Catholics - Are They Christians?

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A couple years ago, before I converted to Catholicism, someone asked me what religion I was (because of a certain conviction I had). I said “Christian”. He responded, “Well, I’m Catholic…that’s almost the same as Christian.” :rolleyes:

That threw me for a loop even though I wasn’t Catholic at the time…now I really don’t understand! :confused:
 
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e-catholic:
I was talking to one of the mothers at my kid’s school one day, she worked for a Catholic School, and was Catholic herself. She explained to me that her parents had been Catholic, but they left the Church and became Christian. I said “Catholics are Christian”. She replied by repeating “They were Catholic, now they are Christian”.

No wonder we have this problem in the Church, even those in the Catholic schools are not immune to this ignorance.
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Another reason why I thought this thread would be a great addition! 👍 Don’t you agree? 👍
 
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DominvsVobiscvm:
This false distinction is a relic of the anti-Catholcisim of the founding fathers of America.

Ironically, I’ve heard that in Catholic countries, the opposite distinction occurs. Catholics are called “Christians” and Protestants are called “Protestant.”
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I love it! I love it! From now on, I’m using it!! Fun! :rotfl:

Anna
 
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rfk:
If someone asks me if I am a Christian, I always answer, “Of course, I am a Catholic.”

If someone asks me if I have been “saved”, I always answer, “Of course, I was saved when I was baptized into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

If someone asks me if I have “accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior”
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I love your “of course(s)” as well as the explanations that follow. I will use them! OTOH, if asked if I’ve accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior," I respond, " I shall as soon as I find it in the Bible!" So much for sola scriptura! :whistle:

Love,

Anna
 
Anna Elizabeth:
I love your “of course(s)” as well as the explanations that follow. I will use them! OTOH, if asked if I’ve accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior," I respond, " I shall as soon as I find it in the Bible!" So much for sola scriptura! :whistle:

Love,

Anna
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👍 :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
Some are,some are not. There are many who claim to be christian,but go on living the life of a non christian. :eek:
 
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SPOKENWORD:
Some are,some are not. There are many who claim to be christian,but go on living the life of a non christian. :eek:
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GREAT ANSWER … JUST BECAUSE ONE IS CATHOLIC - DOESN’T MEAN THEY ARE CHRISTIAN!
 
My favorite was being told by a Protestant woman (who for some reason did not know I was Catholic) that someone else she was praying for was “a very good Christian, even though she’s Catholic.”
 
Absolutely, postively…OF COURSE! After all, Catholics are the originals!!! Since 33 A.D.!!!
 
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MGEISING:
GREAT ANSWER … JUST BECAUSE ONE IS CATHOLIC - DOESN’T MEAN THEY ARE CHRISTIAN!
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:confused: what does this mean exactly…

are we talking about a certain candidate for president?😉
 
Perhaps we should look at this question in a more positive light -
there are so many heretical Christian groups out there and it results in just two categories:

(Heretical-Christian) Christians vs (True-Christian) Catholics!

👍
 
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hermit:
There are non-catholics who are good christians and catholics who are lousy christians.

Pope Pius XII was a lousy example of a christian.
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Granted you are entitled your opinion though I don’t agree. The best undisputable example of a lousy Catholic Christian would be Hitler.

🙂
 
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khkhk:
Of course! A Christian is anyone who believes & follows Christ (or says they do) are.:yup:
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Be careful, khkhk. It is not good enough for someone to say that they follow Christ. This does not make one a Christian. We are told in the Bible that we will be known by the fruit we bear, abd that there will be many in the day of jusdgment that will acknowledge Christ as savior, but he will say, “I never knew you.” Also, just believing in Christ is not good enough. In the book of James it says: If thou believest in one God, thou doest well. The devil also believes, and trembles." Going back to an earlier response, there are certain things that define a Christian, as luckyirishguy14 noted:

One, you need to see that you are a sinner and in need of God’s forgiveness.
Two, you need to see that only God can save you.
Three, that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins.
Four, accepting Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
(I would assume this applies to most Fundamentalist sects, and very similar to the Left Behind theology)
 
