TheologyThoughts

I sent this via email. The form is called "disagreements..."

Not really a disagreement, but a comment. I completely agree with your assessment of Jimmy Carter as the worthless one. As a young (18 year old) democrat, very idealistic, and voting for the first time, I cast my vote for him, only to watch my disillusionment grow to full fruition long before the end of his (thankfully) only term. But with regard to his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -- at least he did something. He actually worked on it, and got the major players involved meeting and talking. Did he succeed in the long run? Of course not, but at least he made real effort and did real work and actually had something, at least in the short term, to show for it. Can we say the same of Barak Obama? He's done absolutely nothing to contribute to world peace except talk about it...

Recently I became aware that some Catholic apologists unabashedly use Ignatius as the first reference to the Catholic church. I wrote the following in response to someone who, while not an RC apologist, nevertheless believed the claim:

The letter you are referring to is Ignatius' To the Smyrneans 8. There is
nothing in the context to indicate control of the bishop of Rome,

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ignatius-smyrnaeans-hoole.html

CHAPTER 8

8:1 But avoid divisions, as being the beginning of evils. Do ye all follow
the bishop, as Jesus Christ doth the Father; and follow the presbyters as
the apostles; and have respect unto the deacons as unto the commandment of
God. Let no one, apart from the bishop, do any of the things that appertain
unto the church. Let that eucharist alone be considered valid which is
celebrated in the presence of the bishop, or of him to whom he shall have
entrusted it.

8:2 Wherever the bishop appear, there let the multitude be; even as wherever
Christ Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful either to
baptize, or to hold a love-feast without the consent of the bishop; but
whatsoever he shall approve of, that also is well pleasing unto God, to the
end that whatever is done may be safe and sure.

The Greek word used is καθολική, KAThOLIKH, which simply means "universal."
It does not have the technical meaning it attained during medieval times --
Ignatius simply means "the entire church" (note that it is the presence of
Christ which determines the universal church, cf. Matt 28:20). Similarly,
few Protestants have trouble with the apostles creed when it says "one holy
catholic church" since it simply means the church as comprised of all true
Christians.

Ignatius' epistles are fascinating for what they reveal about the
development of church government, and particularly the evolution of the
episcopate. Note, however, the offices that he lists sound much more like
the terminology in the NT than that of the medieval (and later) RCC, which
owes as much to the literal Roman government at the time of its fall in 476
A.D. as it does the development of the tradition from previous centuries.
Beware of reading these terms anachronistically!