The "True" Church?

[livingwordunity]

Ok, so I was in another part of the forums where a member referred to catholicism as the true church. My problem with this is that scripturally a certain church isn’t mentioned.

A certain church isn’t mentioned in the Bible because there was only one universal (catholic) Church. Protestant denominations didn’t exist back then. There were individual churches, but they were all united to the one universal (catholic) Church, the one with a bishop of Rome (pope) just as the Catholic Church still has individual rites and churches that are in communion with the bishop of Rome. As early as the first century, the early Church fathers believed the same basic things that Catholics believe today. Not one of them was a Protestant.

 

[Cosmian]

Jesus’ 12 Apostles including His Supreme Vicar, Peter, were Jews.
He did not send the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to all and sundry – only to His closest followers.
Jesus founded only one Church (post #23) to teach all nations.

How could contrary teachings be tolerated by Him? Even those who would not listen were to be abandoned – when the Twelve are sent on mission, they are told by Christ “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words…shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10: 14-15).

Until you have the sincerity and humility to accept that Jesus founded only one Church on St Peter, with His authority and power against erroneous teaching, and get to know what Christ really did and taught, you will not know the fullness of His truth.

I’ve heard it said that certainty leaves room for doubt but that questioning builds faith and that is how we really come into relationship with God. At the very least I can assure you that I have enough sincerity to keep questioning.

I’m not an expert on humility but I don’t equate it with blind obedience. If the Pope jumps off a bridge I’m not going to follow him. I have respect for the Papacy but I also respect those who have legitimate doubts and concerns. There is a conviction among Protestants that the Roman Church left them first.

 

[Cosmian]

Thanks for sharing.

Excellent points, my friend! To answer the first question: Do we have evidence that a doctrine is true or do we only assume that it is true? The evidence to Truth is found by becoming One with the Spirit of God by doing ALL the following in order to get to know God:

1. Want everyone to be able to experience happiness (contentment to intense joy) without ever losing any peace (freedom from disturbance).
2. Set out to master being unconditionally patient and kind so that your relationships and self may experience happiness without losing any peace. I recommend the first 10 days of the Love Dare to begin your journey to mastery.
3. Find the solution to the following problem:
   Given ALL the following:
   -You, as a thinking, feeling, acting, living being exist in solitude (Hint: It is best to think of yourself existing as a single-celled being, similar to how you first came to be).
   -There is nothing else in existence.
   -The only method to create something, living or non-living, is to first think of it in full detail.
   -You want to experience limitless happiness without ever losing peace.
   How do you make that happen? I recommend first thinking about what are the requirements and trying to figure out how to make those happen individually.

Regarding the Protestant Denominations, please consider the following concepts:
If a doctrine of a protestant church is in alignment with Catholic Doctrine, it is Catholic Doctrine.
It is similar to the individual. When an individual acts in accordance with the Holy Spirit, s/he is one with the Holy Spirit. However, when an individual acts out of accordance with the Holy Spirit, s/he is one with the unholy spirit.
The only difference is that regarding Doctrine, God has appointed the Holy Spirit to be with the Fathers of the Catholic Church.
And you are definitely correct in that we should not treat others less because the Catholic Church is the All-Embracing Church. We should try our hardest to understand how every person’s perspective is in the least, partially aligned with the Holy Spirit. We should even try to broaden our perspective by learning from them.

Thoughts?

Your last point sounds like the understanding coming out of the Second Vatican Council.

I’m not sure why you’ve brought up the love dare within the context of the “True Church”.
If you are recommending it to me for the purpose of improving my personal relationships then we are getting way off topic. Are you suggesting that ecumenical relations could be improved by doing 1,2, and 3?

I’m not clear on what you mean by #3 and finding the solution to the following problem. Are you saying that not having peace is the problem? Are you referring to personal peace as though no one and nothing else exists? That’s very Zen, isn’t it?

 

[PeterJohn]

Sorry, I’ll try to finish with this post.

Personally, I think your confidence in the Holy Spirit is wonderful but… I’m not sure that the Holy Spirit is confined to the Catholic Church. Jesus came first to minister to the Jews and ended up saving gentiles also so why couldn’t the Holy Spirit inspire the Protestant Churches?

I don’t agree with my friend much of the time but he gives me some things to think about. He would agree with you that modernity doesn’t equal superiority, he would consider the very idea chauvinistic.

