Non-Catholics: When you hear Catholics equated to Satan, does it bother you?

[Ginger2]

KarenNC,

I agree with most everything you said.

For clarification, True Christians are those who by actually believe Jesus is the Christ prophesied about in the OT and who believe he is everything he claimed to be.

Those who believe Jesus was nothing more than a prophet, by definition, are not Christian. Nor are those who believe in many gods, etc. This is not intended as a put down. It is simply a fact. Afterall, Jews are not Christian - Muslims are not Christians - JW’s. The definition does not fit.

 

[lak611]

KarenNC,

I agree with most everything you said.

For clarification, True Christians are those who by actually believe Jesus is the Christ prophesied about in the OT and who believe he is everything he claimed to be.

Those who believe Jesus was nothing more than a prophet, by definition, are not Christian. Nor are those who believe in many gods, etc. This is not intended as a put down. It is simply a fact. Afterall, Jews are not Christian - Muslims are not Christians - JW’s. The definition does not fit.

I agree with you. I also would add that a true Christian is one who believes in the Trinity. The Three Persons in One God is an essential belief to be considered Christian.

 

[KarenNC]

For clarification, True Christians are those who by actually believe Jesus is the Christ prophesied about in the OT and who believe he is everything he claimed to be.

I agree with you. I also would add that a true Christian is one who believes in the Trinity. The Three Persons in One God is an essential belief to be considered Christian.

Everyone that I mentioned that I have heard make these comments regarding the Catholic Church most certainly meets all those definitions. They believe very firmly in the Trinity, and that everything in the Old Testament basically had no purpose but to foreshadow the New Testament. They are the ones holding the Christianized seders during Holy Week to show what the Passover meal really means (Jesus’ crucifixion). They are the ones shunning Halloween because somebody might mistake them for something less than 100% dedicated Christians, so they are having Fall Festivals with Bible character costumes instead. They are buying Resurrection Eggs for Easter, handing out “Get Out of Hell Free” cards at the county fair.

They are my relatives cheering on their son for going to kindergarten and telling the other (also Protestant Christian) children that they were going to Hell for being the wrong kind of Christian. They are the longtime supporters of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Oral Roberts, etc. They are the ones with the “in case of Rapture, this car will be unoccupied” bumper stickers. They are the ones saying that the more liberal mainstream Protestant churches have become “spiritually dead”.

Guys, these are really not members of fringe groups, groups consider quasi-Christian or cults that I am talking about. I know the difference. These are Methodists, Southern Baptists, Assembly of God, Church of God, Presbyterian Church of America, etc.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

And here I thought this sermon was exceptional. What’s funny is that in a conversation I had with someone about him, I speculated that he got his info from Lorraine Boettners Roman Catholicism…the other person derided me and was like “How do you know where he got it from did you ask him!” And in your link lak611, I see him quoting from that book! Doesn’t James White also consider himself a Calvinist? If that is the case, I’m a little unnerved at today’s front-line Calvinist voices.

He’s Calvinist, but I didn’t know he had criticised other Calvinists as needing conversion for failing to be anti-Roman. ​

FWIW, I think JM got his info about Catholicism from “The Two Babylons” - it’s much fiercer than Boettner’s book; Boettner does at least not suggest that the CC is some kind of satanic abomination from the Abyss . TTB, OTOH, most definitely does - in eloquent & memorable English, too

 

[Ginger2]

Everyone that I mentioned that I have heard make these comments regarding the Catholic

Not disagreeing with that.

You can definitely find a high percentage of such people online. But, it simply has not been my experience to find this level of arrogance and ignorance in true Christians I meet face-to-face.

I am sorry you seem to know so many.

If I were in your shoes, I would start praying for them. They sound terribly misguided.

The Bible tells us about such people. Maybe it would be helpful for you to read what God says about how to deal with them.

One other thing I have notice, some baby Christians go thru a period like this. As they grow in their faith, they usually out-grow the arrogance.

 

[BrewMax]

I was listening again to a talk by John MacArthur (who I understand is fairly well-respected in Protestant circles). In the 7:00 minute mark of his sermon in this file, he states the following:*In the long war on the truth, the most formidable, relentless, and deceptive enemy has been Roman Catholicism. It is an apostate, corrupt, heretical, false Christianity. It is a front for the kingdom of Satan.*Protestants, non-Catholics, does this sort of comment bother you? In what way??

Yes it does bother me because it is a nonesensical unsubstantiated statement that absolutely disrupts quality dialogue between Catholics and Protestants on several issues. Folks that hurl these bombs do not think first and only care about lashing out at the Catholic church without regard to truth and debatng the facts.

 

[Ginger2]

Everyone that I mentioned that I have heard make these comments regarding the Catholic Church most certainly meets all those definitions. They believe very firmly … They are the ones holding the Christianized seders during Holy Week to show what the Passover meal really means (Jesus’ crucifixion). They are the ones shunning Halloween because somebody might mistake them for something less than 100% dedicated Christians, so they are having Fall Festivals with Bible character costumes instead. They are buying Resurrection Eggs for Easter, handing out “Get Out of Hell Free” cards at the county fair…

I have been trying to understand this comment. Who buys “resurrection eggs”? What are "resurrection eggs?

You are referring to Protestants, correct?

I assume the “get out of hell free” cards are some sort of reference to accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior?

 

[Ginger2]

Ok, I googled the eggs and card.

The eggs are a creative way to tell the Easter story to children.

The cards are just tacky (ie this card may be sold)
They look to be Catholic, not Protestant. (ie seven sins + one) Protestants don’t teach the seven deadly sins.

I guess the point I would make is that all Christian denominations experience members who suffer from a self-righteous, arrogant attitude. Sometimes the members spiritually outgrow it and some are taught it by their specific church.

But, it is not Biblical to assume condemnation of those who do not hold membership in your specific church on the sole basis of their not being members.

 

[KarenNC]

Ok, I googled the eggs and card.

The eggs are a creative way to tell the Easter story to children.

The cards are just tacky (ie this card may be sold)
They look to be Catholic, not Protestant. (ie seven sins + one) Protestants don’t teach the seven deadly sins.

My point was that these are not “quasi-Christians” who have an unorthodox view of Jesus.

I agree the cards are tacky, but they are being quite well used by Protestants. If you googled, you probably got the satirical one that is modeled on Monopoly and was started as a joke. That isn’t what I am talking about. The ones I mentioned were printed up by a family member to use as handouts as part of his church’s very serious proselytizing efforts at our county fair one year. I assure you they are fully Protestant.

computersaints.org/ has some that are serious.

Have you seen the Jack Chick " Death Cookie" tract? chick.com/reading/tracts/0074/0074_01.asp

Jack Chick tracts pop up all over around here (though a little less often than when I was a child)—restaurants, checkout registers, library books, benches in parks, etc. He puts out enough of these things to employ 30 people.
christiancomicsinternational.org/chick_pioneer.html

You can get the eggs at Walmart. Very similar to an Advent calendar if a bit weirder in my mind in terms of presentation (I think it was the little Barbie sized cat-o-nines that got me when my stepmother unexpectedly hauled it out during the Easter egg hunt).

I guess the point I would make is that all Christian denominations experience members who suffer from a self-righteous, arrogant attitude. Sometimes the members spiritually outgrow it and some are taught it by their specific church.

But, it is not Biblical to assume condemnation of those who do not hold membership in your specific church on the sole basis of their not being members.

Nope, never said it was " Biblical" just that it was not limited to one or two really fringe people who don’t really have a following, as you had originally indicated.

 

[Ginger2]

…it was not limited to one or two really fringe people who don’t really have a following, as you had originally indicated.

That was poor wording on my part as well as that fact that I have not experienced what you have - at least not to any where near the same degree.

 

[KarenNC]

That was poor wording on my part as well as that fact that I have not experienced what you have - at least not to any where near the same degree.

I’m glad you haven’t.

 

[kokogis]

Geee… Don’t these people ever get it? Who were the ones who reneged against the Vatican? The Non-Catholics. I don’t mind if they just got out of Catholic and that’s it, but if they separated themselves from Catholic and accusing us the Catholics as corrupt, tools of devil etc…

There’s one Christian group that I know accusing Catholics of worshipping the statues and pictures of Mother Mary and Jesus and the saints. Some even say that Catholics have not seen “THE LIGHT” yet. I wonder what light they are mentioning.

For me, I’m not even bothered by them because I know the price of being a Catholic - being persecuted by others, even by the same faith i.e. Christians.

I’m sorry if I offend the Non-Catholics but what I’m experiencing is true and what I mentioned above are just some of the many accusations hurled at Catholics just so as to make Catholics convert to their beliefs. Yet when we answer or pose some questions to them, they would feel agitated. Gee… talk about the love of God.

One thing I really do admire most of these Non-Catholics is their ability to recite the biblical scriptures which I’m not good at.

 

[KarenNC]

One thing I really do admire most of these Non-Catholics is their ability to recite the biblical scriptures which I’m not good at.

www.biblegateway.com is a good searchable resource for various Protestant versions of the Bible. Note that there are a number of groups, particularly of the more fundamentalist stripe, for whom the King James Version is the only acceptable version. I tend to like the New International Version. Remember that you will typically not find any of the Apocrypha in these searches, as most Protestant Bibles don’t include it. Anglicans/Episcopalians do, but I am not sure if those versions are available here.

catholicfirst.com/searchengine.cfm looks like it might work well for the Douay Rheims, which I understand is considered the standard in Catholic circles. I have not used this search site, so I can’t vouch for it, but it looks similar to the Bible Gateway one.

 

[lak611]

www.biblegateway.com is a good searchable resource for various Protestant versions of the Bible. Note that there are a number of groups, particularly of the more fundamentalist stripe, for whom the King James Version is the only acceptable version. I tend to like the New International Version. Remember that you will typically not find any of the Apocrypha in these searches, as most Protestant Bibles don’t include it. Anglicans/Episcopalians do, but I am not sure if those versions are available here.

catholicfirst.com/searchengine.cfm looks like it might work well for the Douay Rheims, which I understand is considered the standard in Catholic circles. I have not used this search site, so I can’t vouch for it, but it looks similar to the Bible Gateway one.

I recommend e-Sword for on-line Bibles. They have many Protestant versions, including the KJV w/Apocrypha and the original 1611 KJV. They also have the Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate. The Early Church Fathers writings are available too.

 

[KarenNC]

I recommend e-Sword for on-line Bibles. They have many Protestant versions, including the KJV w/Apocrypha and the original 1611 KJV. They also have the Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate. The Early Church Fathers writings are available too.

I’ll have to check it out. I happened on Bible Gateway a while back and so far it has served my purposes, so I had not gone further.

earlychristianwritings.com/ is also a good resource for early Christian writings.

 

[Ginger2]

… accusing us the Catholics as corrupt, tools of devil etc…
…Yet when we answer or pose some questions to them, they would feel agitated. Gee… talk about the love of God.

I’m not sure what you mean by “agitated”. I am not agitated or even annoyed, but I am interested in how Catholics can feel so insulted over insults aimed at them, yet, feel justified in doing the same thing to Protestants.

Some Catholics say, “I prayed in front of a statue of Mary and suddenly I heard a voice behind me saying…” And everyone accepts that including Protestants.

But, when I said God can speak to each of us…I am called crazy because I must be hearing voices and that it’s not God but the devil who is speaking to me.

I am not offended by this thread, nor agitated. I am amazed at the level of hypocrissy!!!

… I wonder what light )Protestants) are mentioning.

In this statement are you not doing the same thing you complain is being done to you?

One thing I really do admire most of these Non-Catholics is their ability to recite the biblical scriptures which I’m not good at.

It comes from spending a lot of time reading the Scriptures. That is one way God speaks to us.

 

[Mannyfit75]

I’ve been here 4 years, and I get it every now and again. I’ve probably heard it about 20 times. I’ve been teaching conversation classes, so it comes up every time there’s a class about religion. Some people have pretty backwards ideas about what Catholicism is about. But the protestants are pretty evangelical here, so they’re probably spreading it. Mannyfit, I notice you’re in Iraq now, so I’m assuming you’re in the military (correct me if I’m wrong). There’s a lot of stuff people will say in an English class that they wouldn’t say to a soldier!

Call me Manny. I’m in the US Army. I’ll be out within 18 months time.

You speak Hangol them?

Anyways, I think most NCC seem to have a distorted view of Catholicism. They profess that Catholics worship Mary and such. The most shameful thing are the so-called Ex-Catholics. Most of them are extremely Anti-Catholic. It saddens me that most of them misunderstood Catholic beliefs.

 

[happygal]

Well if anyone would to tell me Catholic are Satan, i’m simply walk away from their ignorance.

 

[PaperMoon]

I was listening again to a talk by John MacArthur (who I understand is fairly well-respected in Protestant circles). In the 7:00 minute mark of his sermon in this file, he states the following:*In the long war on the truth, the most formidable, relentless, and deceptive enemy has been Roman Catholicism. It is an apostate, corrupt, heretical, false Christianity. It is a front for the kingdom of Satan.*Protestants, non-Catholics, does this sort of comment bother you? In what way??

No, it doesn’t bother me, I’m used to it I’ve heard stuff like this my whole life.

 

[PaperMoon]

It bothers me because I do not feel it is justified to attack fellow Christians simply because we do not agree with them. On a similar note though I object to Catholics who call Protestant’s Satan’s spawn or some such similar name.

In a world where Christianity is so often under attack and where so many people have not heard the Gospel, I think it is wrong for Christians to snipe at each other. Our efforts would be bettered utilized in carrying the message to those who don’t believe.

The problem for many is that they don’t even realize they ARE attacking other Christians. Many are taught that Catholics are not Christians to begin with.

Jack Chick anyone?

Yes it bothers me a lot. I am protestant and my wife is Catholic and because of what she had to deal with as a kid from Southern Baptists, church going is an issue between us and it took me a long time to convince that I don’t think that way. So to any and all protestants who make such statements please pick your words carefully.

Yeah Jack Chick did a LOT of damage towards leading people in prejudice against Catholics. I used to read those things all the time!

It’s a distorted view of Catholicism, which in my humble opinion can lead many Non-Catholic Christians into ideas that CC is indeed from the Evil One. I do acknowledge that most Protestants would deny this man’s claim.

Keep in mind Catholics cannot say the same thing about Non-Catholic Christians. They are consider as separated brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yup, true.

True, had someone on here on another thread just today that “all religions besides Catholicism are evil”.

LOL! Did you mean all denominations besides Catholicism? Yeah that’s wrong of them to say. All other religions are of the devil but all other Christian denominations are not evil in what they teach.