The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a perceived fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, because they claim it allowed the traditional Greco-Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship into the church. In short, in their opinion, the church has fallen into apostasy.[1][2] They feel that to attract the pagans to nominal Christianity, the Catholic Church took measures to amalgamate the Christian and pagan festivals [3] so pagans would join the church; for example, bringing in the pagan festival of Easter as a substitute for the Pasch or Passover, although neither Jesus nor his Apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival.[4][5] They consider the Papacy to be in full-blown apostasy for allowing pagan rituals, beliefs and ceremonies to come into the church, having those who pointed out its apostasy persecuted and killed and never repenting of or fully admitting the true extent of its actions. Some Catholics counter that it was magisterial Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy that fell into apostasy.[citation needed] Contents [hide] 1 Overview 2 Protestant views 3 Reformed perspective 3.1 Temptations of power 3.2 Verses used to support apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church 3.3 Roman Catholic apostasy doctrine supplanted by dispensationalism 4 Restorationist perspective 4.1 Anabaptists 4.1.1 Christians in military service and political office 4.2 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 4.3 Adventists 4.4 Jehovahs Witnesses 4.5 Hyperdispensationalism 5 Schismatic Catholic perspective 6 Responses of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy 6.1 Historic perspective 6.2 Worldly ambitions 6.3 Theological dangers 7 See also 8 Notes 9 Further reading Overview[edit] Greek mysticism influenced many early church theologians such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen. See also: Roman imperial cult, Hellenistic philosophy, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism and Hellenistic Judaism Some modern scholars[who?] believe that the church in the early stages picked up pagan oral teachings from Palestinian and Hellenistic sources which formed the basis of a secret oral tradition, which in the 4th century came to be called the disciplina arcani. Mainstream theologians believe it contained liturgical details and certain other pagan traditions which remain a part of some branches of mainstream Christianity (for example, the doctrine of transubstantiation is thought to have been a part of this by Catholic theologians).[6][7][8] Important esoteric influences on the church were the Christian theologians Clement of Alexandria and Origen, the main figures of the Catechetical School of Alexandria.[9] Protestants (most significantly starting with Martin Luther) and evangelical Christians have formally taught that the Bishop of Rome, along with the Catholic Church, greatly abused the original teachings and practices of the primitive or original Christian church. They teach that the Papacy slowly became corrupted as it strove to attain great dominion and authority, civil and ecclesiastical.[10][11] For example, it reinstated the ceremonies and obligations of the Collegium Pontificum and the position of Pontifex Maximus and created Christian religious orders to replace the ancient Roman ones such as the Vestal Virgins and the flamines. The 95 Theses, circa 1517. Written in protest by Martin Luther against Church abuse. Following the Protestant Reformation, the denominations spawned from the Reformation have considered their own teachings to be restorative in nature, returning to the basic tenets of Biblical Christianity and sola scriptura. These views are taught in the modern descendant denominations and these doctrinal stances account for their continuing separation from the Catholic Church. Although Protestant Christianity, as a whole, rejects the overall concept that the original church was thrown into complete anarchy and chaos through Catholicism, it does assert that there was gross abuse of Biblical authority (especially by the Papacy) and a wandering from clear Biblical teachings prior to the Reformation. Some groups see themselves as uniquely restoring original Christianity. In their case, the term Great Apostasy is directed in a sweeping way over all of Christianity beyond their group, indicating that true Christianity has not been preserved, but rather restored. These various groups differ as to exactly when the Great Apostasy took place and what the exact errors or changes were, but all of them make a similar claim that true Christianity was generally lost until it was disclosed again in themselves. The term Great Apostasy appears to have been coined in this narrower, technical sense, by Restorationists. The term may sometimes be used in this sense by other groups claiming their unique authority as representing Christianity.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 05:49:55 +0000