I'm being bombarded and attacked about my Catholic faith...help!

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1949 Called to beatitude but wounded by sin, man stands in need of salvation from God. Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that guides him and the grace that sustains him:

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.1
1 Phil 2:12-13. (Catechism)

Even St Paul knew he could lose his grace of salvation:
1 Cor 9:27 “but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.”

Scripture in the Book of Ezekiel also provides a clear answer to your question regarding “losing salvation. [The concept of 'once saved, always saved,” is a Protestant one.]

Ezekiel 18:24

“But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.”

For understanding based on Scripture regarding Grace and Salvation
from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a2.htm
 
If a person means that one is saved the moment one says, “I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior” therefore from this moment I am saved regardless of anything else, then this does not conform with the bible.

We need to look to Jesus who is judge of souls and what He describes as necessary for salvation.
When Jesus describes the judgement of souls, He does so on the basis of whether or not they have lived the command of love. He makes it clear that He will judge us by our acts of practical kindness to others, which He also takes as kindness/love, to Himself.

He does not say, that because you said to me that you accepted me as your Lord and Savior, you will go to heaven, He says because you lived acts of kindness:

"All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Those who did not live practical kindness to other merit hell.

" Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ "

This is all in Matthew 25 verses 31-46

Even in this scripture, Jesus is assuring us that a single act of accepting Him as Lord and Savior, and even repeating this, does not get us into heaven.
He requires that we live the commands of love in a practical, realistic way.
 
Have your protestant friends listen to Scott Hahn’s story.

youtube.com/watch?v=FrQN8LHYg5g

I don’t know anybody that put as much effort and time into researching these questions and came to believe that the Catholic church holds the fullness of truth.

Time after time as he was researching, to his horror, he found that the Catholic Church was right until he finally had to give in and come home.

Peace,
John
 
This is a very good thread. What they do not wish to understand is they themselves cannot answer many pointed questions, four of which really caused problems for me many years ago.
  1. Where in Scripture does it say Scripture contains everything we need when in fact it actually says the opposite?
  2. If a person is “saved” in an instant and for eternity, what about those people who experienced a “real” salvific experience, yet turn from God and live a life of debauchery? If that person curses God, does that person still get to go to heaven?
  3. Which protestant Church developed the same Scripture your denomination claims to hold to and abide under?
  4. If the Catholic Church is wrong, which one of the thousands of protestant denominations actually got it right and how can we know for certain that is the right one and the other thousands somehow got it wrong?
You see, we could play the back and forth game of questions all day and it will get no one anywhere. All they have done is learned a few verses, a few attack questions, remembered a few arguments they heard someone else say during a sermon and, well, that’s usually about all there is to it. They are not as well prepared to defend their own faith as well as they think, not when using Scripture as well or better than they can.

The recommendation for “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” by Karl Keating is excellent. It was a great help to me and I recommend it often, but there are many more which are just as good.
 
Regarding the teachings on Mary you should check out the link below its by Scott hahn covers all the Marian doctrines in depth

salvationhistory.com/studies/lesson/queen_a_biblical_introduction_to_mary

Queen Mother

agapebiblestudy.com/documents/mary%20the%20queen%20mother%20of%20the%20new%20davidic%20kingdom.htm

Good youtube video on BVM 10 mins long

youtube.com/watch?v=kUdYeYy3NQA

Nobody believes the saints are dead. Mathew 22:32

'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB '? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” But if the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God, then they must be aware of our prayers. They are aware of our petitions and present them to God by interceding for us.

The seven sacraments are biblical. Link below

catholicbible101.com/thesevensacraments.htm

Where in the Bible do we find that New Testament churches are to conduct elaborate rituals and ceremonies after the fashion of Rome?

Matthew 16:18-19

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.** I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”**

Jesus built his church on peter who is the rock and he gives only Peter the keys. Singular Keys, no other apostles had keys.
 
How about you ask them: Where in the Bible does it say that everything we believe must be found in the Bible? Or, how do they know what the Bible even is? What authority do they have to tell you what the correct interpretation of the Bible is?
 
