Catholicism As The True Church

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How can I convince my non-christian friends that the Catholic Church is the true church. My friends say that all religions are “right” because each brings out the best in that person. I know this is a erroneous philosophy, but how can I point out the fallacy of that argument. Also, my friends point out that everybody grows up in a certain environment and are set in the values of the culture. For example, a Hindu will grow up in a Hindu environment and will become Hindu, and will have a very hard time believing that the Catholic Church is the True Church because he thinks that his religion is right. So how can I show them that the Church is true and that not all religions are right?
 
Does “right” mean “true”? Relativism is rampant in our society. If your friends believe that “truth” is relative, that is, what you believe is “true” for you, and that what they or someone else believes is “true” for them, and it’s all good, all of equal value, it’s an uphill battle. You’ll first have to convince them that objective Truth exists; that there is only one Truth. Otherwise, the words “true.” “truly,” and “truth” have no meaning whatever.

It is true that 2 X 2 is 4. Not 5, not 7, not 3. I believe that Catholic Truth has that same kind of certainty, because its source is God. All other “religious truth” is mere opinion.

Katholikos
 
God has communicated with His creation throughout salvation history through the use of various covenants and their covenant mediators. His promise, through the covenants was to send a Savior, a Messiah. Jesus is the fulfillment of those covenants and He told us He came to establish His Church - the New Covenant.

In absolutes, there can only be one truth. God gave us His Church and promised His eternal protection to her and her alone. (“anything you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven”, “I will send my Spirit to guide you into all truth”, “and, lo I am with you even to the end of time”)

Explain to your friends that the Catholic Church claims to be the one true Church established by God and that He said, “he who rejects you rejects me and the One who sent me”. Tell them they should investigate the claims of the Chruch from her perspective and not from antagonists alone. When they compare her claims to Sacred Scripture and the witness of the Early Church Fathers, they will be hard pressed not to agree (or at least they will have a better understanding).

It does matter if we get religion right. God didn’t waste His time coming here and suffering ignominy on the cross just to have us practice, willy-nilly, whatever we want.
 
None of the other religions outside of Christianity have had an actual physical manifestation of their “gods” with humanity. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ in this world sets the Christian faith apart from all the rest. He truly walked, talked, lived, died, rose and ascended almost 2,000 years ago. He performed visible miracles in public. Secular history doesn’t deny his existance. No other religion can compare with that.

It’s our job to bring the Gospel to those who have grown up only knowing other religions.
 
dbacks5439 said:
How can I convince my non-christian friends that the Catholic Church is the true church.
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Simple, you can’t! 😛

I would recommend concentrating on living the Good News and growing your own faith!
 
az_4_faith said:
None of the other religions outside of Christianity have had an actual physical manifestation of their “gods” with humanity. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ in this world sets the Christian faith apart from all the rest. He truly walked, talked, lived, died, rose and ascended almost 2,000 years ago. He performed visible miracles in public. Secular history doesn’t deny his existance. No other religion can compare with that.

It’s our job to bring the Gospel to those who have grown up only knowing other religions.
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I believe Hindus have Krishna which is believed to be an incarnation or reincarnation of one of three main gods.
 
Fighting Fat is right: YOU can’t convince them. The Holy Spirit CAN. The Spirit may work through you–but you may not be able to see it or experience it, and you may never know just how He worked through you until the Judgment–also, of course, your friends may freely reject the Spirit, or may misunderstand, etc.

Prayer is best. If if were me, I’d approach your friends not with the idea that “I want you to see the truth” but with “God, please do whatever You will to help me and all to see the truth.”
 
FightingFat said:
Simple, you can’t! 😛

I would recommend concentrating on living the Good News and growing your own faith!
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I agree. They are just as sure their denomination possesses the real truth, as Catholics are convinced they do. Only God knows for sure.
 
FightingFat said:
Simple, you can’t! 😛

I would recommend concentrating on living the Good News and growing your own faith!
Click to expand...
While of course we’re all called to grow our own faith interiorly, good heavens, if the Apostles would have used that philosophy, none of us would have heard about Jesus or His Gospels.

The mandate at the end of Matthew’s Gospel told the Apostles (and all of us) to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always until the close of the age.”

That has been the mission of the Catholic faith since the beginning, and not just for the clergy, but for all the faithful.

That certainly commands action and works, not strictly personal reflection.
 
1 Timothy 3:15, “The church is the pillar and foundation of truth”!

There is but ONE Church and that is the Church of Jesus Christ. Otherwise known as the Catholic Church. There can only be One Church. The others are not Churches, they are Denominationsor Communities, but whatever else they are, they are NOT Churches.

The Lord founded ONE Church. That Church has survived and taught for 2000 years. It will continue so to do, until the end of time.
 
The Mormon’s call themselves ‘The Church of Jesus Christ’. Not so, were it so, they would be Catholic. ‘A community of believers of Jesus Christ’.

I wear American clothing, eat American food, drive an American car therefore, I AM an American!! I wasn’t born in America, I have never been to America. I have no idea what America is really like. I can call myself whatever I want. But whether I am really what I claim is a different matter.
 
How can I convince my non-christian friends that the Catholic Church is the true church.

Our God is the only God that preached love above all else and then proved it by laying down His life for his children.

That’s my kind of God. If your friends are not going to be impressed by that, nothing is going to impress them. Shake the dust of their towns from your feet and move on.
 
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