Is the term 'Catholic Church' biblical?

Answer 1

Emphatically NO. Anyone reading the Scripture will quickly discover that there is no mention of the Catholic Church in it. Indeed, the Church Jesus established is referred to about a dozen times as the 'Church of God.' As far as maintaining the original message of Jesus and the Apostles, the following are a few examples of how this faith differs:

For the better part of 1600 years the teachings of Christ, the Apostles and other early Church disciples have been transformed by the largest 'Christian' church which has promoted their claim of universal authority by ways of human pressures via politics, deception, forgery and even military force to achieve their current status. Perhaps the greatest deception is their claim of papal primacy via Apostolic succession via Peter which does not rest upon solid evidence but more so upon dogmatic ideas of men of power - failed human traditions.

Suggested reading on the above from two Catholic Scholars:

1 - Saints and Sinners by Dr. Eamon Duffy of Cambridge University

2- The Catholic Church by Dr. Hans Kung of the University of Tubingen

Another Answer

Biblically-Theologically yes, explicitly scriptural-syntactical, no. The New Covenant is the Universal expansion of the abrahamic covenant of Grace, in which his "descendents" would be numbered like the stars. Jesus is of this line, as the "new abraham" or faithful covenant keeper. Now the covenant God made with adam(Gen 3:15) was a marital or nuptial covenant of the first family, established in Grace. This is the beginning of Gods Covenantal work in mankind. The next expansion of that covenant of Grace was with noah and his family(Gen 9). But this times it was four families gathered together in faith, in the ark. Then we come to abrahams Covenant(Gen 15) this was a tribal covenant of many diverse families gathered together as one people, the people of the seed of abraham, Jacob(Israel). Then to moses' expansion of the covenant of Grace to the nation of the peoples of israel, out of Egypt(Exodus 24). He then establishes a national family of one people. Then Jesus Brings The New and final expansion of that covenant of Grace, the Universal expansion of the covenant of Grace, universal or Catholic(defined as Universal)*. This Covenant now expands universally to all people.(Heb 13:20 and Matt 26:28) The same Grace God offered to Abraham, he now offers to all the peoples of the earth through Christ. This is where the term comes from. It is DEEPLY theological in its origins as i just demonstrated. Always remember that just because something isnt spelled out in the "plain" syntactical and grammatical words of The Bible does not mean that its not "in the bible". This heart of this question is far more a Biblical hermeneutical-theological question, more than an exegetical-grammatical one. So the answer is that yes it is biblical.

*A Father Who Keeps His Promises:Gods Covenant Love In Scipture, Dr. Scott Hahn, Servant Books 1998