americans watched on T.V. as Pope Paul VI greeted the crowd at Yankee Stadium: "We are most happy to greet at the same time, with all reverence and sincerity, Those Christian brothers here present, separated from us, yet united with us by baptism . . . we keep them all in our hearts and in our prayers." Friend, if you are united with the Catholic Church in baptism then the Bible calls you a daughter of the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the earth. The Catholic Church is clearly the whore spoken of in the book of Revelations. The Bible tells us that the whore pretends to be the true bride of Christ while sitting on the city of seven hills. It is no coincidence that the Vatican is located in Rome. Rome was known for centuries as "the city of seven hills." Revelation 17:5-9 identifies the great whore: "And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, The Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth . . . And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits." Ancient Roman coins called Rome "The City of Seven Hills." This is where the Vatican sits. Satan has clearly used the Catholic Church to corrupt Christianity with Pagan ideas stemming from ancient Babylon. The concept of three divine persons being worshipped as one deity came from ancient Babylon, not the Bible. THE CATHOLIC FAITH IS THE TRINITARIAN ATHANASIAN CREED "Whoever will be saved; before all things it is necessary that he hold THE CATHOLIC FAITH. Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he will perish everlastingly. AND THE CATHOLIC FAITH IS THIS: THAT WE WORSHIP ONE GOD IN TRINITY, AND TRINITY IN UNITY. Neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. . . And in this Trinity none is afore, or after another: none is greater or less than the other. But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and coequal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved: must thus think of the Trinity. . ." TRINITARIAN CONTRADICTIONS AND ONENESS THEOLOGY IN EARLY CHURCH HISTORY If the Athanasian Catholic Creed is true, why did not the apostles of the first century graphically spell out such a doctrine for us? And if the speculations of the Athanasian Creed were true, why did the early Trinitarian founding Fathers of the second and third centuries all teach that the alleged Trinity of three persons were not coequal and coeternal? There is not even one Christian writer in the first three centuries of the church who recorded that there existed a belief in the coequality and co-eternality of the alleged three persons of the Trinity. One of the earliest Trinitarian Apologists on record was Justin Martyr. In the middle of the second century (about 140-150 A.D.) Justin wrote: "Jesus Christ . . . we reasonably worship Him, having learned He is the Son of the true God Himself, and holding Him in the second place, and the prophetic Spirit in the third . . . " (Quote from Justin's First Apology) Justin further writes: "There is a second God after the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Here we have a sharp contradiction between the teachings of early Trinitarian Theology and the Trinitarian Theology of the fifth century. To Justin, Jesus is a second God who is in second place, (a subordinate less powerful position after the Father) and the Holy Spirit is in third place (a subordinate less powerful position after the Son). The earliest Trinitarian writers all agree with Justin. They taught that Jesus Christ was a second divine person who was inferior to the Father and not coequal with Him. In the late second century Tertullian writes: "The Father and the Son differ from one another in measure." Origen was a Trinitarian teacher of the third century. Origen taught that Jesus Christ was "a second God of another substance or essence from the Father." Origen further writes that Jesus is "the most ancient of all creatures." Origen clearly taught that Jesus was a second God who was created. Not coequal and coeternal as the latter Trinitarian teaching of the fifth century and subsequent centuries have taught. With so many glaring contradictions between the fifth century Athansian Creed and the teachings of all early Christian writers of the first few centuries, how can we believe and trust in an alleged Trinity that differs from the teachings of every single Christian writer of the first three centuries of the church? Even more astonishing is the fact that all of the earliest post apostolic Christian writers on record who had lived contemporaneously with the apostles, not only did not teach that God was a Trinity of three divine persons but they actually taught a theology which agrees with modern dayOneness Pentecostal Theology. Clement the Bishop of Rome (90-100 A.D.) - who was mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3 - taught in 2 Clement 14:1-5 that Christ is the Holy Spirit. "If we say that . . . the Spirit is Christ, then he who does violence to the Church does violence to Christ. Such a man will not share in the Spirit, which is the Christ. This flesh is able to receive so great a life and immortality because the Holy Spirit is closely joined to it . . ." Notice how Clement calls the Spirit "Christ" and then identifies this Spirit as the "Holy Spirit." Hermas, a prophet in Rome (100 A.D.) - mentioned by the apostle Paul in Romans 16:14 - also taught that the Spirit of the Son and the Holy Spirit are one and the same: "The angel of repentance, he came to me and said to me, I want to show you what the