If all Christians were Catholic

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There is currently a thread about Protestants Rejecting Catholicism
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1029583

It got me to thinking, how would Christendom and the world be different if all Protestants and other non-Catholic Christians became good Catholics and started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals?
  1. Would Christianity and the world be better off?
  2. How would the world be different (better, worse, or the same), in your view?
Just curious.
 
Tommy999 said:
There is currently a thread about Protestants Rejecting Catholicism
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1029583

It got me to thinking, how would Christendom and the world be different if all Protestants and other non-Catholic Christians became good Catholics and started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals?
  1. Would Christianity and the world be better off?
  2. How would the world be different (better, worse, or the same), in your view?
Just curious.
Click to expand...
To answer this I would need a definition of “good” Catholic. I am of the understanding that approx only 10% of all who are Catholic practice their faith in terms of meeting their Mass obligations etc. I don’t know whether the other 90% are considered good Catholics or not.
 
Do take into consideration that we Catholics are quite serious when we say we are the original Church. So at one point all Christians would have been Catholic.
 
Tommy999 said:
There is currently a thread about Protestants Rejecting Catholicism
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1029583

It got me to thinking, how would Christendom and the world be different if all Protestants and other non-Catholic Christians became good Catholics and started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals?
  1. Would Christianity and the world be better off?
  2. How would the world be different (better, worse, or the same), in your view?
Just curious.
Click to expand...
Likewise we could ask how would things be different if all Catholics started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals? How would Christianity and the world be different?
 
If all Christians became Catholics, I think it would be much easier to focus on evangelization, since Christianity would be much more organized and there wouldn’t be various Christian ideologies competing for converts. Furthermore, the Church would have much more leverage in the political world, due to more people and resources.
 
jane_doe said:
Likewise we could ask how would things be different if all Catholics started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals? How would Christianity and the world be different?
Click to expand...
Yes indeed…
 
We would need to be very sure we all lived our faith impeccably and purely.

I like the variety actually.
 
Rosebud77 said:
We would need to be very sure we all lived our faith impeccably and purely.

I like the variety actually.
Click to expand...
I think the religious cultures could be preserved if the faith were somehow reunited.

ICXC NIKA
 
The difference would be astronomical. Imagine just the affect it would have on the rest of the world if literally the entire Christian population was united in one communion. Think of the effects it would have in the availability of sacraments, of the “manpower” of the priesthood & religious, of finding spouses, of building spiritual support & study groups (under Church guidance), of performing corporal works of mercy.

But the question all hangs on the premise, “What if humans didn’t have human nature”. Christians have never been completely unified. Not really. Some might say the protestant revolution (with all of its detrimental effects, in the historical Catholic view) was still a lesser evil than the Church in the West remaining united, because of how deeply rooted some abuses had become. The chaos of the 1500s eventually would usher in the Jesuits, the Spiritualists, and a general awakening of internal scrutiny. Post-Council of Trent is sometimes called “The Catholic Reformation”. Some things that we perceive as bad are still better than alternatives, and God knows this. There were divisions that existed prior to the 1500s, both inside the CC and outside.
 
It would be the most ideal because that is how Jesus wanted his Church to be. The unity would be amazing under the headship of Peter.

But that is not meant to be because Jesus never guarantee singularity; moreover there will be false prophets but he only made sure that the Gate of Hell would not prevail over his true Church.
 
TK421 said:
The difference would be astronomical. Imagine just the affect it would have on the rest of the world if literally the entire Christian population was united in one communion. Think of the effects it would have in the availability of sacraments, of the “manpower” of the priesthood & religious, of finding spouses, of building spiritual support & study groups (under Church guidance), of performing corporal works of mercy.

But the question all hangs on the premise, “What if humans didn’t have human nature”. Christians have never been completely unified. Not really. Some might say the protestant revolution (with all of its detrimental effects, in the historical Catholic view) was still a lesser evil than the Church in the West remaining united, because of how deeply rooted some abuses had become. The chaos of the 1500s eventually would usher in the Jesuits, the Spiritualists, and a general awakening of internal scrutiny. Post-Council of Trent is sometimes called “The Catholic Reformation”. Some things that we perceive as bad are still better than alternatives, and God knows this. There were divisions that existed prior to the 1500s, both inside the CC and outside.
Click to expand...
You have a far more lenient and idealistic view of the church than many do

We are united in Jesus and if we would simply stay with that…
 
Tommy999 said:
There is currently a thread about Protestants Rejecting Catholicism
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1029583

It got me to thinking, how would Christendom and the world be different if all Protestants and other non-Catholic Christians became good Catholics and started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals?
  1. Would Christianity and the world be better off?
  2. How would the world be different (better, worse, or the same), in your view?
Just curious.
Click to expand...
I dont think making all Christians Catholic is, or should be, a goal of the Catholic church or of Jesus himself. OTH, I do think it is His wish and prayer that all Christians accept the Catholic church as the church He established and more importantly as Christian.

