Are Protestants Christian?

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levi86

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I’m speaking here in very general terms, I’m sure there are exceptions to every rule.

I’m not speaking of who will be saved, but of who can legitimately be considered a Christian.

My personal opinion is that only those Churches that can legitimately trace their heritage back to the Apostles can call themselves Christians.
 
What an ironic title! Frequently, fundamentalists asks if Catholics are Christians, usually supplementing their doubt with false accusations of Marian worship. I most certainly think that they all are Christians.
 
I would say Trinitarian Protestants that recognize both Christs resurection and Divinity are Christians. They don’t have the Fullness of truth and sacraments the way Catholics do.
 
The Catechism says that they are indeed Christian – they are in imperfect communion with the Church.
 
As a Traditional Catholic, I am most positive all will agree that protestants are indeed Christians. There is no question about that and therefore this poll should be modified. Catechisms and Councils of the past also stated they are indeed Christians, however they are “heretics”. Trent even stated that their baptisms are indeed valid, even if they do not believe in the efficacy of the Sacrament.

Being a heretic does not make you “not Christian”.

Ken
 
levi86 said:
My personal opinion is that only those Churches that can legitimately trace their heritage back to the Apostles can call themselves Christians.
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The personal opinion above is not in line with the Council of Trent. If so the Council would have declared their baptisms to be invalid, however it did the exact opposite declaring their baptisms to indeed be valid.

Getting baptized - even when you are in infant- even if the person doing it does not believe what it does- makes you a Christian. And as long as the person as an adult believes in the Trinity as described by the Council of Nicea- they are still a Christian yet in imperfect communion with the Church. - Yet there are even Catholics who “do not believe”- “through no fault of their own” what the “Trinity” definition is or even understand it.

Only those Churches where their priests, bishops and deacons can trace their ordinations back to one of the 12 Apostles can call themselves “validly ordained”… now either “Catholic” having the fulnesss of Christian Truth is one, “schismatic” is another and heretic is the one Protestants fall under - yet they have no valid holy orders.

Ken
 
They are truely Christians, but just do not have the fullness of the Catholic Church.
 
levi86 said:
My personal opinion is that only those Churches that can legitimately trace their heritage back to the Apostles can call themselves Christians.
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kleary said:
The personal opinion above is not in line with the Council of Trent. If so the Council would have declared their baptisms to be invalid, however it did the exact opposite declaring their baptisms to indeed be valid.
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😃
I just invited St. Paul the Apostle, St. Ignatius a disciple of the Apostle John and St. Athanasius an Early Church Father, to answer this question! All three have agreed to answer in testimony to The Truth. This is our Senior Panel of Advisors!

I will begin by attempting to define “Protestant”: The term Protestant is derived from “Protestor” and is commonly related to any christian who is in oppositon to the authority and teachings of the Catholic Church. These are christians who believe in justification by faith alone, christians who also believe that the scriptures “alone”, by self-interpretation… is sufficiant to obtain the fullness of Truth delivered through the Gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ.

**Most Protestants reject “Sacred Tradition”… **the “handing on” across the centuries of “God’s revelation” from one generation of believers to the next. It was done by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from His way of life and His works, or whether they had learned it by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

To the Senior Panel of Advisors… Are Protestants Christian?

“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God… They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.”-St. Ignatius 110 AD

“Let us note that the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, was preached by the Apostles, and was preserved by the Fathers. On this was the church founded; and if anyone departs from this, he neither is nor any longer ought to be called a Christian…” -St. Athanasius 360 AD

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed!” -St. Paul, Gal 1:8

St. Ignatius Has Been Banned
St. Athanasius Has Been Banned
St. Paul Has Been Banned
 
Seeing this thread on a Catholic site is embarrassing. I’m embarrassed, as a Catholic, to see such a question posed. I find it offensive from my point of view. 😦
 
Santos said:
“Let us note that the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, was preached by the Apostles, and was preserved by the Fathers. On this was the church founded; and if anyone departs from this, he neither is nor any longer ought to be called a Christian…” -St. Athanasius 360 AD
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Great quote.👍
 
Dumbest question ever…
Real Question are Catholics Christian
 
Bravo…If it wasn’t for Catholicism, protestantism wouldn’t be.
 