Personally, I love it when someone challenges me with questions! It makes me research and find the truth 🙂 just a few months after I entered into the Church I had a visit from a Baptist lady. Very nice woman. She gave me this booklet that at first glance seemed Catholic to me. It was called Sermon from a Catholic Bible. Well it turned out this booklet was very anti-catholic! I spent the next several weeks pouring over those 18 pages and finding what the truth actually was. It was a fabulous teaching tool!! The lady stopped back a few months later…I thanked her for that booklet. She seemed shocked lol. We spent the next hour and a half looking at just a couple of the points in her booklet. I had her stumbling a few times lol. It was a polite debate.
So take each question and look into it. Ask God to reveal His truth on these, He’ll lead you in tue right direction 🙂
 
Memaw said:
Ask them how old their denomination is and who started it. God Bless, Memaw
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No. Defend your faith without questioning or attacking their’s. It’s not productive or charitable.

Peace and all good!
 
Compostella said:
Where in the Bible do we find anyone praying to Mary or to any other person other than God?
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Most notably at the wedding of Cana. No sensible Catholic prays to Mary or the saints in the same spiritual manner that we pray to God. To God and God alone do we offer “latria” or worship to the Creator as created things. To the saints we offer “dulia” which roughly translates as “honor” or “veneration,” and is a sign of our respect of their exalted place in Heaven with God. It shows that we hope to follow in their footsteps. To the Blessed Virgin, we offer “hyperdulia” or “LOTS of veneration!” This is because of our belief in her ever-sinless nature, her unique and special role in the Incarnation and the way in which (like at Cana) she intercedes for us even when Jesus doesn’t think He should act Mary encourages her Son to help us poor sinners.
Compostella said:
Where does the Bible call Mary the Mother of God?
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Is Mary the mother of Jesus? Yes. Is Jesus God? Yes. QED: Mary is the Mother of God. If they really harass you for a set of verses, point out the beginning of St. John’s Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. … The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1,14) If they get into some Arian heresy about “Oh, well, Mary was the mother of the human nature of Christ,” then just pull a St. Nick and punch them in the face. (No, I’m kidding, don’t do that!) But you can ask if, in any other sense, replacing “person” with “human nature” makes sense. Was your mother the “mother of your human nature, but not you?” Because that’s ridiculous. And it’s just as ridiculous in Mary’s case as it would be in any other.
Compostella said:
Where does the Bible say that Mary is the Queen of Heaven?
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For starters, point out all throughout the Old Testament which woman was sitting with the Kings of Israel (hint: it’s their mumsie!) and then have them read (or tell them yourself) on how many occasions the Gebirah (Hebrew for “Great Lady” or “Queen Mother”) this Queen Mother acted as counselor, and advisor although they were not the monarch. So, once you’ve got them to establish that in the times of the Davidic Kings, their mothers had a role to play (with crown, and with a throne), get them to draw the obvious parallels between Jesus and the Davidic Kings. Next then, naturally, “Well, who is Our Lord’s Gebirah?” Mary, obviously. This article is also a great read on Mary as Gebirah of the eternal Davidic Kingdom.

If you want to take a more allegorical route (which is also the more common way to illustrate this point) you can point to the signs and symbols in Revelation 12:1-5, which are commonly used to depict Our Lady in art. We can assume that the “child destined to rule all nations” is Jesus. Therefore, this child’s mother is Jesus’ mother. Ergo, Mary. No, it doesn’t explicitly say that “Mary is the Queen of Heaven,” but if Jesus is a Davidic King, and all Davidic Kings had Queen Mothers, and a woman allegorically thought to be Mary has got a crown on her head, we Catholics can put 2+2 together and figure out that she’s probably the Gebirah of Heaven. Subordinate to her Son, as all created things are subordinate to the Creator, but adviser and counselor who hears the petitions of the kingdom and brings them before the King.
Compostella said:
Where in the Bible do we find the teaching that Mary is sinless?
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Well, again, not directly, but that’s okay. First of all, consider Mary as the new Eve. Jesus is the new Adam, and Mary is indeed the true “mother of all the living.” (Behold thy mother, and all that jazz.) If our first mother, Eve, failed us through disobedience, Mary must have been perfectly obedient. If Eve fell wanting to become like God, Mary helped to redeem us (-insert Co-Redemptrix debate here-) by humbling herself before God.

Under no circumstances do Catholics teach that Mary did not need God or did not need saving. Au contraire, Mary’s Magnificat makes it pretty clear that she thinks of God as her Saviour. However, God worked to save her from Original Sin at the moment of her conception. Unique? Extraordinary? Obviously. But Mary’s privilege in bearing God to us required that she be free from fault. You can also point to the very obvious connections between the Ark of the Old Covenant and Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant. And if God was so particular on how perfect the Ark needed to be just to carry the manna and the commandments, how much more perfect would He make sure that Mary was to bear God Himself?

