Why become Catholic?

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gurneyhalleck1 said:
Depends on which strand of Protestantism you’re talking about. Generally you’re correct-two. Anglo-Catholics of some different brands believe in seven.
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I never knew how many different faiths there were until I came to this site. It still blows my mind at times. I always thought there was Catholic and Protestant.

But here is something that I think is very very important. There is only One Truth. And there is only ONE HOLY CATHOLIC and APOSTOLIC CHURCH.

And Jesus loves me yes I know, cause the bible tells m so. Sorry, I can’t get that song out of my mind today so thought I would torture you guys also. Now sing along:p
 
Also I don’t care what faith you are. If you know the ten commandments no matter Protestant or Catholic it is in your best interest to follow them. I think we can both agree on that one.

We can only use the Grace that has been given to us by God. We can only know the truth that has been revealed to us. It is that truth that is revealed to us that we obey or disobey that we will answer for when our numbers up. Then it will be Jesus Christ that will make that final judgement.

The reason I believe it is very important to be Catholic in the Sacramants are 3 for sure. You want to make sure you are Baptised. You want to make sure you partake in the Eucharist to have eternal life in you. ANd you want to confess those sins. As much as I hate that confession, its still the best defense we have. Absolution? Absolutely!!😃

Not that all the other are not just as important. BUt those 3 are HUGE!! Especially that confession. In this world we need it daily!!
 
Let’s stop acting like grumpy old men and stay on topic.

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rinnie said:
Also I don’t care what faith you are.
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The Catholic Church has always taught and maintained that a person’s faith must be that of the Catholic faith in order to merit Heaven and avoid losing our souls forever in the pits of Hell.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra:

“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia productive of eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.”
 
Emily01 said:
The Catholic Church has always taught and maintained that a person’s faith must be that of the Catholic faith in order to merit Heaven and avoid losing our souls forever in the pits of Hell.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra:

“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia productive of eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.”
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The danger in picking and choosing passages from Church documents is that they were not written for lay people to make pronouncements about what the Church teaches, but for bishops.

The Church has told us in the Catechism what our popes have meant by their statements, so that is what we should be discussing:

Possible salvation of non-Christians: #s 846-848.

“Outside the Church there is no salvation”
846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.337
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338
 
Why become catholic indeed? After 20 months on this forum, I have still not been convinced that it would be in my best interest to convert to catholicism! I know that if I did, I would be labeled as a “cafeteria” catholic, because of the things thatI don’t totally agree with.But, knowing that I don’t have to be a catholic to go to Heaven, is comforting indeed:thumbsup:
 
Emily01 said:
It’s very simple. Outside the Catholic Church there is absolutely no salvation. This is Catholic dogma.
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And therein lies the difference; this is catholic dogma! "All who call upon the Name of Jesus will be saved; you can’t exclude people based on the fact that they’re not catholic. Jesus didn’t reject anyone who came to Him for healing or salvation!:cool:
 
Della said:
Possible salvation of non-Christians
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You’re totally wrong. I invite you to understand the meaning of Catholic dogma. Pope Eugene IV authoritatively declared that all those outside the Church will not be saved. This has always been the teaching of the Church.

In his book, ‘The History of Heresies,’ St. Alphonsus talked about the heresy of invincible ignorance e.g. the heretical notion that non-Catholics can be saved…

St. Alphonsus, The History of Heresies, Refutation 6, #11, p. 457: “Still we answer the Semipelagians, and say, that infidels who arrive at the use of reason, and are not converted to the Faith, cannot be excused, because though they do not receive sufficient proximate grace, still they are not deprived of remote grace, as a means of becoming converted. But what is this remote grace? ** St. Thomas explains it, when he says, that if anyone was brought up in the wilds, or even among brute beasts, and if he followed the law of natural reason, to desire what is good, and to avoid what is wicked, we should certainly believe either that God, by an internal inspiration, would reveal to him what he should believe, or would send someone to preach the Faith to him, as he sent Peter to Cornelius. ** Thus, then, according to the Angelic Doctor [St. Thomas], God, at least remotely, gives to infidels, who have the use of reason, sufficient grace to obtain salvation, and this grace consists in a certain instruction of the mind, and in a movement of the will, to observe the natural law; and if the infidel cooperates with this movement, observing the precepts of the law of nature, and abstaining from grievous sins, he will certainly receive, through the merits of Jesus Christ, the grace proximately sufficient to embrace the Faith, and save his soul.”
 
Emily01 said:
You’re totally wrong. I invite you to understand the meaning of Catholic dogma. Pope Eugene IV authoritatively declared that all those outside the Church will not be saved. This has always been the teaching of the Church.

