I don't quite understand Catholicism

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doodleduh

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I’m 15. I’ve been raised in a Protestant household, but never really belonged in a denomination. I really am devoted to God, I’m not a liberal christian. I attend a Presbyterian church, but have no real loyalty to it.

Recently, I have begun to notice the lukewarm attitudes of Protestants. Although many of them genuinely follow God’s word, I notice more and more of them falling away and not really beleiving the bible. I’ve noticed that altough there are many Catholics who are fake, the church still speaks out against abortion and homosexuality, things more and more churches have become liberal on.

I always interpret the bible literally unless it’s obvious it’s not, I don’t believe in evolution, and generally, I’m a very conservative Christian. I have been researching Catholicism, but I just can’t understand everything. I want to know why baptism is required for salvation, how infant baptism is acceptable, why confession is needed, about the fasting before communion, what mortal sins are, why sola scriptura is not believed, and basically everything else.

Please escuse me for not just reading about these things, but I have, and just can’t understand.
 
I wish I could give you the in depth answers you need, all I can say is your questions are better asked in the apologetics section, or specific questions in the ‘‘Ask an Apologist’’ section. Another thing I can say is that I’m sure these queries have been adressed in the past and you might find your answer by using the search function.
God Bless
Peter
 
The ‘Search’ tool is a great way to find answers to topics commonly discussed on CAF.

The topics you are asking questions about are fairly common topics on this website.

If you feel that you cannot find the exact answer you are looking for by just searching for it on this forum, then you might want to start a new thread for each of your questions. This way, you get the most accurate and detailed responses, one question at a time.

The greatest thing is that you are asking these questions in the first place. May the Holy Spirit guide you on your journey in pursuit of Truth.

God Bless,

Murph
 
Welcome aboard! This is a great place for you to learn about Catholicism. There are lots of really knowledgeable people in these forums, and many can express the items of our faith very well and succinctly. Be prepared for some frankness. True Catholics don’t bend on the essentials of the faith, and will tell you what they are and how they may differ from what you believe.

If you are really interested in learning more about Catholicism in a “live” environment, I suggest discussing RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) with a priest in a Catholic church near you. No pressure to join, but if the Spirit moves you in that direction, there you go. At the very least, it will provide you a good forum to learn about our faith from us. Too many times, what you learn from some non-Catholics is inaccurate or down right hatefully wrong.
 
I suggest that you first click on the link right up the top where it says ‘Library’ - plenty of information and good Scriptural background to Catholic teachings there for you without the hassle of wading through pages of random postings from the likes of us 😉

Then come back - search for past threads and post your own questions (only one at a time please, makes it very messy otherwise!)
 
Hi, doodleduh, and welcome! People here will be happy to answer your questions. You might wish to address one topic at a time (it’s hard to sit down and explain a whole faith in one sitting, and give you any kind of adequate response). Lots of threads have recently discussed topics like baptism and confession, so a quick look through the existing threads might help. But feel free to start your own threads too. I hope we can help.
 
I. ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS

977 Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved."521 Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life."522

978 "When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor offenses committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them. . . . Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil "523

979 In this battle against our inclination towards evil, who could be brave and watchful enough to escape every wound of sin? "If the Church has the power to forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the Kingdom of heaven received from Jesus Christ. The Church must be able to forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the last moment of their lives."524

980 It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church:
Penance has rightly been called by the holy Fathers "a laborious kind of baptism." This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn.525
 
doodleduh said:
I’m 15. I’ve been raised in a Protestant household, but never really belonged in a denomination. I really am devoted to God, I’m not a liberal christian. I attend a Presbyterian church, but have no real loyalty to it.

Recently, I have begun to notice the lukewarm attitudes of Protestants. Although many of them genuinely follow God’s word, I notice more and more of them falling away and not really beleiving the bible. I’ve noticed that altough there are many Catholics who are fake, the church still speaks out against abortion and homosexuality, things more and more churches have become liberal on.

