Jesus Christ did not come to establish such a thing as "Christianity". Even that word itself is not in the Scriptures. What Christ did establish was the Church, which Scripture calls both His Body and His Bride, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). The communion which man seeks with God is to be found in the Church, something which St. Paul calls a great mystery, in which we become members of Christ: of His flesh, and of His bones. (Ephesians 5:30,32) The Bible also tells us that such as were being saved were added to the Church (Acts 2:47). They were not merely making "decisions for Christ" -- again, not a Scriptural term -- but they were repenting, being baptized for the remission of their sins, and being added to the Church. (Acts 2:38ff.) There, they were continuing steadfastly in the Apostle's doctrine and fellowship, the Breaking of Bread (what is today called the Eucharist), and the prayers.

It's worth noting that, from the day of Pentecost, the "birthday" of the Church, the Bible never speaks of Christians who were not a part of the Church. In later generations, early Christians experienced schisms, and argued over who was the true Church; but they never lost the belief that there was an identifiable, visible body called The Church. They called it "catholic," meaning "whole and complete in itself" as distinguished from outsiders like the Novatianists, Montanists or Arians. No one ever invented the notion of an invisible Church until the Protestant Reformation made the new doctrine necessary. (In Evangelicalism it's a common belief that all believers in Christ are automatically members of an invisible Church. This belief is undeniably a modern innovation, not found in any writing or tradition before the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.)

The Enlightenment contributed to western European culture the idea of the exalted role of the individual person, his rights, and his place as judge of what he will accept as proven truth. Significantly, western European Christianity adopted this belief as its own. Today any number of Christian groups de-emphasize the role of the Church in interpreting Scripture or establishing norms of discipline and practice. The Campbellite cry, "No creed but Christ" (itself a creed) could not have emerged without Christians' embracing the innovative message of independence from the Church.

An individual Christianity dissociated from the communities founded by the Apostles can not claim to be historically, organically, the same congregation (ecclesia) which was born at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem on Pentecost. At best an individual, independent Christian or congregation can only claim to be an adherent to a belief system, or a para-Church organization.

It's worthwhile to look at the origins of the doctrine of an invisible Church, and examining how modern philosophy, unchecked by any restraint of previous generations of Christians, has dictated beliefs and attitudes to modern western Christians. And if a belief comes not from Scripture or even from ancient Christianity, but rather from modern rebellion against authority, perhaps that doctrine should be thrown out in favor of the ancient beliefs of previous generations.

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