Does the very meaning of the word Catholic indicate how the church came about?

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Catholic- The word comes from the Greek "katholikós" which best traslates in english to >"according to the whole"

The earliest recorded evidence of the use of the term "Catholic Church" is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 107 to Christians in Smyrna. Exhorting Christians to remain closely united with their bishop, he wrote:

"Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."
Source (Wikipedia)

Now lets look at wether Saint Ignatius of Antioch was indeed a supporter of paganism and liberalism in the Church.

A Student of the Apostle John himself, while en route to Rome, where he met his martyrdom by being fed to wild beasts, he wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, and the role of bishops.

Here is one that sounds very Catholic, he must have learned it from the Apostle John himself perhaps with the term katholikós as well.

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans (written 98-117 AD)

"They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect, that they also might rise again. It is fitting, therefore, that you should keep aloof from such persons, and not to speak of them either in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets, and above all, to the Gospel, in which the passion [of Christ] has been revealed to us, and the resurrection has been fully proved. But avoid all divisions, as the beginning of evils."

There is a traditon going back to the 1st century that Ignatius was actually one of the Children who was held by Christ himself. He chose the name Theophorus (God Bearer) For that reason. Makes me wonder if he remebered being held by the Creator of the world as a child.

There are many ways you can learn about the Church founded by Christ, The Church Fathers, the men who faithfully preserved the Scriptures and the faith, however, if you come into the conversation with Pre-concieved notions provided by staunch anti-Catholics like Dave Hunt and many others seeing the truth will be difficult.

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