A Review: "The Fact and Process of Apostasy"

An unofficial INC blog has posted a long argument about Apostasy. It is one of the well documented article about INC arguments. It might also be the same arguments ministers can provide. This is from a blog post in theiglesianicristo.blogspot.com and see how it is dissected and refuted.

APOSTASY ARGUMENTS	OBJECTION
THE ISSUE IF there was an apostasy took place in the first century Church of Church is very vital especially for the Roman Catholic Church because if there was, the Catholic Church cannot be the true Church founded by Christ, but the apostatized church because the Catholic Church claims that they succeeded the first century Church of Christ. This is the reason why the Catholic Church is using every possible way to cover the biblical and historical facts of the apostasy that took place in the first century Church of Christ.	INC got the wrong idea about the church because the church built by Christ was meant to last forever. Though it was true that apostasy was predicted to happen, it only happened to SOME members of the church. INC has no historical proof that the apostasy was referring to the whole church. Here’s the promise of Christ that the Spirit of Truth will always be with the church. "And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you FOREVER, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you." John 14:16-18 Apostasy is a core teaching of the INC, because if the whole church was not apostatized, there is no need for “re-emergence” of the church it only means that the entire existence INC is based from the lie from Felix Manalo
The dictionary defines “apostasy” as “the renunciation of a religious or political belief or allegiance” (Microsoft Encarta Dictionary). Thus, Apostasy is a defection, a falling away from what one believed in, as apostasy from one’s religion, creed, or politics. Hence, one becomes an "apostate" as soon as he departs from his former belief, whatever it was. What undergoes change is not the person nor his nature but his beliefs.	The Catholic Church do not deny about the apostasy, but the apostasy in the Bible is not referring to the whole church. While they accuse the Catholic Church as the apostate church, they cannot show historical evidence about this or to whom does the Catholic Church depart away from. Also, Manalo is true apostate here; he was once Catholic and created his own church way back 1914
According to Apostle Paul, “some WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE TRUE FAITH; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.” These words (“turning away from the true faith”) is synonymous with the word “apostasy”:	Saint Paul does not agree with INCs version of Apostasy that the whole church was apostatized. While it emphasizes the fact about apostasy. It also mentioned the fact about the quantity of the apostasy. St.Paul said “SOME” will turn away from the true faith, not the whole church. INC is using this verse without knowing that it goes against their assertions that it was the entire church which was apostatized and departed away from the true faith.
As expected, the Catholic Church denies that apostasy took place. Catholic Defenders evem used Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 28:18-19 to proved that apostasy did not took place. However, careful reading of the verse will show that the Lord Jesus did not said that there will be no apostasy.	Catholics don’t deny that apostasy took place. When Felix Manalo left the Catholic Church that is when apostasy took place.
No where in Matthew 16:18 that the Lord Jesus Christ said that the Church He founded will not be apostatized. What the Lord Jesus Christ said is that "the gates of Hades will not overcome" the  Church He founded. The Bible explained that this words of Jesus does not mean that the Church will not be apostatized, but that "the power of death will not overcome it" because the members of the Church He founded although they suffered death but will be resurrected in His Second Coming.	This is a pure bible twisting. The subject of Matt 16:18 is the CHURCH, not the soul of the members of the church nor resurrection. “And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18 TEV) To break down this scene, Jesus -Tells Simon he is Rock -Church is built upon Peter -Death will not overcome the Church It’s very clear that Jesus was all talking about the Church. Adding words to change what it means is a pure Bible Twisting.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV) Before the Lord Jesus Christ said the words “surely I am with you always, to the very end of time,” He first said, “and make disciples of all nations…and TEACHING THEM TO OBEY EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED YOU." Thus, if the disciples will continue obeying everything the Lord Jesus Christ commanded, He will be with them always to the very end of time.	This guy is twisting what Christ said here again by saying it is a CONDITION rather than PROMISE. It is very clear here that this is not a CONDITION. You can’t even see the word “IF” in the verse but then he added “IF” in the conclusion as if it was Christ’s promise was a condition. Since the Church is Christ’s Body and Bride.  He will always be with his Church. For no one can separate the head and the body, nor the bride and the groom.