Holy Spirit, which spoke with you in the form of the Church, showed you; for that Spirit is the Son of God." Jack N. Sparks, (a Trinitarian) records in his preface to The Shepherd of Hermas: "You wouldn't call Hermas a precise theologian. His terminology in speaking of the Son and the Holy Spirit is so confusing that he seems to identify the two as the same Person." Moreover, Hermas' Theology which was received and recognized by the late first century and early second century Roman Bishop's Clement and Grapte agrees with the Oneness Pentecostal scriptural belief that it is necessary to be water baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to enter into the Kingdom of God: "Why is the tower built on water? As I said to you before, you are a sly one concerning the scriptures and you seek diligently. Well, if you seek , you will find the truth. Hear then why the tower is built on water: because your life has been and will be saved through water." The Shepherd of Hermas/Visions Chapter 11:5 "Did you see that the stones which entered through the portico were placed in the structure of the tower (tower being used symbolically for the church) but the ones that did not so enter were returned to their own place? . . No one will enter the Kingdom of God unless he takes his holy name. For if you want to enter a city and that particular city has been walled around and has one entrance, could you possibly enter that city except by the gateway it has? If then, you cannot enter the city except through its gateway, so, a man cannot enter the Kingdom of God other than by the name of the Son . . . The portico [Doorway] is the Son of God; this is the only entrance to the Lord. . . Whoever does not receive his name cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." The Shepherd of Hermas Chapter 89:3-8 "They needed, to come up through the water in order to be made alive, for otherwise they could not enter the Kingdom of God unless they set aside the deadness of their former life. So even those who had fallen asleep received the seal of the Son of God and entered into the Kingdom of God. For before he bears the name of the Son of God; the man is dead, and whenever he received the seal he sets aside the deadness and receives life. So the water is the seal. Therefore they go down into the water dead and they come up alive." The Shepherd of Hermas Chapter 93:2-4 Ignatius was appointed the second Bishop of Antioch by the apostle John. Historians agree that Ignatius' theology was modalistic monarchian - the scholarly term used for Oneness Theology. Ignatius wrote to Polycarp: " . . . and expect him, who is above all time, eternal, invisible, though for our sakes made visible: impalpable, and impassable, yet for us subject to sufferings; enduring all manner of ways for our salvation." Historian Virginia Corwin writes: "If one term must be chosen to indicate the tendency of his thought, Ignatius must be said to be monarchian." If Ignatius was Monarchian in theology, Polycarp and most of the early Christians of Asia Minor must have been as well, due to the fact that Ignatius was in close fellowship with the churches throughout Asia Minor. THE ESSENTIALITY OF ONENESS THEOLOGY Many professing Christians are opposed to anything that brings division among various Christian Denominations and churches. Yet Jesus warned us that "Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; But he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) The Bible plainly teaches that the great majority of those who will profess Christ in the last days will not be saved. Jesus exclaimed, "Enter in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13,14) No matter what we want to think, the scriptures teach that the vast majority of professing Christian Believers will not enter into eternal life. God's word further warns all professors of Christianity to beware of false teachers who would receive the promise of the Holy Spirit and prophesy in his name while deceiving God's people as "workers of iniquity." Jesus was not joking when he warned us to beware of false teachers. Satan is a master deceiver who has successfully deceived the vast majority of professing Christians. Therefore it is vitally important that we obey Jude verse 3: "When I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Have you ever thought of how many people are truly contending (fighting) for that faith? The apostle Paul was so grieved over the soon coming entrance of false teaching into the Church that he wept night and day with tears: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock . . . Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." (Acts 20:29-31) SPaul wrote by the inspiration of the Spirit that these false teachers would be as grievous wolves, "not sparing the flock" of Christ. In other words, the entrance of false teaching would cause the deceived in the flock of Christ to perish much like wolves devour unsuspecting sheep. Paul further predicted the main source of this false teaching: It would come through pagan philosophy which would pervert the teaching that "in Christ dwells all the fullness of the deity." (Coloss. 