Since When Are Catholics Not Christians?

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BabyFang

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I’ve heard this statement a few times by Protestants while debating about Catholicism. I have only heard this a few times usually when the person I’m debating with has no other response, so I’m not accusing anyone of anything. I was just wondering why certain Protestants thought this (I never got a straight answer.)
 
I think it could be, because protestants share few believes with the CC so hence protestants don’t think catholics are christians just like the CC sees protestants as heretics
 
BabyFang said:
I’ve heard this statement a few times by Protestants while debating about Catholicism. I have only heard this a few times usually when the person I’m debating with has no other response, so I’m not accusing anyone of anything.** I was just wondering why certain Protestants thought this (I never got a straight answer.)**
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Actually I am more curious as to the when (like your title of the thread asked) than the why.

If people answering BabyFang’s question could also answer when this charge came about I would greatly appreciate it.

God bless
 
prochrist1 said:
I think it could be, because protestants share few believes with the CC so hence protestants don’t think catholics are christians just like the CC sees protestants as heretics
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Actually Catholics share a lot of beliefs with Protestants :confused:

Depending on the protestant of course.

God bless you
 
BabyFang said:
I’ve heard this statement a few times by Protestants while debating about Catholicism. I have only heard this a few times usually when the person I’m debating with has no other response, so I’m not accusing anyone of anything. I was just wondering why certain Protestants thought this (I never got a straight answer.)
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Actually I am kind of curious to learn the reasoning here also.

I have yet to encounter the fine print to John 3:16 that says Catholics are excluded from the “whosoever” here.
 
prochrist1 said:
I think it could be, because protestants share few believes with the CC so hence protestants don’t think catholics are christians just like the CC sees protestants as heretics
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Could you please document ( with a modern Church document) your statement that the Church considers all “protestants” as heretics? All heretics are non Catholics but I don’t think the Church considers all non Catholics as heretics. There is a huge difference…obviously:shrug:
Your statement that “protestants” share “few beliefs” with Catholics is not only grossly inaccurate…it is an insult…or should be, to most non Catholic christian gatherings. Which of the articles of faith of the CC do most protestants (I use your term) not share? Read the Nicene Creed and please tell us which of those sentences YOU don’t agree with.
 
prochrist1 said:
I think it could be, because protestants share few believes with the CC so hence protestants don’t think catholics are christians just like the CC sees protestants as heretics
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Actually, I probably share far more beliefs in common with the Catholic Church than, say, Baptists, or many American Evangelicals.
In addition, many Protestants confess with Catholics the three ecumenical creeds. In this way we express an enormous amount of agreement about what it means to be Christian.
To then say Catholics are not Christian indicts the Protestant leveling the charge, because our faith is so closely linked.

As for Protestants being heretics, I believe the only way one is a heretic is to have been Catholic, and then expressed a heretical beliefs. Cradle Protestants may hold heretical beliefs, in the Catholic view, but they cannot be charged with heresy. (If I’m wrong, someone please correct me.)

Jon
 
I think this thread just begs the question “What do we do when a Protestant or other non-Catholic declares Catholics as not being Christian?” :confused:

I’ve heard this before myself, so I’d love to develop a strategy to defend myslef if and when it arises. And I’ve heard this from “former Catholics” as well, who should know better.

God Bless,
Snert
 
My section secretary, Frances, was speaking with a friend within my hearing. Her friend was saying that she had not always been a Christian, she had been raised Catholic.

Protestants who believe in Sola Fide’ generally do not consider Catholics to be Christians because we do not believe in Saved by Faith Alone.
 
Marsha_Adams said:
My section secretary, Frances, was speaking with a friend within my hearing. Her friend was saying that she had not always been a Christian, she had been raised Catholic.

Protestants who believe in Sola Fide’ generally do not consider Catholics to be Christians because we do not believe in Saved by Faith Alone.
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I think you will find that most just think you mix error with truth on this and other issues. And you think the same of us. And if we’re not careful, what we think and say of and to each other is far worse an error (sin) than what we each believe.

Jon
 
Catholic can be Christian then again they might not be, depends on the individual. Protestants can be Christian then again they might not be, depends on the individual.
 
Roman_Catholic said:
Actually I am more curious as to the when (like your title of the thread asked) than the why.
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I’ve had one person say this to me, years ago - I was at work, just chatting with co-workers, when the Catholic Church came up in conversation (I can’t remember why). One of the guys, an Evangelical Protestant, suddenly remarked, “oh - Catholics aren’t Christians.”

