Posted by AveMaria [AveMaria] on March 27, 1999 at 23:58:21 {mi5OiZyLgYCfCkjqj2lEMWf0hi4VK0MIQ}:
In Reply to: *Justin Martyr posted by Cygnus on March 27, 1999 at 16:12:28:
This belief in the "great apostacy," which is also shared by Mormons, makes absolutely *no* sense.
That Jesus would endure the agonies of (whatever instrument he was put to death on take your pick) to bring life to mankind, only to have it disappear from the face of the earth within a century, is ludicrous.
That God did not have the power to protect his community of believers and preserve them in the faith that he revealed to them through Jesus Christ, and to have that faith lost to mankind, only to re-appear 1,800 years later, is absurd.
Remember, Jesus *promised* that his church would endure until his return. It's recorded in Matthew 16:18.
"And also I say to you that you are Peter, and
on this rock will I build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not prevail against it."
Compare this to Jesus' parable on the two foundations, in Matthew 7:24-27
"The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds
blew and
buffeted the house. But it did not co-
llapse; it had been set solidly on rock."
Just as the house built on a foundation of rock did not collapse, even though the rain fell about it, water flooded it, and winds buffeted it, Jesus' Church remained and continued to grow, like the mustard seed, despite being plagued by vicious persecution and heretics who sought to draw others from the pure gospel of Christ.
Chris