Although Israel was the first nation of God, that God Himself established them as His people and they received His promises, however, Israel was apostatized and did not remained God’s nation: “All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. "Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.” (Daniel 9:11 NIV) Israel “turned way” from God. Isn’t that the words “turned away” are synonymous with “apostatized”? Israel was indeed apostatized, that is why she was replaced as God’s nation.	Israel’s transgression does not justify INC’s version of Apostasy. Why? Because when Jesus came, Israel was still God’s nation and not only that. Christ also recognized the authority of the Pharisees despite of their hypocrisy: Matthew 23:1-3 “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to DO EVERYTHING THEY TELL YOU. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. Why would Christ ask his followers to obey the leaders of an Apostate God’s Nation? Christ’s Church isn’t a replacement of the existing God’s Nation but a unity of God’s Nation: Israel and the Gentiles. John 10:16” And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
Therefore, although the first century Church of Christ was apostatized, it doesn’t mean that Christ failed. It was not Christ, but it was the people who failed to continue obeying His commandments. Remember that Christ will only continue to be with them if they will continue obeying everything He commanded.	Basically when someone says that the church which Christ built was apostatized, it means Christ was separated from his body, the church. Christ was separated from this bride, the church. Christ was a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Christ failed to keep his promise to guide the church into all church. John 16:13” When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” One should realize that apostasy is an act of unfaithfulness of Christ’s promise for his church.
The Catholic defenders asked us that if the Church of Christ was truly apostatized, why there was no period in history that the Church did not exist. For them, the continues history of the the Catholic Church (it's 2,000 years history proves that there was no apostasy that took place). If this is the case, then the Jews can still claim that there are the nation of God until this time, and there were never been replaced by the Church of Christ as God's nation, because the Jewish nation (the Jewish people) remained until our time. No period of history can be shown that the Jews did not continue to exist. From the time of Christ and until this day, the Jewish people remained, now having a continuous history of about 3,500 years (since the time of Moses).	The traceable authority of the Catholic Church back to the apostles is indeed the ultimate proof that the Catholic Church is the Church which Christ built. The Jews were waiting for the Messiah, and when the Messiah arrived, they did not accept it. Unlike the Jews, the Church which Christ built, the Apostles expected no one to “re-establish” as what Manalo he thought he was doing in 1914. The Bible gives us no idea that the church will “re-emerge” and a “Sugo” will come to be the one to “re-establish it”. “Sugo” and “Re-establishment” of the Church are just inventions of Manalo and biblical One thing we can find in the Bible about the Church is that it WILL LAST FOREVER AND EVER. He promised to be with His Church until the end of the world, in Matthew 28:20. He promised He would not leave us orphans, in John 14:18. He promised the Spirit of Truth would dwell with it forever, in John 14:16.| Saint Paul promised the Church will be with us forever." Ephesians 3:21
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time MANY WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE FAITH and will betray and hate each other.” (Matthew 24:9-10 NIV, emphasis mine) These are the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "MANY WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE FAITH." Remember that "apostasy" means "turning away from the faith." So, who makes the Lord Jesus Christ a liar, those who say that apostasy took place or those that who say that there was no apostasy? Still, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, who will led the disciples astray and how many will be led astray? “Many false prophets will rise up and lead multitudes astray.” (Matt. 24:11 Weymouth) Take note that Jesus warned us that not only  “many will turn away from the faith” but that those faithful disciples “will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death.” This is how the first century Church of Christ was totally apostatized. The faithful disciples were persecuted and put to death, and the multitudes of His disciples "will turn away from the faith." Therefore, it is indeed a biblical fact that the first century Church of Christ will be apostatized.	“MANY will turn away” “MANY false prophets will rise up” Look at the quantity, it says “MANY” not “ALL” these verses do not add up with INC’s belief about total apostasy in attempt to give justification of their “re-emergence”. Faithful disciples were indeed handed over to be persecuted and put to death; little did they know that the victims of Christian persecution in the early church were identified as Catholics. INC has no one identify any of the victims of Christian persecution in the history as part of the early church who shares with the same doctrine with them.
