Are Protestants taught to be Anti-Catholic?

[christcnection1]

I grew up Roman Catholic and felt I was taught that everyone else was wrong. I remember very frankly stating to a friend of mine who was methodist that he was not going to heaven because he wasn’t Roman Catholic.

I’m sorry you had that experience in the Catholic Church. Many people experience things in the Church that may have nothing to do with actual Church teaching. Perhaps if you encountered Jesus in a powerful way in a different Catholic you would have never converted.

After leaving the Church for various reasons I started attending Worship services at a non-denominational church. Their doctrines are written pretty clearly. They hold that the Bible is the revelation God and our ultimate infallible authority.

Yes, they do, but the Bible itself never makes the claim to be the ultimate infallible authority. Besides, the Bible is not infallible; it’s inerrant.

Do you know what the Bible says is “the pillar and bulwark of the truth?” It is the church, not the Bible alone. (1 Tim 3:15)

The Bible affirms an apostolic and authoritative Church to guide God’s children. The Bible does not support the belief that it alone is the sole rule of faith, and that each person can accurately interpret it for themselves.

I’m in no way undervaluing the word of God! His people would be pretty lost without it.

After reading the NT about 4 times I realize how arrogant my comments were to my methodist friend. Jesus tells us that salvation is through him.

We agree.

It’s not through any church.

We disagree.

catholic.com/thisrock/2005/0512fea3.asp

When we confess our acceptance of Jesus as our personal saviour we are saved and automatically become a member of His church.

We would say yes and no to that belief. If you want to take into account all the Bible, this is a deep question, which takes into account other factors.

catholic.com/library/Necessity_of_Baptism.asp

The Pope has no authority to tell anyone that salvation is through the Catholic church.

It sounds like your are misinterpreting the Church’s teaching. Have you even read most of this thread before you posted this comment?

Salvation is through Jesus and Jesus alone. I find the whole Dominus Iesus document to be judgemental which Jesus tells us not to do.

We believe this too – just not in the way you do. Again, you are misinterpreting what we actually believe. I encourage you to not remain in your ignorance, but to seek out what the Church truly teaches on these issues.

The beliefs that are different between Catholics and Protestants have no impact on salvation. You either believe with your heart in Jesus or you don’t.

Ideas have consequences, but ultimately God knows all things. Yes, it’s necessary for a person to have Jesus in their heart. However, I strongly disagree that beliefs are not important; otherwise, the writers of the Bible would not have made a big fuss over all these issues.

I wish the bickering would stop because I feel that other non-Christian religions are laughing at us, saying that we Christians can’t even get along with one another. All Christians, Catholic/Protestant/Non-denom/whatever need to focus on the great commission in Matthew and focus on spreading the Gospel of Jesus to the lost. There are many people who need to be saved and Christian in-fighting doesn’t set a good example.

Your spirit of charity and unity is admirable. You seem like you have a lot o love for the Lord, and for all His children. This is more important than anything, but I strongly encourage you, my friend, to research the true teachings of the Catholic Chuch.

There are many Biblical reason why hundreds of former Protestant ministers and pastors have converted to the Catholic faith in recent years. They are discovering the rich Biblical truths found in oldest institution on earth: the Holy Catholic Church.

www.chnetwork.com

Peace and God Bless all of you

Thank you. You too!

 

[rafaelcatolico]

I am not sure that all protestants do it, but I know for a fact that mormons at least, teach the Catholic church is the “great whore of babylon” and that all other protestant churches are “her harlot daughters” Scary huh? they do this to keep members from wondering off and finding the truth, thats the only reason!!!

 

[lak611]

I am not sure that all protestants do it, but I know for a fact that mormons at least, teach the Catholic church is the “great whore of babylon” and that all other protestant churches are “her harlot daughters” Scary huh? they do this to keep members from wondering off and finding the truth, thats the only reason!!!

Mormons are not Protestants, they are non-Christians.