2:8-12) Scripturally and Historically we can prove that the doctrine of the Trinity is foreign to the Bible (from Pagan Philosophy) and to the faith of the majority of early Christians. The first person to use the word Trinity wrote that the great majority of believers of his day, the late 2nd century, rejected the concept of three divine persons comprising the deity. It was Tertullian who called the majority of second century Christians "Modalistic Monarchians" (See Below For Definition). MODALISTIC MONARCHIANISM: How can Christians reconcile the Monotheism of the Christian faith with the existence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Enter the word Modalistic, from the root word "Mode:" " . . . a particular form or manifestation of an underlying substance." 1 Timothy 3:16 states that our "God was manifest in the flesh." Hence Modalistic teaching professes the belief that God is only one "hypostasis" (substance or being) who manifests Himself in different modes of existence yet continues to eternally exist as one single Monarch. The word Monarch is taken from two root words; mono, meaning one; and arch, meaning ruler. Hence a Modalistic Monarchian is one who believes in One God who is a sole ruler or monarch rather than three divine persons of a Trinity. This One Monarch has manifested Himself in different modes of operation while remaining One underlying Spirit or Substance. Thus Jehovah God modally exists as Father (our Heavenly Parent), Son (The eternal Word made flesh as our redeemer), and Holy Spirit (The Spirit of God the Father in action and emanation). Tertullian apparently called them Monarchian because they professed to hold a strict belief in a single Monarchy held by only one Divine Being, King, or Monarch, rather than three divine persons or beings. Tertullian was forced to admit that the majority of believers of the second century A.D. were Monarchian and not Trinitarian believers: "To be sure, plain people, not to call them ignorant and common - of whom the greater portion of believers is always comprised - inasmuch as the rule of faith withdraws them from the many gods of the [heathen] world to the one and the true God, shrink back from the economy (the trinity) . . . They are constantly throwing out the accusation that we preach two gods and three gods . . . We hold, they say, the monarchy." Sounds familiar! Do not Oneness Christians of today preach that those who profess a belief in three divine persons of an alleged trinity are preaching two and three gods? Since the Trinitarian writer who invented the word "Trinity" himself admitted that the majority of Christian believers were Monarchian (Oneness) in their theology in the late second century, we can convincingly assert that Trinitarians were in the minority within the first hundred years after the death of the first century apostles. Although Oneness adherents do not believe that church history ought to be used to prove the Oneness position, it is comforting for us to know that the vast majority of Christian believers who lived within one hundred years after the death of the apostles believed in the same like precious faith that we hold so dear today. It truly makes a whole lot of sense to believe that the majority of the early Christians would not have automatically departed from the first century apostolic faith immediately after the apostles had so vigilantly poured out their life blood into the churches they themselves founded. Paul's constant warnings about the entrance of false teachers and his constant charges to preach sound doctrine must have alarmed the majority of the post apostolic bishops who succeeded the apostles. The annals of Church history proves that the majority of Bishops who immediately succeeded the apostles faithfully continued to preach the true gospel just as ardently as they had received it from the apostles. The surviving writings of the post apostolic bishops proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were Oneness in Theology and not Trinitarian. Most Trinitarians are not aware that the annals of church history proves that the Modalistic Monarchian Bishops of 325 A.D. wholeheartedly ratified the early Nicene Creed which is falsely believed by many to support Trinitarianism. Yet the Nicene Creed of 325 A.D. actually supports Monarchianism while openly exposing latter Trinitarian Theology. The anathema at the end of the creed graphically opposes the fifth century form of Trinitarian Theology as formulated in the Athanasius Creed: "But for those who . . . assert that the Son of Godis of a different hypostasis (substance of Being) or substance, or is subject to alteration or change - these the Universal and Apostolic Church anathematizes." THE MAJORITY OF BELIEVERS IN THE SECOND CENTURY REJECTED EARLY TRINITARIANISM Tertullian wrote: "To be sure, plain people, not to call them ignorant and common - of whom the greater portion of believers is always comprised - inasmuch as the rule of faith withdraws them from the many gods of the heathen world to the one and the true God, shrink back from the economy (the Trinity) . . . They are constantly throwing out the accusation that we preach two gods and three gods . . . We hold, they say, the monarchy." Therefore, many Christians were called "Monarchians" because they held to the belief that God is one indivisible Monarch rather than the belief that God is three divine persons (three Monarchs). Oneness Christians of today are often called "Modalistic Monarchians" because they believe that God is one divine Monarch who can function in different manifestations or modes of existence all at the same time and yet still be only One Divine Spirit or Monarch. For if God were really three divine and coequal persons then there would be three Kings. And If there are three Kings than God is not really One God but three Gods. THE TRINITY IDEA WAS