Are Catholics better?

[HabemusFrancis]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Are we more worthwhile people than (nearly) the entire populations of Japan and China?

Are we automatically kinder,more tolerant, and more level-headed than non-Catholics? Are the above described values even worthwhile?

It just seems to me that with a lot of people being Catholic is just a matter of identity or tribalism in a sense. They will pride themselves on having gone to Boston College or Notre Dame (the Catholic Ivy legue) , and be somewhat dismissive of people who either did not go, or are not Catholic or much of anything at all.

I enjoy the Catholic faith, but I do struggle with it at times, since it seems mostly that it can create a sense of “false pride” in its adherents. I see Catholics who do not treat other people well, and non-Catholics who are more kinder and open minded than other Catholics.

We might have the Truth compared to the other 5 billion people on the planet. But are we… better?

 

[hasantas]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Are we more worthwhile people than (nearly) the entire populations of Japan and China?

Are we automatically kinder,more tolerant, and more level-headed than non-Catholics? Are the above described values even worthwhile?

It just seems to me that with a lot of people being Catholic is just a matter of identity or tribalism in a sense. They will pride themselves on having gone to Boston College or Notre Dame (the Catholic Ivy legue) , and be somewhat dismissive of people who either did not go, or are not Catholic or much of anything at all.

I enjoy the Catholic faith, but I do struggle with it at times, since it seems mostly that it can create a sense of “false pride” in its adherents. I see Catholics who do not treat other people well, and non-Catholics who are more kinder and open minded than other Catholics.

We might have the Truth compared to the other 5 billion people on the planet. But are we… better?

Everyone think that s/he is better.

19- Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them – out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account. Al Imran(3)

The faith with doctrines of Christians is not fullness. Faith was always fulness since Adam. Humanbeing cannot add something to make it more fullness. Is human better than God?

 

[puzzledtoo]

Since catholics believe they have the fullness of the faith it is understandable that they believe the religion is better. This does not mean necessarily that they believe they are better than others because they are catholic. If that is the case (for catholics or anyone else) this is their egotism manifesting itself.
I don’t believe that any religion in and of itself creates a sense of false pride in its adherents. This would be the egotism of the individual. These are only my opinions-no facts to base them on. Only what I “see” and I believe we see what we believe.

 

[TheAmazingGrace]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Are we more worthwhile people than (nearly) the entire populations of Japan and China?

Are we automatically kinder,more tolerant, and more level-headed than non-Catholics? Are the above described values even worthwhile?

Heh, no!

 

[porthos11]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Are we more worthwhile people than (nearly) the entire populations of Japan and China?

Are we automatically kinder,more tolerant, and more level-headed than non-Catholics? Are the above described values even worthwhile?

It just seems to me that with a lot of people being Catholic is just a matter of identity or tribalism in a sense. They will pride themselves on having gone to Boston College or Notre Dame (the Catholic Ivy legue) , and be somewhat dismissive of people who either did not go, or are not Catholic or much of anything at all.

I enjoy the Catholic faith, but I do struggle with it at times, since it seems mostly that it can create a sense of “false pride” in its adherents. I see Catholics who do not treat other people well, and non-Catholics who are more kinder and open minded than other Catholics.

We might have the Truth compared to the other 5 billion people on the planet. But are we… better?

Heck, no. Catholics can be just as evil as the next guy.

And non-Catholics can be just as big jerks as Catholics.

Worry about your own soul.

 

[Polycarp1]

The Faith is perfect… the faithful are not.

 

[HabemusFrancis]

The Faith is perfect… the faithful are not.

But are the faithful…better than the heretic,schismatic, pagan or Jew?

 

[phil19034]

But are the faithful…better than the heretic,schismatic, pagan or Jew?

this is a loaded question, which really needs a good hour to discuss in detail (i.e. one lecture in a college Theology course)

The short answer is “yes and no”

 

[TheTrinitySaves]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Are we more worthwhile people than (nearly) the entire populations of Japan and China?

Are we automatically kinder,more tolerant, and more level-headed than non-Catholics? Are the above described values even worthwhile?

It just seems to me that with a lot of people being Catholic is just a matter of identity or tribalism in a sense. They will pride themselves on having gone to Boston College or Notre Dame (the Catholic Ivy legue) , and be somewhat dismissive of people who either did not go, or are not Catholic or much of anything at all.

I enjoy the Catholic faith, but I do struggle with it at times, since it seems mostly that it can create a sense of “false pride” in its adherents. I see Catholics who do not treat other people well, and non-Catholics who are more kinder and open minded than other Catholics.

We might have the Truth compared to the other 5 billion people on the planet. But are we… better?

No.

 

[pianistclare]

**I think, if one is truly Catholic, it is better to BE one. **

None of us can rank others though. No no no.

 

[PluniaZ]

In my experience, Catholics are more aware of their sinfulness, more contrite, and have a greater fear of God’s perfect justice, and are more earnest to seek His Mercy.

Even the arch-secular humanist Voltaire stated that he never saw anything more impressive than Roman Catholics who left everything to take care of the sick in hospitals.

 

[PluniaZ]

Follow Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis, but resist the evil popes

Stop trying to cause schism.

 

[TheTrinitySaves]

Stop trying to cause schism.

If you blindly follow a pope, that’s on you.

 

[kc456]

I admit I am put off by some of the “better than you” attitude. I sometimes go to the Lutheran Service where I have kids in school (our church has no school), and I really enjoy it. There is a lot of energy, and I praise Jesus through beautiful music and get a lot out of the speaking part. How to love others. Pretty darn simple.

