A few questions about Catholicism

[Benito64]

I’m a new convert to Christianity. I do not fully understand the whole Protestant/Catholic divide.

So, I want to check out both Protestant and Catholic churches and also beliefs.

I live in Bristol (United Kingdom) I was wondering if I could find out where my local church is? Are Churches open all the time? 24 hours?

Thank you.

 

[kage_ar]

I often joke about looking for the “movie Church” - it is open 24X7, there is always a priest in the confessional and the kindly old priest has been assigned there since before you were born.

IRL, Churches have to worry about crime and vandalism, they cannot remain open all the time.

You can find your local parish at www.masstimes.org or by googling “Catholic diocese Bristol UK” to find the Diocese web site.

A good resource is the DVD “Common Ground” from www.catholicprotestant.com

 

[Highwayhound]

I’m a new convert to Christianity. I do not fully understand the whole Protestant/Catholic divide.

So, I want to check out both Protestant and Catholic churches and also beliefs.

I live in Bristol (United Kingdom) I was wondering if I could find out where my local church is? Are Churches open all the time? 24 hours?

Thank you.

Well, if you become Catholic and then become a priest you will be given the keys to the church and you can go in whenever you feel like it. As Kage_ar mentioned in real life most churches are locked, especially at night. When I go to the adoration chapel at 3 a.m. I have to use a number code to gain entrance to the chapel. So there are possibilites such as that you could participate in

As to the whole Protestant/Catholic divide…the Protestants are really stodgy, uptight and generally lacking any sense of humor, while Catholics usually tell funny jokes, understand a man’s need to watch sporting events on TV (which is why we have services both Sat. evening and Sun. morning), and we like to celebrate. Remember it was Catholics that brought us Christmas, Easter and St. Patrick’s day.

Seriously, here are a few links you might find interesting. They will show you some of the Catholics I look to for inspiration. These people took their faith seriously.

St. Maximilian Kolbe traded his life for that of a man he did not know. Here is a good summary about prisoner 16670: catholic-pages.com/saints/st_maximilian.asp

Saint Perpetua - an early Christian saint and the earliest written record of a female christian life and persecution.
amyrachelpeterson.com/Gro…as_Prison.aspx

May God bless your search

 

[Subrosa]

I’m a new convert to Christianity. I do not fully understand the whole Protestant/Catholic divide.

So, I want to check out both Protestant and Catholic churches and also beliefs.

I live in Bristol (United Kingdom) I was wondering if I could find out where my local church is? Are Churches open all the time? 24 hours?

Thank you.

Hi Benito -

Catholic or Protestant, eh? That’s a very large subject and would take at least a few college courses to cover the basics.

But the short answer is that the Catholic Church is original Christianity, while the Protestant churches came along 1500+ years later. Granted, it was during a time that the Church’s ministers were at thier most corrupt, but that was 500 years ago. Those issues no longer exist. Protestantism grew out of a reaction against those corruptions.

Suffice it to say that the Catholic Church derives from the 12 followers of Jesus, the Apostles and has maintained thier teachings till this day. People are Catholic because they believe that it is Christianity the way Christ intended.

Spend some time on this forum and others until you have some answers. In the Catholic Church, you can also join an RCIA group at your local church. It is a training program and will give you time to contemplate everything you learn during the training.

May the Holy Spirit guide you on your journey.
Subrosa

 

[JRKH]

I’m a new convert to Christianity. I do not fully understand the whole Protestant/Catholic divide.

Welcome to the boards.
We don’t fully understand the divide either.

You say that you are a new “convert” to Chrisitanity. May I ask if you have a denomination or if it is just that you have come to believe in Christ and are now looking for a “spiritual home”?

So, I want to check out both Protestant and Catholic churches and also beliefs.

Historically The Catholic Church (along with the Eastern Orthodox) is the Church that dates back to the apostles. “Protestant” Churches are those which split from the western (catholic) Church in the 1500’s and later.
So if you want to follow Christ in His ancient and True Church, then you will want to be Catholic.

I live in Bristol (United Kingdom) I was wondering if I could find out where my local church is? Are Churches open all the time? 24 hours?

Thank you.

As others have said churches are not generally open 24/7. However you should be able to contact the parish office and find out service times etc.
I googled catholic church in Bristol UK and came up with this, HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Also found THIS on wikipedia listing a lot of churches.

As you explore, I hope you will bring any questions you have here. Please remember that there is a lot of mis-information around about the catholic church (some even told by catholics). So please be sure that anything you are “told” can be substantiated. The folks here as CAF are very good at clearing these things up.

Peace
James

 

[rwillenborg]

Hello!
Are you an avid reader?
have you read mere Christianity by CS Lewis? Or What’s So great about Christianity by Dinesh D’ Souza? I think those both do a great deal to show what the catholic/protestant divide is NOT about. In other words, they both are highlighting what christianity as a whole has in common.
I would recommend you start there, becuase at least in my opinion, I feel like it’s always easier to start with what IS the same, than what is different.
There are many protestants on this board who can probably tell you literature which presents very clearly the protestant side. I would start with reading the writings of Luther and Calvin if you want to understand their perspective.

Also, there are many debates you can fin donline between protestants and catholics (there’s the staples v. gregg one that’s on here) but I should point out that ‘protestants’ can’t all be lumped together either. There are over 30,000 denominations in protestantism, so you will find doctrinal disagreeements within protestantism that are worth exploring.

However, your main issues are going to be:
Authority (Catholics recognize the magisterium as authoritative outside of the Bible)
Pope (tied in with authority)
Mary, the Mother of God (Catholics believe that the dead in heaven can still hear us, love us, and pray for us. Protestants do not.)
Bible (Catholic Bibles are bigger. for an explanation of that, I would recommend Why Catholic Bibles are Bigger by Gary Michuta)
Priests (again, this has to do with authority, but catholic priests are generally celibate and are recognized by the RCC as able to dispense of sacraments that lay people cannot)
Confession (Catholics confess to a priest. Protestants don’t)
Real Presence in the Eucharist (Catholics believe jesus Crhist is present body, blood, soul and divinity at every Mass

WHEW! There’s more, but I think that’s probably a pretty good start for you!!
Blessings on your journey, and for what it’s worth from this little sinner, I can’t imagine calling any other place besides the Catholic Church my home.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Dear brother in Christ,

The articles on this website will show you in pretty clear terms what the main divisions are about. Reading through those articles provides a great crash course in the Catholic faith.

All the articles, I believe, have an impranteur, which means they are officially recognized as not contradictory at all to the Catholic faith. They will show you a good Catholic perspective on the differences between Catholics and Protestants, and also explanations from a Catholic perspective of our doctrines Protestants disagree with.

Yours in Christ,

Lief