Catholics are not Christian?

[pharper]

I’ve often wondered how many fundumentalists groups can truly believe that Catholics are not Christians and therefore are not saved. Catholics believe we are saved throught the blood of Jesus. Catholics believe in the Holy Trinity. Catholics believe that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and authoritative. Our beliefs in the pope, the sacraments, Mary and the saints, salvation through faith and works, purgatory, Sacred Tradition, etc. do not negate any basic beliefs of a Fundamentalist, they make for a more perfect road to salvation and open up channels to receive God’s grace to help us on our journey.

An example would be Sola Scriptura. We believe in the Inspired Word of God in the Bible but realize we need the help of the Holy Spirit, through the Church, to understand it. Another example is the pope. The pope does not teach doctrines contrary to Christian beliefs. How can our current pope be called a whore when he teaches love, kindness, forgiveness, peace, prayer, and the sancity of life? These teaching sound like those that Christ tells us to pass on in scripture.

I would love to hear from Fundamentalist. The hate I see on web sites like www.bible.ca and www.iconbusters.com certainly does not reflect the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

Do I believe that catholics are christians? Absolutely. I also believe there are many catholics and protestants that claim to be christian and are not. I think people make incorrect judgements based upon their denomination. Nobody but God knows the persons heart,and only God can make that judgement whether they are truly saved] christian. I honestly believe that God will not judge us based on the denomination we are a part of,only our hearts.

 

[Peg]

I read the conversion story of a person on a protestant blog. One of the main reasons he converted to the Catholic church was the non-biblical practice of the sheep firing the shepherd for reasons as poor as that he was just getting older. How christian can that be.

How christian is it to ignore Christ when he says, 'THIS IS MY BODY"?

Why do protestants add words to the Lord’s Prayer that are not found in scripture as part of that prayer?

How can they ignore, “baptism now saves you”, and so many other verses that do not fit their specific theology?

Why is it that the more denominations seperate, the more they differ from the “one true church”. I am reading a book about how Christ said the first Mass. It is amazing how much in the Catholic Church is prefigured in the Jewish Temple worship. The more they change the more they lose their heritage.

How I love the fullness of the Catholic Church.

 

[Panis_Angelicas]

To say that the Catholic Church isn’t Christian is like saying that a limousine isn’t a car.

Pax Christi. <><

 

[bonica]

pharper:

I’ve often wondered how many fundumentalists groups can truly believe that Catholics are not Christians and therefore are not saved. Catholics believe we are saved throught the blood of Jesus. Catholics believe in the Holy Trinity. Catholics believe that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and authoritative. Our beliefs in the pope, the sacraments, Mary and the saints, salvation through faith and works, purgatory, Sacred Tradition, etc. do not negate any basic beliefs of a Fundamentalist, they make for a more perfect road to salvation and open up channels to receive God’s grace to help us on our journey.

An example would be Sola Scriptura. We believe in the Inspired Word of God in the Bible but realize we need the help of the Holy Spirit, through the Church, to understand it. Another example is the pope. The pope does not teach doctrines contrary to Christian beliefs. How can our current pope be called a whore when he teaches love, kindness, forgiveness, peace, prayer, and the sancity of life? These teaching sound like those that Christ tells us to pass on in scripture.

I would love to hear from Fundamentalist. The hate I see on web sites like www.bible.ca and www.iconbusters.com certainly does not reflect the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Being a former fundamentalist, I think I can explain why they think Catholics are not Christians: (this would be what they would say) because Catholics believe in salvation by works, because Catholics worship Mary and the saints (and pray to statues), because Catholics added books to the Bible, because Catholics follow tradition of men.

Those are the main things I always heard. Really what it boils down to is that they are going by misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the Catholic Chruch. They don’t know the history of the Church or what the Church really believes…if they did they would stop thinking Catholics aren’t Christians!

 

[bonica]

oh, another reason they would give is because Catholics believe you can lose your salvation

 

[JimO]

Bonica,

I agree. Many Protestants don’t realize that the Church teaches that we are justified by faith (CCC 1996). The Council of Trent defined the whole justification issue in response to the Reformation and in the documents, the concept of “earning your way to heaven” (my paraphrase) was declared anathema. “Good works” are integral to salvation (not “works of the law” or “works of the flesh”) as taught by James and even in Ephesians (2:10). In fact, many Protestants view Eph 2:8-9 as foundational to the “faith alone” argument, but they ignore verse 10!