He doesn’t believe that Jesus is a historical person and although he’s never said so, he would probably agree with those who dismiss that temple prophecy as having been recorded after the fact. Actually, it’s very unnerving and confounding when he gets together with his other Jewish friends and I don’t understand most of what they are saying. He did tell me about temple worship once but I forgot what he said.

Prove by the bible that the holy spirit is in those not confirmed by a catholic bishop.
Have you read acts? You can baptise all you want but only those with apostolic succession actually have the “power”(what stephen had only AFTER the laying on of hands) to invest the holy spirit into disciples.

 

[PeterJohn]

Do we have evidence that a doctrine is true or do we only assume that it is true?
If evidence of doctrinal contradiction among Protestants consists of accepting (with qualifiers) abortion, it is worth noting that approximately 1000 Protestant denominations do take a pro-life stance.

I think that whenever we make accusations against others such as, “the Holy Spirit does not abide in the protestant denominations” we risk objectifying others and treating them impersonally. That feels wrong to me.

If anyone believes that the Catholic Church is the “True Church” and they find comfort in this assurance, they should remain faithful in charity while recalling the prayer of the Pharisee.

How you feel is irrelevant. it does not say in the bible to trust what you feel. Jesus says do what the pharasies say.

 

[Abu]

Cosmian #54
Do we have evidence that a doctrine is true or do we only assume that it is true?

No assumptions with Christ, the Son of God. Having commissioned His Church on St Peter, Christ gave Him infallibility in teaching His truths – His Church’s Scriptures are crystal clear (post #23). To feel otherwise is to deny reality as you continue to do, prevaricating with dubious assumptions. How could the Son of God found and teach error?

#60
we are still left with the reality of religious pluralism and diversity of opinion.
What should we do about that?

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words…shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10: 14-15).
Reject those who reject Christ’s Church – “opinion” is fantasy – Christ’s fullness of truth is only in Christ’s one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

How are we going to build the kingdom?

The Kingdom is established by Christ on him to whom Christ gave the keys and proclaimed “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” (Mt 16:19).

#62
I’ve heard it said that certainty leaves room for doubt

Wow! What other absurdities are you going to wallow in?

From Fr Thomas Dubay, Faith And Certitude, Ignatius Press, 1995:
“They attain truth who love it. One of the chief immoralities is an indifference to truth. It is worse than sexual perversion, said Jesus Himself. Those who reject His representatives are more guilty than perverted Sodom and Gomorrah (Mt 10:14-15). Indifference to truth is nothing less than and indifference to reality and to the Author of reality…One of the too little noticed traits of the saints is their utter commitment to truth.” (p 189-190).

Objective certitude “has three traits. First it is an enlightened assent. One not only knows something, but he also knows why he knows it, and he sees the objective reasons why it is so….[Second] certitude excludes a reasonable fear of being wrong…[Third] certitude is unchangeable. Because it is based on objective reality it is permanent.”

Doubt and Difficulty
“A negative doubt is a close relation to ignorance. An opinion is an assent of the mind but with a well-founded fear that the opposite may be true.” With an unhealthy doubt, “a person suspends judgment even when the evidence is conclusive and completely adequate. This is skepticism, intellectual cowardice……A difficulty is a problem, a not-seeing how two realities fit together….a situation we do not yet understand and perhaps will never understand. It is a limitation on our knowledge, a passing or permanent limitation.”

John Henry Cardinal Newman said “ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt, as I understand the subject; difficulty and doubt are incommensurate.” (Apologia pro vita Sua). [Fr Dubay, op. cit. p 82-4]

There is a conviction among Protestants that the Roman Church left them first.

Like the other fantasies, if you have a skerrick of sense you would see the absurdity of that.

 

[inkaneer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by inkaneer
Well in protestantism I can see how one can not be sure if a doctrine is really true or if one can only assume it to be. Take a look at water Baptism in protestantism and the different ways it is treated doctrinally. Does Baptism save, yes or no? Is it a sacrament or an ordinance? Is it necessary, yes or no? Adult only or children and infants too? Does it impart grace or not? These are contradictory doctrines of different protestant denominations. So then, tell me, where is the Holy Spirit’s guidance in this doctrinal mish-mash? Does the Holy Spirit tell Baptists one thing and Lutherans something contradictory? How many truths are there???

