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CHURCH HISTORY I
Lecture 1
ROMAN CATHOLICISM:
BEGINNINGS
[DVD Summary]
▫ There are 2 streams of churches (in general) in history: the stream of ‘false churches’ and the stream of ‘true churches’.
Roman Catholicism was the main ‘instigator’ of this stream of false churches.
▫ In the mid-2nd Century there was great apostasy amongst the Lord’s churches; there were many wicked pastors. Thus,
the stream of false churches (apostasized) began even before the 4th Century and Catholicism.
▫ According to the Bible, there will be mostly ‘false churches’ at the end of the age. This is supported in part by the
parable dealing with ‘leaven spreading throughout the ‘Church Age’.
▫ There were at least 5 major areas of ‘Catholic Corruption’ that caused ‘true churches’ to eventually apostasize (going
from a true church of the Lord’s to a false church…part of the great whore):
1. Baptism
2. Church government
3. Church and State union 4. Priesthood
5. Paganism Christianized
Baptism:
▫ The Catholic corruption to baptism involved the changing of it being a ‘symbol’ to a ‘sacrament’ (a means of grace that
brings about salvation).
▫ In the 2nd Century, the following strongly affirmed that baptism was involved with regeneration, with being ‘bornagain’: Justin Martyr, Iraneous, Tertullian
▫ Augustine popularized ‘paedobaptism’ (infant baptism). He was instrumental in the promotion of persecution to those
that resisted paedobaptism…i.e. ancient Baptists. He is known as the ‘Father of corrupt ecclesiology’.
▫ The mode of baptism was ‘immersion’ for hundreds of years after ‘paedobaptism’ was adopted by the Catholics. It was
even practiced via immersion on infants all the way up to the 17th Century in England!
Church government:
▫ Errors in church government began via an unscriptural increase in ‘Pastoral authority’. This is seen in the Bible with
‘Diotrophes’. Later, Pastors were given authority over groups of churches, then whole cities, then whole regions. And,
eventually, there was the position of ‘Pope’.
▫ The Catholics began making distinctions between Pastor, Elder, and Bishop (however, these are all referring to the
same office).
▫ There were eventually 5 centers of control for the Roman Catholic Church government: Rome, Constantinople,
Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. It later turned into just two: Rome and Constantinople.
▫ Leo the Great was the first recognized ‘Pope’. He referred to himself as the ‘lord of the whole church’, and ‘the
successor to Peter’. Later, Popes were referred to as the ‘Supreme Pontiff’ (bride from man to God).
Church & State union:
▫ Constantine (Emperor of Rome in the 4th Century) succeeded in merging paganism, the state (government of Rome),
and faltering Christian churches. He became a hero of some Christians when he helped stop persecution to Christians.
But, he, and the state, got involved with ‘church’ business and eventually required churches to join with him…or else!
Priesthood:
▫ The big error here began in the wide separation of the Clergy and the Laity. It got to the point where the Clergy were
the only ones ‘allowed’ to interpret the Bible. The bishops and pastors were called ‘priests’ in the 2nd Century. The
priests were later referred to as ‘fathers’.
▫ Auricular Confession (confessing one’s sins to a priest) was brought into ‘the church’ in order to help further elevate
the ‘priesthood’ above the common folk (laity).
Paganism Christianized:
▫ The following are items that were brought from the pagan culture and ‘Christianized’ by ‘Rome’ many centuries ago
and are now part of Roman Catholic Church dogma:
The worship of graven images; holy relics; the Rosary; the worship and veneration of Mary; Festivals; Mass;
Pilgrimages; Purgatory; the Scapular.