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"God's Church" Is there a specific doctrinal group -- a "God's Church" -- that God accepts in preference to ALL other churches? Selected from the on-going INTERNET BOOK, "The Doctor's Terrific Tablets" ( http://www.terrific-tabs.com ) by John N. Todd III, M. D. (link, about the author)
SEE: THE CHURCH: What do YOU mean when you refer to "The CHURCH" (link) AND: Doctrinal Rigidity -- (Hostile doctrinism) and: POPE claims CATHOLIC Church is the ONLY true church (link) 11/00; 5/01; 8/01; 2/02; 3/02; 4/02; 10/02; 1/03; 4/03; 5/03; 11/03; 5/04; 8/04; 1/04; 3/05; 7/05; 3/14/06; 8/06; 12/06; 9/7/07 CLICK HERE to go to the "FRONT PAGE" of "The Doctor's Terrific Tablets" CLICK HERE for ALPHABETICAL INDEX of this entire WEBSITE CLICK HERE to EMAIL your thoughts to the author (This is an essay by John and Phyllis Todd. This was written in response to two articles that appeared in our local newspaper, in 1998. ) We feel sorry for all of us church-going "Christians" who do not "belong" to the Catholic Church, or to the Church of Christ. Apparently, a recent writer to the Tuscalosa (Alabama) News believes that her church, the Roman Catholic Church, is the one "true" church; and another writer believes that the Church of Christ represents the sole aggregation of individuals whom God has "accepted". Presumably, the implication of each of these two writers is that those who do not "belong" to their church -- that is, the church that each of these writers considers to be God's one-and-only doctrinal organization -- are irretrievably left out of God's favor; and hence are destined -- not to "salvation", and to the Kingdom of God (link).... but doomed to eternal exclusion from God. Gee, don't we Protestants wish that we had not listened to the spiritual counsel of our parents; and to the messages of God's Bible; and to what we were taught from the words and examples of God-Incarnate -- and don't we wish that we had ignored the pleas of our own church. Then, we might have "signed-up" with the "right" church.... and memorized their rules and regulations, and recited their "correct" creed; and we would have knelt before their altars and icons.... instead of going astray in what they (the Catholics, and the Church of Christ) have "judged" to be our "erroneous" beliefs. Many of us Christian "Godspeople" consider God's "true church" to be the aggregation of God's people (link) -- the "company" or "body" of those individuals who have been claimed by God to be His own.... those whom God has found acceptable, according to His own criteria.... wherever these "accepted" individuals live.... and to whatever denominational church they may "belong". (See link Chosen by God.) But no, we "outsiders" are being told that we are misguided in our spiritual understanding, and in our choice of "churches". We are led to believe that our "righteousness", before God, is determined by our church affiliation. "They" seem to say that we humans are "justified" and "saved".... not by God alone.... but by God PLUS a specific institutional church. It's scary out here in this world, when you discover that, according to certain churchy human-beings -- you're condemned because you "joined" the wrong church. Fortunately, however, my Bible does give me a little hope, as follows:
Hopefully, God will understand our human frailties, and our "ignorance".... and will mercifully include us errant ones in His Kingdom.... regardless of which earthly "church-of-humans" we decide to "join". 8/17/06 |