In protestantism there is no assurance of doctrinal truth. Not so in Catholicism. In doctrinal matters the church speaks with one voice as guided by the Holy Spirit so Baptism is necessary for adultsand children, it is a sacrament and it does impart grace and it does save. There is no concept of a “big tent” in Catholicism. That concept exists in protestantism because by denying church authority you cannot tell another denomination that their doctrine is false. You have no authority to do so, In Catholicism there exists the authority to bind and loose on earth as well as in heaven as given by Jesus to His church. Consider this, The president of the United States is a powerful man with a lot of authority but even he cannot bind something in heaven. But a non descript fisherman from Galilee could.

It is compelling to compare this doctrine to that doctrine and to seek the certainty that one is true while the other is not. This pursuit appears to be quite titillating, and perhaps profitable, for many religiously minded people.

When all is said and done, we are still left with the reality of religious pluralism and diversity of opinion. Attempts do convert those who do not have the “Truth” often result in increased hostility and even more division. What should we do about that? How are we going to build the kingdom?

If one is on a search for truth then comparing opposing doctrines in order to find the one that is true is more than just compelling or ‘titillating’. It is imperative that one do so. But here is the point. All protestantism is based on sola scriptura which makes scripture your only/final authority [take your pick]. So if scripture is this only/final authority then why do different denominations have such contradictory doctrines if, as they claim, they got them from the same authority? Obviously there is something else at work in the process that they want to ignore. The fact is their authority is not scripture but rather their opinion of scripture. Any claim to being “led by the Holy Spirit” is laughable. They got the Holy Spirit saying different ‘truths’ to different denominations. The old saying that when three protestants disagree on doctrine another denomination is the result is true. And please explain to me why Jesus would pray that His followers be one but the Holy Spirit seems to want to create divisions in His followers. If God is one then why this dichotomy?

 

[inkaneer]

Do we have evidence that a doctrine is true or do we only assume that it is true?
If evidence of doctrinal contradiction among Protestants consists of accepting (with qualifiers) abortion, it is worth noting that approximately 1000 Protestant denominations do take a pro-life stance.

I think that whenever we make accusations against others such as, “the Holy Spirit does not abide in the protestant denominations” we risk objectifying others and treating them impersonally. That feels wrong to me.

If anyone believes that the Catholic Church is the “True Church” and they find comfort in this assurance, they should remain faithful in charity while recalling the prayer of the Pharisee.

In protestantism doctrines are only assumed to be true. In Catholicism formal defined doctrine is true. The difference is a matter of authority. In protestantism doctrinal authority ends with someone’s personal opinion of scripture. But in Catholicism, where the church is the pillar and foundation of truth in fulfillment of Paul’s writing to Timothy it is the church authority to bind and loose that tells us what is true doctrine. That is nothing new. In the OT when the prophet’s spoke did they speak truth or do we only assume it was truth?

 

[JonathonofOhio]

“Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” - 1 John 2

In the early church, those who disagreed with the teachings of the Magisterium were called antichrist…they went out from them, because the church rejected their false teachings, and so they went out to teach without the authority of the Church. They are called antichrist because they denied the truth, the doctrine the Magisterium taught. Defying the church is defying Christ.

Every single Christian Church in existence today, despite their claims, all have one thing in common: the Bible. The Bible can be traced back through history to when it was put together by a single Christian church, which called itself ‘catholic’ as early as 112 A.D… and that church can be traced through history up to present day. You can see throughout history certain times when others broke off from the church to start a new church with different beliefs-- some of them died out others continued on.

When the Protestant reformation started, and the Lutherans broke away from the Church, they abandoned certain beliefs, but kept the majority of them (you can go into some Lutheran churches and hear them say, ‘we believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church’ when they recite their creed). Well, others came along and decided they didn’t like this or that, and so went out from them, and so on and so on…Now instead of one church you have 32,000+ different ones teaching different things and confusing people.

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” - 1 Corinthians 14:33

Now people just throw their hands up in the air and give up and say well even though we don’t all see eye-to-eye, we all have one thing in common: Christ. But the fact of the matter is not everyone can be right. There is only one Lord, one Truth, and one Church. If you don’t want to be part of the Church, but still want to say, “Lord! Lord!” feel free to do so though.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves…Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.” - Matthew 7:15-23

 

[Cosmian]

Prove by the bible that the holy spirit is in those not confirmed by a catholic bishop.
Have you read acts? You can baptise all you want but only those with apostolic succession actually have the “power”(what stephen had only AFTER the laying on of hands) to invest the holy spirit into disciples.

