The Response to Catholic vs Christian

[Bible_is_truth]

Okay, so what is an appropriate response when someone says I am not Catholic anymore I am a Christian?
God Bless you in the name Jesus!

For me ( I will not be labelled to any group, example Baptists ,Methodist etc, ) anyone who believes in Jesus ,why he came and died for us, Repenting of their sins, allowing the Spirit to work in our lives. We are all sinners and once we accept Jesus in our lives we do our best to serve him, as his words say. By His grace alone we are saved and have that inheritance of eternal life through his death on the cross and resurrection we are assured of life with him. I know I have that assurance . One can still be a Christian by believing in Jesus, yet we may not be practising Christians ,one must be obedient to his word which on our own is Impossible, so we pray for Guidance .I could go on, this is just a starter.

 

[misskay56]

Just reply that everyone is Catholic/catholic, because catholic means, “universal” or everyone. Aren’t all of us who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, members of the body?

 

[His_helpmeet]

In regards to Marian devotion, I would strongly suggest that one read “Treatise on True Devotion” by St. Louis de Montfort. He was a saint who called himself “the slave of Jesus in Mary” and he founded an order of priests called the Company of Mary and an order of nuns called the Daughters of Wisdom. If you can’t get hold of a paper copy of the treatise, it can be found in the EWTN library online free of charge (it’s in the public domain).

In his treatise, St. Louis talks about how it is only through Mary that the Holy Spirit was able to be fruitful and to bring Jesus into the world. He talks about Mary being our mediatrix of grace and Jesus being our mediator of salvation. He cites the fact that human nature has been corrupted by sin, and that Mary, being conceived without sin, therefore has the right to approach Jesus face-to-face. (The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is an infallible teaching that was proclaimed ex cathedra.) He gives the example of a man, desiring to serve the king more fully, made himself a slave of the queen. He gives another example of a humble peasant wanting to offer the first fruits of his crops to the king. Would not the gift be even more pleasing to the king if the peasant gave his fruits to the queen, and then she brought them herself to the king on a golden plate? This is all St. Louis is talking about. He is NOT stating that Mary is equal to God, but, rather that she has a special role in salvation. He once gave a homily wherein he described two ways of making a statue. The sculptor could chisel away at a piece of rock and attempt to fashion a design that way, but one slip of the chisel could spell disaster. Or, he could fill a mold with plaster. The mold will guarantee that the finished product is as it was expected to be. He uses that analogy to indicate that Mary is the mold in which we must form ourselves. We ask her to pray for us in the same manner that you would ask a friend to pray for you. She becomes an example for how we are to live.

 

[habagat123]

He talks about Mary being our mediatrix of grace and Jesus being our mediator of salvation.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus

Who should you believe, St. Louis de Montfort or the Bible? Do we need a mediatrix to the mediator? Again is Jesus far from us that we need this “catholic mary” for him to hear us? Our Lord and Saviour is almighty thus he has no need of a mediatrix. Repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone!

**He is NOT stating that Mary is equal to God, but, rather that she has a special role in salvation.
**

Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

If we put our trust solely on the Word of God, you will see that ONLY through Jesus Christ can we be saved and this “catholic mary” has no role in salvation. Didn’t the Bible say that God alone is true and everyman a liar, so believe in man or in God? Mother Mary was blessed, yes, but she is no god but a creature like you and me that needs a saviour. Are Scriptures not enough for us to see the truth?

** Aren’t all of us who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, members of the body? **

Yes and only if we believe that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. Sadly, Catholic teaches that salvation is not through Jesus Christ only but a process of many things and a belief of many things including the strong devotion to the catholic mary, saints, popes(obedience to the pope is necessary for salvation), sto nino(which by the way catholic made baby jesus as a saint, a patron saint of cebu City), scapular(in which the catholic mary can snatch you from the fires of hell if you wear one), infant baptism and more .

Thus Catholicism can not be Christians and are not brothers in Christ.

Catholicism is a very idolatrous religion, i know this VERY well. That is why our country has seen the punishment of God recently. A lot of the churches old and new were destroyed by a strong earthquake and followed by Haiyan “the super storm”. These were all sent by God as punishment! This is because of the Filipino idolatrous ways!

