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What the Church Claims to Be

February 11, 2021 2 min read
The Cathedral of St. Paul overlooking Downtown St. Paul, Minnesota

What is the “Church”?

C.S. Lewis is often quoted as saying that when we encounter Christ we cannot simply account for him as a “good teacher of morals.” This would overlook his main message: that he is in fact the Messiah, the Lord, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This claim is so consequential that we must make a choice: Jesus Christ is the Lord God made flesh, or he is a lunatic, or a liar. Good teachers of morals don’t demand worship from their disciples.

Something similar can be seen in the case of the Church. The Catholic Church has claimed from the beginning to be the Body of Christ, founded by Christ for the salvation of the world. The sixteenth-century reformers took this claim seriously, and it's well documented just how offensive they found it. In an age like ours, for instance, it's easy to forget that Luther himself described the Pope and Catholicism darkly in his writings, using phrases like, "the synagogue of Satan" and "the whore of Babylon."

The leaders of the Enlightenment—Freemasons, French Revolutionaries, etc.—saw the Catholic Church in similar ways, as a fundamentally superstitious force that impedes progress.

When we read the news, it’s important to understand that viewing the Church supposedly neutrally is not possible. Either she is a superstitious force that impedes progress and/or frustrates Christianity, or she is what she claims she is. Her longevity cannot be explained by simply being a benevolent charitable institution. The predominant culture in the United States has never known quite how to perceive her…


The Associated Press published an exposé about relief aid received by Catholic institutions.

The Pillar responded by explaining just how the self-styled Body of Christ actually runs.


How can we help the family through public policy in a responsible way?


A former Soviet prisoner and member of the Israeli government reflects on the hazards of conforming to and also contradicting powerful cultural narratives.


Constructing headlines? It’s all about emphasis:

Screenshot of one story with two different headlines
Image: Google
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