Has the Catholic Church been the most persecuted of all Christians throughout history?

Just like the Jews deserved it also, right?

The Jews never perpetrated genocide (unless you take a literalist view of the OT, which personally I don't). Neither did they extort money from the poor to get their loved ones out of purgatory, then excommunicate anybody who protested against the practice. Or sell fake "relics" - the pieces of the "true Cross" circulating around mediaeval Europe would have made up a couple of forests.

In my opinion, no one deserves it. Some people are targeted for righteousness sake, others are targeted out of retaliation. Catholics that have been targeted for being Catholic are most likely being retaliated against due to the atrocities committed by your Church. Who do you think did most of the persecuting of the Jews?

Although I don't agree with everything in the following websites, the pictures speak volumes as to what happens when people think that God wants them to kill(Jn 16:2):
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005206 - German Churches and the Nazi State
https://www.nobeliefs.com/nazis.htm - Photos of clergy with Nazi’s
https://www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/Holocaust/hitler.html
https://www.religioustolerance.org/curr_war.htm - Religiously-based civil unrest and warfare
https://www.jesusneverexisted.com/1000years.htm - 1000 years of carnage and barbarity in the name of Christ
https://emperors-clothes.com/vatican/cpix.htm - photos of clergy with Hitler as well as photos of forced conversions

That's what I was thinking. Funny how they try to spin it different with their encyclopedia. There are many articles in their Catholic Encyclopedia that admit to torture and murder. They always try to justify it though.

I think that someone in the Catholic Church apologized for their role in the Rwandan genocide as well. Does it mean anything if they continue their atrocities? Can you imagine peter and Paul trying to kill each other? I've been told by someone something to the affect that you can be killing your brothers while serving Jesus.
https://answermug.com/forums/topic/26743/what-was-the-primary-cause-of-the-war-between-the-states-refere/view/post_id/285001 This post was edited by texasescimo at June 13, 2017 2:30 PM MDT

texasescimo, no, apologies don't mean a thing if they continue their atrocities.

You sound like a reasonable person. Makes sense.

I'm a Catholic and I'm LOLing

You don't think that the Catholic Church has suffered the most persecution? 

texasescimo, most Catholics know very little about their church's own history and pay little to no attention to what's going on with it now. But their ignorance of their own Catholic Church is no defense. Being born to Catholic parents is no defense. Always research the history of a religion before making a decision. Unfortunately that's something most people fail to do. There's actually no excuse for anyone to live in an oblivious state of mind. It's dangerous, not only to themselves but for their loved ones.

I don't know whether that is really true about most Catholics, but I'm not in that group---even though it would let you post what you post without my challenging the way you have assembled your isolated facts to put forth your interpretation of what has been and is going on in the world.

Being born to Catholic parents who had me baptized as an infant was a gift the actual value of which you show that you do not understand.

And you obviously don't realize that Faith is a gift from God.

Again, it is totally incredible to me that you are satisfied with so little when God died (literally) in order to give you more. 

Oh, the small black and white world of the JW---how can anyone stand to live there? Like the dwarves in the stable in CS Lewis's the Chronicles of Narnia (stuck by choice in a Mind Only prison).

I'm feeling nauseous again.

Don't question infant baptism, it could get you burned alive.

Part of an article from 2012:
[16 The 12th century saw the arrival of two lovers of Bible truth, Peter of Bruys and Henry of Lausanne. Peter resigned from the priesthood because he could not reconcile with the Scriptures the Catholic teachings of infant baptism, transubstantiation, prayers for the dead, and worship of the cross. In 1140, Peter paid for his beliefs with his life. Henry, a monk, spoke out against corrupt practices in the church as well as the unscriptural aspects of church liturgy. He was arrested in 1148 and spent the rest of his life in prison.
17 About the time that Peter of Bruys was burned alive for daring to criticize the church, a person was born who would later have a powerful influence on the spread of Bible truth. His last name was Valdès, or Waldo. Unlike Peter of Bruys and Henry of Lausanne, he was a layman, but he valued God’s Word so much that he divested himself of his material goods and arranged for portions of the Bible to be translated into a language commonly spoken in southeastern France. Some were so thrilled to hear the Bible’s message in their own tongue that they too gave up their belongings and devoted their lives to sharing Bible truth with others. The church found this deeply disturbing. In 1184 these zealous men and women, later called the Waldenses, were excommunicated by the pope and banished from their homes by the bishop. This action actually served to spread the Bible’s message to other areas. Eventually, the followers of Waldo, Peter of Bruys, and Henry of Lausanne as well as other dissenters could be found in many parts of Europe. Other champions of Bible truth rose up in the centuries that followed: John Wycliffe (c. 1330-1384), William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536), Henry Grew (1781-1862), and George Storrs (1796-1879).]



