Is Catholicism the only true Christian religion?

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tracky8

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Please forgive me if parts of this question sound uneducated or elementary… I am very confused and need guidance.

I consider myself a Christian - I was raised based on Chrisitan beliefs and attended Methodist church (though not regularily). I always assumed that I was baptised as a baby, but recently discovered that is not the case. So, as of today, I consider myself a Christian (and try to live as one should), but I have never been baptized, and I am not well educated in religion outside of the “normal” lay person’s knowledge.
I have a close friend that is Catholic, and have learned quite a bit from him. I have even been atttending Mass off and on for the last year or so. I have considered converting to Catholicism, but have not done so yet - mainly because my family would most likely think I was crazy (no one is anti-Catholic, there just has never been any Catholic influence in our lives).
My most important questions come from what my friend has told me:
Is Catholicism the only “real” Christian religion? Will I go to hell if I am not a Catholic (and if something should happen to me before I am baptized will I also go to hell)?
Am I a “fraud” as a Christian if I do not convert to Catholicism?

I am so very confused and I need guidance.

Thank you for your answers.
 
yo hows it going! I’m a new Catholic I’ll try to answer the best that I can.
Is Catholicism the only “real” Christian religion?
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yes, everything else is fantasy. established 2k years ago by God in the flesh for our salvation and will last into eternity (matt 16:18)
Will I go to hell if I am not a Catholic (and if something should happen to me before I am baptized will I also go to hell)?
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not necessarily nobody can say who goes to Hell, but you should convert and be baptized. if you know the Church is True and baptism is important but you refuse for a silly reason, its possible.
Am I a “fraud” as a Christian if I do not convert to Catholicism?
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no but you’re seriously missing out on a lot of stuff that will help you become a better person and you’re denying yourself what God gave us for salvation.
 
I pretty much agree with the first response, though I would have answered your first question (Is Catholicism the only true Christian religion a little differently - though I understand where the first respondant was coming from). I don’t think Catholicism is the only true Chrisitan religion, but I think it is the purist form of God’s gospel. I believe that Protestants who confess faith in, and acceptance of, Jesus as Lord and Saviour are “Christian”, but they are only imperfectly united as part of the body of Christ.

I think (and pray) that once you spend time reading scripture, Church history and praying about it, the Holy Spirit will lead you to the Catholic Church.

Good luck on your journey. FYI - I’m Protestant in the midst of swimming the Tiber (making the spiritual conversion to Catholicism). It is my prayer that my wife and children ultimately join me (and you too).

Blessings,

Brian
 
tracky8 said:
Is Catholicism the only “real” Christian religion?
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The Catholic Church is THE church Christ founded, and it possess the complete faith that Christ gave the apostles.

Other Christian communities have a portion of that faith, but not the complete faith. Some Christian communities have added things that are inconsitent with the faith Christ as given.

So a non-catholic church is as “real” as they are in conformity with the faith that Christ gave the catholic church.

The eastern Orthodox Churces’ faith is very close to the faith given to the Church by Christ. So much so that they have maintained valid apostolic sucession and valid sacrements.

Most protestant communities have diverged so much from the faith given by Christ, that they lack apostolic sucession and thus only have two valid sacrements–baptism and marriage. Nonetheless, protestants profess a faith in Christ and still have a great deal of the Truth. So I don’t think it is accurate to say catholics are the only Christians, but because protestants do not have apostolic sucession, they are technically not churches, unlike the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

I understand your concern about what your family will think. What you need to decide is whether the Catholic Church is really the Church founded by Christ.

If it is, it really doesn’t matter what your family thinks, you need to join the church He founded it. If you family rejects you because of it, bear that cross as a sacrifice to Him.

However, my guess is your family, after an initial shock, will get over it. Mine did. 🙂

I will pray for you tonight.
 
Tracky many wonderful and holy people are non catholic, but ours is the church instituted by Christ…May you find as much joy as I have in Catholicism
 
Thank you all for your answers. I feel drawn to the Church, and I hope this is the beginning of my journey.
I am not sure how to deal with my family in regards to converting - especially my husband. Do any of you have any suggestions as to resources (books, etc) that might help?
Also, I have just missed the beginning of the RCIA process for this year (to be baptized in the Catholic church for Easter 09)… Should I just continue to learn about Catholicism and pursue the “official” path next year?
 
tracky8 said:
Thank you all for your answers. I feel drawn to the Church, and I hope this is the beginning of my journey.
I am not sure how to deal with my family in regards to converting - especially my husband. Do any of you have any suggestions as to resources (books, etc) that might help?
Also, I have just missed the beginning of the RCIA process for this year (to be baptized in the Catholic church for Easter 09)… Should I just continue to learn about Catholicism and pursue the “official” path next year?
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Hi Tracky8:

As to your family - the best thing you can do is witness by example - let your family see how the Holy Spirit is working in you in your journey and study of Catholicism - that will ultimately be more powerful then anything else. As to books - there are several excellent ones. Scott Hahn’s “Rome Sweet Home” is a powerful story of Scott (a Protestant minister) and his wife’s conversion to Catholicism (not much deep theory, just a wonderful story) and Stephen Ray’s Crossing the Tiber is more of an apologetic work. (Scott also has an audio (single CD) testimony of his conversion - I just played that for my wife (very effective).

As to timing - my advice would be “don’t rush it” - this is a big decision - you might sit in on the RCIA classes that have already begun and see how it goes. But taking more time will give your spouse more time to learn with and from you, and put you in a better position to make an informed decision. That being said, if the Spirit moves you - you might be able to enter the Church in April.

Blessings,

Brian
 
tracky8 said:
I have considered converting to Catholicism, but have not done so yet - mainly because my family would most likely think I was crazy (no one is anti-Catholic, there just has never been any Catholic influence in our lives).
Will I go to hell if I am not a Catholic (and if something should happen to me before I am baptized will I also go to hell)?
Am I a “fraud” as a Christian if I do not convert to Catholicism
Thank you for your answers.
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No one knows who goes to hell but God. However, it is important to remember “Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (Outside the Church there is no salvation).” This is a **dogmatic **truth of the Faith; the Church is absolutely necessary for salvation. It is the only true Christian religion. The Catholic Church was founded 2000 years ago by Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and, being the full expression of the Faith, is the means through which grace is obtained.

The protestant religions are heresies, plain and simple. They are abominations of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. If you die before you baptized but desired to do so you can be baptized by desire. However, not doing so because of your family considering you “crazy” is wrong. Be a confessor of the Faith; set an example that they may follow you.
 
You might read Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn a former protestant minister and a convert…It is an easy read…Talk to the people at RCIA and they will advise you…I know of one lady that took the class twice because she wasn’t ready to commit
 
tracky8 said:
So, as of today, I consider myself a Christian (and try to live as one should), but I have never been baptized, and I am not well educated in religion outside of the “normal” lay person’s knowledge.
…]
Am I a “fraud” as a Christian if I do not convert to Catholicism?

I am so very confused and I need guidance.

Thank you for your answers.
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The Catholic Church accepts the validity of the Orthodox Churches and the Assyrian Church; so much so that their clerics need not be reordained, their sacraments are valid, and their faithful permitted our sacraments by our canon law.

The early church fathers determined that it was by Baptism that one became Christian. If you are not Baptized, according to the early council dogmatic definitions, you are not Christian. Perhaps Christ-following, but not a member of the church as known in the first 4 centuries.

I personally feel that, since you have been lead to the point of asking, if you turn away now, you are likely to have a VERY rough go of it at your encounter with Christ Pantokrator, enthroned upon his seat of judgement.

The same church that collated the bible now calls you to become part of it. But you, yourself, must trust the Holy Spirit to lead you to the church Christ created.
 
The Catholic church is the true and only church that Jesus founded, from it’s infallible teaching it applies to all souls of the earth it is the universal temple which all people must be apart of, all those who are outside the church broke away from the true church of God and created their own churches, churches of men should be considered schismatic or heretical, Protestants be it Lutheran, Calvinist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Mormon or LDS, JW or non denom “Bible believing Christian” must be apart of the church of God; The Catholic/Universal Church!
 
whenever i hear people of good faith throw around words such as absolute and only, i always remember that the last will be the first and those who have much do little with it.

in essence, even though the catholic church has the full grace of faith, it is humble enough to recognize that there are other churches, other members, who do more good with the little they have been given than they.

arrogance and pride, oh, how the fallen one loves them
 
joseph_virgen said:
whenever i hear people of good faith throw around words such as absolute and only, i always remember that the last will be the first and those who have much do little with it.

in essence, even though the catholic church has the full grace of faith, it is humble enough to recognize that there are other churches, other members, who do more good with the little they have been given than they.

arrogance and pride, oh, how the fallen one loves them
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Mate I think you will find that anyone who says (quite truthfully I might add) that the Catholic Church is the One, True, Apostolic Church does so not out of arrogance or pride. They say so, because it is the truth. They don’t believe these things are true BECAUSE of them. They probably feel that they are very lucky to be part of the One, True Church, and hope that whoever is not inside the Church, will join.

It actually has nothing to do with pride or arrogance. And I’d say the fallen one hates the truth being told, so I doubt he likes it when people proclaim these things…
 
I see Christianity as a big stain glass picture. Catholicism has all the tiles to the picture so Catholicism has the full picture. As other denominations broke from the Catholic Church and did away or modified the teachings of the Catholic Church, some of the tiles in the picture were broken out and replaced by opaque tiles, thus losing the the full picture. Some denominations have only taken one or two tiles out while others had taken out so much that they don’t get the picture at all.

I know I’d like the full picture of Christ’s teachings and the only one that does is the Catholic Church.
 
The Catholic Church is the only Earthly religion that is complete and true.
 
Fox said:
I see Christianity as a big stain glass picture. Catholicism has all the tiles to the picture so Catholicism has the full picture. As other denominations broke from the Catholic Church and did away or modified the teachings of the Catholic Church, some of the tiles in the picture were broken out and replaced by opaque tiles, thus losing the the full picture. Some denominations have only taken one or two tiles out while others had taken out so much that they don’t get the picture at all.

I know I’d like the full picture of Christ’s teachings and the only one that does is the Catholic Church.
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👍
 
Fox said:
I see Christianity as a big stain glass picture. Catholicism has all the tiles to the picture so Catholicism has the full picture. As other denominations broke from the Catholic Church and did away or modified the teachings of the Catholic Church, some of the tiles in the picture were broken out and replaced by opaque tiles, thus losing the the full picture. Some denominations have only taken one or two tiles out while others had taken out so much that they don’t get the picture at all.

I know I’d like the full picture of Christ’s teachings and the only one that does is the Catholic Church.
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Seconded. There is much truth in many other Christian denominations, but Catholicism is the most true. That doesn’t make us the only true Church; we just a have a fuller picture.
 
Lujack said:
Seconded. There is much truth in many other Christian denominations, but Catholicism is the most true. That doesn’t make us the only true Church; we just a have a fuller picture.
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It DOES make us the only true Church! I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.

This “fullness” of truth drivel needs to stop!

"Oh, you don’t believe in the True Presence at Mass? Or the Immaculate Conception? What about Original Sin? No? Oh well. Erm. Do you believe in God? Yes! Wow! We’ve got common ground. :hug3: "
 
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