Catholicism: The Mother of All Religions
I would say that the Catholic Church is the mother church.
All religions have evolved out of Catholicism, even Calvinism and Lutheranism.
They would have to. Since the Catholic Church is the global organization that the Apostle Paul farmed and spread toward Rome, the center of the Roman Empire.
There is no mention in the Bible of a church in Rome.
Like's there no mention of the ten Apostles, even though there were at least ten of them; Twelve even.
In the book of Romans Paul did not write to a church in Rome. He wrote to the believers in Rome, Romans 1:7.
Show where there's a distinction between the believers in Rome---or for any other city---and the church in Rome. You can't.
When John wrote the book of Revelation, he wrote it to the seven churches in Asia, Revelation 1:11. There is no mention of a church in Rome.
Also there's no mention of other churches we know existed anyway. Nowhere does Revelation purport to be chronicling all known churches.
There is no mention in the Bible of Peter going to a church in Rome.
True, unless you're willing to believe what the Church has believed from the earliest, that Peter's mention of writing from Babylon is a code for Rome, that, again, the whole Church believed from the earliest.
Revelation 17:1-18, describes what may be the Catholic church.
Not unless the Church says so. Yours is just an opinion with no weight behind it. The Church actually has an official teaching office, the college of bishops in communion with the pope and the pope himself (always a man and never a lady). What they say actually has weight behind it, because of the history of the organization and because the Scripture teaches that the Church should be overseen by bishops. These men (all men, never a lady among them) are them.
How can we know if a church is really a church of God? John encourages us to try the Spirits to see if they be of God, 1 John 4:1-6. If it is a church of God, it will uphold and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only means of ones salvation.
John was writing to test those who weren't Apostles to see if they taught as the Apostles taught. You should obey this scripture and test the spirits to see if they align with what the bishops teach in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" Acts 4:12.
Not by Calvinism, Not by Catholicism, Not by any religion. Jesus and Jesus alone, is our savior and is the savior of the whole world, 1 John 2:2.
The Church teaches all this. The Church further teaches that the true, accurate, historical expression of the One Christian faith is Holy Catholicism.
Catholicism, Calvinism and many other religions do not uphold the Gospel as man's only means of salvation. No one will enter heaven that has not been justified by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel you must be put to death with Christ, Romans 6:3 and be resurrected with Christ Romans 6:4. So as to be born again by the word of God, 1 Peter 1:23 and walk in newness of life.
The Catholic church does not have a Gospel that justifies the ungodly, Romans 4:5 and reconciles us and the world unto God, 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19. In the Catholic church you must do works. Like Calvinist, they do not believe that... "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" Which is the Gospel, Romans 10:17. They believe that good works causes one to be born again, kind of like Calvinism. No Christ or Gospel needed. They just get zapped with the Holy Spirit and are born again. No one is born again without hearing and believing the Gospel, Galatians 3:2. To be saved you must believe that Jesus has reconciled you unto God by his life, death and resurrection.
All I can say is that the Catholic Church is the Christian family, the official family of Christians. There are those like you who are only Catholic in heart but not bodily, and those like you the Church still embraces as fully Christian, as are those who are both in heart and bodily, Catholic. (The Church does not teach that those who are only Catholic bodily, but not in heart, are Christians.)