(Acts 8:12) But when they believed Philip, who was declaring the good news of the Kingdom of God and of the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were getting baptized.

I suspect you are the one in danger of being burned alive---although it may not happen until at least shortly after you are dead.

It depends on when God choose to plant the flag of His truth in your soul.

Sorry, immortality of the soul isn't a Bible teaching either. God burning people alive hasn't even come into His heart. All of your traditional doctrines are in opposition to the word of God.

(Jeremiah 32:35) Furthermore, they built the high places of Baʹal in the Valley of the Son of Hinʹnom, in order to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to Moʹlech, something that I had not commanded them and that had never come into my heart to do such a detestable thing, causing Judah to sin.’

(Ezekiel 18:4) Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
(Romans 6:23) For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Mark 7:13) Thus you make the word of God invalid by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

The only germane word in your answer is sorry.  Your interpretations of the bible are appropriately so described.

What do you think Jesus talked about with His apostles when he wasn't preaching? He explained to them in detail the meaning of the things He said to the people.

And that's what the apostles taught when they spread the good news to the gentiles.

How do you not realize that?

You Catholics are so gullible. Mormons also appeal to other things not recorded in the Bible for their doctrines. The book of Acts and the letters from Paul and Peter and others recorded in the Bible recorded that. You don't have to rely on nonbiblical Catholic writings.


(1 Corinthians 4:6) Now, brothers, these things I have applied to myself and A·polʹlos for your good, that through us you may learn the rule: “Do not go beyond the things that are written,” so that you may not be puffed up with pride, favoring one against the other.
(2 Timothy 3:16) All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness,

(2 Timothy 3:16) All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness,

And yet you are unmoved by my attempts to so teach you....

You haven't given any scriptures. Why not be honest. I wan't tell your Priest.

You don't value the Bible. Your Church doesn't suggest it. Compare your Church thinking to that of the first century Christians:

(Acts 17:11) Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thes·sa·lo·niʹca, for they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02033b.htm
From a dogmatic standpoint, the merely historical question of the authorship of the Creed, or of the time it made its appearance, is of secondary consideration. The fact alone that it is approved by the Church as expressing its mind on the fundamental truths with which it deals, is all we need to know. 

tom jackson, the scripture you quote is correct. That said, my suggestion to you would be to, in an unbiased manner, compare the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, with what the Bible has to say on those subjects. Lets take just a few examples. First, it is unbiblical to make a distinction between clergy and laity. Scripture teaches that there must be no divisions in the Body. All disciples in the kingdom of God are priests (1Pe 2:5,9-10; Rev 1:6).

 Next, the Catholic Church is very hierarchical and uses many titles. For example, when addressing the following people in person, you must call the Pope "Holy Father," while a Cardinal is "Your Eminence," an Archbishop is "Your Excellency," and a priest is "Father." All of these titles are completely unscriptural. 

  Next, the Catholic Church has a very strong focus on Mary to the point of being idolatrous. They teach that one must trust in her as Queen Mother. They teach that she is not only the mother of Jesus but our mother also. Most devout Catholics pray the rosary once each day, which is a series of ritual recitations that are repeated to Mary. There are fifty of these recitations to Mary and only ten to the Heavenly Father. That’s a five to one ratio, revealing an extraordinary emphasis on Mary. This goes against Jesus teaching to pray to the Heavenly Father (Mat 6:9), and His warning not to pray with vain repetition like the pagans do, thinking they will be heard because of their many words (Mat 6:7).