Then, you can start to dissect their exchange in its extant Greek. For this, I’m actually just going to block quote this excellent article on the sinlessness of Mary.
In Greek, the greeting was kaire, kekaritomene, or “Hail, full of grace.” Generally speaking, when one greeted another with kaire, a name or title would be found in the immediate context. St. Luke uses the perfect passive participle,* kekaritomene*, as his “name” for Mary. This word literally means “she who has been graced” in a completed sense. This verbal adjective, “graced,” is not just describing a simple past action. Greek has another tense for that. The perfect tense is used to indicate that an action has been completed in the past resulting in a present state of being. “Full of grace” is Mary’s name. So what does it tell us about Mary? Well, the average Christian is not completed in grace and in a permanent sense (see Phil. 3:8-12). But according to the angel, Mary is. Only Mary is given the name “full of grace” and in the perfect tense, indicating that this permanent state of Mary was completed.
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Neofight said:
No. Defend your faith without questioning or attacking their’s. It’s not productive or charitable.

Peace and all good!
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Oh but it is, I have asked that question many times and it is a great beginning for a discussion. The truth is always the truth. That is NOT attacking their denomination. God Bless, Memaw
 
It always amazes me that so-called Protestant Christian bretheren, can be so critical of the Virgin Mary at every instance.

I live in the South and get this spiel regularly. I don’t have to justify anything to them, so I simply offer:

If you meet the mother of someone you admire greatly, don’t you respect and hold that woman in higher esteem?

It’s just common sense.
 
Sorry, 6k character limit!
Compostella said:
Where does the Bible teach us that the church can identify dead people as saints and can then pray to them?
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Again, we are not praying to them in the same sense that we pray to God - it’s important that your Protestant friends understand this before you make any other points. It can be confusing for Protestants, because kneeling quietly in front of an image of a saint will set off all of their “idolatry & paganism” alarm bells. We are merely asking the saint to pray with us and for us. So, on to the argument.
  1. We know that intercessions are a good thing. (1 Tim 2:1-2)
  2. We know that if we die in the Body of Christ, that doesn’t separate us from His love. (Rom 8:35-39)
  3. We know that those in Heaven have already been judged, and are thus more righteous than us on earth, and that the prayer of a righteous man has power. (James 5:8)
  4. We know that the saints are aware of what goes on on Earth, not because they will it so, but because God wills it so. (Hebrews 12:1)
  5. We know that the saints in Heaven pray. (Rev 8:3-4)
    QED: The saints in Heaven are more than capable of praying to God for us, and that this is a good and holy thing to desire.
Compostella said:
Where does the Bible teach that a dead person can intercede for the living?
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See above. Also, although we have died to the eyes of the world, we are not of course spiritually dead, because then there would be no heaven, no afterlife, and Christianity would logically fall apart into the delusions of a weird Jew 2000 years ago.
Compostella said:
Where in the Bible do we find even one example of a Catholic Mass being conducted or even described? If Christ established the Mass and if it is central to the Christian faith as Rome claims, why is there not one example of it in the book of Acts and the New Testament epistles?
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Uh. Wow. Do these folks read the New Testament? So, firstly explain that the Mass is, in essence, split into two parts - the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Word is obviously derived from the Old Testament reading of the Torah and other Jewish holy books in the synagogue. Your Protestant friends shouldn’t have any problem with this half of the Mass; in fact, they should probably like to do more of this and less of the Eucharist. Then, uh, just point them to the Last Supper? I mean, I’m really not sure how they’ve come to the conclusion that the Liturgy of the Eucharist isn’t exactly what Christ did in the Cenacle. Now, if it’s transubstantiation that they have a problem with (which is what this sounds like, although they wouldn’t have the word for it) then you can look up about 8000 proofs for that all over the shop. Most notably, 1 Corinthians 11:28-30 “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have died.” I’m pretty sure it doesn’t get clearer than that. Eat without discerning Christ’s Body, and run the risk of judgment, illness and death.

