Something I didn't know about Protestantism

[Holly3278]

This concerns marriage. According to Catholic Answers apologist, Michelle Arnold, a marriage between two validly baptized Protestants is considered to be a valid sacrament in the eyes of the Church. I always figured that Protestant marriages were considered to be valid in the eyes of the Church but I never knew that their marriages were considered to be valid sacraments. Pretty interesting!

I learned this is in the Quick Questions - Daily 5 newsletter that I subscribe to from Catholic Answers. Learn more here:

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/?qid=263

 

[Erich]

I always figured that Protestant marriages were considered to be valid in the eyes of the Church but I never knew that their marriages were considered to be valid sacraments. Pretty interesting! %between%

Just as Protestants who have been validly baptized and who enter the Church at Easter are not rebaptized. The Catholic Church regards their prior baptism as a sacrament, even if their old denomination doesn’t!

 

[twopekinguys]

This concerns marriage. According to Catholic Answers apologist, Michelle Arnold, a marriage between two validly baptized Protestants is considered to be a valid sacrament in the eyes of the Church. I always figured that Protestant marriages were considered to be valid in the eyes of the Church but I never knew that their marriages were considered to be valid sacraments. Pretty interesting!

I learned this is in the Quick Questions - Daily 5 newsletter that I subscribe to from Catholic Answers. Learn more here:

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/?qid=263

She’s absolutely correct.

That is why a divorced protestant wanting to join the church has to go through the annulment process.

 

[LegoGE1947]

Just as Protestants who have been validly baptized and who enter the Church at Easter are not rebaptized. The Catholic Church regards their prior baptism as a sacrament, even if their old denomination doesn’t!

What Catholic Churches call “sacraments” many Protestant Churches call “ordinances”
Baptism, for instance, is done simply because Jesus commands it. It does not save you according to their theology. What saves a person is when the person prays to accept Jesus their personal savior. Marriage is an ordinance as well even though many Protestants consider it valid even if done before a Justice of the Peace. There are certain churches or ecclesiastical communities the Catholic Church does not consider to have valid baptisms, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and I think the Salvation Army.

 

[sleeping_gecko]

Interesting, OP. I guess it makes sense. I think I’ve heard reference to the Church determining whether or not a marriage was “sacramental” or reference to people “sacramentalizing” their marriage upon entering the Church.

What Catholic Churches call “sacraments” many Protestant Churches call “ordinances”
Baptism, for instance, is done simply because Jesus commands it. It does not save you according to their theology.

I think the key here is “many”. One split in Protestantism is sacramental theology vs. ordinance theology.

One thing that seems difficult for cradle Catholics to understand about Protestants is the extreme diversity of theological positions. 1 Protestant might say “We do communion because Jesus said to!” while another might say “We do communion because there’s something about it that imparts grace to us!” The thing is, not even a lot of Protestants realize there’s this division. It would be almost impossible to get a unified, single, agreed-upon answer to any theological question from even the mainline Protestant denominations, let alone all thirty-some thousand. And, more often than not, there’s further disunity between members of the same denomination.

I think that might be one reason why Catholicism is tough for many Protestants to swallow. In theory, all Catholics are united in belief, all priests would agree on doctrine, etc. That’s just not something you find in Protestantism.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I’ve always found it odd that the Catholic Church recognizes Protestant marriages as sacramental. I’d like to know the reasoning behind it. If a Catholic marries a woman in a Protestant church it’s not sacramental if I’m not mistaken. Why when a Catholic marries a Protestant in Reno is it not sacramental but two Presbyeterians marrying in what the Catholic Church views an illegitimate “ecclesiastical community” a valid and sacramental marriage?

 

[LegoGE1947]

Interesting, OP. I guess it makes sense. I think I’ve heard reference to the Church determining whether or not a marriage was “sacramental” or reference to people “sacramentalizing” their marriage upon entering the Church.

I think the key here is “many”. One split in Protestantism is sacramental theology vs. ordinance theology.

One thing that seems difficult for cradle Catholics to understand about Protestants is the extreme diversity of theological positions. 1 Protestant might say “We do communion because Jesus said to!” while another might say “We do communion because there’s something about it that imparts grace to us!” The thing is, not even a lot of Protestants realize there’s this division. It would be almost impossible to get a unified, single, agreed-upon answer to any theological question from even the mainline Protestant denominations, let alone all thirty-some thousand. And, more often than not, there’s further disunity between members of the same denomination.

I think that might be one reason why Catholicism is tough for many Protestants to swallow. In theory, all Catholics are united in belief, all priests would agree on doctrine, etc. That’s just not something you find in Protestantism.

Even though I was a Protestant from the time I was 26 till the time I was 54 I never had a problem swallowing Catholicism but my wife did and she has since left the Catholic Church for an Evangelical one.

 

[twopekinguys]

I’ve always found it odd that the Catholic Church recognizes Protestant marriages as sacramental. I’d like to know the reasoning behind it. If a Catholic marries a woman in a Protestant church it’s not sacramental if I’m not mistaken. Why when a Catholic marries a Protestant in Reno is it not sacramental but two Presbyeterians marrying in what the Catholic Church views an illegitimate “ecclesiastical community” a valid and sacramental marriage?

Basically, it boils down to the church viewing all marriages as valid until there is a reason to believe otherwise.

Catholics are bound by the church to be married in the church. Unless they receive a dispensation. Other churches don’t have that requirement. If ABC church down the road required something specific, then the church would take that into consideration.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I’ve always found it odd that the Catholic Church recognizes Protestant marriages as sacramental. I’d like to know the reasoning behind it. If a Catholic marries a woman in a Protestant church it’s not sacramental if I’m not mistaken. Why when a Catholic marries a Protestant in Reno is it not sacramental but two Presbyeterians marrying in what the Catholic Church views an illegitimate “ecclesiastical community” a valid and sacramental marriage?

I will take a shot. Catholics are bound to the marriage laws of the Church. A Catholic can marry a Protestant in a Protestant church with a proper dispensation from the Bishop and if the Protestant is baptized it is sacramental (anyone who is a member of the Catholic Church has been baptized). Two baptized Protestants marrying are not bound by the Catholic form of marriage, as they are not Catholic, but it is considered sacramental because, in Catholic theology, (in the Latin Church), the couple administers the sacrament to each other. If two Catholics marry, the priest or deacon is the official Church witness of the marriage, they do not actually administer the sacrament. So two baptized Protestants who marry are administering the sacrament to each other and it is sacramental and valid. If two unbaptized people marry, it is not sacramental, but is considered a valid marriage. (You have to be baptized to receive the sacraments). All of this presumes there are no impediments to the marriage.

And BTW, we do not call other ecclestiastical communities “illegitimate”. That is highly disrespectful, but I’m not going to derail the thread.