Why are protestants afraid of the word "saint"?

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Should calling a chief justice “honorable” (in particular those who respect the moral law) be considered a sacrilege? Of course not. Why should someone choose to be so scrupulous? Why are you protestants so afraid of the word “saint”? Are you afraid of being viewed as less protestant if you give more honor to men and women who set a prime example of what a follower of Christ should be or do? Are you afraid of having more in common with Catholicism? Is there a hidden resentment or envy toward the word saint for God giving them more grace than you? Are you just very uncomfortable with humility? For whatever the reason, be honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid of respecting or complimenting God’s grace. You are missing a treasure by not reading the lives of them. The inspiration and fire of the spirit their lives can spark in yours as a follower of Christ is immense! Do what has to be done, it is not happiness, it is greatness.
 
I don’t think they are afraid of the word ‘saint’. My old church was called ‘Saint Paul Lutheran Church’.
 
Lou_F said:
Should calling a chief justice “honorable” (in particular those who respect the moral law) be considered a sacrilege? Of course not. Why should someone choose to be so scrupulous? Why are you protestants so afraid of the word “saint”? Are you afraid of being viewed as less protestant if you give more honor to men and women who set a prime example of what a follower of Christ should be or do? Are you afraid of having more in common with Catholicism? Is there a hidden resentment or envy toward the word saint for God giving them more grace than you? Are you just very uncomfortable with humility? For whatever the reason, be honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid of respecting or complimenting God’s grace. You are missing a treasure by not reading the lives of them. The inspiration and fire of the spirit their lives can spark in yours as a follower of Christ is immense! Do what has to be done, it is not happiness, it is greatness.
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I am a protestant and I am not afraid of the word ‘saint’. The bible even says that ALL christians are saints! 👍
 
Lou_F said:
Should calling a chief justice “honorable” (in particular those who respect the moral law) be considered a sacrilege? Of course not. Why should someone choose to be so scrupulous? Why are you protestants so afraid of the word “saint”? Are you afraid of being viewed as less protestant if you give more honor to men and women who set a prime example of what a follower of Christ should be or do? Are you afraid of having more in common with Catholicism? Is there a hidden resentment or envy toward the word saint for God giving them more grace than you? Are you just very uncomfortable with humility? For whatever the reason, be honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid of respecting or complimenting God’s grace. You are missing a treasure by not reading the lives of them. The inspiration and fire of the spirit their lives can spark in yours as a follower of Christ is immense! Do what has to be done, it is not happiness, it is greatness.
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I think you are confusing the word that denotes ALL Christ followers (saints) and the special title some churches have bestowed on only an elite few they alone have deemed worthy of such (Saints).

The Apostolic method is the former, not the latter.

…
 
Atemi said:
I think you are confusing the word that denotes ALL Christ followers (saints) and the special title some churches have bestowed on only an elite few they alone have deemed worthy of such (Saints).

The Apostolic method is the former, not the latter…
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:newidea:
OH!!! (please forgive me - I’m a Catholic-to-be, so there is a LOT I don’t know)

So this is why I’ve occasionally read people stating in these forums that all babies/children that die become saints in heaven? I didn’t understand what they meant … now I get it. :doh2:

Thank you!
 
silentdeb said:
:newidea:
OH!!! (please forgive me - I’m a Catholic-to-be, so there is a LOT I don’t know)

So this is why I’ve occasionally read people stating in these forums that all babies/children that die become saints in heaven? I didn’t understand what they meant … now I get it. :doh2:

Thank you!
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Not sure who told you that, but we can rest assured that all of Christ’s followers alive right now are saints.

God is good!
 
Atemi said:
Not sure who told you that, but we can rest assured that all of Christ’s followers alive right now are saints.

God is good!
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beaming Isn’t that lovely! Thank you, I have a wonderful new concept to consider tonight, courtesy of you!

:harp:
 
It’s not that Protestants are “afraid” of the word, but they (or most of them) rather avoid it. I’ve heard of a theory/observation (which I tend to agree with) that because of the lack of unity among themselves, Protestants have found (unconsciously, I presume) one unifying aspect, i.e., that they are not Catholic. (Of course, it’s not the only one, but in many regards an important one.)
Therefore Protestants tend to distance themselves from most things Catholic, including the word “saint”.
Just my :twocents:
 
silentdeb said:
beaming Isn’t that lovely! Thank you, I have a wonderful new concept to consider tonight, courtesy of you!

:harp:
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Silentdeb,

Atemi is not a Catholic and what he/she has stated is not necessarily Catholic doctrine. Not all people who believe in Christ are saints as the Bible itself states (Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord…”). While we must all strive for sainthood, only those who have died and been saved are officially saints (whether or not they have been canonized on earth).
 
A Bible Christian that I spoke to does not believe the soul goes to Heaven directly after death. This person believes in some sort of “going to sleep” as I guess Scripture calls it. He/she takes that quite literally.
If a protestant, at least in this case, cannot acknowledge that those in Heaven are actually more alive than those of us on earth, then they have to use “sleep” in order to justify their position that you can’t pray to dead people/saints. Am I making sense?
IOW, for protestants it’s okay to ask living people on earth for help, but not for the intercession of those in Heaven.
Obviously, I’m not speaking for all protestants, just what this one person has told me. But when you take position #1, something’s gotta give for position #2 to work.

With Catholic doctrine, it all fits together so beautifully I am always in awe.
 
exiled said:
With Catholic doctrine, it all fits together so beautifully I am always in awe.
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True. One of the things that amazed me most when I was learning about the Catholic faith (before becoming a Catholic), was just how everything started to fit together once I started to understand Catholic teachings more and more. All those “inconvenient” questions and Bible verses that had to be tweaked and “twisted” to get some sense and agreement out of them, started to become clear, and the discrepancies started to fade away…
 
Fuerza said:
Silentdeb,

Atemi is not a Catholic and what he/she has stated is not necessarily Catholic doctrine. Not all people who believe in Christ are saints as the Bible itself states (Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord…”).
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The Scriptures state no such thing.

All believers are referred to as saints all throughout God’s Word.
While we must all strive for sainthood, only those who have died and been saved are officially saints (whether or not they have been canonized on earth).
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Incorrect, even in Catholic doctrine.

Please study the Communion of Saints (PS: they are not all dead).

You do not become a saint only when you die. That is highly inaccurate whether Protestant or Catholic.

…
 
I don’t think anyone would be afraid of the word “saint”; after all, we ought to live like of a saint.

What some people are afraid of is to ask “Saints” to pray for them.
 
👍 I think you are correct in that protestants have a ting about asking the saints to pray for us.
There is ancient christian graffetti where people asks the apostles,like St.Peter and Paul to pray for them.
I pray to Mary Our Lady,St.Jude ,St.Francis and St.Anthony of Pauda to help me in time of need.However,I also ask the Holy Spirit and Jesus to pray for me and help me out when I have problems or feel ill.
 
Atemi said:
The Scriptures state no such thing.

All believers are referred to as saints all throughout God’s Word.

Incorrect, even in Catholic doctrine.

Please study the Communion of Saints (PS: they are not all dead).

You do not become a saint only when you die. That is highly inaccurate whether Protestant or Catholic.

…
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I have to agree with Atemi.

The word ‘saint’ describes a follower of Christ.

We use the word ‘Saint’ to indicate a particular individual who lived an exemplary Christian life, who would serve as a suitable model for other Christians, and about whom, the Church has received some form of confirmation that this person currently resides in heaven, (i.e. they are among the blessed).

The first is a common usage to refer to all believers, the second is an honorific title.

It is important to notice the distinction. When non-Catholic Christians and Catholics refer to the ‘saints’ they are talking about the same thing, namely, the followers of Christ. Many non-Catholic Christian denominations never use the word as a title.

Some of them take issue with us using the word as a title.

I used to attend an evangelical church and many times I heard people huffily say things like ‘Saint John… we’re all saints!’ As if acknowledging the evangelists special place somehow detracted from their own. It is a very silly point to disagree with, but people make a lot of hay out of it.

The Communion of Saints is a doctrine which, in a nutshell, refers to the everlasting nature of membership in the Church. It basically says that the Church is both those here on Earth and those who have passed on in the state of grace.

Here is a link to the Catechism:

scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p5.htm
 
Lou_F said:
Why are you protestants so afraid of the word “saint”? Are you afraid of being viewed as less protestant if you give more honor to men and women who set a prime example of what a follower of Christ should be or do? Are you afraid of having more in common with Catholicism? Is there a hidden resentment or envy toward the word saint for God giving them more grace than you? Are you just very uncomfortable with humility?
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I looked up the number of churches in our Annual Conference (akin to a diocese) with the word “Saint” in them: there were 13. And we are a small conference.

Also, the Apostles’ Creed affirms saints: “I believe in… the communion of the saints.”

So where are we afraid, Lou?

More anti-Protestant rhetoric.

O+
 
Atemi said:
The Scriptures state no such thing.

All believers are referred to as saints all throughout God’s Word.

Incorrect, even in Catholic doctrine.

Please study the Communion of Saints (PS: they are not all dead).

You do not become a saint only when you die. That is highly inaccurate whether Protestant or Catholic.

…
Click to expand...
The Scriptures most certainly do say that not everyone who calls out “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This means that there are those who believe who will not be saved.

As for the other part, you are correct; I suppose that it is possible to be a living saint. Perhaps I miscommunicated my thoughts. I was simply trying to get at the fact that it is not Catholic belief that all who believe in Christ will ultimately be saved.
 
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