As wonderful as scripture is, the living God trumps scripture. I’m not a fundamentalist Christian so I’m not inclined to try to prove much of anything from scripture.

I will give you some anecdotal evidence of why I believe that Roman Catholics don’t have anything over their Protestant brethren despite having the benefit of the “True Church’s” sacraments. These are just some observations from everyday life but that really is the best sort of evidence.

I know a Catholic woman, very involved with the Church, who bragged to me about how she and her brother defrauded a man out of several hundreds of dollars and complains about having to put a few more dollars in the collection basket whenever there’s a second collection.

I know a Protestant man who is the kindest, most trustworthy of men who met his wife when they worked together as young adults in the mission field. His wife is as wonderful as he is. They are required by their small congregation to tithe 10% of their income and they do it gladly.

I have a friend who grew up in a Catholic household but claims that she only know Joy in the Lord after she married a Protestant man and joined his congregation.

I once heard a Catholic priest lament from the pulpit that our Catholic congregation was not as supportive of one another as we should be. He told a story about a woman whose son left the Catholic Church and joined a Protestant denomination. When the man became unemployed and fell on hard times, his Church supported him financially for many months. The priest then asked us if that was likely to happen in our congregation. The point of the story was to inspire us start giving enough money to keep our Church from closing as our school had closed.

How is it that a Catholic who receives the sacraments doesn’t show much fruit from the Holy Spirit when a Protestant, whose sacraments are supposed to be invalid, has an abundance of Grace?

 

[Cosmian]

How you feel is irrelevant. it does not say in the bible to trust what you feel. Jesus says do what the pharasies say.

The Church does speak to freedom of conscience so if I feel something is wrong, I am free to follow my conscience.

The point I was making about the prayer of the Pharisee was that one’s spiritual life does not improve by comparing one’s self to others.

 

[Cosmian]

In protestantism doctrines are only assumed to be true. In Catholicism formal defined doctrine is true. The difference is a matter of authority. In protestantism doctrinal authority ends with someone’s personal opinion of scripture. But in Catholicism, where the church is the pillar and foundation of truth in fulfillment of Paul’s writing to Timothy it is the church authority to bind and loose that tells us what is true doctrine. That is nothing new. In the OT when the prophet’s spoke did they speak truth or do we only assume it was truth?

I don’t care about their doctrines, I happen to love them just the way they are. I really admire the Quakers who have no sacraments at all. The Mormons are awesome too. Have you ever seen the movie, “The Other Side of Heaven”? How could you not love these peoples faith?

 

[JonathonofOhio]

I don’t care about their doctrines, I happen to love them just the way they are. I really admire the Quakers who have no sacraments at all. The Mormons are awesome too. Have you ever seen the movie, “The Other Side of Heaven”? How could you not love these peoples faith?

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” - 1 Corinthians 10:16

“We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4

They don’t participate in the passion of Christ through the Sacraments, and that is admirable? What faith?

 

[inkaneer]

I don’t care about their doctrines, I happen to love them just the way they are. I really admire the Quakers who have no sacraments at all. The Mormons are awesome too. Have you ever seen the movie, “The Other Side of Heaven”? How could you not love these peoples faith?

Because it is a man made tradition. The quakers admit that their movement was established in the 16th century. That is over 1500 years after Jesus established His church. Their faith, as admirable as it may be, is not in the church that Jesus established. Mormons are an even later invention and they are not even considered christian by some protestant groups.

 

[PeterJohn]

As wonderful as scripture is, the living God trumps scripture. I’m not a fundamentalist Christian so I’m not inclined to try to prove much of anything from scripture.

I will give you some anecdotal evidence of why I believe that Roman Catholics don’t have anything over their Protestant brethren despite having the benefit of the “True Church’s” sacraments. These are just some observations from everyday life but that really is the best sort of evidence.

I know a Catholic woman, very involved with the Church, who bragged to me about how she and her brother defrauded a man out of several hundreds of dollars and complains about having to put a few more dollars in the collection basket whenever there’s a second collection.

