Have you tested your pastor's theology for Apostolicity? Have you tested it to see if it was taught by the Apostles? Or if it was invented in the latter half of the second millennium? If the Apostles did not teach these ideas, they are not Biblical. For only the teachings of the Apostles were written into the NT Bible. With that in mind, it might come as a surprise to some, but all distinctly Protestant doctrines are derived via the Protestant Renaissance era doctrine of Sola Scriptura, or the Bible Alone idea which in itself is not even Biblical. For the Bible never makes this claim in any fashion whatsoever. Many Protestants believe that their doctrines were taught by the Apostles to Christ's early Church and are therefore: Biblical.
Yet Philosophy 101 tells us: "If the premise is false, the conclusion is invalid".

E.G., it is a false premise to assume that the ideas of modern Protestantism are what the Apostles taught. This is because your own Protestant reformers did not even teach these ideas, so how could have the Apostles? Therefore the conclusion that these ideas are somehow "Biblical" or what the Apostles taught and wrote into the Bible is invalid. This is simple logic.

So where did these ideas come from? Many Protestants do not know the authors of their distinctive Protestant doctrines. Many never consider the fact that what they currently believe, was first taught only centuries/decades ago, instead of 2 millenniums ago. And since these ideas are products of the Renaissance era at the earliest, it is impossible for the Apostles to have taught them in the Apostolic age.

THE FOLLOWING LIST gives an approximate date and author of the main doctrines professed by modern Protestantism. Through extensive historical research and correspondence with numerous Doctors of Protestant Theology and Protestant Pastors, all efforts have been made to be accurate to the specific doctrine's date of origin and author. If you disagree with the date or the author, research it yourself to see for yourself these historical facts or email me your objection. If you are unsure, ask your pastor for his historical support on why he believes his theology was taught by the Apostles when it wasn't even believed by his own original Protestants. Ask him the 3 Unanswerable Questions for Your Pastor. I have listed the following distinctly Protestant doctrines in chronological order as they appeared in modern Christianity.

1. SOLA SCRIPTURA or "BIBLE ONLY"- (14th CENTURY ORIGIN).
Although the Bible never says or implies this idea, most Protestants define the doctrine as declaring that the Bible is the "SOLE infallible rule of faith," whereby the reader's modern personal interpretation of the Bible supersedes that of his church or any other church to include The Church Christ founded in 33AD (See: Matt 16:16-19). For if one disagrees with his church, he simple "church shops" to find another church he does agree with, or starts a new church of his own or stops going to church and "Becomes his church." What Christians have believed since the time of Christ falls second to one's modern personal interpretation of the Bible.

Many believe this idea is of Martin Luther's origin. The fact is, the first we hear of such an idea is from an Englishman named John Wycliffe in the 14th century. Wycliffe professed an idea similar to Sola Scriptura centuries before Luther officially coined the doctrine in the 16th century. Although the idea preceded the Protestant Reformation by centuries, it still is in no way "Apostolic," for its innovation date is the 14th century at the earliest. And if it's not Apostolic or taught by the Apostles, it is logically not Biblical. For how did it get into the Bible if the Apostles did not teach it? Not one Apostolic or post Apostolic Father believed in this idea in any shape or form. Not one person until the Renaissance era believed that "The Bible is the SOLE Rule of Faith" and that Apostolic Tradition is subordinate to each individual's interpretation of the Bible. This idea is not even Biblical. The idea of Sola Scriptura or "Bible Only" is not taught anywhere in Scripture and is not even supported "implicitly" in Scripture.

Click here: Is Sola Scriptura or the Bible Only theory even Biblical? Have you ever checked? Where do the Scriptures teach the "Sola" in Sola Scriptura?

What did the Apostles teach Christ's early Church about Scripture and Tradition?
Click here: The Early Church Fathers teaching Scripture about Apostolic Tradition

Protestants often ask:
"What else is there? What else has Christ's Infallible Authority besides the Holy Scriptures?" Read the verses not underlined in the Protestant Bible."

As you will see, a reoccurring theme after each Protestant doctrine listed here is this: if the particular doctrine was invented during the Renaissance era/post-Renaissance era, how could have it been taught by the Apostles to the early Church and therefore be "Biblical"?

