doubleofive said:
Protestant/non-denominational, actually. I just find it hard to believe that God would let the church wander aimlessly for 1800 years when it had only been around for 40 or so before the end of the New Testament.darth_ender said:
As for succession, I am assuming you are Roman Catholic or something related (such as Orthodox), given your belief that Christ would not have allowed such a fall of his Church shortly after his death. It should not be terribly surprising, however, given that previously people were quick to reject God's message. Paul's letters themselves speak of the consistent intrusion of false doctrine among those who had only recently proselyted. See here for a nice start on our understanding of a Great Apostasy following Christ's and his apostles' deaths, with scriptures to back it up. It's not of great depth, but as is most of this stuff, it's a starting point for understanding our perspective.
Oooooh, I like how big my name looks when I am trying to quote you. Wonder why it did that. Anyway, I find it interesting as well that a Protestant would believe that God did not allow his Church to go into apostasy at whatever timeframe, as the Protestant movement clearly was a response to what was perceived as improper Catholic teachings and lack of authority. But as Sluggo pointed out, scriptures indeed show signs of apostasy creeping in before most of the New Testament was even written (this based on the belief that the Pauline epistles are the oldest writings in the New Testament.