Is Catholicism the one true religion of God?

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If it was 100% provable, it wouldn’t take faith, but it takes faith in God and trust in what He told us… to know that Catholicism is true.
 
Brockman, I was just like you.

I was growing up Protestant. But I knew I wasn’t called there. So I started searching.

I looked EVERYWHERE. Some included heresies such as paganism to Biblical stances to Judaism. I even looked to Buddhism for answers.

Then, it stuck me as a lightening bolt. Catholicism. How could I of have missed this?!

Catholicism. Its more than Sunday services to Wednesday Bible study.

Catholicism is an intimate relation and divine connection to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
What struck me hard was the doctrines and beliefs. But I studied and prayed. I accept them all. I am converting to be in full communion with the Church.

I will pray for you. 🙂
 
You will need to give us some baseline as a starting point. Do you accept the existence of God, or do we need to start that far back? How about the divinity of Jesus? Do you accept the Bible? Do you believe that Jesus established a Church (though not necessarily the Catholic Church)?

Obviously it is less complicated if a person already accepts those basic tenets.
 
Blaise Pascal, in his Pensees, convinces his hypothetical opponent that it is reasonable to believe that God exists. His interlocutor can find no fault in the argument, but still has trouble acting the part of the believer. Pascal’s advice?

Bless yourself with holy water, have Masses said, and so on; by a simple and natural process this will make you believe, and will dull you — will quiet your proudly critical intellect.
Pensées (1670)

Children are taught to act respectfully. Eventually they become respectful.
We find God by serving him. Give it a try and see the difference in your life as you grow in faith, hope, and love (though not without trials and setbacks along the way)
 
Oh and read about Our Lady’s miracle in Fatima, but be careful where you find your information (there is some wild and unhealthy speculation out there on the web).
 
If you could prove it then its no longer faith…its science.
 
If there be God, then Catholicism is His religion. I can’t prove this, however I can share my thoughts on why I converted to Catholicism. I was an Evangelical, and pretty fiery one. I despised the Catholic Church and all its rituals and institutions. I thought Catholics were heading to hell in one basketful. But then as I matured I realized how shallow is Protestantism, with its carefree theology and its irreverence. I became a seeker like you. I chose the Catholic Church not only because I was already familiar with Christian thoughts and Christian teachings, but because I see in Catholicism a beautiful harmonization and balance. The Catholic God is a God who wills for all men to be saved, but does not will to take away his freewill. The Catholic God is a God who is both just and mercy. The Catholic God is one who is both astoundingly complex, and amazingly simple.His Church, the Catholic Church, embraces both Scripture and traditions, religious and secular knowledge. Only in the Church do I see no contradictions, and only in this Church do I see all things come together, the astounding spiritual beauty, and the wonderfully philosophical perfection.
 
Brockman138 said:
I don`t know if Christianity is the true faith
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OK. Do you accept the “historical Jesus” - ie, a man named Jesus gathered some followers and went around preaching, but was convicted and executed by the Romans?

If you answer “yes” to that question, do you accept that this man’s followers claimed he rose from the dead, and they continued to promote Jesus?

Obviously we need to establish that Jesus was divine. But we need to know where to start - do you at least believe that such a man existed?
 
Brockman138 said:
I believe there is a God
I dont know if Christianity is the true faith If it is I like Catholicism the best it is just beautiful and I love the beliefs the most but dont know if its the true faith so PROVE Christianity then Catholicism
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Excellent Challenge my friend!

Please consider the Elegance of Charity or Love as defined by the Holy Bible:
First recognize: Every person wants happiness, but in order to have happiness, one must be peaceful.
Next recognize: In order to have peace, one must be patient, for the instance one is impatient, peace is lost. And…in order to experience any happiness, one must be kind, for the instance one is not kind, nothing greater than peace can be achieved.
Therefore, the Holy Bible declaring that the greatest of all things is Charity or Love, where Charity is Patient and Kind, is the most graceful and wise philosophical declaration for any society and/or individual.
Since the Holy Bible first stated this, then all credit, respect and honor goes to its Author(s). And the author(s) give all glory to Jesus Christ.

An extension is the Beauty of the Cross:
First recognize: If a relationship is experiencing strife or a loss of happiness and/or peace, somehow the participants of the relationship are not patient or kind.
When a person carries the cross, s/he will only focus on how s/he will be patient and kind in the face of impatience and meanness, in order to restore and/or maintain the peace and happiness of the relationship. This person humbly carries the load of sin for the greater good of the relationship, and will be rewarded greatly in Heaven!