ComradeAndrei said:
Bravo…If it wasn’t for Catholicism, protestantism wouldn’t be.
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:clapping:

“We are obliged to yield many things to the Catholics - that they posses the Word of God which we received from them, otherwise we should have known nothing at all about it” -Martin Luther
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses this topic and says:
1271 Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.” (2nd Vatican Council, Unitatis redintegratio 3) “Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.” (ibid., 22 § 2.)
 
Todd_Easton said:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses this topic and says:
1271 Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “**For men who believe in Christ **and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.” (2nd Vatican Council, Unitatis redintegratio 3) “Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.” (ibid., 22 § 2.)
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That section of the Catechism is highly ambiguous, in that it introduces a concept that is not defined. How does one define “faith in Christ”?

Mormons have faith in Christ
Jehovah’s Witnesses have faith in Christ
Muslims have faith in Christ

“Faith in Christ” is dependant upon ones own theology.What beliefs constitute a Christian?
 
myfavoritmartin said:
Dumbest question ever…
Real Question are Catholics Christian
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The Christian Church of the New Testament holds the key to True Christianity. (Read this very carefully, you might be surprised!)

St. Ignatius of Antioch (98-117 AD) is an “Apostolic Father” by reason of him being a disciple of the Apostle John. St. Ignatius was a martyr, thrown to the lions in the roman arena. On his journey from Antioch to Rome and martyrdom he wrote seven letters, addressed to the Christians at Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia and Smyrna.

Sound familiar? “Ephesus, Philadelphia, Smyrna…(Rev 1:11)” He’s writing to the original and 1st Christians, as we know them from the New Testament Scriptures. We also know that the one True Church had bishops, priests, and deacons (1 Tim 3:1, 8; 5:17). Bishops are the successor’s of the apostles. We have the first account of this with Judas’s Successor (Acts 1:15).

St. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Evodius, who was the immediate successor of St. Peter the Apostle. St. Ignatius was taught by the Apostle John, and was a bishop, succeeding the role of apostle; a “shephard” to the people. An authoritative “head” to the original and 1st Christians, to the one faith, the one church.

These are some of the writings to the original and 1st Christians, from St. Ignatius of Antioch on his way to martyrdom (110 AD - about 300 years before there was the New Testament Bible):

Concerning Heretics: “They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again.”

Further down on the same letter he writes, “You must all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery (priests) as you would the Apostles. Reverence the deacons as you would the command of God. Let no one do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”

**St. Ignatius’ letter indicates that by 110 AD, the original and 1st Christian Church was already well known as the “Catholic Church.” This also is, as he has written, the faith of the original and 1st Christians. **

This is the Christian Church of the New Testament, the the Body of Christ (Col 1:18; Eph 5:30; Rom 12:4-5) United by one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father (Eph 4:3-6), Consecrated in Truth (Jn 17:19). Christ is the head of the body, the church (Col 1:18). Christ and His Church are One.

"Whoever listens to you (Church) listens to me. Whoever rejects you (Church) rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." (Lk 10:16)
myfavoritmartin said:
Dumbest question ever…
Real Question are Catholics Christian
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**Is it possible to have “True” Christianity outside of the Catholic Church?.. **If your answer is “yes”, then you need to re-read this post a little more carefully. Never-the-less all the yes’s in the world won’t change Apostolic Teachings or the original and 1st Christian Church… 2000 years and still standing, “the gates of hell will never prevail against Christ’s Church.” (Mt 16:18)

Great Topic! A Catholic can present true Christianity as handed down by Sacred Tradition. You go to any protestant thread and ask… “Are Catholics Christian?” :nope:
 
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