Final Inquiry Question:

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Wesley7

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Are Catholics truly Christians? If so will an experienced Catholic explain why? Thanks.
 
Wesley7 said:
Are Catholics truly Christians? If so will an experienced Catholic explain why? Thanks.
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Catholics are the original Christians. When Jesus walked the earth, He chose 12 Apostles, and trained them, orally, for three years. Then, He commanded them to go forth and teach others, likewise. The successors of the Apostles are the bishops of today. Christ gave the fullness of His teachings to these men. SOME of what was taught orally was written down, but not all. (See John 21:25) What was written down, we call the New Testament. Both oral and written teachings are on the same level of importance (See 2 Thes 2:15) Both need an authentic and authoritative interpreter to avoid error. Look at Protestantism, which is constantly splintering into more and more man-made denominations, all based on personal interpretation of the written teachings only. St. Peter spoke against personal interpretation of Scripture. (See 2 Peter 1:20)

Jesus only founded one Church, the Catholic Church. For the first 1000 years after He ascended to heaven, if one was Christian, one was Catholic. The two terms were synonymous. Then, in 1054 A.D., the Orthodox splintered off. They retained Apostolic succession and all seven Sacraments, however. Only in 1517 A.D., did Protestantism begin, started by an ex-Catholic priest, Martin Luther, who really hadn’t intended to schism from the Church. Since that time, literally thousands of man-made, doctrinally disagreeing and contradictory denominations have been formed, and are being formed.

So, yes. Catholics are Christian. The original Christians, teaching the same things that were taught from the beginning. We do not claim the right to correct the teachings of Christ. We do not claim the right to start a church apart from the one founded by Christ. We do not think we can do better than Him.
 
rephrase the question

are non-CAtholics who have been baptized truly Christian, since the continue to reject full communion with Christ, the Church he founded and the manner in which he established her governance on earth? Only Catholics enjoy the fullness of Christianity so their first goal should be whatever in charity and obedience to Christ promotes Christian unity.
 
Isn’t Christianity, by definition, any religion that teaches Jesus’ divinity? Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah, that he was fully God and fully human, that he came to be the savior of mankind.

I think it’s safe to say that Catholics can get behind that idea. 🙂

It’s also why, say, Sikhs and Muslims aren’t Christians-- they believe Jesus was a great prophet, but they deny his divinity. Buddhists acknowledge that Jesus was a great teacher, but leave it at that. Unitarians believe that Jesus was an awesome example of how to live; JW’s think that Christ was a perfect human being; Seventh Day Adventists believe that Jesus was really St. Michael; and if I recall, Mormons believe that Jesus became divine after he ascended into heaven, but wasn’t divine before that.

Now, if you want to know if Catholicism represents a purer form of Christianity than some other denomination, that’s a different question that would require a more concrete example to compare and contrast against. 🙂
 
Scoobyshme said:
Jesus only founded one Church, the Catholic Church. For the first 1000 years after He ascended to heaven, if one was Christian, one was Catholic. The two terms were synonymous. Then, in 1054 A.D., the Orthodox splintered off. They retained Apostolic succession and all seven Sacraments, however. Only in 1517 A.D., did Protestantism begin, started by an ex-Catholic priest, Martin Luther, who really hadn’t intended to schism from the Church. Since that time, literally thousands of man-made, doctrinally disagreeing and contradictory denominations have been formed, and are being formed.
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It’s interesting you should say that, because the Orthodox say the Roman Church split from them.
… .
 
Wesley7 said:
It’s interesting you should say that, because the Orthodox say the Roman Church split from them.
… .
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It appears you are drifting off topic, or have an agenda.

No matter who splintered from who, do you doubt either to be ‘Christian’?
 
Prodigal_Son1 said:
It appears you are drifting off topic, or have an agenda.

No matter who splintered from who, do you doubt either to be ‘Christian’?
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I’m studying the ‘Great Schism’ in detail; trying to ascertain the truth.
 
