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I believe it happened when they took writings that were inspired by God and declared it to be the infallible word of God and ruled over the hearts of men with it through and by as Nateswift perfectly described them........professional clergy( the scribe and pharisee mach 11). Then converted the world over to what they call the infallible word of God. If you tell a lie long enough the people will believe it.
I believe it happened when the Roman Empire decided to call itself Christian. With the political, legal and military power of the Empire they were able to impose their notions of Christianity on others and eliminate or drive into hiding those groups that disagreed.
Well it was not the real influencing factor of the fall of Roman Empire. It had problems with invasions of Barbarians, Its overspending and its constant wars as well as over reliance on slave labour. In addition the Empire spit into 2. The Western Roman Empire became poorer while the Empire of the East became wealthy. In addition there was serious curruption problems with the Western Roman Empire.
Christianity is growing in parts of Asia and Africa yet it is on the decline in the Western World.
What is different between the Church of Rome, as distinct from the Church that was in Jerusalem?
Any thoughts, as to who had it right? What crept in, and altered the course of Christianity?
For by the second century the Church of Christ had become corrupted. Especially, given the deaths and executions of James, Peter and Paul.
It really depends on what you are calling Christianity. While the original church at Rome was an offshoot of the first church in Jerusalem, it is obvious that it soon departed from the Christian faith to become something different under the control of the Roman government. The Romans and their new religion did all they could to wipe out Christianity and the scripture, the truth is their remains to this day a small Christian community. But not all that claims that name really is.
While it is true that Christians have been battered, beaten, murdered and almost wiped out by the Roman religions, we are still here. For Christ church cannot be defeated.
Well it was not the real influencing factor of the fall of Roman Empire. It had problems with invasions of Barbarians, Its overspending and its constant wars as well as over reliance on slave labour. In addition the Empire spit into 2. The Western Roman Empire became poorer while the Empire of the East became wealthy. In addition there was serious curruption problems with the Western Roman Empire.
Christianity is growing in parts of Asia and Africa yet it is on the decline in the Western World.
Oh no, I'm not suggesting that Christianity was responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire, I mean that the Roman form of Christianity oppressed and eliminated other forms of Christianity.
What is different between the Church of Rome, as distinct from the Church that was in Jerusalem?
Any thoughts, as to who had it right? What crept in, and altered the course of Christianity?
For by the second century the Church of Christ had become corrupted. Especially, given the deaths and executions of James, Peter and Paul.
Dear Jerwade,
The "falling away" happened immediately. This is the end of the age, and the time of the 8th head of the beast (Rev 17:11). Peter was simply the "worthless shepherd" of Zechariah 11:16-17, who didn't care, tend, or feed the sheep. Paul was simply a self professed apostle with his own twisted message which like the message of our president, found many followers. As indicated by Yeshua in Mt 7:13, the path to destruction is wide, and many are those who enter by it.
Zechariah 13:7,"strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones. "And it will come about in all the land,"Declares the Lord, that two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it."
John 14:30,"the ruler of the world is coming and he has nothing in me".
Constantine was simply the 7th head of the beast, who was the the beast with two horns like a lamb, and those horns were the "worthless shepherd" of Ze 11, Peter, and his companion, the staff "Favor", Paul, who were both glorified by Constantine by his building a basilica for each. The followers of Paul have effectively nailed the testimony of Yeshua to the pagan cross.
The followers of Paul have "made falsehood our "refuge" ,have "concealed ourselves with deception" (Isaiah 28:15). According to Yeshua in Mt 7: 27 and Isaiah 28:17, the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies....and your covenant with death shall be cancelled". (Is 28:18)
A corruption is a fundamental change in the message of Jesus. By that standard the corruption started with Paul and there are plenty of fundamentalist theologians who will attest that Paul "fundamentally" altered Jesus' message of faith + good works = salvation. Paul eliminated the "good works" part of Jesus' message and made "faith alone" necessary for salvation with good works relegated to the back burner or no burner at all. Thus a person could do evil his entire life, repent of his sins on his deathbed and skate into heaven scot-free of any responsibility for his evil deeds.
Want to get sick to your stomach. Read about Dr. Shirō Ishii, called the Japanese "Dr. Death" during WW2. He mutilated tens of thousands of Chinese during the war, but escaped prosecution and repented and became a Christian on his deathbed, earning the right to sail into heaven free of all responsibility for his evil under Paul's totally sick theology.
Jesus did not say that salvation was by works, but by believing in Him. He called believing in Him a work - a singular work which was in contrast with the works - (plural) that many think they must do to be saved. Here is the Scripture.
John 6:27 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." 28] Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works (erga; plural) of God?" 29] Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work (ergon; singular) of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
The crowd to whom Jesus was speaking thought that there were works they could do in order to be saved and if Jesus would only tell them what those works were they would do them. Jesus corrected them and told them that it was not by works, but by the singular work of believing in Him that they would have eternal life. He called believing in Him a work because it was something you must do, but it is non-meritorious. You can take no credit for simply trusting in Christ.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman as recorded in John 4:10-14 of the gift of God - the gift of the Spirit- eternal life.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift (dōrean; a gift freely given) of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." 11] She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12] "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?" 13] Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
Eternal life is a gift which is freely given to those who simply trust in Christ.
HELPS Word-studies
1431 dōreá (a feminine noun, derived from 1325 /dÃdōmi) – a gift, freely given and hence not acquired by merit or "entitlement." 1431 /dōreá (a feminine noun) expresses a brand of giving that highlights the beneficent desire of the giver. Strong's Greek: 1431. ????? (dórea) -- a gift
At the council at Jerusalem (Acts 15) the apostle Peter, who during Jesus' ministry had been one of the inner circle among the 12 apostles, agreed with Paul that we are saved by grace. Peter stated this in refutation of the Judaizers who were teaching that you must be circumcised to be saved. The other apostles were at the council as well.
All the apostles believed that salvation was by grace through faith in Christ, and not by works, just as Jesus taught. While Jesus spoke of works, it was not with regard to receiving the free gift of eternal life but with regard to having a productive spiritual life.
There has always been corruption in, and attacks upon the church from the beginning. And the apostles warned about the false teachers - Paul in Galatians 2, and John in 1st and 2nd John for example. It has simply become worse with the passage of time.
The falling away, crept in centuries ago; for there were many anti-Christs.
Unfortunately, it still goes unnoticed by those who have been indoctrinated.
They have been indoctrinated to the anti-Christ apostasy of the OT God as doctrine . . . and they think the apostates are those who are awakening to the demands of agape love as taught and demonstrated by Christ.
"My church, of course." -- Every poster in the CD Christianity forum
None of them have it right according to the teachings of the Bible. Some are closer to the truth than others, but the teachings of men have polluted God's pure truth in every denomination.
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