It just seems strange that these believers require that Catholics believe a certain way or we are not truly Christian in their eyes, yet those in their own congregation don’t even believe the same as they do. They expect something from us that they can’t even get from people they fellowship with. It all really hurts my head just thinking about it.
God bless
As with everything, Protestants vary concerning that as well. Some of them will consign other Protestant denominations to hell as fast as they will Catholics. On the other hand, many have a kind of relativistic attitude “you go to your church and I’ll go to mine and we’ll get to heaven together”. And with some, that includes Catholics too.
Some of those things are inherent to protestantism. Once you rebel and reject the notion that anyone can speak with authority, then what? Most protestant groups hold some version of “sola scriptura” as well as the primacy of personal conscience. So, where you often end up with that is “My Bible says” so and so which is, of course, the individual’s interpretation, but which is nevertheless held to be “true” for the individual.
Most also have at least some kind of “OSAS” overlay, as a kind of outgrowth of “salvation by faith alone”. Most have some “sola scriptura” overlay, as a kind of outgrowth of the rejection of the teaching authority of the Church. But the interaction of those things up and down the scale allows for an almost endless permutation on doctrinal themes.
Protestants almost all choose their own preachers through an “auditioning” process. Therefore, most end up with preachers who are mirrors of what the “elders” or other governning body already think. But again, there may be significant variations in what individual members of a congregation believe, and sometimes those points get argued. Sometimes it results in expulsions from congregations. Sometimes it results in new churches being formed. Sometimes it just dies down.
Two things which I have heard, and largely believe to be true, simply amaze me. One is what Southern Baptists often jokingly say about themselves: “I’m not a member of any organized religion. I’m a Southern Baptist”. The other is something famed Southern writer, Flannery O’Connor, a Catholic who knew southern fundamentalists better than they knew themselves: “Southern fundamentalists would be surprised if they were to realize that they have more in common with Catholicism than they do with classic Protestantism.”
There is a great deal of truth in both assertions.
All souls go to the same place wehen they die; we don’t have a “Hell”. We believe that that after someone dies, they spend a time in the spirit world (referred to as Summerland by Wiccans), and commune with loved ones that have passed, and after a time of rest, we are reincarnated. Also, we believe that the people we are close to, such as loved ones, are with you in each incarnation. The concept mirrors the seasons of the year: living, dying, and living again after a period of rest (winter). 