2. SOLA FIDE (FAITH ALONE).
This doctrine is believed by most Protestants to be a non-Catholic position. The fact is, Sola Fide, or Faith Alone and the other SOLA's (SOLA CHRISTUS, & SOLA GRATIA) are actually Apostolic Catholic positions. Only Sola Scriptura is rejected by Apostolic Christianity as not only unbiblical but also unapostolic. Sola Fide or Faith Alone was believed by Christ's Church since Apostolic times.
Faith Alone (Sola Fide): It is a Catholic position. Have you been taught that Catholics must work their way to Heaven? It's not what the Apostles taught nor what the Catholic Faith teaches.

3. (16th CENTURY ORIGIN)- ACCEPTANCE OF ONLY *66* OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS AS INSPIRED, RATHER THAN THE 73 USED BY HISTORIC CHRISTIANITY SINCE THE CANON WAS CLOSED IN THE 4TH CENTURY.
One cannot find a Bible before Martin Luther (16th century) that excludes the 7 Sacred Books he removed from the Canon of Scripture. What does tell us logically? All Christians before Luther's version of the Bible, accepted the 73 books (verse 66 books) as inspired Holy Writ. Luther created the very first Bible in the history of Christianity to exclude 7 of these sacred books. Actually he apportioned them to an "uninspired but good for reading" appendix in his translation. In fact every Protestant Bible carried the 7 books in an appendix until 1826 when the English Bible Society began omitting them from their publications. Soon every other Protestant translation followed suit. It is of note that even William Tyndale, (who was a precursor to the first Protestants), in his English version of the Bible, *included* 73 books as opposed to the 66 held by Protestants today.
One cannot find a Bible that precedes Luther that EXCLUDES the 7 sacred books. What does that tell you? It tells you that every single Bible (and every single Christian) before Luther held these 7 books as inspired.

The following link (from the Protestant website at Calvin College) provides the official declaration at the Council of Carthage in the 4th century when the OT/NT canon was FIRST defined. This same canon remained unchanged for 1000+ years until Luther deemed (by his own authority) 7 OT books "uninspired." (He did so because these 7 sacred books contradicted his new theology). This 24th Canon from the 4th century Council of Carthage was used by all Christians as the only canon of Scripture. It was again reaffirmed in its entirety at the Council of Trent in the 16th century in response to the Protestant Reformation and the deletion of 7 sacred books from the Holy Bible.
The closing of the Christian canon in the 4th century. From Protestant Calvin College website:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xv.iv.iv.xxv.html

This Protestant site above lists Canon 24 of the Council of Carthage in the 4 century that lists the 7 missing books Luther removed from the Bible. All Bibles contained these 7 books until their removal by Luther in the 16 century:

1. Tobias, (Listed in the 4th century as Tobit)
1. Wisdom, listed as one of the 5 Books of Solomon.
2. Sirach (known as Ecclesiasticus) listed as one of the 5 Books of Solomon.
3. Baruch listed as one of the Twelve Books of the Prophets. (Protestant Bibles only have 11 books of the prophets)
4. Tobias, (Listed in the 4th century as Tobit)
5. Judith
6. Maccabees book 1
7. Maccabees book 2

Again, why does every Bible without exception before Martin Luther have 73 inspired books?
By what right and under whose power did Luther removed Scripture from Scripture? Does not the Holy Bible caution:

"I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words in the prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book." Rev. 22:18-19

Test this as the Holy Bible commands.
“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

I just want to believe as the Apostles taught Christ's early Church, no matter where it leads me and no matter what it costs me. Do you?

4. ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED IDEA- (MID 16TH CENTURY ORIGIN).
This idea originated with John Calvin a second generational French Protestant. He is the first man in the history of the world to espouse such an idea. Even the first Protestants (Luther and the Lutherans) and the second Protestants (The Church of England) both affirmed the Apostolic Christian position that man has "free will" and can, if he desires, turn his back on God and hence forfeit salvation. Today much of nontraditional Protestantism embraces this new idea invented by Calvin with zero historical support. This idea was not even embraced by Protestantism's original reformers, so how could have the Apostles have taught it to Christ's early Church?
Read your Christian Fathers quoting scripture on Mortal Sin and the ability to lose one's salvation

How could have the Apostles have taught this idea if it was invented by Calvin in the 16th century?