 

[Writer]

My niece is staying with us and she is a Seventh Day Adventist. We were discussing religon and I found her to have a litany of problems with the church. She is 18 and I wondered when she had time to study The Church and come up with these problems, so I asked her. She stated that she was taught in her church what was wrong with the Catholic Chrurch. I found this remarkable. I have never been taught about other sects either in Catholic School or during mass.

So back to my question? Is this true of all protestants? Are they taught to believe certain things are wrong with the Church? Do they do the same with other sects or just The Church?

And the last question… WHY? Why is it so important to teach about what you believe is wrong with the Church? In fact I find it sort of “telling” that they spend so much time trying to preach against the Chruch.

For some reason, the Seventh Day Adventists seem more anti-Catholic than just about any other Protestant denomination. I never was taught anti-Catholic teachings directly, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not taking place elsewhere. It’s those quiet untruths that family’s and friends pass down to their children that really seems to do the harm. False ideas about what Catholics hold to be true which simply aren’t questioned. Smart people accepting silly and shallow arguments.

 

[Cat]

A word about the “practical” aspect of this question.

Christians from non-Catholic ecclesial communities (AKA Protestant) enjoy many, many MANY opportunities to learn throughout their lives.

I grew up not only with worship services on Sunday, but also Sunday school, pastor’s class, Pioneer Clubs, VBS, and missionary conferences. When I was a teenager, the opportunities increased. There were various youth Bible studies and classes all the time, and youth seminars and conferences and classes.

And adults have just as many learning opportunities!

And of course, there are the many written Bible studies and books that they can read and study in private.

There were several times in my Protestant life that I took classes or attended Bible studies that talked about the differences between our denomination and other churches/denominations/world religions.

In fact, when I was teaching Children’ Missionary Conference in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, we used a catechism that is actually used by Missionary Kids (MKs) that described the major non-Christian religions of the world. The descriptons were extremely respectful, and concentrated more on the simliarities between us rather than the differences.

So yes, Protestants do have the opportunity to be “taught” about other religions, including Catholicism. Whether or not they are taught to be “anti-Catholic” depends on the teacher and the denomination. Thankfully, I was always taught that Catholics are Christians, too, but that they practice their faith differently (Mass) than Protestants.

And as long as I have your attention–I think that it would be good if Catholics had this many opportunities growing up to learn about their faith, their Church and above all, their Savior. We want to see better-catechized Catholics–well, that takes TIME and effort. A once-a-week trip to CCD isn’t going to accomplish it. Ideally the catechesis should take place in the home, taught by parents, but many parents don’t feel equal to the tasks. I realize that kids are already busy to the max, but what else are you gonna do? Sleep teaching?

 

[mark_a]

Some are taught very specifically to be anti-Catholic. I had friends from my childhood whose parents were very anti-Catholic, filled with the biggest lies by their pastors and kinfolk.

 

[Gamera]

Seventh Day Adventism, unlike Protetantism, has anti-Catholicism as a part of its very doctrine.

Let me put it this way. Protestants believe “A,B, and C” are true doctrines, and then since Catholics disagree with doctrine “C”, Protestants believe that Catholics are wrong. Some are nice about it and some aren’t, but none of them treat the part where “Catholics are wrong” as an actual doctrine alongside A, B and C.

But Seventh Day Adventists believe, “A, B, C and Catholics are Wrong.” That’s the difference. It’s part of their very doctrine. It’s part of the alleged revelation that their founder had that the Catholic Church is a false religion.

 

[christcnection1]

Some are taught very specifically to be anti-Catholic. I had friends from my childhood whose parents were very anti-Catholic, filled with the biggest lies by their pastors and kinfolk.

Yes, it’s actually very sick. In some places, the Catholic Church is still “the whore of Babylon” and the Pope is the “Anti-Christ.”

My understanding is that SDAs believe that Catholics will one day mandate Sunday Sabbath (meaning no one could practice it on Saturday) and kill all those who don’t obey them.

I’m sure there are many examples of this garbage. Fortunately that vast majority do not have this perspective, even if they have their disagreements.

