Are Catholics Christian

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
L

Lightningstar

Guest
#1
Just looking for other oppinions.
I'n my opinnion the Catholic church is too focest on cerimony. My goal is not to offend bur to get the opinnion of others.
 
U

Ugly

Guest
#2
There are tons of posts on this topic already. This will likely just turn into one big argument, like all the others. Some say they are the same, some say they aren't. For myself, no, they are not the same. The site owner, and i believe most of his staff, also seem to think it's not.
 

respekt

Senior Member
Mar 5, 2013
269
2
18
#3
Few months ago, I also had a discussion with a friend who is a Catholic priest.

I was asking if Catholics worship Jesus and this is his long explanation:

Do Catholics worship Jesus? In one word? YES!!! lol.
In more? We not only Worship Jesus, we Love, cherish and adore him! Everything in Catholicism is founded on him, and is orientated to worship Him.

The origins word Catholic is actually quite interesting. It’s a combination of two greek words 'Kata' & 'Holicos'. When combined, it means "according to the whole". When translated the word Kataholicos is taken to mean universal. Over time the word became as it is appears today - Catholic. It’s also handy to note that the greek origins of the word church, 'Ekklesia' means 'assembly'.
In Scripture, when Jesus founded the Church, he founded only One, and they were to remain One. Back then there was no denominations, but One Holy Catholic Church. Now, that not said out of any sense of superiority (that would be wrong). When we say that, we don't mean one denomination is superior over another. We're simply standing back and making an observation of what the Church 'IS'. And sadly, many, many people have lost sight of that, including many Catholics.
The Greeks have a wonderful way of saying things (after all they have what, five or six words for love!). And I believe in the new testament in the original Greek, in one of Pauls writings, there is one sentence that when translated, is broken down in to MANY verses (and may span a across two chapters!! I dunno, I’m no Greek scholar lol).
When we profess we believe in ‘One Holy Catholic & Apostolic Church’, that one sentence, if unpacked is says a lot. So what are we saying? We are simply saying, by way of observation, that Jesus gathered to himself, and still does - a Visible assembly of people. And If we were to name that gathering of people, what name would be be an accurate definition?
Is that gathering restricted to a historical point in time? No. Is it, then, restricted by Geography? No. Is it restricted by Race, Gender, Age or Language? No. Is it even restricted by even Death? Do we stop being God's people when we die? of Course not!
Then, whatever term we apply for this assembly, if we are to accurately define it, it has to take into account and declare that it is not restricted by any of the above suggested limitations.
And so in time, The Church boldly and confidently declared itself to be universal. And in typical Greek fashion, using just two words, it summed up beautifully what it is - Kataholicos Ekklesia. We are One, Holy Catholic, Apostolic Church. We are the Universal people of God, we belong to Jesus, our King, our bridegroom, and we do not belong to another.
It is interesting to note, that the Bible goes into far more detail on what the church IS. First, as the Kingdom of God, which is also a Davidic Kingdom (The Church bears all the hallmarks of it). Second, the Church as Bride of Christ. And just as Marriage is the One-flesh union that joins two in one body, Baptism and all other sacraments unites his bride the church to Jesus, our bridegroom, into One body - His mystical body (which is also known as the Communion of Saints). And this is the third and most intimate description used for the church.
All this is a deep and profound mystery, again universal in it’s scope. When you look at it, the whole work Salvation is a wonderful, beautiful masterpiece brought about by God. With that in mind, could we even begin to imagine how scandalous the division is? The Church is a lot larger than we think. The church on Earth, the church in Purgatory, and the Church in Heaven are still One. This is the beauty of the Christian faith. This is why all Christians should unite and love one another. Anyway, lol all that is a large collection of individual topics in of themselves!
Do Catholics worship Jesus? Certainly! Do we have a Personal relationship with Him? Oh most definitely yes! How personal? As personal a relationship as a bride to her groom! Sadly, many Catholics, like many spouses in human relationships, take their other half for granted. Sadly No denomination, or individual Christian is immune from this. But taking the Bibles Cue God is Love, and St. Paul spelled out what Love is. And God is perfect in all these things. It just goes to show how wonderful He is!


Then, I replied with: I found it differrent to Catholic in Indonesia (after your explanation above). Few years ago, one of my Catholic mate had an argument with me about the Bible thing. It was really not easy for me to explain to him about why in Christian bible we don't have the Deuterocanon and some which are not written there. He also added that Catholics worship Mother Mary or Ave Maria and Jesus is the Second after Mother Mary, then he explained:

The topic of the deuterocanon falls within the realms of Church history.. So it's outside my personal study just yet. But I guess thats another discussion until I can form my own specific arguments! lol.
Your friend was very wrong with regards to Mary. Jesus is in no way second to Mary, at all, ever. I’m surprised to hear another Catholic could even conceive that thought. I can’t pass fair judgement here, I can only speculate, but in his defense it seems either your friend was poorly taught, or if he was no longer practicing his faith and was drawing on fragments of what he remembered being taught long ago and out of ignorance failed to communicated correctly what actually is church teaching.
It’s clear Mary is not to be worshipped, as doing so violates the first commandment by committing idolatry. Doing so would make no sense because Mary is only human, a creature just like you and I. So, you’re right to object to any catholic telling you that. As a Catholic, I object to it! lol.
However, It also depends on what your friend meant by worship. In English there are actually TWO definitions for worship, it causes quite a bit of confusion, especially if the context is missing.
The most common and primary meaning of worship that everyone understands is worship which belongs to God alone. But there is also a secondary and lesser used (and much old fashioned) meaning, one that can also be translated as honour or respect (and, has a history of being used as a honorary title!).
As I mentioned before, the Greeks were brilliant in saying so much with so little. Where one word could define sentences. The Romans were no different with Latin. If we examine the Latin definitions, you’ll see a HUGE world of a difference between how we treat God & How we treat Mary, Saints & Angels. There are three terms we use. One is Latria. The other Dulia and lastly there is Hyperdulia.
Latria, simply means worship or adoration that is due to God ALONE. Giving Latria to any creature is idolatrous and gravely sinful. That flat out breaks the first commandment against idolatry. Dulia is Honour and respect given to a person that is their due, usually for who or what they are or what they have done or contributed. In religious use, It’s used to honour Saints and Angels. I guess a form of dulia can also be observed in a secular sense too. You’ll see it given to kings and presidents, police officers and other people in positions of authority. You’ll even see it used on iconic people such as Martin Luther King or the rememberance of the war dead and surviving verterans.
Hyper Dulia, is the honour and respect unique to Mary. She elevated to a higher honour and respect due to two things: First her relationship to Jesus, and secondly Our relationship to Jesus. I could go into more detail! But that would make the e-mail even longer. But if you want to know, I can explain hyper dulia as best I can. One key thing to remember about any Marian doctrines is this: they are at heart Christocentric. Without Christ, they make no sense. Jesus is the centre and foundation of all church teaching on Mary, and there is plenty of evidence of it in scripture both in the Old and New testament.


It's such a long explanation above. I, myself believe that both religions are different. I cannot find in the Bible about what he stated above (Hyperdulia, Christocentric etc) or maybe those are exist in Deutrocanon and other books which are not in Christian bible. Maybe, you can read the history of Protestant Reformation to help you understand the difference, have a look Protestant Reformation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia