It has been pointed out to the Catholic community here over and over many times by all kinds of non-Catholics that the continued use of the word “Protestant” is redundant, realistically not descriptive and unhelpful in genuine dialogue.
Could it be perhaps that it is Protestants who are oversensitive? I mean, in all fairness, there are literally over 30,000 Protestant denominations; more often than not, when a Catholic uses the term ‘Protestants’, it is not to denigrate individualized confessions/beliefs that separates one Protestant from another, but for the sake of ease of a generalized argument.
“Protestant” term is equivalent to “Roman Catholic”?
Yes, that is your opinion. My opinion is that it is very valuable, which is why I created the post. I’d be more than happy to see others supply original posts that are deemed more valuable, instead of just replying to “invaluable” posts.
Ok. Post original posts of your own with your own theology if it is understand by you so well. And I am completely serious in this regard. Those of us who post such thoughts are trying our best in this world, sorry we don’t have all the answers. If you do, please enlighten us with original posts. And I am serious. I would love to read them and respond. Jesus responded to people’s questions about faith, he didn’t belittle them (ok maybe some of the apostles he did
). Be a teacher, teach us.Good response. I like it. I would like to be productive in any way he wishes and if it makes me happy, wealthy and wise I would like to find joy in it and not feel guilty. But what if God doesn’t will it that you be productive in a way that makes you happy, wealthy or wise? Well, then for me at least, at this point in my life I just can’t seem to find that I would be joyful while on earth. I would have to be a saint, and God knows I am not.
True, there is a middle ground somewhere between Catholicism and Protestantism (and I’m generalizing, yah I know). I try to just live by Jesus’ words and actions, and ignore all the add-ons and deletions religions add to them. That’s all I’m doing now. I just hope Jesus found some joy while he was on earth that way I know I will find it some day before I die.
Actually I’m not depressed at all. My posts are thoughts I have and would like answers. If you find them doom and hopeless please ban me and move on to happier posts. Seriously. Being upset with God doesn’t make you mentally ill or depressed. It makes you human. Even Jesus was upset with God.
Bingo! Just used for ease of discussion. I can’t cover all bases or my posts would be thousands of words long and people don’t want to read my short posts as it is.when a Catholic uses the term ‘Protestants’, it is not to denigrate individualized confessions/beliefs that separates one Protestant from another, but for the sake of ease of a generalized argument.
For your sake, perhaps the OP could have used the word ‘some’, or ‘many’ to precede ‘Protestants’, instead of just ‘Protestants’.
Christ’s Passion, death, and resurrection. Without this, without grace, I have no chance of salvation, other than by following the law perfectly, which I can’t do.
I mean He will judge us by our works, knowing that good works are impossible except because of grace. Our ability to cooperate at all is because of grace. Our free will is in our ability to reject grace.
In all fairness, that same process that determined “30,000” denominations also determined 240 plus different Catholic ones.
Using the “30,000” is denigrating because it assumes that “protestantism” was once one monolith that subsequently splintered. That is factually incorrect.
That’s okay, but maybe being more specific, as to a communion, would be best. If i made a generalization about all western Christians, I suspect some Catholics might take umbrage, depending on the topic, of course.
Ok…more than one though
Evangelical Protestant here.
How can you pick and choose? Christianity is about your life now and in the future. It can’t be one or the other. Jesus told us we would suffer if we followed him, just as he suffered. People tend to be offended by the truth, and Christians are called to live in truth. That means we tend to rub people the wrong way. However, Christ also promises us abundant life, and that does not start after death. It starts the moment we place our faith in Christ.
I know I am going to heaven if I continue to place my faith in Christ, and the kind of faith we are called to is the “obedience of faith.” This means we can’t just focus on living a good life by our definition. The life we live is defined by what Christ desires for us. It is his definition of the good life that we must meet. This is the life of the Cross, self-sacrificial love. For some of us, this may mean we have to lay down our lives for other people–the greatest act of love that we can fathom.
I don’t think there is a certain amount of suffering we must meet. In the early church, there were some who went out seeking martyrdom–going out of their way to get themselves arrested and executed for the faith. This was rightly seen as unnecessary and dangerous (given the possibility of apostasy once you actually faced the martyrdom you yourself sought). We do not need to seek out persecution or suffering, but when it happens for the sake of Christ we should not deny him.
We can live joyful, victorious lives if we place our hope in Christ. Beyond that, we are not guaranteed health, financial stability, or strong personal lives. Some of us will be sick. God can heal us, but even if he doesn’t we must still acknowledge that he is good and worthy of praise. We may be wealthy or poor, but in all things we should remember that the Lord is our provider. Everything we have comes from his goodness, and he calls those he has blessed with wealth to give to the needy and poor. We may have many friends and family but we may also be alone. Still, God will be a father to the orphan and promises to never leave us nor forsake us.
He designed the world so that it could be enjoyed by us. He gave us dominion over it. We messed it up. We make it an undesirable place to live by our own choices–our greed and selfishness and violence.
We don’t gain faith from suffering, though suffering may deepen our faith as we learn to trust Christ through great suffering. Our faith gives meaning to the suffering (for we know that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”) and gives us the strength to get through the suffering. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Revelations
Have you considered listening to Catholic radio instead? Or podcasts from good Catholic teachers? I think you would find that this imbalanced perspective is corrected.
This is just a misunderstanding of the faith. We are saved by grace, through faith, and this begins in baptism. Salvation is not something we “work on” during this life.
There is plenty of suffering in this life without going in search of any. Jesus told us to embrace suffering with joy.
These things are not necessarily contrary to Catholic faith, they just should not be the focus of it. We need to focus first on the Kingdom, then everything else will be added to us.
It appears you may need to listen to some other homilies?
Enjoying this life is not contrary to Catholic faith, it is just not the center focus of it.
Both of these are out of balance. We are to focus on being light and salt in the world, and by our joy and love, attract others to Christ. We are to focus on living heaven now, as we will live heaven in eternity. As in all things Catholic, it is not “either/or” but “both/and”.
If what you are getting out of going to Mass is what you think “Catholic” is, then you are getting a biased perspective.
Yes, I think most Catholics have an insufficient grasp of grace. Too many think that salvation has to do with being a “good person” or living a “good life” or “working on salvation”. It is a result of poor catechesis and a warped perception.
I think He wanted both. I agree with @JonNC, they are not mutually exclusive.
Sounds like a personal problem, but it is not a Catholic doctrine problem.
As was noted, you seem to be a “glass half empty” person. This has more to do with your perceptions than it does the Catholic faith.
Well, this is not Catholic.