Do protestants believe Catholics can't go to heaven?

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tweetymom said:
What I am is a true believer in Jesus Christ. I worship God in whatever Church I am in. The name on the door isn’t going to mean a thing if you do not have Jesus in your heart. We are going to be judged on how we have lived our life, not what church we attended.
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What church you attend IS part of how you have lived your life.
 
Mikeoffaith said:
Edwin-

Are you meaning evangelical in the sense of fundamentalist? I think the two have become intertwined and in my book are two very different animals.

Mike
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I mean “evangelical” in the normal American sense–pietist Christians who focus on the importance of personal conversion. I would include fundamentalists as one wing of evangelicals, though as you note others would distinguish sharply. In practice the lines between the two are quite blurry. But I certainly was not speaking of fundamentalists specifically–indeed, fundamentalists are likely to see membership in a “Bible-believing church” as functionally pretty close to necessary for salvation (because if you were a true Christian you would *want *to be part of such a church).

I would say that one of the distinguishing marks of evangelicalism is its suspicion of too much reliance on institutions of any kind. Ironically, evangelicals are great institution-builders, but they tend to take (or at least to encourage) a ruthlessly pragmatic approach to institutions. The small denomination with which my college is affiliated has basically dissolved itself in the past few years (it still exists, but very loosely), with the denominational headquarters re-defining itself as “healthy ministry resources” for local congregations.

Edwin
 
I am reminded of something that the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen said on this subject…That we will all be surprised at who does (and doesn’t) make it to Heaven…but that he, for one, expected to be too amazed and delighted to be there himself, to think too much about it, because he would be busy praising God.
Of course (:D& being a Methodist, I get to :wink:make my own judgment on the matter, in advance of the official word from Rome), Fulton Sheen is a saint. And saints tend to be more humble and charitable than the rest of us…
tsering said:
Even though I don’t agree with your conclusion or your tone, I would add that you bring up a good point:

Protestants…imagine how offended you feel at this statement?

Now imagine how offended Catholics are when a Protestant says they worship idols, or they worship a creature…namely Mary.

Certainly, Protestants hold the Bible in very special honor…for in it is the words of God right? Without it we wouldn’t have all those wonderful stories and God’s very own words. Or the story of His Son.

Catholics hold Mary in very special honor…for God choose her to carry His Son who is our salvation. She submitted herself in perfect obedience to God’s will and this gave us Jesus.

Is the Psalmist worshiping the Law when he wrote Psalm 119? Were the Levites worshiping the ark and the tabernacle when they moved it with special care and honor? Was Solomon worshiping wisdom in Proverbs? Or was he worshiping his lover in Song of Songs? What about when the Israelites asked Moses to intercede for them? Was that worship? When they encased it all gold…was that worship?

Do Protestants worship the preacher? It might seem so to a Catholic who is used to seeing the pulpit over to the side of the altar, and not in center. Or when protestant ministers spend more time preaching a fancy sermon (which by the way involves a lot of private interpretation), than they do handing out graces and leading in prayer.

This discussion should give us pause to seriously consider our prejudices and how grounded they really are.
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Great post!! This is a really good comparison; thank you!!
gcnuss said:
I may be a bit presumptuous, but I look forward to gathering around the heavenly throne with my Catholic brothers and sisters, praising God and enjoying a unity which we have not experienced here on earth.
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:amen::blessyou:
I hope & pray to do the same.
 
Zooey said:
I am reminded of something that the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen said on this subject…That we will all be surprised at who does (and doesn’t) make it to Heaven…but that he, for one, expected to be too amazed and delighted to be there himself, to think too much about it, because he would be busy praising God.
Of course (:D& being a Methodist, I get to :wink:make my own judgment on the matter, in advance of the official word from Rome), Fulton Sheen is a saint. And saints tend to be more humble and charitable than the rest of us…
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I’m pleased that such an esteemed luminary as the late great Archbishop Sheen agrees with me on this! 😃
 
Annabelle_Marie said:
I have heard a lot of negative talk about the Catholic church. And yet when I facebook messaged one of my good friends who is Protestant to tell her we found a church home at the Catholic church–her response? “PRAISE GOD! I’m so excited for you!”
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And that is just how I feel, too!! That it is such a blessing to find yourself “planted”. (I did enough “wandering” in my younger days, to appreciate what it means to finally put down spiritual roots.
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Contarini:
Protestants who say that Catholics are going to hell typically think many other Protestants aren’t “true Christians” either, so are not going to be interested in what moderate Protestants have to say.
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That’s :(true. If I hear one more person assure his/her fundamentalist pastor that I am “a Christian even though she’s a Methodist”, I think I am going to :mad:BITE them!!!
Like, you know,:cool: us Methodists sacrifice goats by the light of the moon.🤷
 
** Do protestants believe Catholics can’t go to heaven? **
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Some will not, just like some protestant won’t. The only way to get to Heaven is by Faith alone in Christ
 
Zooey said:
.

