I Distrust The Word Christian

From A Church In Crisis “... it is, unfortunately, all too possible to sincerely do evil. It is all too possible to show love for the Church on the effective level yet speak, teach, and act in a way that we can use the Church. It is possible to appear prayerful - even Pious and devout - and yet do evil; it is also possible to appear humble and yet be proud and rebellious. It is not sufficient today to call someone a “person of faith”; it is necessary to ascertain if they are a person of Christian faith...”

Back when I would have described myself as a "Christian," hearing someone use this word to describe themselves meant we shared the same faith in Christ as the God Man who came to save us from our sins. In my twenties and thirties, I left Christianity behind. In the last eleven years since I've come back to the Catholic Church, the word Christian no longer brings me the comfort it used to. I no longer trust that it has the same meaning, just like I no longer trust seeing the American flag hanging in front of a home means the inhabitants love being a citizen of the USA.

Baptist, Methodist, non-denominational, Presbyterian - all in one way or another are false forms of what it means to be a Christian. No matter how much Scripture their members can quote they each lack key ingredients of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Jesus Christ established one Church, not many. His true Church offers absolution for sin and the opportunity to consume His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Jesus Himself said that without the Eucharist, you “do not have life in you”. We withhold this truth so we can work together to clothe the homeless and end Abortion?  So we pretend they have not been led astray to have impact on earthly problems while their souls may be damned to eternal separation from Him whose Body is the Catholic Church (CCC 832 & 833) and who they genuinely want to know and love.

This makes no sense to me. If being part of the Catholic Church makes no difference, as is indicated by many clergymen, Religious, and Catholic laity, then why bother being Catholic?  Why not be a Baptist that thinks the Catholic Church is the “whore of Babylon”?  Why not be a Methodist or Anglican who believes Jesus is ok with two men getting married and having children through a surrogate? Why not be non-denominational and believe that once I’m saved, all’s good and I can sail into Heaven because I said the magic words? Why not?

Either the Catholic Church is THE Church or it isn’t. There is no middle ground. Either we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and it doesn’t matter which "faction" you join as long as you luuuv Jesus, or it does matter. Either my "separated brothers and sisters" are a part of His Body, the Church, or they are part of something else.

This is not hateful or exclusionary. It is the truth. The truth will free those who have been deprived of the fullness of the faith necessary for salvation to embrace the only true Christian Church—the Holy Catholic Church. Without her, there is no hope. To deny this fact is leading people astray and endangering their souls.

Human-Written, AI Spell-Checked 3/9/21 AD

Image The Preaching of the AntiChrist by Luca Signorelli