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Hi, Brian —
First of all, Jesus did visit other
countries, for example, Egypt, when
he was an infant. As for why he didn't
as an adult, Jesus's purpose was
very specific: To proclaim the Gospel
to Israel.
Part of that involved training Apostles
to carry on His work. They did go
into the world, very quickly:
- Thomas went to India
- Mark went to Alexandria
- Peter went to Antioch and Rome
- Andrew went to Byzantium and
Kiev
- Barnabas went to Cyprus
- Jude Thaddeus to Armenia, Libya,
Mesopotamia, Syria, Samaria, and
Idumaea
- Bartholomew to Ethiopia, Parthia,
Lycaonia, and Armenia.
Jesus got the message out without
having to go to other countries.
Perhaps He thought it better to concentrate
on training and commissioning a few
Apostles to go out rather than spent
His brief (three and a half years) traipsing all over the world. This factored
into the idea that He expected people
to believe what the Apostles taught
as they believed Him Himself, a matter
we'll revisit shortly.
The pasts of Roman Catholics may
not be pretty, but neither were the
pasts of the Jews or,
for that matter, most Christians
and atheists. We're a fallen race.
You should judge a medicine by those
who take it, not those who don't
take it.
- Just because someone is Catholic,
doesn't mean they are making a concerted
effort to follow and practice the
faith; it usually only means they
were baptized Catholic, but what
if they were practicing the faith?
Peter, the head of the Church and
chief Apostle, denied the Lord three
times, and another Apostle betrayed
the Lord. There will always be sinners.
The Church is not a museum for saints,
but a hospital for sinners. If it
were, you and I could not join.
Feelings don't tell us anything.
You might feel close to a girl but
that doesn't mean you are.
None of us knows for sure what our
standing is before the Lord. We are
all sinners, which means our sins
need to be forgiven, which means
we must be in communion with the
Church. You also need the support
of your fellow Christians; Christianity
is a community faith, we need each
other. There is no such thing as
a Lone Ranger Christian.
As for Scripture, if you're unwilling
to listen to Scripture:
- you clearly don't acknowledge
it as the Word of God.
- If you don't acknowledge the
Word of God, you cannot know what
God has revealed.
- If you don't know what God has
revealed, you cannot know the
truth about what God wants (especially
if you refuse to be a part of
a church).
- If you don't know the truth,
you are at a major disadvantage
when it comes to doing what is
necessary to be saved. You're
flying blind.
The Scriptures are like God's instruction
book for life. Life is like an airplane.
Without the instructions, you might
think you know how to fly it, but
chances are good you won't figure
it out, and even if you do, you might
do it wrong. It will take you a lot
longer, be a lot more dangerous,
and be a lot more frustrating. Why
not just:
- read the instructions
- take the course (go to church)
- listen to the instructor (the
teachings office of the Church),
and
- not have to figure stuff out
on your own . . . (and risk your immortal
soul)?
Eric
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