That’s :(true. If I hear one more person assure his/her fundamentalist pastor that I am “a Christian even though she’s a Methodist”, I think I am going to :mad:BITE them!!!
Like, you know,:cool: us Methodists sacrifice goats by the light of the moon.🤷
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Really? Is that the full moon? ROFL! Never heard that one!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
 
Publisher said:
No…I’m sure there are some out there…but then there are some Catholics out there who feel the same about Protestants…but generally…No.
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IRONY ALLERT:

Many accuse the Catholic Church to ‘condemn people to hell’ (which is not true at all!) while it’s usually protestants and non-denominational Christians who pass judgement and condemn everybody and their dog to hell…

The funny thing is that they usually they do not even know what the Church believes, except the few anti-catholic propaganda points they have learned.

Jesus said (ooh! Quoting the bible! Weird for a Catholic uh?): “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6,:37)

and:

“Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” (John 7:24)

So this ‘condemning to hell’ of Catholics (and people of other Christian beliefs or faith) is not really… in the spirit of the Gospel.
 
Zooey said:
That’s :(true. If I hear one more person assure his/her fundamentalist pastor that I am “a Christian even though she’s a Methodist”, I think I am going to :mad:BITE them!!!
Like, you know,:cool: us Methodists sacrifice goats by the light of the moon.🤷
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So, the fire behind that little UMC church I pass on the way home, I should ignore it?
😃 😛

Jon
 
Ismael said:
IRONY ALLERT:

Many accuse the Catholic Church to ‘condemn people to hell’ (which is not true at all!) while it’s usually protestants and non-denominational Christians who pass judgement and condemn everybody and their dog to hell…

The funny thing is that they usually they do not even know what the Church believes, except the few anti-catholic propaganda points they have learned.

Jesus said (ooh! Quoting the bible! Weird for a Catholic uh?): “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6,:37)

and:

“Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” (John 7:24)

So this ‘condemning to hell’ of Catholics (and people of other Christian beliefs or faith) is not really… in the spirit of the Gospel.
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Absolutely agree…God looks on the heart…not on the surface as we do.
 
Zooey said:
And that is just how I feel, too!! That it is such a blessing to find yourself “planted”. (I did enough “wandering” in my younger days, to appreciate what it means to finally put down spiritual roots.

That’s :(true. If I hear one more person assure his/her fundamentalist pastor that I am “a Christian even though she’s a Methodist”, I think I am going to :mad:BITE them!!!
Like, you know,:cool: us Methodists sacrifice goats by the light of the moon.🤷
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hi zooey. do you prefer sacrificing white goats, black goats or spotted ones? 😃
have a friend of mine that just started attending the Methodist church after years of absence. shes much happier now, that she is having fellowship with this group. i think its wonderful. peace to you 🙂
 
JonNC said:
So, the fire behind that little UMC church I pass on the way home, I should ignore it?
😃 😛

Jon
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:frighten:
😉
benidict said:
hi zooey. do you prefer sacrificing white goats, black goats or spotted ones? 😃
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Pygmies.:whistle: I have a bad back, have to limit what I lift…
have a friend of mine that just started attending the Methodist church after years of absence. shes much happier now, that she is having fellowship with this group. i think its wonderful. peace to you 🙂
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👍
 
Zooey said:
:frighten:
😉

Pygmies.:whistle: I have a bad back, have to limit what I lift…
👍
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hi zooey. i will pray that your back gets better. back problems are the worst. 😦 but be careful. i found out at a petting zoo that the pigmy goats are also very strong. one tried to get out of the pen. and i had to try to keep it in!😃 Peace to you and yours.🙂 and as usual, you make my day. i always look forward to your post.🙂
 
I love pygmie goats…my brother gave me one as a birthday present one year…it was so cute…I had to give him to a farm a Friend owned…he was eating my flowers…shrubs…everything…and the goat poop was not fun.

Just on a side note…he also gave me a tarantula one year…I finally had to give her to an elementary school that had a program for caring for “exotic pets”…her name was Morticia and she kept getting loose in the house…trust me…one wants to find her before she finds you! I was ok holding her as long as I knew she was well fed and not shedding her skin…I was afraid she’d be cranky if SHE found me one day from being loose in the house for several days…gave me the creeps.
 
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