  Moving on to the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was without stain, which in Latin is called macula. This is where the false teaching of the immaculate conception comes from. They teach that she was preserved by God from the original sin. They teach that she "was free from any personal or hereditary sin".

Yet in the Word of God we find that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23). This includes Mary. The Scripture does not teach that Mary was without sin. In fact, she herself said, "My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47). She called God her Savior, not “a savior” or even “the savior”. She referred to Him as her personal savior, indicating that she too was relying upon Him to save her.

  Now to the so-called perpetual virginity belief. The Catholic church teaches that Mary remained a virgin after she gave birth to Jesus. While it is well established in Scripture that she was a virgin at the time of Jesus’ conception and birth, no where does it teach that she remained a virgin afterward.

Scripture states that “Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:24-25). It was only until she gave birth to Jesus that Joseph kept her a virgin. After that they had normal union together.

We know this, because the Scripture records that Jesus had numerous siblings, including brothers and sisters. The apostle Paul referred to “the brothers of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 9:5). One of them was James, who wrote the book of the Bible by the same name. Let's now address the belief of Mary as Co-redeemer. The Catholic Church refers to Mary as a co-redemptrix, which means a redeemer alongside Jesus Christ. This is completely unbiblical. 

  All around the world there are supposed appearances of Mary. The message is always about coming destruction and that people need to pray the rosary daily or they will perish. Devotion to Mary is emphasized in these messages. But this is not the gospel. Jesus said all “those who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). That is the true gospel. Believe in Jesus and be saved.

  tom jackson, those are just a few of the totally unbiblical beliefs of the Catholic Church. I would suggest that you open your Catholic Bible and investigate this for yourself instead of blindly believing anything or everything the Catholic Church tells you. The Scriptures trumps the Catholic Church every time.

I agree that there is no division in the Body of Christ--both priests and the laity (lay people, as distinct from the clergy) are included.

Yes, the Catholic Church has a hierarchy and some interesting titles---it's somewhat more efficient than "Non Laity Person 1 who is the local head of this group of persons,"  Non Laity Person 2 who is the local group of this other group of persons," etc.---Don't you think?  I mean, there are more churches than at Corinth and Rome these days.

Of course we Catholics have strong feelings for Mary.  It was through her that God brought forth the Redeemer of Mankind who---to be the perfect sacrifice--- must not have been subject to original sin.  Personally, I live in the acknowledged presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit daily; but since my mother was probably was not the best example of motherhood, it's good that the church reminds me of the great importance of Mary in salvation history and the appropriateness of my being reminded of that occasionally.

So, would you realistically expect that Paul would have added "except for Mary which of course goes without saying" in an effort to be consistent at the end of the verse you quoted?  And Luke 1,3 "....I too decided to write an orderly account for you..." does not indicate that Luke intended his gospel become a theological treatise that anticipates and provides the answer to every question you as a current reader might ask.
And that, of course, is most like because Luke knows that the Holy Spirit was sent for that purpose anyway.

Why do you assume that because nothing was added about Mary's virginity after Jesus's birth that it did not continue?  I like this summary: Jesus is Mary’s only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came to save: “The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and formation she co-operates with a mother’s love. 

And I don't read your propaganda, so I won't waste my time posting my explanations either.  But here's something you may want to think about:  And the priest said to Joseph, You have been chosen by lot to take into your keeping the virgin of the Lord. But Joseph refused, saying: I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl. I am afraid lest I become a laughing-stock to the sons of Israel. And the priest said to Joseph: Fear the Lord your God, and remember what the Lord did to Dathan, and Abiram, and Korah.

Again you are parsing according to your inclination---what precisely does "perish" mean?  Does it refer to the soul or the body? And what's wrong with holding Mary in the same high regard in which Jesus himself holds her?

Sorry, but I have already discovered the "pearl of great price" and quickly bought the field many years ago.

I just can't see trading it for your swamp land with the plastic diamond ring.