The Church: Visible or Invisible?

DAY 301 CHALLENGE “Catholics are wrong to believe that Christ’s Church is a visible, hierarchical institution; it is the invisible union of all believers.” DEFENSE This does not fit the scriptural data. First, if Jesus wished to found an “invisible” Church, he wouldn’t have instituted baptism. As the Christian equivalent of circumcision (Col. 2:11–12), baptism is the Christian initiation ritual. It thus gives the Church an identifiable membership. Second, if Jesus didn’t wish to found a hierarchical Church, he wouldn’t have established a hierarchy. Yet he did. He appointed lead...