I know a Protestant man who is the kindest, most trustworthy of men who met his wife when they worked together as young adults in the mission field. His wife is as wonderful as he is. They are required by their small congregation to tithe 10% of their income and they do it gladly.

I have a friend who grew up in a Catholic household but claims that she only know Joy in the Lord after she married a Protestant man and joined his congregation.

I once heard a Catholic priest lament from the pulpit that our Catholic congregation was not as supportive of one another as we should be. He told a story about a woman whose son left the Catholic Church and joined a Protestant denomination. When the man became unemployed and fell on hard times, his Church supported him financially for many months. The priest then asked us if that was likely to happen in our congregation. The point of the story was to inspire us start giving enough money to keep our Church from closing as our school had closed.

How is it that a Catholic who receives the sacraments doesn’t show much fruit from the Holy Spirit when a Protestant, whose sacraments are supposed to be invalid, has an abundance of Grace?

This is evidence of nothing, but the fact you bring up the sins of sinners as evidence of anything besides Satan is alive and well speaks volumes of your views of what real evidence is. Protestants are full of grace and you can see or feel this grace? The evidence you’ve come across in life is an attribute to old saying “you find what you look for”. What church do you go to sir?

 

[Cosmian]

Because it is a man made tradition. The quakers admit that their movement was established in the 16th century. That is over 1500 years after Jesus established His church. Their faith, as admirable as it may be, is not in the church that Jesus established. Mormons are an even later invention and they are not even considered christian by some protestant groups.

This is my last comment on this subject. I’ve received a private message accusing me of causing abrasion and that is not my intention. I am uncomfortable with the tone many posters are taking.

I simply believe that all religion is ultimately man made but that reality itself comes from God. You can rest assured that the Church alone has the truth and in the meanwhile those people of goodwill who do not have your truth will continue to build the kingdom of God. Please just for a moment look around and see the actual evil in the world and give pause before you tear down the efforts of others who try to do good.

 

[livingwordunity]

I simply believe that all religion is ultimately man made but that reality itself comes from God.

Your statement is a logical fallacy. The fact that there are man made religions doesn’t mean that all religions are man made.

 

[Prieldedi]

I read you will not comment on this subject anymore. I hope you’ll continue reading our comments though.

You’re convinced all religions are man made. However, knowing that as a man you can be wrong, you should consider what we say, that our religion is God made. One of us is right. If you persist in your thought, you won’t be the first nor the last man on Earth to be convinced of an error.

In Post #52 you said:

I was once told that “rejection” was a loaded word. My purpose is not to convince anyone that their beliefs are right or wrong. I do not reject your conviction that the Catholic Church is the “true Church” but I acknowledge that others do not share this point of view and I do not reject their beliefs either.

That leaves me with my own beliefs and if I must one day answer to God for believing wrongly than that is between me and God. I’m actually more worried about answering for my conduct and my attitude toward others.

Look at Jesus own words:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and TEACH THEM TO FULFILL ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU. I am with you always until the end of this world.” Matthew 28:19-20

If He had said:

“Go to all nations and leave all you find with their own beliefs as they will one day answer to My Father because that will be between them and Him, tell them they should worry more answering for their own conduct and attitude toward others.”

… then you’ll be right and we would be wrong… but He didn’t.

From your Post #70:

I know a Catholic woman, very involved with the Church, who bragged to me about how she and her brother defrauded a man out of several hundreds of dollars and complains about having to put a few more dollars in the collection basket whenever there’s a second collection.

I know a Protestant man who is the kindest, most trustworthy of men who met his wife when they worked together as young adults in the mission field. His wife is as wonderful as he is. They are required by their small congregation to tithe 10% of their income and they do it gladly.

I have a friend who grew up in a Catholic household but claims that she only know Joy in the Lord after she married a Protestant man and joined his congregation.

The anecdotal evidence you present us can equally be said in reverse, we can give thousands of examples of kind Catholics and bad Protestants. Being kind, being wonderful, being trustworthy are not human traits that only Christians possess. Non Christians and atheists can be kind, wonderful and trustworthy.

