Catholics and Christians ....

Teenadreams · Nov 23, 2015

Hello everyone,

First off, I want to start off by telling you all that I grew up attending a catholic school and although I was baptized I did not learn anything from my parents. They never took me to church of read me his words so everything I learned about the RC religion was from school or word of mouth. It is also all I've ever known. To be honest I thought Christians and Catholics were pretty much the same and both were loved and accepted by Jesus and God.

Last night I came across a post and some people were saying that the catholic religion is corrupt and Jesus will condemn all Catholics. I did some research to see what the difference is between the two and from my understand it is that Christians believe in only talking to God where Catholics supposedly also pray to angles and Mary. I also read that supposedly the RCC does not want reading of the bible because it takes away from the priest. I have to be honest, every time I attend a mass they read from the bible, and I have yet to hear them pray to Mary. ( I did learn the Hail Mary in school and I do remember being told to say it with the Lord's Prayer after confession ) However I have just recently joined a Church and can't say I've been going long enough to know everything.

Like I said, I've recently joined a Catholic Church and I can't say I follow everything. ( I don't feel like it's what I need to do) For instance; I don't tell a priest my sins, that's something I do alone with Jesus and I do not read up on the pope or follow him whatsoever. I feel like my relationship with God and Jesus is a personal relationship and nobody can tell me different.

Aside from that my son attends a catholic school and has been baptized and my daughter ( who is much younger ) has not been baptized yet. Is baptizing different for Catholics and Christians I guess I just want some feedback. Like ive said I'm not only new to this site but I am also finally starting to find myself.

crossnote · Nov 23, 2015

Instead of concentrating on differences (and there are some) it is best to get grounded in God's Word and He will lead you into truth.

Teenadreams · Nov 24, 2015

I don't understand what that means.

Billyd · Nov 24, 2015

Teenadreams said:

Hello everyone,

First off, I want to start off by telling you all that I grew up attending a catholic school and although I was baptized I did not learn anything from my parents. They never took me to church of read me his words so everything I learned about the RC religion was from school or word of mouth. It is also all I've ever known. To be honest I thought Christians and Catholics were pretty much the same and both were loved and accepted by Jesus and God.

Last night I came across a post and some people were saying that the catholic religion is corrupt and Jesus will condemn all Catholics. I did some research to see what the difference is between the two and from my understand it is that Christians believe in only talking to God where Catholics supposedly also pray to angles and Mary. I also read that supposedly the RCC does not want reading of the bible because it takes away from the priest. I have to be honest, every time I attend a mass they read from the bible, and I have yet to hear them pray to Mary. ( I did learn the Hail Mary in school and I do remember being told to say it with the Lord's Prayer after confession ) However I have just recently joined a Church and can't say I've been going long enough to know everything.

Like I said, I've recently joined a Catholic Church and I can't say I follow everything. ( I don't feel like it's what I need to do) For instance; I don't tell a priest my sins, that's something I do alone with Jesus and I do not read up on the pope or follow him whatsoever. I feel like my relationship with God and Jesus is a personal relationship and nobody can tell me different.

Aside from that my son attends a catholic school and has been baptized and my daughter ( who is much younger ) has not been baptized yet. Is baptizing different for Catholics and Christians I guess I just want some feedback. Like ive said I'm not only new to this site but I am also finally starting to find myself.

I'm almost 74 years old, and grew up in a house where the Bible was read daily, a Church where the Bible was taught from preschool through senior adults, and still study the Bible daily. From what I read above, I feel that you are at the beginning of your Christian walk. I would encourage you to find a local church that not only teaches you the Bible, but encourages you to study it. I would also encourage you to find a study partner (other than a pastor or priest) who can help you answer your questions as they arise.

crossnote · Nov 24, 2015

Teenadreams said:

Ok, I'll use an example.
You mentioned baptism. Roman Catholics teach certain things about baptism. Most Protestants teach differently.
What are you going to choose? Your hunch? What other Church leaders say? (Even though often they are in disagreement ).
Or will you pick up prayerfully God's revelation to mankind, the bible, read, study and determine just what God's will in the matter actually is?

james57 · Nov 24, 2015

I was brought up in a church that left me doubting Catholics could be christians. When I was20 I went to live in a christian community for a while predominantly run by Catholics. Due to being precocious I thought it my duty to show them the error of their beliefs. They bore with me-somehow!
The man who ran the community had given up a good job and lovely house to buy a ramshackled building, and the doors were opened to all in need. Alcoholics, people with great problems in their lives, referrals from social services.
The community I still going strong. One of the things that struck me was the love they showed to others. Going into prisons to preach and seeing hardened prisoners become christians
I may disagree with much of their doctrines but they sure displayed the most important thing of all
Love for their fellow nan

phil112 · Nov 24, 2015

Teenadreams said:

Catholics believe they ARE christians. They call non-catholics protestants.
Baptizing can only be done to someone who makes the choice to be baptized, and that can only happen when they reach the age of accountability.
Baptizing someone who doesn't fully understand it is simply an exercise in futility. Being saved is a choice. You can't save someone's soul for them. And that's what infant and "too young" baptizing is trying to do.

notuptome · Nov 24, 2015

The big difference is that Jesus came and did all that was necessary to provide atonement for our sins and give us eternal life. Romanism is still attempting to add to what Jesus has done and finished.

Romanism teaches that grace is received through faith in the sacraments while Jesus and the apostles that followed taught that grace is received through faith in Gods word.

Salvation is not about religion but about Jesus Christ. Through the blood of Christ full and complete atonement is made for sin. The faith to believe this is imparted through Gods word the bible and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the hearer.

Read the epistle to the Romans and see that the first half of the book is an indictment of mankind. Chapter ten tells us how to be saved and the rest of the letter give testimony of Gods forgiveness.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

MikeHenderson · Nov 24, 2015

Its the fact that Catholics Worship Mary as their God that proves the Catholics are not our Brothers in Christ. They are what God calls false prophets and Wolves in sheep clothing.

Magenta · Nov 24, 2015

There are a lot of differences. In fact, you are on a site
whose founders believe Roman Catholicism to be heretical.

Roman Catholics will tell you Mary needed to be sinless so that Jesus could be sinless.
That should ring alarm bells in any Christian. Jesus never once addressed Mary
as His mother, but Catholics call her the mother of humanity and the queen of heaven.
Jesus never elevated Mary above others. He said that anyone who did the will of God
was His mother, His brother, His sister.
Jesus told us to pray to our Father in heaven. They pray to Mary.
Scripture tells us there is one mediator between God and man.
Catholics tell us Mary is a mediatrix.
God several times throughout Scripture says He will not share His glory,
while Catholics glorify, venerate, and adore Mary.
We see nothing in Scripture to endorse her bodily assumption,
her perpetual virginity or her immaculate conception. Two of those are
proclaimed infallible dogmas by the RCC. Catholics are bound to accept them.

Within Catholicism, there is a drive to define a new Marian dogma in which Catholics, as a matter of faith, would be obliged to accept: 1) Mary participates in redemption with Jesus Christ; 2) grace is granted by Jesus only through the intercession of Mary; and 3) all prayers from the faithful must flow through Mary, who brings them to the attention of her Son.

Catholics believe that a fallible man is the Rock that Jesus is building His Church on, not a confession of faith divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, despite a plethora of Scriptures that attest to the fact that God is the sole Rock of our salvation. They teach purgatory, and many other things neither the apostles nor Jesus ever taught. For instance, they claim priests must be celibate, when they were not in the early church... not even Peter! Another example would be infant baptism, nowhere promoted in Scripture.They burned people at the stake for daring to read the Bible, which is what Scripture tells us to do. Despite all this, and more, the Catholic Church considers herself the only valid expression of the community of God.

There is probably more... sadly, much, much more

Cindy12 · Nov 24, 2015

MikeHenderson said:

I was raised Catholic, am 54 years old now and 2 years ago joined a Christian church, just recently got saved and baptized by full immersion in my Christian church -- but I can tell you this -- in all the years I attended the Catholic church, never did we worship Mary as God, nor treat her as God. There was a prayer for Mary, but no one ever taught me that she was God. Thats a new one on me!

epostle · Nov 24, 2015

Teenadreams said:

That's tragic. Your parents didn't keep the vows they made at your baptism.

That's true in the real world, we get along just fine. In this forum, Catholicism is hated and persecuted. I don't think you are equipped to deal with a tidal wave of misrepresentations, preconceived notions and blatant lies. This is not a safe place for you.

It's not just one post, teenadreams. There are billions of web sites attacking the Church one way or another. Guess how many Catholic sites misrepresent or lie about non-Catholic Christians? None. "0" ziltch . That fact speaks volumes about integrity.

Christians are very confused about this, one reason is they think "pray" means worship. The doctrine of the intercession of the saints goes back before there was a bible, it was trashed in the 16th century by the reformers.

That's totally false. You must stop reading this trash.

The Church has always taught that the parents are the primary educators, the school is secondary. The first question the priest will ask you is, "Why do you want your daughter baptized?"

