Brothers and Sisters in Christ

[vocatio]

As a Catholic, would it be inappropriate to refer to Mormons, Jahovah’s Witnesses, some Pentecostals, some Baptists, Muslims as non-Christians in comparison to non-Catholics which clumps everyone in one group.

The Church does not consider those without valid baptisms in the Trinitarian formula to be Christian. One must be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit to receive a valid baptism recognized by the Church. A baptism in anyone of just the Father…or lets say in the name of Jesus Christ is invalid and not a true baptism.

This is not a slam thread, so keep your slams to yourself. Speak charitably please towards one another. Explanations are in order here to come to an understanding about the differneces. But not to rib each other. Explain your position.

Thoughts?

 

[Publisher]

As a Catholic, would it be inappropriate to refer to Mormons, Jahovah’s Witnesses, some Pentecostals, some Baptists, Muslims as non-Christians in comparison to non-Catholics which clumps everyone in one group.

****The Church does not consider those without valid baptisms in the ****Trinitarian formula to be Christian. One must be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit to receive a valid baptism recognized by the Church. A baptism in anyone of just the Father…or lets say in the name of Jesus Christ is invalid and not a true baptism.

This is not a slam thread, so keep your slams to yourself. Speak charitably please towards one another. Explanations are in order here to come to an understanding about the differneces. But not to rib each other. Explain your position.

Thoughts?

I guess by definition in bold…I am not a Christian…so I have no problem with you deciding…or the RCC deciding I’m not a Christian…I can live with that.

But, it doesn’t matter to me whether someone else considers me a “brother in Christ”…what really matters to me is that** I **believe THEY are my “brothers and sisters in Christ.”

 

[johnnycatholic]

I think using “brothers and sisters in Christ” for non-Christians is a bad idea. Mormons’ understanding of Jesus Christ is different than our understanding of one God in three persons rather than many gods who used to be men. I would refrain from calling them that in order to keep the less informed from assuming that we mean the same thing when we say Jesus or trinity. However, I would call them my brothers and sisters made in the image and likeness of God and do my best to treat them that way.

 

[vocatio]

So, how about brothers and sisters…because we are all children of God, just not in communion together?

 

[Rawb]

I don’t understand what’s wrong with “non-Catholic”. Are they Catholic? No. Therefor by definition they are non-Catholic. In most situations that’s all the information needed.

“Why don’t you use your one of your sisters to be the godmother?”

“They’re non-Catholic”.

There you go. I for one don’t understand why everyone cares what they’re being called by others. Being called an infidel doesn’t offend me, or a gentile, or even a Papist. At most it makes me laugh (especially when I had to explain what a gentile was to my ‘Jewish’ friend).

I know the non-Trinitarians are non-Christians, but in most cases it doesn’t matter if we distinguish between the two. If we’re talking about specific beliefs of individual protestant sects, then we aught to be using “Baptist”, “Lutheran” etc. as these differ amongst themselves, so distinction has to be made. In general, it doesn’t make much of a difference.

 

[rpp]

As a Catholic, would it be inappropriate to refer to Mormons, Jahovah’s Witnesses, some Pentecostals, some Baptists, Muslims as non-Christians in comparison to non-Catholics which clumps everyone in one group.

The Church does not consider those without valid baptisms in the Trinitarian formula to be Christian. One must be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit to receive a valid baptism recognized by the Church. A baptism in anyone of just the Father…or lets say in the name of Jesus Christ is invalid and not a true baptism.

This is not a slam thread, so keep your slams to yourself. Speak charitably please towards one another. Explanations are in order here to come to an understanding about the differneces. But not to rib each other. Explain your position.

Thoughts?

A couple of things. The Church has ruled that Mormon baptisms are not valid.

Jehovah’s witnesses do not believe in the Trinity and thus their baptism would be invalid.

Muslims do not baptize nor do they believe in the Trinity.

Baptism confers an indelible mark on someone and THAT is what makes them a Christian. Mormons, JW and Muslims are no Christian because if they baptize at all, their baptism is invalid.

The above points are not intended as an insult to anyone. Although I think some Muslim may be insulted that someone might consider them some type of Christian.

 

[Publisher]

“For what does it profit if we abstain from fish and fowl and yet bite and devour our brothers and sisters? The evil speaker eats the flesh of his brother and bites the body of his neighbor.” St. John Chrysostom

I like your “signature” from Friend John Chrysostom.

As a Friend, we believe we have an “indelible” mark upon us as we have been baptized into the Body of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit, without the outward form of water.

It has been said by Friends, “A man can enter the waters of baptism a “dry sinner” and come out a “wet sinner”, but no one can be baptized in the Holy Spirit and remain the same.”

The “one baptism” that Friend’s proclaim that truly makes us a member of the Body of Christ is through the Holy Spirit. We are a vast minority…but that’s ok, it still remains the work of the Holy Spirit to work His regeneration upon us…