Please pray for my country that some will see that the truth can not be found in statues, in the catholc mary or in the mighty and proud catholic church but in Scriptures! Jesus alone saves, no one else!

 

[StephenL]

I myself being a Catholic teenager have found that everything we do is in the Bible. That is legitimate! haha. We have some of the greatest opportunities in our Life at our Local Parish. We can go get healed By Jesus in the Sacrament of Confession. Or on Sunday we can literally RECIEVE HIS BODY! We can have some good times talking with the Saints who might have struggled with the same issues that we may struggle with. I have other denominational friends. We tend to disagree on some stuff but you know what we all can agree on?
Jesus Rose from the dead.
Even if you disagree with how we get to Jesus, the bottom line is at the end of the day we to Jesus.
We all feel that Athiest and Agnostics and non Christians need Jesus!

 

[Miriam1947]

(name removed by moderator). the Church teaches that the deposit of faith is closed. You do not need to believe in any private revelation. They do not affect your salvation nor does it make you a bad Catholic.

Yes there are many members of the Church, both lay people and clergy, who have devotions to the mystics and apparitions. You can decide to not put your opinion out there or you can realize that believers are going to be upset with your opinion.

Generally I don’t say anything (except about Medjugorje) unless as has happened an RCIA teacher is coming on too strong about belief in apparitions as if the new Catholic must believe. Then, I will speak out and make it known that it is not an obligation from the Church.

P.S., (name removed by moderator), paragraphs make for much easier reading.

 

[Viki63]

(name removed by moderator),
What Miriam says is right on.
You do not have to believe in any apparitions. I myself pay them little attention. It sounds as if you’re assuming a bit what other people are thinking. Many Catholics have their priorities in order: we worship God and his son Jesus, and honor Mary as his mother. We ask the saints, angels and our Lady to intercede for us, just as we ask our friends to pray for us. The more prayers, the better, most of us think.
I doubt that any real Catholics hate you or feel you are heretical. The appropriate response to a brother or sister in the faith is to love them. We know that none of us are perfect.
I hope you will find some good friends in the church and begin to feel like you belong, because anyone who is following Jesus, certainly does.
God bless.

 

[habagat123]

**So my conclusion is Catholics pray more with traditional written prayers, intercessory prayers asking mary or saints to pray for them. Medatative prayers to remind them of the life of Christ or various holy people. Catholics tap a lot into God the father and the son Jesus. Protestants tap a lot into Jesus and the holy spirit at least in my observation reading prayers and religious books. **

Gov,

Yes it is true, i was a spiritually dead catholic for about 40 years and we always “recite” prayers as if they are dead sentences, nothing inside them but just memorized or “scripted” prayers.

As a Christian now(thank you Lord!) pray differently, we pray from our hearts because Jesus is real for us. He is not a piece of bread but a real and BIG God where you can pour your heart out anytime, anyday. Jesus came here not because of religion which are full of traditions(unbiblical) and scripted prayers that points to the catholic mary more than Jesus(guys, you can’t refute that, Philippines is a Marian catholic country, just look at most if not all the photos taken during the storm that hit our nation. most of the people were seen carrying…what? a statue of a saint or the catholic mary), thanking them of her protection. Unfortunately, a catholic here see Jesus as the last option in prayers.

Jesus came down to have a relationship with ALL of us, it’s up to us if we follow catholic tradition which changes over time or His word which is God-breathe which never changed since it was written.

 

[habagat123]

have not heard from kelly about my question with regards to CC 841. Do Catholics believe the muslim god, Allah is the same as our God? The God who commanded muslims to bring down your twin towers? To kill all infidels?

CC 841
The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day."330

How can catholic teaches muslims are saved when Scriptures says:
John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Do muslims believe that Jesus is God? Definitely not. what happens to catholics who dont believe in this teaching? Obedience to the Pope is necessary for salvation, meaning believe that this is true, otherwise no salvation for you? which brings you to another contradiction, that obedience to the pope is necessary for salvation - however muslims would never believe your pope, they would rip him to pieces if given a chance.

 

[agnes_therese]

**Yes it is true, i was a spiritually dead catholic for about 40 years and we always “recite” prayers as if they are dead sentences, nothing inside them but just memorized or “scripted” prayers.

As a Christian now(thank you Lord!) . . . **

If you were a true Catholic, you were a Christian all along.