Magenta · Nov 24, 2015

epostle said:

Calling protestants liars is rude and vicious and based on biblical illiteracy and blind prejudice. It is behavior unbecoming of anyone claiming to be a Christian, recklessly throwing around stupid insults, persecuting protestants "in the name of Jesus". You should be ashamed of yourself. Sound familiar?

epostle said:

Billions? Not just millions? Wow. Who needs sites dedicated to this when we have you?

Here is an example of what Epostle would no doubt call an anti-Catholic site.

We receive many "complaints" from Catholics that our articles about the Roman Catholic Church do not accurately present what the Catholic Church truly teaches and practices. We also receive many compliments from former Catholics stating that our articles about the Roman Catholic Church are absolutely true. For examples, please click here or scroll to the bottom of this page. All of our articles on Catholic topics were written by former Catholics who left the Catholic Church after comparing what the Catholic Church teaches and practices with the Bible, or by individuals with extensive experience with/knowledge of Roman Catholicism. The articles are thoroughly researched. We strongly believe them to accurately represent the doctrines of the Catholic Church. You may disagree with our conclusions, but they are the results of years of being Catholic, being taught Catholic doctrine, practicing Catholicism, studying Catholic theology, and conversing with Catholics. We are not bashing the Catholic Church, and we do not hate Catholics. We simply believe there are some serious doctrinal problems with the Catholic Church that need to be addressed Biblically.

http://www.gotquestions.org/Catholic-questions.html

jaybird88 · Nov 24, 2015

epostle said:

i like this statement.

i been saying for a long time, if you want to know how the Catholics do it, ask one, they dont bite. but dont go read something you have no idea who wrote.

Magenta · Nov 24, 2015

epostle said:

Sounds like someone needs some history lessons. Seriously!

Sadly, there are a lot of pretend Catholics. Religious but lost... or Catholic in name only.

Magenta · Nov 24, 2015

[video=youtube;cp-pi25wpu8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp-pi25wpu8[/video]

crossnote · Nov 24, 2015

Cindy12 said:

Would you say though that anyone who could field thousands of prayers simultaneously must have some God-like qualities?

Suppose 10,000 Catholics at any one time were praying to Mary, wouldn't that be a Herculean feat to hear and answer all those prayers at the same time?

Jesus, being Divine as well as man, no problem...but Mary???

epostle · Nov 25, 2015

crossnote said:

If being in heaven were like being in the next room, then of course these objections would be valid. A mortal, unglorified person in the next room would indeed suffer the restrictions imposed by the way space and time work in our universe. But the saints are not in the next room, and they are not subject to the time/space limitations of this life.

This does not imply that the saints in heaven therefore must be omniscient, as God is, for it is only through God’s willing it that they can communicate with others in heaven or with us. And Boettner’s argument about petitions arriving in different languages is even further off the mark. Does anyone really think that in heaven the saints are restricted to the King’s English? Surely those saints in Revelation understand the prayers they are shown to be offering to God.

The problem here is one of what might be called a primitive or even childish view of heaven. It is certainly not one on which enough intellectual rigor has been exercised. A good introduction to the real implications of the afterlife may be found in Frank Sheed’s book Theology and Sanity, which argues that sanity depends on an accurate appreciation of reality, and that includes an accurate appreciation of what heaven is really like. And once that is known, the place of prayer to the saints follows.
read more here Praying to the Saints | Catholic Answers

epostle · Nov 25, 2015

The historic Christian practice of asking our departed brothers and sisters in Christ—the saints—for their intercession has come under attack in the last few hundred years. Though the practice dates to the earliest days of Christianity and is shared by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, the other Eastern Christians, and even some Anglicans—meaning that all-told it is shared by more than three quarters of the Christians on earth—it still comes under heavy attack from many within the Protestant movement that started in the sixteenth century.
Praying to the Saints | Catholic Answers

valiant · Nov 25, 2015

epostle said:

No it is not hated and persecuted. It is shown up for what it is. If you didn't come here thrusting the Pope and Mary on us you would be welcome. What you mean by misrepresentation is the revealing of the truth.

Well billons can't be wrong LOL. You attack Protestants yourself, and misrepresent them and lie about them. So how can what you say possibly be true?

So it isn't Biblical but pagan? We agree with you on that.

So do what the secessionist Roman Catholic church tells you and obey the priest. Forget the fact that the Bible says we are ALL priests if we are Christians. Forget the blood history of the Roman Catholic church. And above all don't believe Scripture except as it is interpreted falsely by a priest. Then you'll be a good Roman Catholic.

Catholics and Christians ....

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