Yep, they sure did:
Here is a listing of things the Catholic Church
has done for ALL Christians...
No Matter which Church you belong to, you cannot deny that the doctrines
which YOU use, and some which you refuse to use, were handed down by infallible
decisions made by the
Catholic Church.
The Canon, or list of inspired
books of the Old Testament was debated in several Church Councils, and
by infallible decision by the Catholic Church, was
finalized in 397 in the Council of Carthage. Forty-six books were listed
as inspired. These same 46 books are in all Catholic
Bibles today.
The Canon of the New Testament was debated in several
Church Councils, and by an infallible decision made by the Catholic
Church at the same Council of Carthage in 397, the 27 books included
in ALL Bibles today were finalized.
The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity was decided at the Council
of Nicea I in 325. Jesus Christ, being GOD, was declared equal to the Father
and to the Holy Spirit. An infallible decision was made by the Catholic
Church on a subject that almost all fundamentalists accept today,
yet is NOT defined in Holy Scripture. The doctrine is manifested in the
Nicene Creed:
"We believe in one GOD, the Father Almighty,
creator of Heaven and earth, of all things both visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of GOD, born of the
Father before all time; light from light, true GOD from true GOD; begotten,
not created, consubstantial with the Father; through Him all things were
made. For the sake of us men and for our salvation, He came down from Heaven,
and was made flesh by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary, and became
man; and He was crucified for our sake under Pontius Pilate, suffered,
died, and was buried. And on the third day He arose according to the Scriptures;
He ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and is going
to come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His reign will
have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life;
He proceeds from the Father and the son, is adored and honored together
with the Father and the Son; He spoke through the prophets. We believe
in ONE, HOLY,
CATHOLIC, and
APOSTOLIC Church.
We profess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We expect the resurrection
of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Sola Scriptura believers, please show me the verse
which defines the
'Holy Trinity'.
The Primacy of the Bishop of Rome, (the Western Church),
is affirmed as being over the Primacy of the Bishop of Constantinople,
(the Eastern Church). This decision is spelled out in Canon 3, of the
First Council of Constantinople in 381.
I have included this one because fundamentalists insist that the Bishop
of Rome was never given primacy in the Catholic Church.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is declared 'Ever Virgin' and
the Mother of GOD at the Catholic Council
of Ephesus in 431. This is another infallible decision made by the Catholic
Church.
In the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Jesus Christ is defined
as one person with two natures, one divine and one human.
The Virgin Birth is defined and affirmed.
"By not being pupils of truth, they turn out to be masters of error."
A great one-liner from this council...
The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 declared,
a reaffirmation of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, that Jesus Christ
was not two persons, but one with two natures, that Jesus Christ is GOD,
the second person of the Holy Trinity, that Blessed Mary is ever virgin
and that she is the Mother of GOD.
The defense of Tradition of the Church, whether written
or oral, was a firm commitment in the Council of Nicea II in 787. It was
affirmed that Church Tradition came from the Holy Spirit and must be preserved
and perpetuated. Anyone found to be not perpetuating Tradition...'Let him
be Anathema'.
The Catholic Church was
affirmed to be 'without blemish or wrinkle'.
Holy images of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin GOD Bearer, Angels,
and Saints are to be displayed in the Churches.
These decrees from the only Christian Church in existence at the time,
came over 700 years before the start of protestantism.
The Fourth Council of Constantinople in 869-870, under
canon #1, stated to keep the declarations and teachings of the Holy Fathers.
'We will preserve the Traditions which we have received, either by WORD,
or by LETTER'.
Canon #2 stated, 'Obey your leaders, for they are keeping watch over your
souls'.
Canon #3 said, 'Icons should be honored and venerated'.
So here again, the Catholic Church decreed
to keep the traditions, as St. Paul had taught us in 2Thess 2:15
The Council of Trent called in 1545, in response
to the protestant reformation, reaffirmed that the Deuterocanonical books
were inspired, and will remain in the canon of the Old Testament where
they had been for over 1500 years.
Contrary to what fundamentalists charge, these books were in the
Septuagint (100 B.C.), and the Latin Vulgate, and remain today in all Catholic
bibles, and are now even in some King James
bibles.
The Council decreed, "If anyone does not receive the entire books
with all their parts as they are accustomed to be read in the Catholic
Church, and in the old Latin Vulgate edition,
as sacred and canonical...let him be anathema."
They were NOT ADDED
by this Council, but merely reaffirmed as canonical.
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