Oftentimes I’ll hear American Protestants, often of the congregationalist or nondenominational persuasion, say things like “it doesn’t matter what church you go to. It only matters that you’re sticking to the basics of Christianity,” in response to issues of Church unity, devotional practices, differences in corporate worship and liturgy, and a host of other issues that are not deemed "essential."
This statement begs a serious question: what are the basics of Christianity? For most American Christians, this can vary greatly. There are some areas that are common to all American Christians, such as belief in one God, belief in Christ and His atoning Passion and Resurrection, belief in the Trinity, and belief in everlasting life to name just a few. Where the problem becomes obvious is when one looks at different expressions of Christianity. Here, we find that the "basics" differ from denomination to denomination. For some, such as Catholics, the Orthodox, Lutherans, some Anglicans and Methodists, and most Restorationists, baptism is part of the basics. For others, such as some Baptists, to say such a thing is heresy. For some, such as Lutherans, Calvinists, some Anglicans and Methodists, and some Restorationists, faith alone is essential. For others, such as Catholics, the Orthodox, other Anglicans and Methodists, and other Restorationists, faith alone is untrue if not a heresy. For some, church attendance is essential. For others, like many of the nondenominational persuasion, it’s not.
For most Christians, the "basics" is shorthand for "whatever my particular tradition deems as essential belief." The problem disappears when one has a universal standard for what the basics are, but once that goes out of the window you see schism after schism after schism, to the point that there are at least eleven different major Christian traditions with innumerable denominations forming within most of these families. When you can ask a Lutheran, a Presbyterian, a Baptist, and a Restorationist about the nature and age of baptism and none of them will agree fully, it becomes clear that there is a lot of confusion on what the "basics" are.
Is there, then, a universal set of “basics” that we as Christians all can, or at least all should agree with? The answer is “yes,” or at least it was for the earliest Christians. For them, the faith once handed down by the Apostles could be summed up in what is, appropriately enough, called the Apostles' Creed. It reads as follows:
“I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, He descended into hell, on the third day He rose again from the dead, He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, From thence He shall come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and the the life everlasting. Amen.”
From this, we can see what the "basics" were for the earliest Christians. Among them were things that all Christians can agree on today: belief in God the Father, belief in Christ, His virgin birth, His Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension, His Second Coming, the Holy Ghost, the afterlife, and so on.
What is interesting is one of the things mentioned which is not agreed on as a "basic" by many American Christians today: the holy Catholic Church. Now, anyone reading a blog entitled "Filthy Papist Blog", will recognize a bias towards the teachings of the [Roman] Catholic Church and her unique claim to the status as the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church", as the longer Nicene Creed calls it. However, for the sake of argument, let's not assume that "Catholic" in the Apostles' Creed refers to the various Churches which submit themselves to the authority of the Bishop of Rome. Let's assume it simply means what the Greek term katholikos literally translates to: Universal.
For the earliest Christians, belonging to the catholic (or one universal) Church was requisite to being Christian. Not only was belonging to any church a "basic" of Christianity, but belonging to the one, true, original Church of Christ was a "basic." To the earliest Christians, if you were not part of the catholic Church, you were not Christian. This is reflected in the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, the Nicene Creed, and many other sources.
The question we all must answer then is “what is this Church?” What are the marks of this Church? What is Her history? What is Her structure? What is Her authority? Does She have authority? What are Her doctrines? Which denomination can make the claim to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church founded by our Lord and entrusted into the care of His Apostles?
This blog takes a decisive position on this question, and in future posts we will make arguments for why our position is true. However, until then, we invite all people to look into the history with an honest and open mind and to decide for themselves. This isn’t a tertiary issue. This is part of the basics.
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