BORROWED FROM HEATHEN RELIGIONS A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge records that many historians believe that the Trinity "is a corruption borrowed from the heathen religions, and ingrafted on the Christian faith." Edward Gibbons's History of Christianity notes: "If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that Christianity was corrupted by Paganism. The pure Deism of the first Christians . . . was changed, by the Church of Rome, into the incomprehensible dogma of the trinity. Many of the pagan tenets, invented by the Egyptians and idealized by Plato, were retained as being worthy of belief." Historian Will Durant observed: "Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it. . . From Egypt came the ideas of a divine trinity.". Siegfried Morenz, in the book 'Egyptian Religion' notes: "The trinity was a major preoccupation of Egyptian theologians . . . These gods are combined and treated as a single being, addressed in the singular. In this way the spiritual force of Egyptian religion shows a direct link with Christian theology." James Hastings wrote in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics: "In Indian religion, e.g., we meet with the trinitarian group of Brahma, Siva, and Visnu; and in Egyptian religion with the trinitarian group of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. . . Nor is it only in historical religions that we find God viewed as a Trinity. One recalls in particular the Neo-Platonic views of the Supreme or Ultimate Reality. which is triadically represented." The French New Universal Dictionary reveals both Plato's Greek Philosophical Influence upon Christianity and that of ancient pagan religions: "The Platonic Trinity, itself merely a rearrangement of older trinities dating back to earlier peoples, appears to be the rational philosophic trinity attributes that gave birth to the three hypostases or divine persons taught by the Christian Churches. . . Thus Greek philosophers conception of the divine trinity . . . can be found in all the ancient pagan religions." L. L. Paine records that the Trinity idea stems from Pagan Roots: ". . . among the more highly civilized Chaldaeans, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians, triads of gods were a common and notable feature of their theogonies." H. P. Blavatsky in Isis Unveiled (pages 45,46), reveals that the Trinity Dogma originated from Babylon! "We find it northeast of the Indus; and tracing it to Asia Minor and Europe, recognize it among every people who had anything like an established religion. It was taught in the oldest Chaldaean, Egyptian, and Mithraitic schools. The Chaldaean Sun-god, Mithra, was called 'Triple,' and the trinitarian idea of the Chaldaeans was a doctrine of the Akkadians, who themselves belonged to a race which was the first to conceive a metaphysical trinity. According to Rawlinson, the Chaldaeans are a tribe of the Akkadians, who lived in Babylonia from the earliest of times." THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH BAPTIZED CONVERTS WITHOUT DELAY Since water baptism was a divine mandate given by Jesus Christ as an essential part of the Great Commission, the apostles and evangelists of the first century church baptized all of their new converts immediately after they received the gospel through faith and repentance. There was never a delay, nor a period of time in which the new converts were told to wait to receive more religious instructions prior to baptism. Consider the following examples found in the book of Acts: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this perverse generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Acts 2:38-41 "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip..." Acts 8:12-13 Upon the selfsame day of Cornelius' conversion and the Gentiles with him, the apostle Peter straightly commanded, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts 10:47-48 "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized..." Acts 16:14-15 "...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his straightway." Acts 16:30-33 "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized." Acts 18:8 "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believed not shall be damned." Mark 16:16 "...finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit. And he said unto them, Unto what then were you baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts 19:1-5 The above scriptures provide solid proof that the apostles invariably preached (the essential need and) urgent need of water baptism to all of their new converts who believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The honest reader can clearly observe the connection between belief and water baptism. True belief in Jesus Christ and water baptism into Christ are inseparably linked together. The apostle Paul clearly solidifies this truth when he informed the Ephesian disciples "that they should believe...on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." All those who truly believe on the Lord Jesus should be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus without any delay. THE EARLY FORMULA The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics states with respect to the teachings of the first and second Century Christians the following. "The dominant ideas were those of forgiveness of sin, regeneration, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. . . The change effected by baptism was attributed to the 'name' and to the water, which