Then, if you’re wondering why we call it weird words like “Eucharist” and “Mass” instead of “Communion” and “church service,” you can explain that “Eucharist” is derived from the Greek “eukarios” - “to give thanks/thanksgiving.” In the times shortly following the time outlined in the Scriptures (circa AD 65 - AD 107) St. Ignatius of Antioch made it very clear what he thought of the Eucharist, what he learned sitting at the feet of St. John and he died for that belief because the word “eukarious” was asking for death. So, the early Church used a password - “missa” to identify each other after God’s commandment to “Go in peace.” It is from this word “missa” that the modern word “Mass” is derived. And if they have some sort of problem with reading St. Ignatius to see what the belief of the Church was in 100AD, then ask them how else we are to find out what the Church believed from Scripture - Now. Also, ask them if they’ve read any Biblical commentary or non-Bible scripture book ever. Then point out that this is the same thing, but written actually BEFORE some books of the Bible, and LONG BEFORE the Canon of Scripture was put together. (By Catholics. Three hundred years later.) Obviously, the Church was around before the Bible was around.
 
Compostella said:
Where in the Bible does Paul or any of the early church leaders teach that there are seven sacraments?
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Your friend is contradicting themselves even which this question. Many of the Early Church Fathers weren’t in Scripture. Again, there are 300 years of teaching between the events in the Gospels and the Ecumenical Council that “made the Bible” so to speak. So, in order to be most complete, I’ll answer from a Scriptural perspective and then from the mouths of the Early Church Fathers.
  1. Baptism: This should be a duh. Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist is a pretty cool fellow, we should probably get baptized, too. (Most Protestants don’t have a problem with this one.)
  2. Confirmation: Acts 8:14-17 - The new believers a) had faith, b) were baptized and c) received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. In the letter to the Hebrews, this is written as part of the “elementary” foundations of the Faith. “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:1–2)
  3. Eucharist: Again, see above. God Himself directly gave us this one and told us to keep doing it, so keep doing it we will, until He calls us home. (“Do this in memory of Me.” Pretty clear.)
  4. Reconciliation/Confession: Acts 19:18 “And many of those who now believed came, confessing and divulging their practices.” James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
  5. Holy Orders: John 20:21-23 - Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Mark 3:14-15 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils…"
  6. Matrimony: Are there Protestant churches that deny the sacramental nature of Holy Matrimony? Goodness.
  7. Anointing of the Sick: Again, this is all over the Scriptures.
Now for the Early Church Fathers on the Sacraments That website works pretty well for your last question too.

Good luck!
 
Compostella;
Where does the Bible teach us that the church can identify dead people as saints and can then pray to them?

They are not ‘dead’ people. They are more alive than you and I. God Bless, Memaw
 
Compostella said:
I have some Protestants attacking my faith with these questions. This is what was said to me…

"Where in the Bible do we find anyone praying to Mary or to any other person other than God?

Where does the Bible call Mary the Mother of God?

Where does the Bible say that Mary is the Queen of Heaven?

Where in the Bible do we find the teaching that Mary is sinless?

Where does the Bible teach us that the church can identify dead people as saints and can then pray to them?

Where does the Bible teach that a dead person can intercede for the living?

Where in the Bible do we find even one example of a Catholic mass being conducted or even described? If Christ established the mass and if it is central to the Christian faith as Rome claims, why is there not one example of it in the book of Acts and the New Testament epistles?

Where in the Bible does Paul or any of the early church leaders teach that there are seven sacraments?

Where in the Bible do we find that New Testament churches are to conduct elaborate rituals and ceremonies after the fashion of Rome?

If you are Roman Catholic, please understand that no bible-believing Christian hates you. To the contrary, we love you so much that we preach the truth about Rome so you can see its errors and turn to the biblical faith in Christ. Our desire and prayer to God is that you might be saved. Forgiveness of sins and eternal life is a gift that was purchased by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, and He offers you that gift today. It is not something you have to try to earn. As a sinner, you cannot ever do enough to earn God’s favor. It is not something that any church can earn for you. It is not something that can be obtained through a church ritual, such as baptism or confirmation. Salvation is the free eternal mercy of God through Jesus Christ, and He stands ready and able to receive every sinner that will come to Him by repentance and faith. The Bible says you can KNOW you have eternal life right now, today. "

I know my faith well. I’m just not that good at expressing myself.
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Ask them where in the Bible is the command to write the Bible and where the list of inspired books is!
 
Wow! Thank y’all soooo much for all of your wonderful answers and for taking the time to help me. Y’all are blessed with God given ability to defend your faith and do it well! I pray I can be as wise as y’all are! I surely have lots of great answers and verses to Ndwer these people with. God bless y’all!!
 
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