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document.write('<h2>The Nicene Creed: Part VII</h2><h2>What Do We Believe?</h2><p><strong><em>by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.p');
document.write('arishwebmaster.com/services/authors/bio_bjubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Brandon Jubar</font></a></em></strong></p><p>');
document.write('"What do you believe?" That was basically how it all started.</p><p>As we stood on that vacant stage, the work lights c');
document.write('asting eerie shadows all around us, this Christian Rock guitar player had started to "witness" to me. He went on for man');
document.write('y minutes about his conversion and acceptance of Christ as his "personal Lord and Savior". Eventually, he worked his ora');
document.write('tion back around to me.</p><p>"If you\'ve been a Catholic all your life, you must be able to share with me your understa');
document.write('nding of our Savior."</p><p>It was a challenge, not a request. So I answered it the only way I knew how -- by reciting ');
document.write('our profession of faith. It wasn\'t going that bad, either, until I reached a certain part...</p><p>"We believe in one h');
document.write('oly catholic and apostolic Church."</p><p>He almost leaped out of his shoes in his haste to stop me from continuing. "T');
document.write('hat is such an arrogant statement! The Catholic Church has it roots in paganism. And it\'s based upon the traditions of m');
document.write('en, practically ignoring God\'s Word! How can you claim that you are more holy than other true Christians?"</p><h3>There');
document.write(' is but One Church</h3><p>Jesus established only one Church, not a variety of Churches from which people could choose. ');
document.write('He did not form a Lutheran Church, an Anglican Church, a Baptist Church, an Episcopalian Church and so on. Through Peter');
document.write(', he founded a single Church.</p><p>The Bible says that the Church shall be the bride of Christ. Perhaps some Christian');
document.write('s believe that Christ should have more than one bride? I doubt it.</p><p>Jesus founded a single Church, and thus a sing');
document.write('le set of doctrines to be followed. And the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church have not changed over the centuries. ');
document.write('They have only grown in their fullness, through the Holy Spirit, since the time of the apostles.</p><h3>The Church is H');
document.write('oly</h3><p>Through his grace, and through the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes the Church holy. This is not to say that every m');
document.write('ember of the Church is holy. Nor does this mean that every priest, bishop and ordained person is holy -- or that they wi');
document.write('ll go to heaven.</p><p>Jesus knew that the Church would have both good and bad members. Yet because the Church itself i');
document.write('s holy, it survives through various scandals and periods of poor leadership. No other organization has lasted as long. A');
document.write('nd no purely man-made institution could have survived -- and thrived -- as has the Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit is o');
document.write('bviously helping to strengthen and guide her through the centuries.</p><h3>The Church is Catholic</h3><p>This Church t');
document.write('hat Jesus established is called catholic, which is Greek for "universal". It was his gift to all the people of the world');
document.write('. Jesus instructed the apostles to go forth and make disciples of "all nations". Not a few nations, or just certain peop');
document.write('le, but all nations!</p><p>Referring to the Church that Jesus founded as "the Catholic Church" dates back to the time o');
document.write('f Ignatius of Antioch. As early as 107 AD, Ignatius uses the title "Catholic Church", and indicates that it was already ');
document.write('old at that time. Its usage may date back to the time of the apostles.</p><p>Today, the Church that Jesus established i');
document.write('s over 2000 years old. It can be found in every country in the world, and is the largest single religion on the globe. O');
document.write('ver a billion people -- one-sixth of the world\'s population -- are Catholic.</p><h3>The Church is Apostolic</h3><p>Thi');
document.write('s Church that Jesus established is apostolic because the apostles were appointed its first leaders. They were the first ');
document.write('bishops, and their successors have been the leaders of the Church for generations.</p><p>The line of Catholic bishops t');
document.write('races back, in unbroken lineage, to the apostles in the first century AD. Thus the teachings and Traditions that have be');
document.write('en handed down are truly apostolic.</p><p>Those things that the apostles taught about the Scripture and the teachings o');
document.write('f Christ are still followed today, including: the Immaculate Conception, the bodily Resurrection, the Real Presence of t');
document.write('he Eucharist, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, and much more.</p><p>The Catholic Church is the only church tha');
document.write('t can trace all of its doctrines, and an unbroken lineage, back to the apostles themselves. The Orthodox Church cannot, ');
document.write('for they broke with the Catholic Church in1054. Most of today\'s protestant groups can trace their origins back to the Pr');
document.write('otestant Reformation, which began in 1517. Many of today\'s "Christian denominations" are splinter groups of splinter gro');
document.write('ups, and may have been founded during your lifetime.</p><h3>False Accusations</h3><p>As I looked into the eyes of my "');
document.write('born again Christian" challenger, I ignored his baseless claims and false accusations. It was obvious that he was going ');
document.write('to believe the bogus things he had been told about the Catholic Church.</p><p>Ignoring his comments, I slowly repeated ');
document.write('what I had just said, before continuing with my profession of faith: "We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Chur');
document.write('ch."</p><hr><h3>Life Applications:</h3><p>How do you feel about belonging to a Church that was established by Jesus hi');
document.write('mself?<br />Do you understand the difference between "doctrine" and practices?<br />Have you ever had to explain your fa');
document.write('ith to someone unfamiliar with the Catholic Church?</p><hr><p>Copyright 2002-2009 <strong><em>by <a target="_blank" hre');
document.write('f="http://www.parishwebmaster.com/services/authors/bio_bjubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Brandon Jubar</font></a></em></');
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