I always interpret the bible literally unless it’s obvious it’s not, I don’t believe in evolution, and generally, I’m a very conservative Christian. I have been researching Catholicism, but I just can’t understand everything. I want to know why baptism is required for salvation, how infant baptism is acceptable, why confession is needed, about the fasting before communion, what mortal sins are, why sola scriptura is not believed, and basically everything else.

Please escuse me for not just reading about these things, but I have, and just can’t understand.
Click to expand...
Catholic Doctrinal Concordance
Contents God, One and True God’s nature, Trinity, and Jesus
God’s Creatures Mary, Man, Angels, Saints, and the devil
God’s Remedies Grace, The Church, Scripture, and Sacraments
God’s Gifts Faith, Hope, Love, and Prayer
The Last Things Death, Purgatory, Heaven, and Hell
Additional Topics Apologetics, and topics of dispute with other Christians
Links Great Catholic links
infpage.com/concordance/

Library File Indexes
ewtn.com/new_library/fileindexes.htm

EWTN Audio Library Series Index
ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/series_index.asp

Have questions about the Catholic Church?
The CHNetwork is operated by many staff members who are themselves converts, and would be happy to discuss any theological questions you might have. We want to help you learn more about the Catholic Church, and help you discover the wonderful treasures that it contains.

Are you on the Journey? Are you a convert who remembers what it was like? Are you a cradle Catholic?
If you fit into any of these categories or if you would just like to be part of this truly awesome group, you can Join the Coming Home Network by e-mailing us or contacting us by mail or phone at the address listed at the bottom of the page.
Would you like to assist others on the journey home?
Your help is needed especially if you have faced the same journey. There are others from your previous denomination who could use an encouraging word or someone to discuss specific issues with by email, phone, mail or even in person.
chnetwork.org/
 
I’m sure you’d find everyone here glad to take each of your questions on one by one. You might do a search to see if you can find any threads that would help you, but feel free to start up any threads with whatever questions you may have. Alot of the people here are very smart, so I am fairly positive they can answer any question you throw at them. Peace be with you, and I pray that God continues to help you by guiding you to Himself.
 
Time for me to give my :twocents:
I’m 15.
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Amazing. Many people at this age aren’t even thinking about Christianity.
I’ve been raised in a Protestant household, but never really belonged in a denomination. I really am devoted to God, I’m not a liberal christian. I attend a Presbyterian church, but have no real loyalty to it.
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That’s good you’re devoted to God and not a liberal Christian. I have no love for the Presbyterian faith either. 👍
Recently, I have begun to notice the lukewarm attitudes of Protestants. Although many of them genuinely follow God’s word, I notice more and more of them falling away and not really beleiving the bible.
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I don’t think you can lump all Protestants together. Many Catholics have lukewarm attitudes these days about God’s word and what their Church teaches. It is not a particular tragedy to any one Church, Protestant, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, alone.
I noticed that altough there are many Catholics who are fake, the church still speaks out against abortion and homosexuality, things more and more churches have become liberal on.
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This is true, although I would mention that there are many in the Protestant camp who argue strongly against these as well.
I always interpret the bible literally unless it’s obvious it’s not, I don’t believe in evolution, and generally, I’m a very conservative Christian. I have been researching Catholicism, but I just can’t understand everything.
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Catholicism is not something that you can simply understand like a math problem. Catholicism is more like a book that you return to each time learning more and more about the deep truths found in it.
 