were regarded as actually effective and not merely symbolic." The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics further acknowledges..."The earliest form, represented in the Acts, was simple immersion. . . in water, the use of the name of the Lord, and the laying on of hands." The book, Early Christian Baptism, page 389 acknowledges: "In connection with the name. . . the question of formula arises. The earliest known formula is 'the name of the Lord Jesus. . ." The Hastings Dictionary of the Bible admits that one could draw the following conclusion from the historical evidence! "The original form of words was 'into the name of Jesus Christ' or 'the Lord Jesus.' Baptism into the name of the Trinity was a later development. . ."8 The second century book entitled, The Acts of Paul and Thecla, written by a second century Presbyter from Asia Minor gives the following account of water baptism. ". . . in the name of Jesus Christ." Although "Acts of Paul and Thecla is acknowledged to be a fictitious novel, the account of water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ gives support to the belief that this mode of baptism was common in the second century churches of Asia Minor. Church Historian, Otto Heick, in "A History of Christian Thought" - pages 54, 62, 27 - observed that the Post Apostolic Fathers taught that "baptism confers the forgiveness of sins." was considered "a washing of forgiveness and a regeneration." and that which "brings pardon and the new life, and is therefore necessary for salvation." Heick further acknowledges..."At first baptism was administered in the name of Jesus, but gradually in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." The First Century Epistle of Barnabas (unanimously believed by the early Christian Bishops to be written by the 1st century companion of the apostle Paul) records that water baptism is for the remission of sins. "Concerning the water, indeed, it is written, in reference to the Israelites, that they should not receive that baptism which leads to the remission of sins, but should procure another for themselves. The prophet therefore declares, 'Be astonished, O heaven, and let the earth tremble at this, because this people has committed two great evils: they have forsaken Me, a living fountain, and have hewn out for themselves cisterns." The Ante-Nicene Father, Volume 1, page 144. Again The Epistle of Barnabas records (on page #144; Volume 1 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers): "Blessed are they who, placing their trust in the cross and have gone down into the water. . .we indeed descent into the water full of sins and defilement, but come up, bearing fruit in our heart, having the (fear of God) and trust in Jesus in our spirit." The Early Second Century Epistle of Ignatius To The Ephesians records (on page 56, Volume 1 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers): "For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Spirit. He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water." The early second century book entitled "The Shepherd of Hermas" records (on page 14, Volume 2 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers). "Why was the tower built upon waters. . .Hear then why the tower is built upon the waters. It is because your life has been, and will be saved through water. For the tower was founded on the word of the almighty and glorious Name. . ." Again The Shepherd of Hermas records (on page 49& 50, Volume 2 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers) the following things. "They were obliged. . . to ascend through water in order that they might be made alive; for, unless they laid aside the deadness of their life, they could not in any other way enter into the Kingdom of God. Accordingly, those also who fell asleep received the seal of the Son of God. For before a man bears the name of the Son of God he is dead; but when re receives the seal he lays aside his deadness, and obtains life. The seal then, is the water: they descent into the water dead, and they arise alive. And to them, accordingly, was this seal preached, and they made use of it that they might enter into the Kingdom of God. . . All the nations that dwell under heaven were called by hearing and believing upon the name of the Son of God. Having, therefore, received this seal, they had one understanding and one mind; and their faith became one, and their love one. . . On this account the building of the tower became of one color, bright as the sun." Irenaeus, the late second century Bishop of Lyons records (on page 574, Volume 1 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers): "It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new born babes, even as the Lord has declared: 'Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." Justin Martyr, a mid second century Christian Teacher believed that baptism was necessary for salvation (page 183, Volume 1 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers): "They are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. . .they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, 'Except you be born again, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.' . . .And for this [rite] we have learned from the apostles this reason. Since at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice, by our Parents coming together, and were brought up in bad habits and wicked training; in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and of