5. BELIEF IN THE EUCHARIST (HOLY COMMUNION) AS A MERE SYMBOL AND NOTHING MORE- (MID 16TH CENTURY ORIGIN)
i.e., Denial of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The first Protestants (Luther and the Lutherans) and the second Protestants (The Church of England) both affirmed the Apostolic position that the Eucharist is a Sacrament and that is really is Jesus Christ. It was John Calvin (in contrast to (John 6:52-54, Mark 14:22-24. Matt. 26:26-28, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Cor. 10:16) who initially taught definitively to his church otherwise. He denied the Eucharist is actually Christ and settled on the Eucharist as being not a mere Symbol, but something "Spiritual". It was the post-reformational Protestants, the ANABAPTISTS who followed the ideas of Huldreich Zwingli who went so far as to deny everything in the Eucharist and claim that it is "merely" a symbol. This is the position of many modern Protestants today. Again, if this idea was first composed by Huldreich Zwingli in the 16th century, how on earth could it have been taught by the Apostles to Christ's early Church?

Read St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch and Student of John the Apostle in 110 A.D.:

"I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible" (Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]).

Click here: The *unanimous* consent of the Fathers on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. John 6 is literal.

6. BELIEF IN BAPTISM AS A MERE SYMBOL- (MID 16TH CENTURY ORIGIN).
Again the first Protestants (Luther and the Lutherans) and the second Protestants (The Church of England) both affirmed the Apostolic position that Baptism is a Sacrament; a regeneration and a forgiveness of sin. "Baptism...now saves you" (1 Pet. 3:20–21).
It was Calvin who first denied the saving power of Baptism and considered it a mere symbol. Yet Calvin still administered the sacrament to infants.
Contrary to what even Calvin professed, it was the ANABAPTIST'S who later denied the sacrament of Baptism to INFANTS and considered ONLY Baptism by IMMERSION to be valid. This is in contrast with Ezekiel 36:25-26. and this idea is at odds with ALL reformers to include ALL of Apostolic Christianity. Again, another example of Sola Scriptura in action. Sola Scriptura allows any Protestant church to teach anything they desire, for there is no one to stop them. With Sola Scriptura, anyone can believe anything they want about the Gospel of Christ, as long as they call it "Biblical."
Click here: Your Christian Fathers teaching Scripture on Baptismal Grace
Click here: Your Christian Fathers teaching Scripture on Baptizing Babies

How could have the Apostles have taught this idea if it was invented by Calvin in the 16th century?

7. A DENIAL OF THE PERPETUAL VIRGINITY OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
I.E. THAT MARY HAD OTHER CHILDREN.
(POST REFORMATIONAL ORIGIN)
Although the first Protestants again reaffirmed the Apostolic Christian position that Mary had no other Children, and the 'Brothers' of our Lord were either cousins or children of Joseph from another marriage. It was not until the post-reformational era that these ideas surfaced. Again, as Sola Scriptura allows, modern Protestants reject not only Apostolic Christianity but also the ideas of their own reformers.
Luther, Calvin, and Other Early Protestants on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary

DENIAL OF THE VIRGIN MARY'S TITLE "Mother of God" (theotokos: "God-bearer" ORIGINALLY A 5TH CENTURY HERESY: "NESTORIANISM," YET RESURFACED IN POST REFORMATIONAL PROTESTANTISM).
From: Lutheran Church Doctrine of Beliefs, LCMS. The first Protestants "never objected to denoting the Virgin Mary as the "Mother of God" (theotokos, "God-bearer"), since she was the mother of Jesus and Jesus was and is indeed God. Since the Son of God was and is sinless, it is evident that some miraculous "exception" was made in the conception of Jesus through Mary that prevented original sin from tainting the Christ-child."
Brief history of the Nestorian Heresy (5th Century):
This heresy about the person of Christ was initiated by Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, who denied Mary the title of Theotokos (Greek: "God-bearer" or, less literally, "Mother of God"). Nestorius claimed that she only bore Christ’s human nature in her womb, and proposed the alternative title Christotokos ("Christ-bearer" or "Mother of Christ"). Orthodox Catholic theologians recognized that Nestorius’s theory would fracture Christ into two separate persons (one human and one divine, joined in a sort of loose unity), only one of whom was in her womb. The Church reacted in 431 with the Council of Ephesus, defining that Mary can be properly referred to as the Mother of God, not in the sense that she is older than God or the source of God, but in the sense that the person she carried in her womb was, in fact, God incarnate ("in the flesh"). The Protestant reformers concurred.
Click here: For the Great Heresies Of History.