Sadly, many, many Catholics don’t understand that we are not justified by works and don’t disagree when challenged by a Protestant who declares that Catholics believe they are saved by works. If Catholics became more educated in this one issue, we could educate Protestants to the correct Church teaching and many would probably not feel that Catholics need to be “saved.”

Blessings,

Jim

 

[bonica]

I agree, Jim.

They also like to use Titus 3:5 as a proof-text for salvation by faith alone (they prefer the first half of the verse because the second half sounds too much like baptism is necessary for salvation!) but they ignore the rest of the chapter which tells you to do good. This, unfortunately, is a common problem. Many scriptures are taken out of context to “prove” beliefs. And ironically, they often argue that the verse has to be read “in context”. :whacky:

I agree, Catholics need to know what they believe so that when they are faced with situations like that they will be able to explain what they believe and why.

 

[Gratias_Grace]

bonica:

Being a former fundamentalist, I think I can explain why they think Catholics are not Christians: (this would be what they would say) because Catholics believe in salvation by works, because Catholics worship Mary and the saints (and pray to statues), because Catholics added books to the Bible, because Catholics follow tradition of men.

Those are the main things I always heard. Really what it boils down to is that they are going by misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the Catholic Chruch. They don’t know the history of the Church or what the Church really believes…if they did they would stop thinking Catholics aren’t Christians!

I think you got it rigth. Most christian-fundamentalists are proberly good people who want to serve the Lord. But they are frigthend about what they have been thaugt about the catholic faith. They are misinformed about catholisism …

I have done some discussing with christian-fundamentalists. It has for the most part been very depressing.

God Bless!

G.G.

 

[JimO]

Gratias Grace,

I have had the same experience. It has been so thoroughly drilled into the heads of some fundamentalists that the Catholic Church is evil that they have no more desire to listen to our explanations than the average Catholic would have to hear the justifications that a Mormon would give.

Their intentions are often genuine - they believe we are going to hell and want to “save” us. But, the one thing we can do is provide them clear facts about what the Church teaches. We can show them the facts without getting into an argument. They may disagree with the Church’s position, but they can’t dispute the facts. Alas, they might still think we aren’t saved, but if we can at least show them that the Church does not teach “salvation by works”, we’ve made some progress.

Blessings,

Jim

 

[mkw]

My neighbor belongs to the Assemblies of God church, ( she is a fallen away Catholic ) When I asked her WHY she would leave the Catholic Faith and if she missed receiving our Lord in communion. Her response?..“Oh, I still receive our Lord every week” I asked her how this could be. According to her way of thinking, Jesus, at the Last Supper, told ALL to eat and drink, and that meant EVERYONE, whether Catholic or Protestant. Her husband added to this belief by pointing out that Judas also received at the Last Supper even though Jesus could read his heart and knew He would betray Him.

They said they did not need the Catholic Church to be “right” with God because Jesus said “ALL”.

They where practicing Catholics for over 30 years, I, on the other hand, was just received this Easter (praise God). What could I possibly say to them?

 

[bonica]

If you are able to explain that you, a Catholic, do not believe in salvation by works, most often they will think you are the exception to the rule. My dad (who is a fundamentalist) has a close friend who is Catholic, who he says he knows is “saved” but he is the exception to the rule. He thinks that most Catholics are going to hell. Of course my dad’s friend hasn’t helped matters because he told my dad that he knows his church has problems but he wants to change it from the inside. This left my dad thinking that even Catholics who are “saved” see errors in the Church! Now that I (and my family) are converting, I hope he might change his views…

 

[bonica]

mkw:

My neighbor belongs to the Assemblies of God church, ( she is a fallen away Catholic ) When I asked her WHY she would leave the Catholic Faith and if she missed receiving our Lord in communion. Her response?..“Oh, I still receive our Lord every week” I asked her how this could be. According to her way of thinking, Jesus, at the Last Supper, told ALL to eat and drink, and that meant EVERYONE, whether Catholic or Protestant. Her husband added to this belief by pointing out that Judas also received at the Last Supper even though Jesus could read his heart and knew He would betray Him.

They said they did not need the Catholic Church to be “right” with God because Jesus said “ALL”.

They where practicing Catholics for over 30 years, I, on the other hand, was just received this Easter (praise God). What could I possibly say to them?

They probably don’t know much about Church history. They need to understand the authority that the Church has. They are trying to interpret the Bible for themselves, which is why there are so many denominations out there interpreting things for themselves, coming up with all different conclusions.