THE PROCESS OF APOSTASY How was the multitude of the disciples was apostatized? Apostle Peter explains this in II Peter 2:1-2: “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” (II Peter 2:1-2 NIV) Apostle Peter said, “there will be FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU.” The false teachers will not rise from outside of the Church and will deceive many to get them to depart from the Church. The false teachers will rise IN THE MIDST of the disciples. How these false teachers will distort the doctrines of Christ and the apostles written in the Bible? Apostle Peter also said that, “They will secretly introduce destructive heresies.” Thus, apostasy will happen inside the Church.	“Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” Again, the quantity is “many” not “all” Apostle Peter said, “there will be FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU.” This is true, FALSE TEACHERS WILL COME but because of the protection of Holy Spirit, the church was able to cast away these false teachers. Like Arius a priest, who was excommunicated. Apostle Peter said, “there will be FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU.” -- There will be just false prophets AMONG the members of the church. It doesn’t mean that the church itself will apostatize. Otherwise it shouldn’t be “among you” but “all of you”
Thus, the apostasy will take place after the death of the apostles or after the apostolic period. After the death of the apostles (John, the last of the apostles, died in c. 90-100 AD), among the bishops (those who succeeded the apostles) will rise false teachers that will distort the truth.	Apostasy is when a person turns away from the true faith and it might be happening in all timeline, not just before or after the death of the apostles. To say that the successors of bishops will rise as false teachers is a pure invention. What does the history tells us about successors of the Apostles? St.Ignatius Antioch was the student of St. John the Apostle. Antioch is also the place where word “Christian” was used. There is so much Christianity in St. Ignatius and more credible than Felix Manalo. St.Ignatius died as he was fed to the lions. Christ said that “you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Catholic saints fulfilled the prophecy of Christ
What the Lord Jesus Christ prophesied in Matthew 24:9 was fulfilled. The faithful, including the apostles, were put to death during the imperial persecution. Indeed, many Christians were put to death during these two imperial persecutions of the Church in the first century. Apostle John was exiled in an island called Patmos. He died in c. 90-100 AD.	The Christian persecution did not end in the first century, among those persecuted Christians were identified as Catholic Christians: Polycarp of Smyrna, Justin Martyr, Scillitan Martyrs, Perpetua and Felicity, Cyprian and more. Aside from the Christians martyred that are recorded in the Bible. INC cannot name any Christians that is part of INC in the first century
Adding insult to injury, Catholic authorities acknowledge such changes without shame and even with pride: “We Catholics acknowledge readily, without any shame, nay with pride, that Catholicism cannot be identified simply and wholly with primitive Christianity, nor even with the Gospel of Christ, in the same way that the great oak cannot be identified with the tiny acorn.” (The Spirit of Catholicism, p. 2)	I find no error in such claim, why? Christ compared the Church which is the Kingdom of God as a seed Mark 4:30-32 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Having problem with the Catholic church because you cannot identify it as the primitive church is like looking at a huge tree and denying that it was once the mustard seed. INC have failed to realize the church which Christ built does not only spread but it also grows.
Hence, those responsible for this apostasy of the first century Church of Christ were the bishops under whose administration these profound changes took place. The first bishop identified as having introduced changes into the Church was Ignatius, bishop of Antioch who was martyred in Rome about 110 A.D. He was the first to use the term Catholic Church in reference to the Church of Christ: “The name Catholic as a name is not applied to the Catholic Church in the Bible. ..St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing to the Christians of Smyrna about the year 110, is the first to use the name ‘The Catholic Church’ …” (The Question Box, p. 132)	If St. Ignatius named the church Catholic, it could probably he heard if from John. Also, church could not entirely depend their teaching in the Bible since the Bible particularly the New Testament was not available yet. Why do you think they should get the source of Christ’s doctrine?  Christ built the church to become the pillar of truth, not the Bible. One way to verify the correct teaching is not just with a question “Is it written in the Bible” but also “Is it taught by the Church”?
“Obviously much that Christ and the apostles preached was in time reduced to writing. Hence there grew up a library composed of men called ‘the fathers of the Church’. They were called so because in apostolic days the word ‘father’ also meant teacher of spiritual things, and these were among her earliest teachers. But, unlike the apostles, all of whom enjoyed infallibility, they were not immune from error nor inspired as the scriptural writers had been. In so far as they dealt with questions of faith and morals, much of what they wrote was approved by the Church, and thus, became part of written tradition.” (Whereon to Stand: What Catholics Believe and Why, p. 142)	It is true that the church Fathers where not immune from errors and this is where the Pope comes in, Pope filters the teachings of the church fathers. None of these church fathers whose entire work was included in the Catholic Doctrine not even St. Augustine.
Thus, the claim of the Catholic Church that they are the Church founded by Christ in the first century is not true because the Catholic Church is very much different from the Church of Christ founded by Christ in the first century. The Catholic Church is not the Church founded by Christ, instead it’s the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Bible regarding the apostasy that will  take place immediately after the death of the apostles. Hence, the claim of the Catholic Church that they succeeded the apostles is not a proof of being the true Christ founded by Christ, but instead, a strong proof that the Catholic Church is indeed the apostate Church, the fulfillment of what the Bible prophesied that after the death of the apostles, among the ranks of the bishops will rise false teachers that will distort the truth.	A huge tree can hardly be identified which was once a small seed. This is the analogy of why the church in the first century is “different” from the Catholic Church today. No genuine historical documents, exact dates, or names are ever presented by INC to substantiate the claim the Catholic Church was apostatized. The claim of the Catholic Church that it succeeded the apostles is a proof of being the true Christ founded by Christ and there are no reasons it cannot be.

INC are very good at giving verses to prove their point but a careful examination of these verses allows us to see that the verses they use can hardly support their claim.