Firstly, thanks to everyone who knew I was sincere with this and offered me help.
Secondly, YADA & water, I know you guys have probably had bad experiences about this subject with protestants and your frustration shows this, but really you have to see things from the other side.
A question was asked in another thread “who’s a better Christian, Catholics or Protestants”. (or something like that)
This is a difficult question to answer because I think the two are judged to different standards.
What would make a good Catholic is obedience to the Church, partaking of sacraments, The Rosary, etc.
What’s makes a good Protestant is obedience to God’s word.
I would wager that on average, most Catholics do not read their Bible daily, wheras Protestants do. Wheras most Catholics can recite prayers and other things pertaining to the Church.
It’s a different criteria for each, and while no doubt there are Catholics who are well versed with the Bible, I would wager they are no where near the majority.
So what’s the easier road?
I believe it’s much easier to be a Good Catholic than a Good Protestant. This is one of the reasons I’m attracted to Catholicism.
If you have an interpretation problem as a Catholic and need an explanation, there is this organziation you can go to that will give you the right answer (believed so) because it comes from St. Peter, and you are told that all other explanations outside Holy Mother Church are not to be heeded to because they are not of the fold.
But if you are a Protestant, you have to rely on Systematic Theologies and even in many cases learn Ancient Greek to try to deduce the meaning.
- There are many people who do that and come up with different Theologies.
It’s not as simple as “OMG I can’t believe you don’t get it” if you are a Protestant.
If you are a Catholic and you make an interpretive mistake that leads you to sin unaware, you can be absolved at Confession + gain clarification and go on your way.
And when you die, your relatives can light candles to free you from purgatory, great deal. (if it’s true)
If you’re a Protestant and you make an interpretive mistake, firstly, how do you know it’s a mistake? You can argue it’s a mistake, but others argue it’s not.
So you start using Logic, and Philosophy, and even reading Church Tradition, and learning Koine Greek, all this while your average Catholic is sitting at home watching TV with their kids.
It’s hard, and there’s no clarification to rest upon apart fromgoing through all 66 books of the Bible and seeing what keeps in line with God’s plan.
In short, the average Protestant earnestly seeks God’s truth and devotes pretty much all their life to it to walk in the right way, while the Catholic simply has to walk in the way that Holy Mother Church says, no Greek lessons, no Systematic Theologies, just simple obedience.
So maybe now you can understand why Protestants are extra careful not to disobey Jesus.
Whether they are right or wrong at the end of the day is somewhat moot, but their faith is great in the lengths that they go to.
I don’t believe Catholics should judge Protestants too hard because of this because if the shoe was on the other foot, would they really go through the effort at all to call themselves a Christian?
Difficult question, we can’t say what we’d be in another time or another place.
But in closing, I appreciate that you have frustration from Protestants over issues such as Mary, “Father” etc, but please recognize that I am not your enemy merely hiding behind innocent questions for a counter attack later.
I just don’t want to sin.
Warm Regards,
Rev13_16