For greater justification that Jesus Christ is God, next is to analyze the amazing depths of wisdom and empowering knowledge to perfect patience, kindness and motivation throughout the person gained from the Greatest Commandments.

For greater justification in growing in oneness with His Holy Spirit is to understand the Beatitudes.

Thoughts?

There are several methods to know that Roman Catholicism is the Fullness of Truth regarding Jesus Christ’s Church, unfortunately I must share at a later time.
 
Brockman138 said:
I believe there is a God
I dont know if Christianity is the true faith If it is I like Catholicism the best it is just beautiful and I love the beliefs the most but dont know if its the true faith so PROVE Christianity then Catholicism
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It is hard to completely PROVE one religion over another, and this involves much more than a simple post, but I will do my best to help out:

First off, If Christianity is true, I think that Catholicism can be proven over the others for the following reasons:
  1. Protestantism came about in the 16th century, a long time after Christ. It is not Apostolic and is not unified. Historically, if we look at Henry the 8th or Martin Luther, I think it is clear that they were not founders of the true religion.
  2. Sola Scriptura- which is the main source of authority in Protestantism- is faulty because–>
    a) The Bible does not say Sola Scriptura is the truth, so how can we know? IOW it fails its own test
    b) The Catholic Church assembled the Bible
    c) How can we know how to interpret the Bible w/o the Church or an authority?
    d) If most people couldn’t read for a LONG TIME, how could God transmit His teachings through writing if most people for most of history could not understand God’s message?
  3. The Church needs unity and Protestantism lacks this.
  4. No Protestant religion is supported by countless miracles, apparitions, etc.
  5. The Catholic Church has not changed teachings, protestants do not necessarily have official teachings but look what has happened with almost all protestants cracking on the contraception issue and the mainline protestants even cracking on bigger issues like abortion. Also think that the Catholic Church has continued from the earliest days until today standing strong proclaiming the same teachings despite MANY cultural pressures.
  6. Scripture clearly proves Catholicism. There are many Catholic Answers sources and other examples on the internet but here is a great site: catholicbible101.com/
  7. The Early Church was definately Catholic: they prayed to saints, for the dead. They believed in the Papacy, the sacraments, and rituals. They believed in salvation through Faith and works, etc.
NOW, as for belief in Christianity, I think there is a lot more to talk about, but put simply in a short summary–
  1. Historical evidence for Christ is undeniably strong
  2. Evidence for Christ’s claims as reliable is clear
  3. It is very hard for me to believe that the largest religion, the most powerful institution for many years, the foundation for western society, the oldest institutional Church, etc. (IE the CATHOLIC CHURCH) was founded by a random carpenter and his fisherman friends. In other words, It SEEMS DIVINE.
  4. Christianity is anti-intuitive (e.g. Trinity/Eucharist) therefore probably not a forgery of some sort.
  5. Christianty developed despite all of the odds (it preached selflessness, love, dignity of all people, denial of wealth and worldly pleasures, etc.) (and also it was persecuted by the strongest power in the world=Roman Empire)
  6. The Ressurection can be demonstrated: philvaz.com/apologetics/num9.htm
  7. Christianity has so many miracles (actually Catholicism to be precise)
    For example: Shroud of Turin, Lourdes cures (which have a very strict approval process-Miracle Hunter: Lourdes - List of Approved Miracles
    Or the Miracle of the Sun, St. Juan Diego’s cloth with OL of Guadalupe, countless mystics and apparitions, Padre Pio’s stigmata/bilocation/soul-reading, etc.
    Also, bleeding statues/crying statues. Cures through the intercession of the Saints. Eucharistic miracles (see Lanciano)
    And one more side note- the Holy Shroud, another cloth (which I forget the name off the top of my head but it is a Spanish cloth that is said to have covered the head of Christ, a google search should be able to bring that up) and the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano have matching blood types independently (AB) which is rare but more common in Palestine.
    Also, incurruptable bodies are a big thing.
  8. Other religions can be demonstrated as false: Polytheism is not very consistant with simple philosophical principles about God, Judaism clearly transitioned to Christianity and Jesus fullfilled all ofthe predictions about the messiah. Islam was spread through violence, and mohammned was not exactly a moral guy. Plus, Islam is not very theologically deep compared to Christianity (imo)
Finally, I will add that “by their fruits you shall know them,” and this applies not just now, but throughout history. The Church, although many Catholics have been sinners, has prodcued many virtous people, especially the martyrs. And look at where your heart is leading you. The Church is so beutiful, so amazing, how could it not be true? God has given us his Mother as a way back to him… the Rosary is a beutiful scriptural prayer. Christ asked that we remember him by the Holy Mass, Catholics do this every day. I think the greatest thing about the Church is that we have GOD HIMSELF present with us, not in a mere spiritual way, but in a more real and personal way- in the Holy Eucharist. I think this beats all else…**by far, **

This is also a great part of the Catholic Church:
catholic-forum.com/churches/cathteach/divinemercy1.htm

I hope this is helpful, it was my best I could come up with off of the top of my head.

God Bless, I wish you well on your Journey to Christ 🙂
I will keep you in my prayers

Tom 👍
 
Dear Brokman,

I will tell you what proves it to me, After the departure our Lord the apostles scattered over the known world. Only one apostle came to India: St. Thomas. He came to preach to the Jews of Cochin who sold Israel spices. The Jews rejected him. But he preached to the Hindus in Kerala He died in India,
Imagine the surprise of Portugal 1500 years later when they found a state full of churches. They all had 7 sacraments, bishops, priests, All had mass with incense. In other words 1500 years had passed but the faith St. Thomas planted was essentially the same as the faith in Rome.
Only later some protestants and brought Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist.
Then the Germans brought Luther.
The Catholic had been here cut off from the world for 1500 years.
 
Saint Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch (modern day Istanbul, Turkey). He was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist and sat at his feet and was taught by him.

Saint Ignatius, in the year 107A.D. wrote letters to the churches in Antioch before his martyrdom in Rome about the sacraments and about the role of bishops in the Catholic church.

As you know, the word catholic means universal. However, Ignatius was the first to call the church Catholic, with a capital C and not the small c.

Here is an excerpt of one of his letters:

Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful to baptize or give communion without the consent of the bishop. On the other hand, whatever has his approval is pleasing to God. Thus, whatever is done will be safe and valid. — Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8, J.R. Willis translation. ”

When Ignatius wrote the Letter to the Smyrnaeans in about the year 107 and used the word catholic, he used it as if it were a word already in use to describe the Church.

I think this should help you to realize that the Holy Catholic Church is the one true church founded by Jesus Christ.

I pray that you will come home to the Church.
 
James_Miller said:
Dear Brokman,

I will tell you what proves it to me, After the departure our Lord the apostles scattered over the known world. Only one apostle came to India: St. Thomas. He came to preach to the Jews of Cochin who sold Israel spices. The Jews rejected him. But he preached to the Hindus in Kerala He died in India,
Imagine the surprise of Portugal 1500 years later when they found a state full of churches. They all had 7 sacraments, bishops, priests, All had mass with incense. In other words 1500 years had passed but the faith St. Thomas planted was essentially the same as the faith in Rome.
Only later some protestants and brought Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist.
Then the Germans brought Luther.
The Catholic had been here cut off from the world for 1500 years.
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I like that, thanks you for post James.
 
From Dr Lesloie Rumble MSC’s “Catholic Instruction Course”:
  1. SIGNS OF THE TRUE CHURCH
    Christ not only took great care in the establishing of His Church. He made sure that it would have certain signs, marks or notes, by which it easily could be recognized as true to the exclusion of all others.
    Those outstanding signs are four. The true Church will be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
  • ONE CHURCH. Christ said, “I will build my Church,” not “Churches.” He said that there would be “one fold and one shepherd.” (Jn., X, 16) And the Catholic Church alone is one in faith andworship and organization or discipline throughout the world.
  • A HOLY CHURCH. Christ came to sanctify men. “For them do I sanctify myself,” He said, “that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (Jn., XVII, 19). And for that same work He sent His Church.
    Yet is not holiness an outstanding characteristic of the Catholic Church? She is holy in her Founder, Jesus Christ; in her teachings, in her worship, in her Saints, in her ideals of the priesthood, her inspiration of Convent Life, her devotion to works of charity for the poor, the orphan, the sick, and the aged.
    No one leaves the Catholic Church for higher standards of virtue. All converts who come to seek only to love God more fervently, and to live better lives than before.
  • A CATHOLIC CHURCH Christ established His Church for “all nations,” not for any particular nations only. Remaining one and the same Church, It will be adapted to all times, all places, all types of people. There is one Church only which complies with the requirements, the Catholic Church.
  • AN APOSTOLIC CHURCH. Christ promised that He would protect His Church “all days” from its commencement till the end of the world. The true Church, therefore, will reach right back through history to the apostles.
    It must have been in this world all the days since then, be here now, and show prospects of lasting till the end of time.
But the Catholic Church alone has been in the world all days since the beginning of the Christian era.

jloughnan.tripod.com/cathinstrcrs.htm
 
Brockman138 said:
I have looked at every world religion and Catholicism I find the most beautiful. I love every thing about it. The sacraments, Papacy, The Mass, Eucharist, Etc… are some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and all have good arguments for their existence. The thing is can you PROVE Catholicism to be the one true faith? If you can prove it I plan on converting to Catholicism and being the best Catholic I can if you can prove it is the true belief.
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To understand the truth of the Catholic Church, read christian history.

Here is a library with documents that date all the way to the time of the book of Acts in the Bible…newadvent.org/fathers/

Start with the Didache, the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch, the First Apology of Justin Martyr, and Against Heresies by Irenaeus. You will find the faith of the early Christians to be quite Catholic.

When you have explored some of these writings, you need to answer the question, ‘Did Jesus really exist?’ If you find yourself saying ‘yes’ to that, then the logical chronological order leads to the Catholic Church.

Subrosa
 
You have narrowed down your choice to two fine religions. Considering how many thousands of religions there are, I commend you for making it this far.

There is no external objective proof of any one religion over another. Obviously, most people in this forum will encourage you to be a Catholic. But any evidence we can give you to “prove” Catholicism is the one true religion will also be given in a slightly different form in a Muslim forum to “prove” that religion is correct.

So to choose our religion, you must ask yourself one simple question:
“Which of these religions will make me a better person”?

Answer that, and you know what religion you should join.
 
littlebum2002 said:
You have narrowed down your choice to two fine religions. Considering how many thousands of religions there are, I commend you for making it this far.

There is no external objective proof of any one religion over another. Obviously, most people in this forum will encourage you to be a Catholic. But any evidence we can give you to “prove” Catholicism is the one true religion will also be given in a slightly different form in a Muslim forum to “prove” that religion is correct.

So to choose our religion, you must ask yourself one simple question:
“Which of these religions will make me a better person”?

Answer that, and you know what religion you should join.
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There is ojective proof that Catholic Christianity is the true religion. Over five thousand fulfilled prophecies is objective proof. No other religion has that.

Asking “Which of these religions will make me a better person” without an objective, authoritative definition of what a better person is, is nothing more than a reduction of all religions to a subjective emotional response.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)*

There are many fine religions but Jesus is Truth. There is only one Jesus so there is only one Truth. There is only one truth and so there is only one true religion given to us by Jesus. That religion is knowable. It is tangable. Books are written about it. It’s leader lives in the Vatican. That “Truth” is the religion of Catholicism. When Jesus said, “I am truth” and then gave us the Catholic Church, he gave us objective proof of the one true religion.

I urge you to read Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17.

-Tim-
 
There is ojective proof that Catholic Christianity is the true religion. Over five thousand fulfilled prophecies is objective proof. No other religion has that.
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Tim;

As a Catholic, I agree with you. I am just playing the devil’s advocate here.

Let’s look at it from an outsider’s perspective. It is entirely possible that the gospel writers embellished their stories to make it LOOK like Jesus fulfilled prophecies. There are accounts, external of the 4 gospels, that mention Jesus and confirm some of His deeds. But all proof of Him fulfilling the prophecies come from the gospel writers, and a non-Christian could easily believe they made it up to enhance His reputation.

All religions have objective evidence FOR THEIR FOLLOWERS. In Islam, the fact that the Quran doesn’t have a thousand translations like the Bible is proof that it, unlike the Bible, has not been corrupted. Hindus believe the same thing about their scriptures. Both of these religions, as well as Christians and Jews, point out scientific facts in their religious textbooks that, at the time they were written, only God would know.

When you look at every religion from a neutral, 3rd party, objective standpoint, all have reasons why they could be the “one true faith”, and all have reasons why they might be flawed. Therefore, the best way to pick a religion, in my opinion, is to pick the one which will provide you with the best moral guidance. I hope the OP will be a Catholic, but I think a person who does not fit in with the Catholic faith would be better off as a devout Muslim than a lukewarm Catholic.
 
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