In his book, ‘The History of Heresies,’ St. Alphonsus talked about the heresy of invincible ignorance e.g. the heretical notion that non-Catholics can be saved…

St. Alphonsus, The History of Heresies, Refutation 6, #11, p. 457: “Still we answer the Semipelagians, and say, that infidels who arrive at the use of reason, and are not converted to the Faith, cannot be excused, because though they do not receive sufficient proximate grace, still they are not deprived of remote grace, as a means of becoming converted. But what is this remote grace? ** St. Thomas explains it, when he says, that if anyone was brought up in the wilds, or even among brute beasts, and if he followed the law of natural reason, to desire what is good, and to avoid what is wicked, we should certainly believe either that God, by an internal inspiration, would reveal to him what he should believe, or would send someone to preach the Faith to him, as he sent Peter to Cornelius. ** Thus, then, according to the Angelic Doctor [St. Thomas], God, at least remotely, gives to infidels, who have the use of reason, sufficient grace to obtain salvation, and this grace consists in a certain instruction of the mind, and in a movement of the will, to observe the natural law; and if the infidel cooperates with this movement, observing the precepts of the law of nature, and abstaining from grievous sins, he will certainly receive, through the merits of Jesus Christ, the grace proximately sufficient to embrace the Faith, and save his soul.”
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And yet when I read the words of Jesus, I do not find that He says that if you are not one religion or the other, you can not be saved:eek: Didn’t pope John Paul II state that, "salvation is available to ALL?
 
simspt said:
Much of what I took for granted as a former Protestant like the Catholic Creeds, doctrines of the trinity and incarnation and canon of scripture is the result of the Catholic Church that made judgements about those matters. For me personally I thought it would be wise to err on the side of the Catholic Church that has historical and theological continuity with the first generations of Christians that followed Christ’s Apostles. After reading the Church fathers I became convinced the early Church was more Catholic than Protestant.
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This says it all and effectively answers the thread to its core. Catholics say this and believe this but hearing it from a non-Catholic is very telling. Sometimes the word of a bystander is greater than from the one who already believed in it because of the possibility of bias and self-interest of promoting his/her belief.

God bless you. 🙂
 
1beleevr,

I invite you to read the words of our Lord in Matthew 16:18-19. Salvation is available to those who accept and profess the teachings of His Church.
 
Emily01 said:
1beleevr,

I invite you to read the words of our Lord in Matthew 16:18-19. Salvation is available to those who accept and profess the teachings of His Church.
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That is a very narrow minded view, and I have read Matthew 16:18-19, and it does not specify who can or cannot be saved;) There are 6 billion or more people on this earth, and I believe that each and every one can be saved, even if they aren’t catholic! I gave my life to Christ in 1967; still not a catholic. C-Ya in Heaven, my sister in Christ! "God wishes that no man should perish; but that ALL may be saved! Hallelujah!👍
 
PDR1234 said:
A friend recently asked me, what applicable difference would it make if one were a devout Catholic or a devout Protestant? Suppose that 2 people were either of these. In application, both spend their lives living for Christ but they have different understandings of this. For one, the Christian life is centered around the Eucharist and for the other the Christian life is centered around the Scriptures. But in application, neither one is better than the other. Both are getting to heaven.

My question is: What significant difference is there between a devout and faithful Catholic and Protestant? The Catholic Church does not teach that devout Protestants are going to hell but rather that Christ’s faithful too (regardless of denomination) can go to heaven.
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If you’re devoted to the scriptures then you should be devoted to the Eucharist!
 
1beleevr,

To accept Christ is to accept the teachings of His Church. Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Indeed, not everyone that says Lord, Lord will enter Heaven. Matthew 7:21.

Pope St. Leo the Great (c. 450): “For whoever is led away from the path of the true faith, and changed to another, his whole journey is an apostasy; and the further he travels from the Catholic light, the nearer he comes to the darkness of death.”
 
Emily01 said:
1beleevr,

To accept Christ is to accept the teachings of His Church. Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Indeed, not everyone that says Lord, Lord will enter Heaven. Matthew 7:21.

Pope St. Leo the Great (c. 450): “For whoever is led away from the path of the true faith, and changed to another, his whole journey is an apostasy; and the further he travels from the Catholic light, the nearer he comes to the darkness of death.”
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And not everyone who says,“I’m a catholic,” will enter Heaven either; or Baptist, or Methodist, or Church of Christ…! I wish sometimes that I could agree with your point of view but there are too many interpretations of scripture to know who’s right! Like, I don’t believe that you have to go to confession with a mortal man! You can go directly to God!(Hebrews 4:16, 1John 1:9). And I couldn’t call the pope holy father:)
 
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