"To Protect and To Pass On"

The Home School Legal Defense Fund has a video, "To Protect and To Pass On"... It's a good and inspiring video. And as I watched it and pondered the principals it put forth, it occurred to me that that concept is not just a good idea for a free republic, it's the prime purpose of the Church Jesus founded...to protect and pass on the Gospel message, in order to bring people into the family of God and teach them Truth, not error.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit deposited the entirety of that message in the Apostles
(Matt28:18ff, John14;26, Eph3). Those Apostles were thus entrusted and empowered to not only pass on that message, but also to protect it from those who would alter it (Gal1, 2Cor11, 1john2:18-26).  They hand-picked successors for continuing and expanding that mission, specially ordaining them to the task (Acts1, 1Peter4:14, Titus1). They, and their successors have, since Jesus ascended, protected and passed on the complete Gospel, which includes the Scriptures they authored (as attested by the early Christian writings).

Down through the ages they and the successively ordained men (bishops & presbyters) have, collectively, protected the Gospel from heretical movements such as the Judaizers (Acts), gnosticism, Sabellianism, Montanism, Nestorianism, Arianism, Pelagianism, Albigensism (Catharism), Waldensians, and others. All those movements were aberrations of the Gospel (even if they had some truths within them) and were refuted and condemned, else souls would be threatened (Gal1, 2Cor11, 1john2:18-26). It is thanks to the organized, visible leadership of Jesus' Church, bolstered by His Holy Spirit, that those egregious errors of doctrine were challenged and rejected. Without such a hierarchical leadership, moved by the Holy Spirit, those errors could not have been successfully combated and would have lead many many souls astray from the true Gospel.

That Church was, by the 2nd century, known as the "catholic" church (as attested by Ignatius of Antioch), distinguishing it from heretical movements. And, despite occasional and various episodes of bad men and bad behavior in positions of power in the hierarchy of that Church, the uncorrupted Gospel message continues to be protected and passed on to all generations (Jesus promised as much, Matt16:18). Over the ages, particularly the last several centuries, allegations have been stated that the Catholic Church killed 50 million believers or that the church persecuted scientists and suppressed the sciences, and other rumors. Yet, a little research reveals those rumors to be false.

After the Exodus out of Egypt, the first generation of Israelites failed their charge to protect and pass on God's ways to their children. Generation after generation, it was the same old story (but, thankfully, the priests and prophets did pass on God's teachings) up until the Son of God became a man. Then Jesus built His Church on the foundation of the Apostles (Eph2:20,Matt19:28,Luke22:29-30), guided by the Spirit, so that that historical error could not be repeated. The Apostles and their visibly appointed successors have protected and passed on God's salvation plan, the entire Gospel message, to their "children" (all those who will hear the message).

This is why I remain a Catholic: To know the Gospel preached by Jesus and His Apostles.