Is every local church a ‘pillar and foundation of the truth’ so no single Church is needed?
All the books and YouTube debates I have read and seen have Catholic apologists state that since the Church is the “pillar and foundation of the truth,” it must be one (in this case, the Church of Rome), since truth has to be one and unchanging. However, what would be wrong or misguided in stating that, as per my first point above, any of the seven churches were equally “pillars and foundations of the truth,” even if they were not entirely true to God in their doctrine or practice? This would mean that even today we all have an obligation to discern who is “rightly dividing the word of God” instead of simply submitting to an authority and accepting all its claims without challenge. Also, what would then be wrong with the Protestant claim that there could be differences in doctrine or even some disputable teachings, the truth of which might only be fully known when Christ comes again, and that therefore there does not need to be one Church in which all truth resides and flows from?
Answer
Because that is not what the New Testament teaches. As noted, when major decisions about doctrine were being made, it was the council, headed by the leader of the Church (at that time, Peter), that made the decision. Acts 15 is the paradigm the Church follows. The account reveals that there were elders, apostles, and others arguing about whether the Gentiles should be circumcised. This was a major issue, since the Old Testament demanded circumcision and there was no other authority to appeal to except God Himself. But Acts 15:1–12 tells us that Peter took sole authority and decided that circumcision would no longer be required, and he did so without any Scripture or Tradition giving him direction. This doctrine has held for the last 2,000 years, and all the churches within Catholicism abide by it to this day. The Jerusalem Council was the first council, and there have been 23 such councils since that time, all presided over by the pope, just as occurred in Acts 15. In this way, everyone believes one doctrine, and the devil’s ability to cause confusion about what to believe is limited.