I know a Catholic lady that left the Church because a protestant church helped her husband stop drinking. I told her Alcoholics Anonymous offers the same treatment and they don’t ask you to leave your Church. Now she has to give her new church 10% of what she earns, which the Catholic Church didn’t demand from her. We live in a Third World country and her salary is very low ($200 a month) and asking 10% is asking too much. The Catholic Church leaves it to the individual to give according to his possibilities, you give if you can. The Church would not ask her to sacrifice the food of her children, she would be told “feed them first”. Her new church even keeps record if she’s late giving her 10%.

We have stories of Protestants who have found the True Church. Many of the more relevant cases are from pastors who have converted to Catholicism. It is said that the worst Catholics are becoming protestants while the best Protestants are becoming Catholics.

I once heard a Catholic priest lament from the pulpit that our Catholic congregation was not as supportive of one another as we should be. He told a story about a woman whose son left the Catholic Church and joined a Protestant denomination. When the man became unemployed and fell on hard times, his Church supported him financially for many months. The priest then asked us if that was likely to happen in our congregation. The point of the story was to inspire us start giving enough money to keep our Church from closing as our school had closed.

How is it that a Catholic who receives the sacraments doesn’t show much fruit from the Holy Spirit when a Protestant, whose sacraments are supposed to be invalid, has an abundance of Grace?

For each Catholic that doesn’t show much fruit for from the Holy Spirit I can give you thousands that do. We shouldn’t judge the Church by the sins of its members. Judas lived for three years with God Himself in the Flesh and didn’t show “much fruit” from that personal experience. Being a Catholic/Christian is not a guarantee for good behavior or sinless life. Remember the tele-evangelist pastors who fell in disgrace in the 1980s? Was living for many years a life of luxury, greed, sex and opulence as they did “an abundance of grace”? They neither showed “much fruit” from the Holy Spirit, did they?

If every Catholic would be required to give 10% of his/her earnings then our local churches would probably have enough money to help the unemployed. Do you have any idea how many universities, schools, hospitals, rest homes for the sick and elderly the Catholic Church runs around the world, specially in third world countries were poverty runs rampant? Add to it medicines, counseling, feeding the hungry, clothing, and more. No international aid institution is even close to what the Church does caring for the needy worldwide. All this is accomplished because of the charity of more than one billion Catholics around the world. How about this “fruit from the Holy Spirit?”

“Teach them to fulfill all that I have commanded you”. Only the Catholic Church knows what “ALL” is. She’s the only one that’s been on Earth since Jesus established it. Protestant churches don’t know what “ALL” is.

 

[LostChemist]

“Teach them to fulfill all that I have commanded you”. Only the Catholic Church knows what “ALL” is. She’s the only one that’s been on Earth since Jesus established it. Protestant churches don’t know what “ALL” is.

I don’t understand why there is so much bashing of other religions by Catholics. How do you know what’s in the heart and minds of Protestants? I understand that you are proud of your religion and the Church. However, please stop bashing others as if they are “beneath” you just because they are not Catholic. I don’t believe that you must be Catholic in order to be a good person or go to heaven. The only way to heaven is through the Son and their are plenty of religions that believe the same. It’s comments like yours that make me want to steer clear of the Catholic church and make me believe that it is the wrong fit for me. I have seen too many people in these forums that basically believe that they are better than anyone else purely based on their religion. What happened to “judge not”?

 

[maryj]

“Teach them to fulfill all that I have commanded you”. Only the Catholic Church knows what “ALL” is. She’s the only one that’s been on Earth since Jesus established it. Protestant churches don’t know what “ALL” is.

I don’t understand why there is so much bashing of other religions by Catholics. How do you know what’s in the heart and minds of Protestants? I understand that you are proud of your religion and the Church. However, please stop bashing others as if they are “beneath” you just because they are not Catholic. I don’t believe that you must be Catholic in order to be a good person or go to heaven. The only way to heaven is through the Son and their are plenty of religions that believe the same. It’s comments like yours that make me want to steer clear of the Catholic church and make me believe that it is the wrong fit for me. I have seen too many people in these forums that basically believe that they are better than anyone else purely based on their religion. What happened to “judge not”?

We are to be the least, we are to serve and not be served. If someone here on these forums has made you feel as though all catholics believe that anyone who is not catholic is beneath them…then they are wrong! We are all sinners. We are all called to love Jesus. This thread is about the true church, and what are the marks that Jesus told us would be the marks of His church. They are One, Holy, catholic, and Apostolic. The Catholic church is the right fit for all people!! Weeds with the wheat!! God Bless!!