My Humble 2-Cents
If I may, as a Roman Catholic:
(and please, spare me immature, obtuse responses).
First of all, I have joined this website a few days ago, and so far the experience has been very positive, both on the forums and on the chat-rooms. I look forward to future, insightful and thought-provoking discussions with all of you.
This particular thread however, seems to be stained by many misconceptions, misunderstandings, and regrettably, speckles of "bashing". So as a Catholic, I would like to offer my own opinions and knowledge on the matter.
A quick response to Kayem77, who asked:
Why do catholics care so much about being accepted as Christian to begin with?
Catholics ARE Christians, therefore there is no such thing as trying to be accepted as so. The Catholic tradition, along with Coptics, Greek/Eastern Orthodox, etc., out-date all post-Protestanism denominations.
And now, on to the issue initially presented by RoboOp:
Dear Sir, unless you have a firm understanding of the concept of the Holy Trinity, and have read St. Thomas' "Summa Theologica", your arguments (against?) Catholicism are unfounded.
I tend to disgree with certain arguments you presented. For example, according to the Catholic doctrine, Mary was free of sin, hence why God chose her to be mother of His son Jesus. And yes, God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same, and at the same time three separate parts of a whole (hence the concept of the Holy Trinity).
To pray to the Virgin Mary is not "heresy" nor idolatry. It is fundamentally part of Catholic/Orthodox doctrine. She is not heralded as equal to God/Christ, but she is heralded for being His virgin mother, and therefore mother of us all. Catholics, along with Orthodox and other non-protestant denominations, also have saints, and pray to these saints. Once again, this is centuries+ old tradition, long before post-Protestanism, "non-demominational" neo-Christianity.
Which brings me to my second point:
Please understand that the Evangelical movement, Born-Agains, Non-denominationals, Chrsitian-Scientists, etc.... are all forms of neo-Christianity, and therefore simply modern forms of Protestanism, where individuals or leaders of a group "go on their own way" and adopt their own doctrines and methods of worship, often to their personal liking. This means that some do not necessarily follow a specific doctrine. Therefore, to call Catholicism "heresy" is not only contradictory, it is also factually incorrect, if not also offensive. It is simply an older denominational form of Christianity (hence why there is no point in the argument "are they Christians?").
You must also understand the word "Catholic" itself (most people have no clue). It means "universal", and all people are welcomed. Therefore the sole notion that Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, Buddhists, etc. are rejected, is once again dishonest. If any of you ever visited the Vatican and St. Peter's Cathedral, you would likely see people of all ethnicities and religious backgrounds attend a Papal Mass, or visit the Cathedral and the incredible museums. Doesn't anyone recall Pope John Paul II's many encounters with people of different religions?
So with all due respect, the notion that Catholicism is heresy and deception, is simply false, regrettably dishonest, and dangerously misleading.
St. Peter and all the first martyrs who initially died at the hands of the Roman Empire were the first "stones" (Peter = stone) of the universal Church that Christ envisioned. What came later under the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Anglican British Empire, and post-Luter Protestanism, is simply a diversification of the Christian faith. NOT HERESY.
Kind regards,
Spartacus
