Is it easier to be Protestant or Catholic?

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But is Protestantism really easier? Hmmm…

I encourage anyone to think about and answer this question. Obviously converts to Catholicism have personal experience with both forms of Christianity, but I know a lot of Catholics who have knowledge of Protestant life and practices, too.
Christianity in general is difficult to live out in a sinful world, but Catholicism is even more difficult to live out.

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
Luke 12:48

The fullness of Truth gives us a heavier load to carry than most. (Good thing!)
 
My message to the person who wants to leave the Catholic church to the Assemblies of God church because of the influence of the illuminati is…“please don’t”. You will find that us Assemblies of God are just as infiltrated with the illuminati as the Catholics are.
Turns out you’re right! 🙂 Lol I just did a google search for “Assemblies of God illuminati” and found quite a few pages about Assemblies of God ministers being illuminati puppets.
 
I’m sure this may have already been mentioned here, but this reminds me of the saying-----------------------------

“It is easier to be live as a Protestant, but harder to DIE as one. It is harder to LIVE as a Catholic, but easier to die as one.”

I go with the Truth-------that of Holy Mother Church.👍:o
 
OP, i feel your pain. However, teh catholic church has the Real Presence of Jesus
in the Eucharist,and that is worth A LOT!
 
Neither path is easy. As Christians, all work to live and show Christ’s teachings in the world. When it comes to practices, Catholicism is more confusing and harder to keep track of, though.

They’re “equal” in terms of “difficulty.”
 
I was told a long time ago that it’s much easier to live as a Protestant than a Catholic. But it’s much easier to die as a Catholic than a Protestant.
Greetings Scoobyshme,
I think you may have an over simplified idea of what it is to be a Protestant Christian. While it is true that most Protestant churches practice very little in the way of ritual.Their belief and love of Christ is just as valid as it is in the Holy Roman Catholic church.What exactly is it that you find “hard” about practising Roman Catholicism?
I know I often desire the majesty and beauty of the Catholic church.I wish we had confession!
Can you imagine what it is like for a Presbyterian like myself not to have the gift of confession or the presence of Christ in the communion? Sin weighs heavily on the backs of many a Protestant , unable to share one’s sin with a confessor is a terrible burden.
Your inference to the Catholic church as being a hard or difficult religion is not worthy of it’s divine love.
How can worshipping in the blessed Love our Lord be described as anything other than wonderful.How can our love for Christ be whittled down to the number of rituals we perform?
I think it is so unworthy to compare one religion with another.

Blessings and Love from your Brother : Richard
 
well convert than, if being presbyterian is such a “burden”. The catholic church is also good at destroying a person’s self esteem. That is a burden too.
 
Greetings Scoobyshme,
I think you may have an over simplified idea of what it is to be a Protestant Christian. While it is true that most Protestant churches practice very little in the way of ritual.Their belief and love of Christ is just as valid as it is in the Holy Roman Catholic church.What exactly is it that you find “hard” about practising Roman Catholicism?
I know I often desire the majesty and beauty of the Catholic church.I wish we had confession!
Can you imagine what it is like for a Presbyterian like myself not to have the gift of confession or the presence of Christ in the communion? Sin weighs heavily on the backs of many a Protestant , unable to share one’s sin with a confessor is a terrible burden.
Your inference to the Catholic church as being a hard or difficult religion is not worthy of it’s divine love.
How can worshipping in the blessed Love our Lord be described as anything other than wonderful.How can our love for Christ be whittled down to the number of rituals we perform?
I think it is so unworthy to compare one religion with another.

Blessings and Love from your Brother : Richard
Have you studied the Catholic faith? The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a good source. Confession and the Real Presence are there for all. You need only become a member of the Catholic Church.
 
Twelve Ways To Humble Yourself
  1. Routinely confess your sin to God. (Luke 18:9-14) All of us sin and fall short of the glory of God. However, too few of us have a routine practice of rigorous self-honesty examination. Weekly, even daily, review of our heart and behavior, coupled with confession to God, is an essential practice of humility.
  2. Acknowledge your sin to others. (James 3:2, James 5:16) Humility before God is not complete unless there is also humility before man. A true test of our willingness to humble ourselves is being willing to share with others the weaknesses we confess to God. Wisdom, however, dictates that we do so with others that we trust.
  3. Take wrong patiently. (1 Peter 3:8-17) This has been a difficult one for me. When something is unjust I want to react and rectify it. However, patiently responding to the unjust accusations and actions of others demonstrates our strength of godly character and provides an opportunity to put on humility.
  4. Actively submit to authority…the good and the bad! (1 Peter 2:18) Our culture does not value submission; rather it promotes individualism. How purposely and actively do you work on submission to those whom God has placed as authorities in your life? Doing so is a good way to humble yourself.
  5. Receive correction and feedback from others graciously. (Proverbs 10:17, 12:1) In the Phoenix area, a local East valley pastor was noted for graciously receiving any negative feedback or correction offered. He would simply say “thank you for caring enough to share that with me, I will pray about it and get back to you.” Look for the kernel of truth in what people offer you, even if it comes from a dubious source. Always pray, “Lord, what are you trying to show me through this?”
  6. Accept a lowly place. (Proverbs 25:6,7) If you find yourself wanting to sit at the head table, wanting others to recognize your contribution or become offended when others are honored or chosen, then pride is present. Purpose to support others being recognized, rather than you. Accept and look for the lowly place; it is the place of humility.
  7. Purposely associate with people of lower state than you. (Luke 7:36-39) Jesus was derided by the Pharisees for socializing with the poor and those of lowly state. Our culture is very status conscious and people naturally want to socialize upward. Resist the temptation of being partial to those with status or wealth.
  8. Choose to serve others. (Philippians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Matthew 23:11) When we serve others, we are serving God’s purposes in their lives. Doing so reduces our focus on ourselves and builds the Kingdom of God instead of the Kingdom of self. When serving another costs us nothing, we should question whether or not it is really servanthood.
  9. Be quick to forgive. (Matthew 18: 21-35) Forgiveness is possibly one of the greatest acts of humility we can do. To forgive is to acknowledge a wrong that has been done us and also to further release our right of repayment for the wrong. Forgiveness is denial of self. Forgiveness is not insisting on our way and our justice.
  10. Cultivate a grateful heart. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) The more we develop an attitude of gratitude for the gift of salvation and life He has given us, the more true our perspective of self. A grateful heart is a humble heart.
  11. Purpose to speak well of others. (Ephesians 4:31-32) Saying negative things about others puts them “one down” and us “one up”…a form of pride. Speaking well of others edifies them and builds them up instead of us. Make sure, however, that what you say is not intended as flattery.
  12. Treat pride as a condition that always necessitates embracing the cross. (Luke 9:23) It is our nature to be proud and it is God’s nature in us that brings humility. Committing to a lifestyle of daily dying to self and living through Him is the foundation for true humility.
 
well convert than, if being presbyterian is such a “burden”. The catholic church is also good at destroying a person’s self esteem. That is a burden too.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, each person is unique and unrepeatable, and is created to fulfill a purpose that only he/she can fulfill. The Catholic Church teaches that man is created good and all are called to be saints. It teaches that God loves us with an unfathomable love and wants all men to be saved.
 
Greetings Scoobyshme,
I think you may have an over simplified idea of what it is to be a Protestant Christian. While it is true that most Protestant churches practice very little in the way of ritual.Their belief and love of Christ is just as valid as it is in the Holy Roman Catholic church.What exactly is it that you find “hard” about practising Roman Catholicism?
I know I often desire the majesty and beauty of the Catholic church.I wish we had confession!
Can you imagine what it is like for a Presbyterian like myself not to have the gift of confession or the presence of Christ in the communion? Sin weighs heavily on the backs of many a Protestant , unable to share one’s sin with a confessor is a terrible burden.
Your inference to the Catholic church as being a hard or difficult religion is not worthy of it’s divine love.
How can worshipping in the blessed Love our Lord be described as anything other than wonderful.How can our love for Christ be whittled down to the number of rituals we perform?
I think it is so unworthy to compare one religion with another.

Blessings and Love from your Brother : Richard
You may be surprised to hear the stories of Protestants that go to a Catholic Confessional. No one will know if you go and there is nothing stopping you. Get on it Ricky…👍
 
Perhaps I’m mistaken, but I believe the United Methodist statement in 2008 pulled back some an endorsement of a woman’s right to choose. I believe I heard that the more recent statement focused on the right of Methodists to disagree with one another on this issue. This is the general approach of Methodists and other mainline Protestants on a number of issues - ‘think and let think’ as Wesley put it.
Code:
It will be interesting to see what the next General Conference (2012) of the United Methodist Church will say. Gov. Perry is a United Methodist. I have found that Methodism is very inclusive. George Wallace was a Methodist, but so was George McGovern. It seems to me that Catholicism is similiarly diverse. Many Catholic politicians are 'pro-choice', perhaps the majority of Catholic leaders like Pelosi, Leahy, etc.
Judas was as you recall one of the original 12…
 
It seems to me that a major difference between Catholicism and mainline Protestantism is that Catholicism has set-in-stone positions on contraception, gay sex. priestly celibacy, women clergy, etc.
Code:
In contrast mainline Protestantism provides an atmosphere in which differences of opinion on such issues are permitted and openly debated. For example, the large majority of mainline Protestants would find nothing wrong with contraception practiced by married couples. They would be split on such questions as gay marriage. They would have no problem with marriage of clergy, of course, and rarely with women clergy. Dissent is tolerated within mainline Protestantism. It is not unusual for a good member, who may like his pastor personally, to express his strong disagreement with a sermon after a church service.  

 In this sense, one could argue that Protestantism is easier because it allows such latitude when it comes to theological, liturgical and social issues. Or, you could turn that around, and argue that Protestantism is more difficult because you are required to work out your own attitudes on many such matters. There is no central authority to set infallible teachings.

Evangelical Protestantism is another kettle of fish. Like Catholicism, it is inclined to take hard-and-fast positions. Most evangelical Protestant denominations would strongly denounce gay sex and abortion, for example. In fact, many of them would be more conservative than Catholicism on a variety of social issues, which might include gambling and alcohol. They used to joke that among devout Southern Baptists it was considered polite not to recognize one another when in liquor stores! Ditto when they run into one another Southern Baptist at a casino!

 Then,of course, you have certain Protestant groups - like the Mennonites and the Society of Friends (Quakers) - who might take a firm, absolutist position against war. By the way, I am rather sympathetic to both of these groups since they try to reflect the Sermon on the Mount which most Christians praise but then ignore (e. g., "Love your enemies...").

 God bless everybody - no exceptions.
The dilema with this type of thinking is that I could not pass on this type of thinking to my children. What is their in your paradigm to guard against one day saying well OK gay marriage is OK because God loves everyone…
 
Depends … (not the absorbent kind 😉 )

… aaaaaa ny wayssss

… I was a Roman Catholic for 25 yrs … give or take… in my experience there are 2 kinds of Catholics … those that are by the book and those that are of the cafeteria persuasion. My experience … most are of the second variety … they just dont talk about it cause it really tends to ruffle things at Thanksgiving dinner… If religion is viewed as a social function it is not that difficult no matter what the denominational label…
 
Depends … (not the absorbent kind 😉 )

… aaaaaa ny wayssss

… I was a Roman Catholic for 25 yrs … give or take… in my experience there are 2 kinds of Catholics … those that are by the book and those that are of the cafeteria persuasion. My experience … most are of the second variety … they just dont talk about it cause it really tends to ruffle things at Thanksgiving dinner… If religion is viewed as a social function it is not that difficult no matter what the denominational label…
So are you absorbent, cafeteria or by the book? What issue caused you to leave the Roman Catholic Church after 25 years?
 
The Lord is my Shepherd.

The short answer is that I was religious … but empty.
How is it possible to receive the Lord, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, and still fell empty? If you’re aware of the miracle, you would be filled to overflowing!
 
How is it possible to receive the Lord, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, and still fell empty? If you’re aware of the miracle, you would be filled to overflowing!
I dont know… You tell me… I followed the rules. Went to Catholic school. Mass once a week. … was an alter boy … knew the responses in Latin … Earned my Ad Altare Dei pin in the Boy Scouts…
 
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