 

[mozart-250]

My niece is staying with us and she is a Seventh Day Adventist. We were discussing religon and I found her to have a litany of problems with the church. She is 18 and I wondered when she had time to study The Church and come up with these problems, so I asked her. She stated that she was taught in her church what was wrong with the Catholic Chrurch. I found this remarkable. I have never been taught about other sects either in Catholic School or during mass.

So back to my question? Is this true of all protestants? Are they taught to believe certain things are wrong with the Church? Do they do the same with other sects or just The Church?

And the last question… WHY? Why is it so important to teach about what you believe is wrong with the Church? In fact I find it sort of “telling” that they spend so much time trying to preach against the Chruch.

I suppose it depends upon your church.

In the 13 years or so, I have not heard our pastor speak negatively on any orthodox denomination, Catholic included. It is not our style. I guess we are to concerned with reaching our county for Christ to be caught up that much in denominationism. We would be happy if God started to bless all of the (orthodox) churches in our county.

When Catholics are mentioned it is always positive. I still remember a message 3-4 months ago that centered on St. Patrick for example.

 

[MelanieAnne]

I know people who are some variety of Presbyterian (I don’t know all the different types, but they say they are “conservative” Presbyterian) who have classes at their church on “Contending with the Cults” ~ it’s an elective Sunday School class for adults, part of their Sunday program. In “Contending with the Cults” the students are taught how to debate/discuss/proselytize to those their church considers “Cults” ~ Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, etc. Catholics are also included and are considered “non-Christian”.

The intent of these classes is give the students the skills to reach out to those they consider “unbelievers” in what they hope is a loving way, to bring them to Jesus, because they believe that the alternative is the fires of hell for all “unbelievers”.

I have also heard Catholics routinely described as “Non-Christian” by certain "Evangelical’-type Christians. Sometimes the word “Pagan” is used to describe Catholics, and it is meant in a derogatory way.

 

[Dirk_Skene]

I was a protesant for 20 years. The entire time I was told that the True Bible Beliving Christians (Catholics) were god-forsaken heathan devil worshopers. Maybey it was a southern thing. I don;t know.

 

[Jennifer_G]

Maybe it was just me, and I didn’t grasp it, but growing up Lutheran, we didn’t even learn of other denominations, much less talk about them. The only time anything about Catholicism was hinted at was during Reformation anniversaries when they talked about Luther breaking away from the Catholic Church, and the pope. In fact, I didn’t even know any other denomination existed – I didn’t grasp the fact that they did the few times we went to a relative’s Catholic Church for a wedding or something (maybe it was my learning disabilities at play, who knows…). There was a brief mention of “the first 400 years ‘before the church became corrupt’” in a video we watched (they never mentioned “HOW” it became corrupt, though, just that it did.), then there was this 1100 year gap. (one of the reasons I started to look at the Catholic church later on).

 

[lorathon]

Thank you for all of the answers.

I see now that not all protestants spread anti-catholic teachings. I am glad that I asked so I did not get the wrong impression.

Thanks

 

[Zooey]

Seventh Day Adventism, unlike Protetantism, has anti-Catholicism as a part of its very doctrine.

Let me put it this way. Protestants believe “A,B, and C” are true doctrines, and then since Catholics disagree with doctrine “C”, Protestants believe that Catholics are wrong. Some are nice about it and some aren’t, but none of them treat the part where “Catholics are wrong” as an actual doctrine alongside A, B and C.

But Seventh Day Adventists believe, “A, B, C and Catholics are Wrong.” That’s the difference. It’s part of their very doctrine. It’s part of the alleged revelation that their founder had that the Catholic Church is a false religion.

Yes, this is true. There seems to be a lot of SDA doctrine centered on being them against the rest of the world, anyway, but when it comes to Catholics, it gets really bad.

Growing up, I can say that I never heard the Catholic Church being presented as wrong, except as Catholic and Wesleyan teachings differed. I have heard some individuals who were pretty obviously anti-Catholic, but my Mama & my grandmother were too quick to shut them down, for me to have heard what their ideas were…

 

[Dulcimer]

I wish the bickering would stop because I feel that other non-Christian religions are laughing at us, saying that we Christians can’t even get along with one another. All Christians, Catholic/Protestant/Non-denom/whatever need to focus on the great commission in Matthew and focus on spreading the Gospel of Jesus to the lost. There are many people who need to be saved and Christian in-fighting doesn’t set a good example.