8. THE BELIEF IN THE RAPTURE: THE SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION AND THE LITERAL 1000 YEAR REIGN OF CHRIST, DISPENSATIONALISM OR THE "LEFT BEHIND" IDEA Origin: 1830's.
In the 1830s, a Scottish visionary, who belonged to a sect known as the Irvingites, claimed while in a trance that the rapture or gathering to be with Christ would occur before the period of persecution. This position, now known as the "pre-tribulational" view, was embraced by John Nelson Darby, an ex-Anglican priest and one of the early leaders of a Fundamentalist movement which became known as Dispensationalism. Darby's pre-tribulational view of the rapture was then picked up by a man named C. I. Scofield, who taught the view in the footnotes of his Scofield Reference Bible, which was widely distributed in England and America. Many Protestants who read the Scofield Bible uncritically accepted what its footnotes said and adopted the pre-tribulational view, *even though no Christian had heard of it in the previous 1800 years of Church history*.

Eventually, a third position developed, known as the "mid-tribulational" view, which claims that the rapture will occur during the middle of the Tribulation. Finally, a fourth view developed which claims that there will not be a single rapture where all believers are gathered to Christ, but that there will be a series of mini-raptures that occur at different times with respect to the Tribulation. This belief was something completely new in Christianity. No previous Christian, Catholic and Protestant alike, had ever proposed or taught about such an event. Even the Protestant reformers taught the Catholic position of Amillenialism, that Christ will come but once, at the end of the world, just like the Holy Bible tells us.
Click here: Are you Pre, Mid or Post? Read what your own Protestant reformers believed as well as Apostolic Christianity for 2000 years: Amillenialism.

9. ACCEPTANCE BY ALL PROTESTANT CHURCHES OF CIVIL DIVORCE AND RE-MARRIAGE (ORIGIN: LAST 100 YEARS).
Only within the last 100 years has essentially every Protestant organization condoned civil divorce and REmarried previously join couples before God. What God had put together, the secular state has pulled apart and REmarried with the full cooperation of the Protestant minister.
Click here: Your Christian Fathers on Divorce & Remarriage, Contrary to what your Pastor might have told you, Divorce & REmarriage is NEVER allowed for any reason, and never has been.
Mark 10:9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.11And he said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery'" (cf. Luke 16:17-18).

This demonstrates as Sola Scriptura allows, the constant change in the Gospel of Christ, i.e., what was a sin yesterday, is not today.

10. A DENIAL OF THE BLESSED TRINITY (ORIGIN: LAST 100 YEARS).
Another Protestant group: the "Jesus Only" Pentecostals have in the last 100 years denied the Holy Trinity which was believed by Apostolic Christianity and the reformers themselves and the whole of Protestantism until the Mormons and the Jehovah Witnesses. The "Jesus Only" Pentecostals deny the Trinity as the Renaissance era doctrine of Sola Scripture allows them to. I.e. personal interpretation and rejection of the teachings of the Apostles. In Protestantism one can believe anything they want via Sola Scriptura, for there is no one to stop them, there is no higher authority other than one's own personal interpretation of the Bible. AKA Sola Scriptura or the Bible Only idea.
Click here: Your Apostolic Fathers on the Holy Trinity

11. ACCEPTANCE OF FEMALE CLERGY. (LAST 50 YEARS).
Within the last 50 years many Protestant organization have allowed/ordained female clergy. This is a new idea rejected by the Protestant reformers and all of Apostolic Christianity.
Click here: The Fathers on Women and the Priesthood

12. ACCEPTANCE OF OPENLY HOMOSEXUAL CLERGY AND LAY PEOPLE BY MAINLINE AND NON-DENOMINATIONAL PROTESTANT CHURCHES. (Last 20 years).