And a lot of Catholics frown on their members going to a Lutheran service. Jesus is Jesus. There is not a Catholic God and then a Lutheran God. I understand there are difference in the faiths. But when someone has a problem with a Catholic feeling a connection to God at the Lutheran service, and wanting to be a better person and help others through that, well…I think we’ve lost some perspective. It’s about loving God and others!

 

[Iron_Donkey]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Yep.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Are we more worthwhile people than (nearly) the entire populations of Japan and China?

Are we automatically kinder,more tolerant, and more level-headed than non-Catholics?

Nope. Being a member of a religion doesn’t even necessarily mean that you automatically know everything it teaches, much less follow it. Further, kindness and the like are not exclusive to Catholicism, nor even the main point (though they are important).

Are the above described values even worthwhile?

Yep. They aren’t everything, but they’re pretty important.

It just seems to me that with a lot of people being Catholic is just a matter of identity or tribalism in a sense. They will pride themselves on having gone to Boston College or Notre Dame (the Catholic Ivy legue) , and be somewhat dismissive of people who either did not go, or are not Catholic or much of anything at all.

I enjoy the Catholic faith, but I do struggle with it at times, since it seems mostly that it can create a sense of “false pride” in its adherents. I see Catholics who do not treat other people well, and non-Catholics who are more kinder and open minded than other Catholics.

We might have the Truth compared to the other 5 billion people on the planet. But are we… better?

Forming “tribes” is a pretty standard human thing, and not just a Catholic thing. Some Catholics will fall into that pretty hard, some won’t, just like some Baptists, Muslims, etc. But tribes is not what it’s about, nor is being better than other people. As you say, Catholicism teaches that it has the fullness of revealed truth. Our focus, as Catholics, should be to follow and spread that truth, and to be the best person we can be.

That others, both Catholic and not, will be better than us at being kind is just a fact. You don’t need the fullness of revealed truth to know that you should be kind (though it may help direct your kindness). The goal of being Catholic is not to be better than other people, but to move closer to God. And God doesn’t much care if we’re better than others, but rather what we do with what we have (see the parable of the talents).

 

[MaryT777]

**I think, if one is truly Catholic, it is better to BE one. **

None of us can rank others though. No no no.

Exactly, only God can judge hearts.

 

[fisherman_carl]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Not necessarily better than others. But, hopefully better than we were before. Everyone is different and has their own unique set of challenges. One thing may be easy for one person while being extremely difficult for another. That is why we cannot compare ourselves to others. Only God can judge any of us as he knows us better than we know ourselves.

Now one thing that being Catholic does give us is a standard of goodness, namely Jesus’ example of sacrificial love. Some people might believe that it doesn’t matter if you believe in God or not as long as you are a good person. The problem with this thinking is how do you know if you are a good person? One person thinks killing unborn babies is a good thing and they think they are good person for supporting it. Perhaps even Hitler thought he was a good person for killing Jews. If you follow this philosophy then you are always a good person since you determine what is good. Since whatever you do is good by you and therefore you are a good person. This is obviously flawed. So without God giving a standard of goodness we have no objective way to determine if we are in fact good.

God gives us a conviction that allows us to know where we are not good. So that we can repent. If we ignore this and follow our own way we delude ourselves into thinking our way is good. Evil becomes good for us. GK Chesterton once said we don’t need a religion that agrees with us where we are right but disagrees with us where we are wrong. If the Catholic Church is really guided by God then it has to offer the world the highest form of morality, God’s morality, even if individual Catholics don’t always live up to it.

 

[HabemusFrancis]

I just get sort of confused and distressed sometimes when I witness non Catholics (Muslims,lutherans, secularists) behaving with more integrity and kindness than Catholics I know.

Could this dispairty I see be explained by the parable of the Good Samaritan? In it, a Samaritan ( a member of a despised heretical group) was better behaved than the priest and the levite.

Is the lesson of that parable those who aren’t part of the Church sometimes do God’s will more than some within it?

 

[TheTrinitySaves]

Why would it confuse you?

Popes and priests have acted horrifically and atheists have acted saintly.

The lesson is perhaps that people can be good, kind, loving, generous, ethical, heartfelt, caring, helpful human beings without belonging to a religious faith.

.

Agreed,

 

[jcrichton]

The Church teaches that we have the fullness of faith.

Maybe so. But does being Catholic make us better people than the non Catholics of the world?

Are we more worthwhile people than (nearly) the entire populations of Japan and China?

Are we automatically kinder,more tolerant, and more level-headed than non-Catholics? Are the above described values even worthwhile?

It just seems to me that with a lot of people being Catholic is just a matter of identity or tribalism in a sense. They will pride themselves on having gone to Boston College or Notre Dame (the Catholic Ivy legue) , and be somewhat dismissive of people who either did not go, or are not Catholic or much of anything at all.

I enjoy the Catholic faith, but I do struggle with it at times, since it seems mostly that it can create a sense of “false pride” in its adherents. I see Catholics who do not treat other people well, and non-Catholics who are more kinder and open minded than other Catholics.

We might have the Truth compared to the other 5 billion people on the planet. But are we… better?

Hi!

Jesus’ reply to your query is:

46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

(St. Luke 6:46)
…He also states:

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

(St. Matthew 7:21-23)
Clearly, God Knows that not everyone who professes to Know Him or being in Fellowship with Him is truthful.

…what you’ve stated is false religion… all of us suffer from it–Catholics, non-Catholics… and yes, even atheists.

Though I counsel you against appearances… Catholic or not, God is not swayed by “good” intentions (St. Matthew 5:1-48) and God does hold a deeper understanding of values:

20 For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

(St. Matthew 5:20)
Maran atha!

Angel