It seems to me it’s our use of the word “Christian.” Most Protestants will tell you they are Christian before they will tell you which denomination they are. I believe they do this, especially when talking to Catholics, to make a point that they are Christian and we are not.
On the other hand, Catholics will normally say, when ask, “I am a Catholic” assuming people understand that they believe Christ died for our sins. I believe too many Catholics, especially the younger ones, are under the impression that if you call yourself a Christian, then you must be Protestant.
I have never heard a Catholic say they are not Christian, but I also have never heard one refer to themselves as being Christian. To me, to say I am a Catholic means I am a Christian of the true Church Christ came to establish.
Catholic=Christian to most practicing Catholics.
Just my opinion!!!
 
Spokenword

Saddly you are correct :crying: but you for got to add the corollary. :yup: There are many Non-Catholics that call themselves Christians who are not Christian. Calling oneself something doesn’t make it so. Is this your Ant Catholic bias showing? :tsktsk:
 
Hermit:

During his own lifetime, Pope Pius XII was considered a holy man by both Catholics and non-Catholics, and the Jews recognized him for what he was: a protector of their people.

Why is why, among his many devotees, we can count Golda Meir, Albert Einstein, Blessed John XXIII, and John Paul II.

There was absolutely nothing “aloof” about this man. You’ve obviously never done any serious research into him.

Maybe this is all for another thread. Sufice it to say that the fact that John Paul II is such a great supporter for Pius XII’s beatification cause should say something to you, shouldn’t it?

(I personally beilieve JP2 is a thousand times more “aloof” than P12, but again, a whole other thread . . .)
 
JMJ

From the time of Christ, His followers were called Christians, although they disguised their Faith for many years to avoid the persecutions. There is still in existence a letter written by St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, which calls the Christian religion the “Catholic Church.” This letter was written in 110 A.D. while he was enroute to be executed for his Faith. The Church of Rome, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, headed by the Vicar of Christ, St. Peter and his successors, is and remains in full union with ALL of the teachings of Christ under the guarantee of Christ Himself. The protestant revolters have used and continue to use the ruse that Catholics are not Christian, but protestants are. They claim Catholics fell away from the teachings of Christ. They make this claim in contradiction to the very bible they hold as the sole revelation of God’s Word.

I also know many people, ex-Catholics and never-have-beens, who claim that Catrholics are not Christian. Some call themselves Lutheran. What does that tell you? To be Catholic means you belong to the “universal” Church. To be Lutheran must mean you belong to a Church founded by Martin Luther, an ex-Catholic priest who could not maintain control of his morals, so he declared that no one could follow the Ten Commandments and “reformed” his Catholic Faith into the “image and likeness” of his own weaknesses. Therefore, less than 500 years ago Christianity appeared? Does that mean that Christ failed totally in His establishment of a religion, but Martin Luther has come to the rescue? And he based his religion exclusively on the bible which the “failed” Catholics produced by gathering from 1000’s of documents, declaring which “inspired,” giving titles, dividing into chapters, and then into verses.

The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is THE Christian Church.
 
<<<Most Protestants will tell you they are Christian before they will tell you which denomination they are. I believe they do this, especially when talking to Catholics, to make a point that they are Christian and we are not.>>>

I do not think this is true of most Protestants. Most of the mainline ones…Methodist, Luteran, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc…will give the name of their denomination first. I was a Protestant for the first 43 years of my life, and always referred to myself by denomination.

Those belonging to “non-denominational” churches may well refer to themselves as Christinans…Although even they will often mention that they belong to a Church of Chist, or other non-denominational church…

**However, having said this, I have to admit certain Protestants, when talking with someone they know for sure is a Catholic might identify themselves as “Christian”, without mentioning the denomination they belong to. These people, indeed, do not automatically assume that Catholics are Christians, too…Although they may acknowledge that SOME Catholics may be so. **
 
I never met a Catholic who didn’t know they were Christian. However, I have met some people who said they were Catholic “before” they became Christian. Why? Because they were brain-washed by their “born again” friends into thinking they weren’t Christian before.
 
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