ignorance, may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the universe." Tertullian, the second century Bishop of North Africa also believed that baptism is necessary for salvation (page 669, Volume 3 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers). "Happy is our sacrament of water, in that , by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life. . . But we. . after the example of our Jesus Christ, are born in water. . ." Although some of the above Christians writers began teaching false doctrines, all of the Early Christian Teachers unanimously believed that it was necessary for all to be baptized by water in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. They quoted the words of Jesus in John 3:5 to prove that it was necessary to be born again of the water in order to enter into the Kingdom of God. Even Martin Luther and the Anabaptists continued to believe in baptismal regeneration for the remission of sins. The rejection of the necessity of water baptism for salvation came during the later Protestant Reformation. It is interesting to note that Tertullian is given credit for beginning the development of the creedal definition of the trinity. Twenty first century Trinitarian Christian Believers must acknowledge that all of the founding Fathers who developed their Trinitarian Doctrine unanimously believed that water baptism was necessary for salvation. Even the Trinity Dogma defined at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople includes an anathema clause which pronounces a curse on all who reject the Catholic Baptismal Formula into the Trinity. Protestants should know that all who reject baptismal regeneration for the remission of sins are also anathamatized under the Trinitarian Creed. Oneness believers are everywhere persecuted for rejecting the Nicene and Constantinopoliltan Creed. Yet Protestant, Evangelical, and Trinitarian Pentecostal Groups who reject Oneness Believers as heretical for their refusal to accept this Catholic Nicene Creed must also acknowledge that they are in fact, rejecting a major part of this Creed by rejecting baptismal regeneration for the remission of sins. Trinitarian Christians must acknowledge the historical fact that the very creed which postulates the theory that there are three co-equal and co-eternal divine persons within the Deity also contains a harsh curse against all who reject the Catholic view that all must be baptized into the trinity in order to be born again. Oneness believers agree with this Catholic Council that it is necessary to be baptized in order to be saved. But Oneness Believers reject Trinitarian Baptism because it robs the believer from receiving the efficacy of the Name of Jesus Christ in water baptism. Water Baptism into the Name of Jesus Christ is clearly a Scriptural Command, not an option (See Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-6; Colossians 3:17). The Encyclopedia Brittannica, 11th edition, volume 3, pages 365-366: "In the third century baptism in the name of Christ was still so widespread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to Cyprian of Carthage, declared it to be valid." Note that Bishop Stephen was not called "a Pope" until the fourth century. This title was not used by the Bishops of Rome until the time of Emperor Galarius. "A Treatise on Baptism" believed to be written by a third century Bishop name Ursinus: "Heretics who are already baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ must only be baptized with the Holy Spirit." This document affirms that baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is the correct mode of baptism. This treatise exhorts Christians who had held other heretical views, not to be rebaptized if they had already been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (even though the Church which baptized them had other false doctrinal views).8 The fourth or fifth century document "The Constitution of the Holy Apostles"(Not written by the Apostles) - page 503 - condemned those who perform only "one immersion, which is given into the death of Christ" and requires all baptisms to be performed in the Trinitarian formula of three immersions. The fact remains that trinitarians changed the baptism formula from Jesus name to the trinity (by thrice immersions, once each into the father, son and Holy Ghost). In time, this baptism was only then once by submersion or immersion. Lastly, the immersion part was further modified to sprinkling labeled baptism (the Greek word itself requires immersion and is so defined). Read the letter of the Romans for yourself, and go to Romans 6:1-5. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Does this sound at all like the Roman Catholic Church formula of today? Can one bury a man by sprinkling dirt on him? No. Jesus died for all sin and not the father or spirit. They all (the other two or the equal triad) would of had to die for our sins in order to take them away. So, even by their own failed logic the trintarians are wrong. If not, then we ought to obey God and not a man (or an man made tradition). Jesus name was good enough for all the apostles and millions of early Christians, so why not us? </p><strong>About the Author:</strong><br />Catholic Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, King James Bible<p> Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Whats-the-Catholic-Faith_85460.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_What's the Catholic Faith?_85460.aspx</a></p>

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