Maybe I’m missing something but I have no idea what this thread has to do with “Eastern Catholicism” nor why it was posted in this forum. :confused:
 
Scoobyshme said:
Catholics are the original Christians. When Jesus walked the earth, He chose 12 Apostles, and trained them, orally, for three years. Then, He commanded them to go forth and teach others, likewise. The successors of the Apostles are the bishops of today. Christ gave the fullness of His teachings to these men. SOME of what was taught orally was written down, but not all. (See John 21:25) What was written down, we call the New Testament. Both oral and written teachings are on the same level of importance (See 2 Thes 2:15) Both need an authentic and authoritative interpreter to avoid error. Look at Protestantism, which is constantly splintering into more and more man-made denominations, all based on personal interpretation of the written teachings only. St. Peter spoke against personal interpretation of Scripture. (See 2 Peter 1:20)

Jesus only founded one Church, the Catholic Church. For the first 1000 years after He ascended to heaven, if one was Christian, one was Catholic. The two terms were synonymous. Then, in 1054 A.D., the Orthodox splintered off. They retained Apostolic succession and all seven Sacraments, however. Only in 1517 A.D., did Protestantism begin, started by an ex-Catholic priest, Martin Luther, who really hadn’t intended to schism from the Church. Since that time, literally thousands of man-made, doctrinally disagreeing and contradictory denominations have been formed, and are being formed.

So, yes. Catholics are Christian. The original Christians, teaching the same things that were taught from the beginning. We do not claim the right to correct the teachings of Christ. We do not claim the right to start a church apart from the one founded by Christ. We do not think we can do better than Him.
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:clapping: Well put!
 
Wesley7 said:
I’m studying the ‘Great Schism’ in detail; trying to ascertain the truth.
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Then shouldn’t the topic be about the Great Schism and not a question of whether or not Catholics are ‘truly’ Christian?
 
Prodigal_Son1 said:
Then shouldn’t the topic be about the Great Schism and not a question of whether or not Catholics are ‘truly’ Christian?
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In some ways the word ‘Catholic’ has alot to do with understanding the Great Schism.
 
Wesley7 said:
In some ways the word ‘Catholic’ has alot to do with understanding the Great Schism.
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And how does the word cause doubt that ‘Catholics’ are truly Christians?

It seems you’re avoiding a direct question, or maintaining an agenda to denounce ‘Catholics’. Do you doubt Catholics as being truly Christian? If so, give your definition of ‘Catholic’.
 
Prodigal_Son1 said:
And how does the word cause doubt that ‘Catholics’ are truly Christians?

It seems you’re avoiding a direct question, or maintaining an agenda to denounce ‘Catholics’. Do you doubt Catholics as being truly Christian? If so, give your definition of ‘Catholic’.
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Several definitions of the usage of the term ‘Catholic’ . . .

a) Catholic according to the whole of Christian faith.

b) Catholic as in a baptized member of the Universal Church founded by Jesus himself.

c) The usage and meaning of the term ‘Catholic’ as defined by Latin Catechism published by the Vatican.
 
Wesley7 said:
Several definitions of the usage of the term ‘Catholic’ . . .

a) Catholic according to the whole of Christian faith.

b) Catholic as in a baptized member of the Universal Church founded by Jesus himself.

c) The usage and meaning of the term ‘Catholic’ as defined by Latin Catechism published by the Vatican.
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And is there one of those definitions that you question as being truly Christian?
 
I would say it’s self evident that Catholics are Christian, so I would ask you: on what grounds do you question that?

This should be moved to the Apologetics Forum, however.
 
Prodigal_Son1 said:
And is there one of those definitions that you question as being truly Christian?
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So, you are saying Catholics are truly Christians? . .Are you sure . .

For example, you might have a Jesuit priest who is ‘Catholic’ but not Christian.
 
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