I was recently asked a question that totaly stumped me. I never thought about it, even though I should have. How did the Catholic Church get started? When did people start calling themselves Catholics? Where did they come from?

I would appreciate any input that I can get.

KL, reading your thread I was surprised how many well informed people there are here.

Rome and Alexandria were the civil and intellectual capitals of the empire. As I believe it, the christianity that developed there began early to take on a characteristically Roman anti-semitism, in which they theologically "cleansed" the religion of all "jewish" influence- unfortunately most of what was biblical in Christianity (they gutted it). I believe they also syncretized in much pagan ceremonialism and mysticism and Greek philosophy.

I think their intentions in doing so were, as they understood, making christianity a more perfect composite of the "wisdom of mankind." What resulted was a humanistic religion with Jesus' brotherly love teachings reduced to platitudes, and the deepest truths about God rationalized or allegorized away to nothing.

Here's what I find very fascinating, and tell me if you agree with me. That early Roman church was persecuted by the Roman government, because they were lumped together with the eastern Christians, who were viewed as a sect of Judaism (and at first that's what they were). Yet all the persecution created more Christians, as Tertullian said, "The blood of Christians is seed." By the time of Constantine, christians (of whatever sort) were so numerous, that they had to be co-opted or incorporated somehow. This is the interesting part. What do you have by the third century? A church that desperately wants to use the state to achieve it's ends and a state that desperately wants to use the church to achieve theirs. Sound familiar? This is the condition of the religious right, and the Republican party in America today!

Not to be a smartass or anything...but i think it all started with the birth of "Jesus."

Edit...Quotes cuz im an atheist....

[Edited on 2-6-2004 by dreamlandmafia]

Originally posted by dreamlandmafia
Not to be a smartass or anything...but i think it all started with the birth of "Jesus."

Actually...it started with his death, smart ass ...lol...

(j/k : I don't believe in the Bible story neither)

See...that shows how much of a disbeliever i am...but his Birth would bring around the believing in him...which woulda started the religion.

but i think it all started with the birth of "Jesus."

We were talking about the Roman Catholic Church.

Christianity began in the area of the Jordan where John the Baptist was preaching, when people started listening to John and following Christ. Jesus was about 27 or 28 at the time He began His ministry. The earliest Christians were messianic Jews. It was some years after Calvary before these believing Jews started breaking down their prejudice against Gentiles and witnessing to them. It spread west to Rome many years after the birth of Christ.

Yet some, such as I believe that there was only one true religion from the very start- from Genesis on, the center of which was Christ the Messiah. The way of salvation never changed, only the teaching methods God used. We believe that most of the appearances of God or the Angel of the Lord were actually Jesus in a pre-incarnate form.