Click here, orthodox Christianity has always considered homosexual behavior a sin whether. As Sola Scriptura or the "Bible Only" theory dictates, anything can be called Biblical in Protestantism. For historic Christian teachings are not binding on the modern interpretations of Protestant pastors.

Do you?

God Bless you,

Daniel

16 SOBERING BIBLICAL QUESTIONS
FOR THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN
The Catholic Faith comprises the verses not underlined in your personal Bible nor taught in
Modern Christian seminaries or churches.

Read the Bible verses not underlined in your Bible.

Suggested reading:

Intro to the Catholic Faith for Evangelicals http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/index2.htm

Catholic Answers: "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth" A compendium of basic Catholic beliefs and the Biblicism behind these beliefs. http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp

FAQ about the Catholic Faith from Columbia University
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/faq-cc.html

1. "BIBLE ONLY" CHRISTIAN or "BIBLE BELIEVING" CHRISTIAN?
50 Practices and Doctrines not found in the Holy Bible. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/unbiblical.html

2. JUST THE TRUTH: 2 Dozen Logic and Historical Facts Refuting the Apostolicity and Biblicism of the Modern Christian Belief Systems "Test Everything." 1 Thess 5:21 https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/justfacts.html

3. An Exercise in Logic, Two Logic Proofs from History 101 demonstrating how the modern Christian theologies did not even exist in the first millennium, making it impossible for Christ and His Apostles to have taught to His early Church.
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/logic.html

4. The Promises of Jesus Christ to His Holy Church (as recorded in Holy Writ) https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/promises.html

5. Three uneasy questions for your pastor concerning his personal theology. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/formypastor.html

6. Seven Reasons Christians Go To Church, Which One Is Yours? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/7stages.html

7. "The 7 Stages of Christian Spiritual Development" What stage are you? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/7stages.html

8. The Historical Origins & Authors of the Modern Christian Theologies. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/dates.html

9. Is Sola Scriptura or the "Bible Only" idea even Biblical? Where does the Bible teach the "SOLA" or the "ONLY" in Sola Scriptura? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/ss.html

10. Modern Christians often ask: "WHAT ELSE IS THERE? What else has Christ's infallible authority besides the Holy Bible?" Featuring the verses not underlined in most Bibles nor taught in modern Christian seminaries or churches. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/whatelse.html

11. FAITH ALONE (SOLA FIDE): It is a Catholic Position. Have you been taught that Catholics "work their way to Heaven?" https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/faithalone.html

12. "Who is the Bride of Christ?" What does the Holy Bible say? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/bride.html

13. Did the BEREANS "Search the Scriptures" and therefore follow the BIBLE ONLY idea?
Or did the THESSALONIANS, who also "Searched the Scriptures? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/bereans.html

14. The 3rd Unanswered Challenge for the Non-Catholic Theologies:
Is the Catholic Faith Apostolic? Name just one Catholic doctrine that isn't. Name one doctrine the early Church believed,,,, that the Catholic Faith today *no longer does*. Why can't the modern Christian theologies make the same bold claim? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/3challenge.html

15. Biblically, did the "Official Teachings or Doctrines of the Catholic Faith" become corrupt or Apostate as your Pastor might teach? Are there verses in the Holy Scriptures that forbid the "Gates of Hell" from overcoming His Church? What does the Holy Bible really say about: "The Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth" 1 Tim :15? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/gatesofhell.html

16. Is Praying to Saints Biblical? Is the "HAIL MARY" Prayer Biblical? Read the verses not underlined in your pastors Bible nor taught in his church. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/saints.html

17. How Modern Christian are compelled to use and embrace an unbiblical and anti-biblical definition and concept of a Christian Church. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/onchurch.html

Return to Homepage "A Biblical Case for the Catholic Faith"
at: https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges"