Non beliver would like to ask some questions regarding ur faith

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villagefool9

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hi there i am not a ‘beliver’ in any faith but have reached the age when i start to question the world around me and take an intrest in other people and there faiths. i enter this fourm open mined and prepared to listen. i do not intend to question you and ur beliff but wish to find out more. please could someone give me a breif overview of catholacsim? i will be back reguly to ask more indepth questions as this thread goes on.
i really apprecate your help.
thank you
 
Hi and Welcome to the Forum!
I hope you find the answers you are looking for here.

While I would like to help you out more so on this, I just popped in to say welcome…
Any brief summaries that I could give on Catholicism would turn into long articles as there is so much to cover and such a free, general area to go over.
Instead, I’ll pop in later when you have more indepth questions, as I might have some knowledge on them.

Welcome Again.

CC
 
Thank you very much for your warm welcome cc.
ive had some time to think of a few questions…
  1. What makes catholics differant from other denomiations (eg.baptist, methdist, protostant any the many more christian faiths)? surly you all belive in the same god and read the same bible?
  2. If anyone reading this was not a catholic from birth how did you know when you found god in catholacism?
ive just posted 2 questions but i have many more and im sure many more will arise from disscuion but it takes some time to get the wording right!!!
thank you for any help
vf9
 
Hi Village
  1. What makes catholics differant from other denomiations (eg.baptist, methdist, protostant any the many more christian faiths)? surly you all belive in the same god and read the same bible?
All the denominations you mention have different doctrines and interpretations of the Bible and of the church. What Catholics believe is that Jesus established a Church, and the Church gave us the Bible. He gave us one Church to authoritatively interpret the Bible. That Church is the Roman Catholic Church.
  1. If anyone reading this was not a catholic from birth how did you know when you found god in catholacism?
Ultimatly, that is between you and God. This life we live is a journey towards God. Some of the images of the Catholic Church include that of the Pilgrim on a journey, or a boat setting of towards a distant land.

Jesus gave us sacraments which are external signs that give us internal grace. Just think of grace as God’s good will towards us. They are God’s way of making us his friends and family. Baptism brings us into the family, Eucharist unites us to him, confession is His way of forgiving us when we are bad, etc… All of these are elements that make the Catholic Church like a big family. All of these sacraments help us to know God better.

Hope this helps.
God Bless.
 
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, He rose again, and ascended into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
 
Villagefool, make sure you do research across the board. I suggest this for two reasons.
  1. I am honestly a protestant, and i have looked at Catholic doctrine, and don’t agree with it.
  2. It will be hard to see the catholics prove themselves over something else, if you don’t know what that something else is. Things make more sense when you compare them.
    I can give you some decent protestant sites if you would like to PM me.
 
You can read the Catholic Catechism here:
scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc.htm

Pope John Paul II made great efforts to try to make the Catholic religion understandable by all.

The Roman Catholic Church has universal beliefs no matter what church you goto. The Protestant churches pick and choose which beliefs they like to follow according to how well the pastor feels that morning. The Protestants also remove from the Bible any books which do not agree with their theology.

Roman Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the true Body and Blood of Jesus. Most of the other denominations believe that the Eucharist is symbolic.

Roman Catholicism is the only true Church which can trace all of their Bishops in a line of succession all the way to the Apostles.
 
hey epower, come on. Can we try and convey our opinions and still be civil?
I’ll agree with him Villagefool. All Catholic churches are the same in their theology. Good if the church is pure all the way through, bad if it’s not. this policy works well in keeping the church pure in ideas, keeping it from being swayed by simple fads and trends.
however, this harder stance makes the church less flexible. If at any point the Catholic church is wrong, it is that much harder to correct it. Protestant churches sprout from any place where a larger group of individuals disagrees with the Catholic church, and finds themselves unable to change it.(note, some Protestant churches can be formed through similar ways off of other protestant denominations)
Some Protestant denominations can go too extreme and lose God entirely because of their lack of moral rigidity, while others flourish because their openess to scrutiny keeps them pure.
In the end, however, our moral doctrine matters little if you don’t first understand that God is real. So many people come to churches because they feel a “need for religion”, while completely ignoring the fact that God is real, and wants to make a real impact on their lives.
God is real, and he wants to make a real impact on your life. He wants to teach you, change you, love you, and show you divine plans for your life. God even says in his word, that the plans he has for you are good ones. He wants you to prosper.
 
Thank you all very much for helping me out in this thread!!!
the main reson i have have never looked that much in to religon in the past is due to this…

if god/budda/mohammod or any key figure in the worlds many religions is so all seeing all powerfull then 1 why are there so many relgions? and 2 why are they always at war (eg. northen ireland, crusades middle east)?
it seems (from an outsider) that all they seem to do is try and destroy each other rather than just consentrate on there own beliffs.
just the other day i had 2 jahoves witness at my door trying to convert me! surry religion is a deeply personal thing and it is up to the individual to find what beliff suits them with out being presured?
vf9
 
p.s. to below

in my last post i did not intend to mean all religus people are at war but in a world persective it seems there is a lot of it going on.
also sorry but my spelling is really bad
vf9
 
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villagefool9:
if god/budda/mohammod or any key figure in the worlds many religions is so all seeing all powerfull then 1 why are there so many relgions? and 2 why are they always at war (eg. northen ireland, crusades middle east)?
it seems (from an outsider) that all they seem to do is try and destroy each other rather than just consentrate on there own beliffs.
just the other day i had 2 jahoves witness at my door trying to convert me! surry religion is a deeply personal thing and it is up to the individual to find what beliff suits them with out being presured?
vf9
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Man is fallen because of original sin, therefore he is imperfect. God gave us the gift of free will, and He will not overstep his gift, otherwise it would be a fruitless and robotic love to choose Him for His own sake. God has allowed other religions to come about because He knows if he did not then man could not really genuinely love him because he is truth; thus, man must find objective truth, which is God.

I can understand why you feel the way you do about all these clashing religions and hatred amongst the human race, but one has to realize that God allows it in order to bring about the greater good because he is infinitely good and in complete control. Although God does not directly will for war to happen, it remains in his passive will because he gave man the ability to choose Him for his own sake, and His son Jesus Christ, who is also God.

The problem with concentrating on their own beleifs in each individual religion is that Satan takes full advantage of man’s fallen nature and inspires man to come up with doctrines contrary to God, who is universal truth, by taking a truth and skewing it. Satan is the most intelligent angel, God gave him that gift. He now uses that power to bring disunity amongst all God’s children because he is the father of lies, the very first creature to tell God “Non Serviam” (I will not serve). God created us and knows our every thought and personal need, he is the architect, the divine master of all. The only reason there is disunity is because God allows Satan to tempt man, to test whether or not man really loves Him. I heard a saying once: “the greatest lie Satan ever told was convincing us he didn’t exist.”

The Catholic Church teaches that people should be able to be whatever religion they feel neccessary because God will eventually lead them to the true faith, the Catholic Church. Although, the church also teaches that if a religion is teaching something contrary to divinely revealed truth (Catholic Dogma, Morals) then it is alright to condemn that teaching, but not to take the lives of those individuals unless they are openly waging attacks against the Catholic Church, which has always been the case in the church.

If you would like to know more, I could talk to you on a messenger. I was at the somewhat at the same point you were once. God reward you and keep you!

Pax Christi,

Malcolm
 
Village Foll may or may not know how to spell, but this spelling problem is suspicious giving the very, subtle philisophical perspective he is coming out with at the minute.
 
Village Fool,

I would also like to welcome you to the Catholic Answers Forums. I believe you have already received many generous and valuable answers to your questions.

Please know that many of us here have, at one point or another in our lives, felt confused about God, as you seem to be. Please take comfort in knowing that regardless of your feelings or convictions, God Loves You, for you are his creation, worthy of his love.

In His infinite love, He seeks to draw you closer to him and to the Church which he left on earth for your salvation. If you seek with an open mind and an open heart, truly desiring to know and serve our Lord, you will eventually come to know the truths which he has left for you.

After much searching, I have come to believe with all my heart, mind and soul, that this Church, left by God for all mankind, is the Holy Catholic Church, led by our pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI. God, in his infinite Wisdom has left for us a compass, by which we can always determine True north. The Magisterium of the Church is indeed slow to change for there is no authority on earth that can change that which God himself has set down.

Our cultures have changed over the course of time, and yet the truth of the church teachings remain immutable. This is the beauty of knowing what God desires for us. This is the beauty of having infallible teaching lead the Church. There are disciplines which change some of the practices of the church, but matters of Faith and Morals remain constant.

I will pray that you remain open to the working of God in your life. I welcome you to the CA Forums and look forward to seeing you in the future.

God Bless,

CARose
 
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villagefool9:
Thank you all very much for helping me out in this thread!!!
the main reson i have have never looked that much in to religon in the past is due to this…

if god/budda/mohammod or any key figure in the worlds many religions is so all seeing all powerfull then 1 why are there so many relgions? and 2 why are they always at war (eg. northen ireland, crusades middle east)?
it seems (from an outsider) that all they seem to do is try and destroy each other rather than just consentrate on there own beliffs.
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Actually, religious people are not always at war with each other. You have to admit that is hyberbole to say so. There have been wars in which religion played a part, to be sure, but most wars have been fought for land or power, not over religion. In fact, atheistic governments (Hitler and Stalin, for instance) have killed more people in the last century than any Sultan or Christian ruler could ever have thought possible.
just the other day i had 2 jahoves witness at my door trying to convert me! surry religion is a deeply personal thing and it is up to the individual to find what beliff suits them with out being presured?
vf9
Click to expand...
The Catholic faith is both personal and communal. Catholics are members of the Body of Christ, not Lone Rangers for Jesus. Much of our theology reflects this truth. If you want to know what Catholics believe read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We will be glad to help you with any questions you may have about it.
 
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villagefool9:
  1. If anyone reading this was not a catholic from birth how did you know when you found god in catholacism?
Click to expand...
I found God outside of Catholicism, but later became Catholic and found that the Catholic church has answers that other churches don’t have. For example, the tradition of the church interprets scripture so that Catholics are not confused about what to believe. (Although, being human, some manage to get confused anyway by ignoring what the church says).

If you click on the This Rock link above, you’ll find a lot of useful and interesting articles that may answer your questions.
 
Some great points. A number of converts have found help in reading about the early church Fathers. They were written at a time closer to when Jesus walked the earth. They have found many answers to Church practices in these writtings. Also, if you get EWTN on TV, you might enjoy “Journey Home.” Leaders of other faiths give their reasons for converting to the Catholic faith. In addition, there are some great programs by Scott Hahn.(Another converted minister.) These will take you step by step through the bible and point out Church teaching.

God bless
 
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villagefool9:
  1. If anyone reading this was not a catholic from birth how did you know when you found god in catholacism?
    Code: 
        vf9
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I found Catholicism in history. I am a history buff. All history. When I started to look into Catholicism and the doctrines and Traditions, then the history of the Church. In my mind and heart, it made too much sense that the Catholic Church was started by Christ. The apostles were not made up of many demoninations, but of one theology.
I grew up as a Methodist and when I was taking bible study as a teenager, the teaching seemed to stop at the Acts of the Apostles book of the Bible. It wasn’t until I was on my journey to Catholicism that I discovered the full truth of the book of Acts and how those apostles are the same apostles that our bishops claim their teaching.
 
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Egg4christ:
hey epower, come on. Can we try and convey our opinions and still be civil?
Click to expand...
I see nothing uncivil here. No less civil than you were.

I’ll agree with him Villagefool. All Catholic churches are the same in their theology. Good if the church is pure all the way through, bad if it’s not. this policy works well in keeping the church pure in ideas, keeping it from being swayed by simple fads and trends.
however, this harder stance makes the church less flexible.

The Church is not suppose to be flexible. Read further down.

If at any point the Catholic church is wrong, it is that much harder to correct it.

The Church is not wrong in its doctrines. The behaviour of the Church has not always been it best, that is because of the falliblity of men, not the doctrines.

Protestant churches sprout from any place where a larger group of individuals disagrees with the Catholic church, and finds themselves unable to change it.(note, some Protestant churches can be formed through similar ways off of other protestant denominations)

This is where flexibility is not a good thing. I have known some Protestant churches that have broken away because they don’t like the music that is played at their services.

Some Protestant denominations can go too extreme and lose God entirely because of their lack of moral rigidity

The flexibility thing again. The doctrines of the Catholic Church are like the calm in the storm. When there is so much pressure to go with the trends of society (abortion, same-sex “unions”)
we can go to the doctrines and Traditions and know we are on the right path.

while others flourish because their openess to scrutiny keeps them pure.

Please name one Protestant church that this applies to.

In the end, however, our moral doctrine matters little if you don’t first understand that God is real. So many people come to churches because they feel a “need for religion”, while completely ignoring the fact that God is real, and wants to make a real impact on their lives.
God is real, and he wants to make a real impact on your life. He wants to teach you, change you, love you, and show you divine plans for your life. God even says in his word, that the plans he has for you are good ones. He wants you to prosper.

Agree
 
thank you all very much for your (name removed by moderator)ut in helping me understand catholicism i am going to read some of the texts(inc Catechism of the Catholic Church) you have all recomended to me. also there are a lot of words you all all use that i dont understand (eg Magisterium Pax Christi) is there an online refrance (sort of like a gloassary i suppose) it would really help me out
cheers evert one vf9
 
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