There are still many Christian organizations purporting the opposite or at minimum avoiding true fellowship with Catholic Christians proving to all people outside Christianity that “Christianity” doesn’t even know what Christianity is. This is the outward sign of disunity and therefore making disciplining much more difficult or impossible.

Imagine if all “Christians” were united as to the simplest notion that all “Christians” were in fact Christians. How would THAT change the world?..:eek:

Peace!!!
 
Wannano said:
To answer this I would need a definition of “good” Catholic. I am of the understanding that approx only 10% of all who are Catholic practice their faith in terms of meeting their Mass obligations etc. I don’t know whether the other 90% are considered good Catholics or not.
Click to expand...
Hi Wannano,
I don’t have an exact definition of the term ‘good Catholic’. I assume it means a Catholic who loves God, follows Jesus, treats others like he would want to be treated, attends church regularly, and is in full communion with the Catholic Church and the Bishop of Rome.

In other words, someone like you except picture yourself as Catholic in terms of belief system. That is basically what I meant.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
Do take into consideration that we Catholics are quite serious when we say we are the original Church. So at one point all Christians would have been Catholic.
Click to expand...
Yes, that thought has crossed my mind. Before the 1500’s, there’s a good chance that the ancestors of most present day non-Catholic Christians were Catholic Christians for centuries.
 
jane_doe said:
Likewise we could ask how would things be different if all Catholics started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals? How would Christianity and the world be different?
Click to expand...
In the scenario you presented, I think the Catholic Church would be in an even stronger position to reach out and witness to other Christian groups if all Catholics started living according to Catholic teaching and submitted to the spiritual authority of the pope in terms of faith and morals. I don’t think Catholics are alone in that not all of the members are practicing their faith in the way their leaders (and God) would want to see.

However, there are enough committed Catholics on CAF along with folks like Tim Staples, Jimmy Akin, Scott Hahn, and others who don’t receive as much publicity who are practicing their faith and living as a good example for others to see.

I don’t know for sure, but I assume there are Catholics who spend time on Non-Catholic Religions’ section of this forum who – if they wanted to – could spend all their time interacting with other Catholics and being inwardly focused on just Catholics. However, I thank those who have patiently explained the Catholic faith to non-Catholics and answered questions or misconceptions that I have had along the way.
 
ctb95 said:
If all Christians became Catholics, I think it would be much easier to focus on evangelization, since Christianity would be much more organized and there wouldn’t be various Christian ideologies competing for converts. Furthermore, the Church would have much more leverage in the political world, due to more people and resources.
Click to expand...
I agree, although I would have misgivings if this ‘political leverage’ resulted in the pope becoming too involved in world politics, but that’s just me.
 
Rosebud77 said:
We would need to be very sure we all lived our faith impeccably and purely.

I like the variety actually.
Click to expand...
Just curious if you could expound on the statement highlighted in red.

Do you think that the existence of Protestant faith traditions helps to keep Catholicism focused and on task in such a way as competition in the business world helps keep a company competitive?
 
TK421 said:
The difference would be astronomical. Imagine just the affect it would have on the rest of the world if literally the entire Christian population was united in one communion. Think of the effects it would have in the availability of sacraments, of the “manpower” of the priesthood & religious, of finding spouses, of building spiritual support & study groups (under Church guidance), of performing corporal works of mercy. But the question all hangs on the premise, “What if humans didn’t have human nature”. Christians have never been completely unified. Not really. Some might say the protestant revolution (with all of its detrimental effects, in the historical Catholic view) was still a lesser evil than the Church in the West remaining united, because of how deeply rooted some abuses had become. The chaos of the 1500s eventually would usher in the Jesuits, the Spiritualists, and a general awakening of internal scrutiny. Post-Council of Trent is sometimes called “The Catholic Reformation”. Some things that we perceive as bad are still better than alternatives, and God knows this. There were divisions that existed prior to the 1500s, both inside the CC and outside.
Click to expand...
I was thinking along the same lines.
 
Reuben_J said:
It would be the most ideal because that is how Jesus wanted his Church to be. The unity would be amazing under the headship of Peter.

But that is not meant to be because Jesus never guarantee singularity; moreover there will be false prophets but he only made sure that the Gate of Hell would not prevail over his true Church.
Click to expand...
Hi Reuben,
I respect where you are coming from with respect to ‘unity’.

If everyone was Catholic, how would Catholicism stay honest and true to itself? I’m not suggesting that wouldn’t necessarily be the case if everyone was Catholic, but a concern of mine is that any institution who is the “only game in town” runs the risk of becoming fat, lazy, and inefficient.

If Catholicism was the only religion in Christianity, what would prevent this sort of thing?
Just curious. I realize this is all a hypothetical scenario.
 
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