I want to know why baptism is required for salvation,
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Firstly, because Christ said this: Unless ye be born again (baptized)…

In being baptized we die with Christ, become a member of His Body, and are given the Holy Spirit, through whom we are given spiritual graces, such as faith.
how infant baptism is acceptable,
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There is no restriction of infants being baptized in the Scriptures. If salvation is truly to be initiated by God in a person’s life, then there is no necessity for the person to be of a rational age to “understand” the truths of the faith, come to repentance, and be baptized.
why confession is needed,
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I’m trying to figure this one myself. 🙂

Basically, the Protestant understanding of salvation is different from the Catholic one. Catholics believe that the sins we commit as Christians still count against us and need to be forgiven. To almost every sin there is a horizontal as well as vertical dimension. In other words, each time we sin, we offend God as well as our neighbor. We can confess to God our sins, but we also need to confess our sins to one another. The priest is a representative of the Church in forgiving the person for sins committed against the Church and others in mankind.
about the fasting before communion,
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To show reverence. To show that what you are about to receive is not to be considered ordinary food. By fasting you set the Eucharist apart from regular food. Fasting also puts many people in the proper spiritual mode.
what mortal sins are,
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Basically, mortal sins are the more serious sins. If one commits a mortal sin, one better get to the confessional quickly. Mortal sins wound charity in the soul and need to be forgiven through a priest in confession. Mortal sins darken the soul, clouding the light of Christ within. Individuals who die in a state of mortal sin are in grave danger of entering Hell. Three conditions must all be met for a sin to be mortal: full knowledge of sinfulness of act, deliberate consent to the act, and grave matter.
why sola scriptura is not believed,
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Because the Scriptures do not say that Scripture alone has authority. That’s basically the argument. Catholic exegesis focuses on the authority given to the Church to judge in spiritual matters. Tradition also is shown in Scriptures to have an important position in spiritual matters.
 
doodleduh said:
I’m 15. I’ve been raised in a Protestant household, but never really belonged in a denomination. I really am devoted to God, I’m not a liberal christian. I attend a Presbyterian church, but have no real loyalty to it.

Recently, I have begun to notice the lukewarm attitudes of Protestants. Although many of them genuinely follow God’s word, I notice more and more of them falling away and not really beleiving the bible. I’ve noticed that altough there are many Catholics who are fake, the church still speaks out against abortion and homosexuality, things more and more churches have become liberal on.

I always interpret the bible literally unless it’s obvious it’s not, I don’t believe in evolution, and generally, I’m a very conservative Christian. I have been researching Catholicism, but I just can’t understand everything. I want to know why baptism is required for salvation, how infant baptism is acceptable, why confession is needed, about the fasting before communion, what mortal sins are, why sola scriptura is not believed, and basically everything else.

Please escuse me for not just reading about these things, but I have, and just can’t understand.
Click to expand...
Get this little Book.🙂

catholicbooksonline.org/item.asp?PID=294
angelfire.com/ca3/rafaelmarie/ThePieta/athepieta.html
 
Welcome doodleduh! We will be happy to help you in whatever way we can. I would suggest that you break down one point at a time on separate threads. When you get an answer to your satisfaction, move on to the next question.

If I were you, I would start reading up on your history. If you look at the writings of the ancient Christians you will see the Catholic Church. For one thing, the ancient Christians believed that the Eucharist was the real Body and Blood of Our Lord (see the letter of St. Ignatius to the Philidelphians). They also believed in infant baptism (see St Ireneaus Against Heresies). And they also believed in confession (the Didache–one of the earliest Christian documents in existence) So, if you want to go with what the earliest Christians believed that gives you the choice between being Catholic or being Orthodox. From there you could decide how Jesus wanted His Church to be–look at scriptures, but also look at history. Catholics believe that there is one steward with the keys to the kingdom of heaven and earth–St. Peter, who is the first pope. This is recorded in scripture and it is recorded in history. Orthodox do not believe they keys were only given to Peter, but they do have apostolic succession and have many similar beliefs to Catholics. Protestant churches, do not apostolic succession, nor do they have unity, nor do many of their beliefs match those of the ancient Church.

Here is a website that addresses every one of your concerns with scripture. Pick a topic and read through slowly. You’ll see as you click on each section that not only is ample scripture provided, but, at the bottom, is also a segment that talks about what the Church Fathers had to say.

Let us know what you think.

Blessings, Prayer_Warrior
 
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