It was such a non-sequitir and such an odd thing to say in the context of a workplace conversation (especially since I don’t think he knew for sure that there were no Catholics present) that nobody really responded. We were surprised into silence.
 
Marsha_Adams said:
Protestants who believe in Sola Fide’ generally do not consider Catholics to be Christians because we do not believe in Saved by Faith Alone.
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But the thing that strikes me as odd about that argument is that even though Catholics may not belive in Sola Fide, most Catholics do have faith in God and in Jesus Christ, which is the thing that the Sola Fide Protestants generally say makes a person a Christian.

It makes no sense.
 
JonNC said:
Actually, I probably share far more beliefs in common with the Catholic Church than, say, Baptists, or many American Evangelicals.
In addition, many Protestants confess with Catholics the three ecumenical creeds. In this way we express an enormous amount of agreement about what it means to be Christian.
To then say Catholics are not Christian indicts the Protestant leveling the charge, because our faith is so closely linked.

As for Protestants being heretics, I believe the only way one is a heretic is to have been Catholic, and then expressed a heretical beliefs. Cradle Protestants may hold heretical beliefs, in the Catholic view, but they cannot be charged with heresy. (If I’m wrong, someone please correct me.)

Jon
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I believe you are right, Jon.
As pismopal said, technically, all heretics are non-Catholics but not all non-Catholics are heretics.
 
The extreme and uncharitable view that Catholics are not Christians would, I believe, be held only by uninformed Protestant hardliners, notably the ultra-fundamentalists. These are the sort of people who contend that the entire membership of the Catholic Church is the “Mother of Harlots” spoken of in the Apocalypse and that St. Paul predicted the rise of the Papacy in II Thessalonians chapter 2. It should be made abundantly clear that these preposterous views are held nowadays only by an inconsequential number of people and have been largely abandoned and debunked by mainstream Protestantism.

Evangelical scholars such as Anglican’s, J.I. Packer and John Stott, would most certainly recognise Catholics as Christians even though they have fundamental problems with what they regard as Catholicisms extra-biblical dogmas (e.g. those relating to our Lady). The same would be true of Chuck Colson (isn’t he actually married to a Catholic?) who along with Packer and the late Richard Neuhaus was involved in the unprecedented and controversial statement of common mission known as “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” (!995).

What in actual fact quite a few Protestants say is what we Catholics often say in regards to them that they are Christians in spite of their erroneous beliefs and not because of them. If anyone seriously doubts that what I am saying is true, then I suggest that they read a book like** Is** The Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of ***Contemporary Roman Catholicism, Mark A. Noll & Carolyn Nystrom, Baker Academic 2005 /I - a book in which the authors sing the praises of the Catechism.

Just for the record, many years ago I myself entertained a very harsh and uncompromising position in relation to Catholicism, believing it to be an unbiblical heresy - all that was, of course, before I understood, like Apollos, “the way of God more accurately” as expounded by the “One Holy, catholic and Apostolic Church”.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait*
 
gearhead said:
I’ve had one person say this to me, years ago - I was at work, just chatting with co-workers, when the Catholic Church came up in conversation (I can’t remember why). One of the guys, an Evangelical Protestant, suddenly remarked, “oh - Catholics aren’t Christians.”

It was such a non-sequitir and such an odd thing to say in the context of a workplace conversation (especially since I don’t think he knew for sure that there were no Catholics present) that nobody really responded. We were surprised into silence.
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Your co-worker’s statement is either based in ignorance, hatred or stupidity.

Catholics and Protestants (for the most part) are Christians and believe in most of the same things. We are seperated mainly by Sole Fide and Sola Scriptura. Our shared beliefs outnumber our differences.

But that doesn’t mean that one has faith and one doesn’t or that one believes in the inerrancy of Scripture and the other doesn’t.
 
JonNC said:
.

As for Protestants being heretics, I believe the only way one is a heretic is to have been Catholic, and then expressed a heretical beliefs. Cradle Protestants may hold heretical beliefs, in the Catholic view, but they cannot be charged with heresy. (If I’m wrong, someone please correct me.)

Jon
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Cannot agree.
Protestants that drift to JW or Mormon are in heresy.
BTW who cares what the Catholics belive in this regard?
 
JonNC said:
As for Protestants being heretics, I believe the only way one is a heretic is to have been Catholic, and then expressed a heretical beliefs. Cradle Protestants may hold heretical beliefs, in the Catholic view, but they cannot be charged with heresy. (If I’m wrong, someone please correct me.)
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That is my understand as well.
 
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