Peace and God Bless all of you

You put your finger right on the sore spot! AMEN! I’m not for peace at any price, but certainly there should be peace within the family of God! We’re all sheep, pointing at the herd going “Goat! Goat! Goat!”

We seem to forget that the “Church” is us…all of us…some from every tribe, tongue and nation. It’s not a building, and it’s not a sect. It’s a conglomeration of humans awaiting their glorious union with Christ, The Bridegroom in heavan.

And the other religions DO mock us and brush off the whole concept of salvation because they see very clearly that Christianity (regardless of denomination) has not produced very much love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, etc. among us!

I fear that the Great Commission gets thrown by the wayside when we spend all our time trying to correct our brethren (speck vs. log) and evangelize the already-saved…

 

[BlestOne]

My dh grew up Lutheran. His pastor’s best friend was a Catholic priest. My pastor’s best friend was a Lutheran minister… whether they were best friends I don’t know, but I do know that his confirmation class came to my parish for a tour and they compared likenesses/differences in the churches, liturgies, etc…

OTOH, I grew up cradle Catholic and we never even did a compare/contrast. We were only taught about our own faith.

My dh’s brother went to the same school dh did (BIL is 10 yrs older than dh) and he grew up very anti-Catholic and even taught his daughter to hate Catholics.

All this made for a lovely time when dh converted and when planning our wedding… Unfortunately his brother and niece didn’t bother to show up for the wedding.

 

[BeluvdLily]

I grew up Protestant. Just converted to Catholicism this previous December and I’m so thankful for that. However, I also feel thankful to my Protestant roots which were just all part of my journey home.

We attended a United Church of Christ growing up. No mention or bashing of Catholics there whatsoever.

I attended a Baptist church for a short while in my youth with my ex-husband’s family. No mention of Catholicism or any bashing there.

As an adult, I attended a non-denominational church, Unity, and also never heard anything negative or even mentioning Catholicism there either. Nothing anti-Catholic.

While apparently there are many churches and religions out there which are anti-Catholic, I have had the good fortune to never encounter them anywhere I went so it is definitely not the case in all Protestant religions.

Amie

 

[christcnection1]

I grew up Protestant. Just converted to Catholicism this previous December and I’m so thankful for that. However, I also feel thankful to my Protestant roots which were just all part of my journey home.

We attended a United Church of Christ growing up. No mention or bashing of Catholics there whatsoever.

I attended a Baptist church for a short while in my youth with my ex-husband’s family. No mention of Catholicism or any bashing there.

As an adult, I attended a non-denominational church, Unity, and also never heard anything negative or even mentioning Catholicism there either. Nothing anti-Catholic.

While apparently there are many churches and religions out there which are anti-Catholic, I have had the good fortune to never encounter them anywhere I went so it is definitely not the case in all Protestant religions.

Amie

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT!

Unfortunately, I think many Catholics perceive there is more hate than there actually is. When there is something that appears to be hatred, it’s often based on the something the Church does not actually teach.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said “There are not one hundred people on the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are thousands who hate what they think the Catholic Church is.”

 

[rafaelcatolico]

Mormons are not Protestants, they are non-Christians.

true!

 

[kedera]

I’m Southern Baptist, considering converting to Catholicsim. My Daddy is a SB deacon, and has many Catholic views himself (but still quite Baptist). I have never run into any anti-Catholic people in my experiance in Southern Baptist Churchs, or really any of the other protestant churches I have visited. However, I have somewhat with the more hard-core Baptist, such as Missionary Baptists. Most of the time Protestants really don’t say anything at all about Catholics.

Well, it comes down to the specific Church really. I mean, you can have one SB Church (other protestant churches too) that is very different than another, depending on where it is, the preacher, the location and any other number of factors. Even beliefs can vary, even within a Church! This is one reason I am attracted to the Catholic Church.