Are Other Denominations of Christianity Christian?

[JoyccTheTrucker]

The word Christian has its basis in the phrase “one of Christ’s” , or “Christ one”. Anyone who A) tries their best to follow Christ’s teaching, and B) believes that Christ is God the Son, and C) believes that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons, one God, is a Christian. The Protestants have parts of the Truth, and they do their best in context of what they do know. They just haven’t yet learned the fullness of Truth. But they are still Christians.

 

[awesomecatholic]

Your friend is incorrect. Catholics consider Methodists,Anglicans,Lutheran etc. to be Christian, the Catholic church just says some of their beliefs are false.

 

[TC3033]

OK, I won’t deny you that…just the same where I’ve seen here (and in other places) some Catholics say that non-Catholics aren’t Christians. I guess it’s a circle of where you are and who’s the minority…

 

[TomH1]

I did not say that the Eastern or Oriental Orthodox are in communion with the Catholic Church. I know they are not. The Catholic Church does, however, recognise them as canonical churches. She calls them non-Catholic Christian churches (emphasis mine).

 

[TomH1]

The post to which I replied was immediately after mine. I, therefore, inferred you were addressing what I had said.

Then as you rightly point out the OP is wrong, The Orthodox are not in communion with the Catholics.

 

[TomH1]

Apology unnecessary. I am relatively new here and still getting used to what happens. I try to hit ‘Reply’ or quote someone if I am replying to them to make it clear. If I am just generally contributing to the thread and not addressing a particular post I don’t do this. Unfortunately, I have done the latter on a few occasions after posts written by a particular member who has not always been happy believing I was directly responding to said member’s posts.

 

[ELCore]

Apology unnecessary. I am relatively new here and still getting used to what happens. I try to hit ‘Reply’ or quote someone if I am replying to them to make it clear.

This board can be very confusing to read some times. I highlighted your three sentences before I clicked on “Reply” so they would be quoted here. That way, I think it’s easier to understand what I am replying to.

 

[De_Maria]

Hey there everyone. So I got myself involved in a bit of a debate a couple days ago with a Catholic who denied that non-Catholic denominations are truly “Christian.” …

I’ve read a smattering of the replies. And a lot of people will probably dislike my answer, but I kind of agree with the kid.

First, let’s examine your introductory sentence. You describe him as saying,
“denied that non-Catholic denominations are truly “Christian.””

Let’s look at the word, “truly”. What does he mean by “not “truly” Christian”? Does he mean that they are not Christian to the fullest degree? If that is so, I would have to agree.

The Catechism says:

838 The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized

First thing to note. Many non-Catholics don’t believe in Baptism. A large percentage don’t practice it. Another percentage practice it but not with the same intent as the Church, merely as a symbol. Here, on page 2, is a list of “Christians” whose baptisms are not accepted.

who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety

Second, to me this phrase could easily read,

who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the CHRISTIAN faith in its entirety

And it would mean the same thing.

or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."322

In fact, they have waged war on the Catholic Church and still today despise her. What did Jesus say about that situation?

Matthew 12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

And again:

Luke 10:16 Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

The Catholic Church Teaches that the Pope is Jesus’ Emissary. Does that not mean that those who reject the Pope also reject Jesus? I don’t see how it could possibly be otherwise.

Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church."323

Again, notice the emphasis on Baptism. Does the Catholic Church even mention anybody who describes themselves as Christian but is not validly baptized?

With the Orthodox Churches , this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist."324

Anyway, that’s why I think, the kid you were talking to, is right.

 

[LawyersGunsAndMoney]

It’s crystal clear that the Church considers the vast majority of Protestant denominations to be Christian. It’s right there in the Catechism, plain as day. I can’t believe people are still playing junior varsity canon lawyer on this very basic question.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Again, notice the emphasis on Baptism. Does the Catholic Church even mention anybody who describes themselves as Christian but is not validly baptized?

At least in some branches of fundamentalism, baptism is seen as necessary in some sense, but not as absolutely crucial, “you will not be saved if you haven’t done it yet”, as it is in traditional Catholicism. For one thing, they practice full immersion (either in a baptismal pool within the church building, or in a natural setting such as a lake or river), and that is not practical if one is confined to bed, or in a hospital or nursing home. They wouldn’t regard pouring or sprinkling as true baptism.

Anyone who has been baptized with the trinitarian formula, with the intention of doing what the Church does (even if they would disclaim that the Catholic Church has the divine mandate to determine what constitutes baptism), is a Christian.

If they are Orthodox, they are schismatic, though they do not realize this and in fact regard us as the schismatics. They are not heretics; as far as I know, the Orthodox Church does not teach a single actual heresy (I do wonder whether their practice of using economia to ratify divorce constitutes heresy).

Protestants and other evangelical Christians are at least material heretics, meaning that they do not know they are heretics and are in good faith about how they interpret Christianity. “Heretic”, though, does not sound like a nice word (originally it was merely a neutral descriptive term meaning “he who chooses”), so we say “separated brethren” who are in “imperfect communion”. Often it is not so much what they do believe, as what they do not believe — “partial truth”, if you will.