Why Catholicism?

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I am wondering, why Catholicism over a non-denominational practice of faith?
 
Vita, the answer is in the gospels, in a full and careful reading of the gifts and promises of Jesus to us through His apostles.

For instance…but there is so much more…

He instructed His disciples, promising that, “When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, He will be my witness. And you too will be my witnesses.” [John 15: 26-27]
“When He comes, He will show the world how wrong it was, about sin…and about judgement” and “about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father…proved by the prince of this world already being condemned.”

Jesus promised, “I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit comes He will lead you to the complete truth…All He tells you will be taken from what is mine.” “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but indeed…to the ends of the earth.” [John 16:8-9, 12-13, 15]

Before His ascension, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always, yes even to the end of time.”

Jesus gave us the Eucharist which He means us to share “Do this in memory of Me”
He gave the apostles, first priests, the power to absolve us from sin, John 20: 22-23
“As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you” After saying this he breathed on them and said: "receive the Holy Spirit, for those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.

Give me a minute and I’ll find the other text I want just now to show you also…Trishie
 
Note also Matthew 16:18-20 “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.”

Jesus gave this authority to Peter the founding pope, changed his name from Simon to one that means rock or stone on which He wold found His church. Take this in conjunction with Jesus’ words regarding the Holy Spirit’s guidance of the teaching that would come through the apostles,/priests, and the blessings.

I rather think we can’t imagine that Jesus, truly God, truly man, Son of God, spoke lightly, or should be ignored or put aside in His wishes, or in His promises…but others may give more enlightenment than I’ve managed…
Not to forget Jesus’ teachings on love and gospel values, the guardianship of which He gave to His Church, as some of the given texts reveal.

But Vita, I will keep you in my prayers that the Holy Spirit will guide you and give you all the graces you need to live the life God hopes for you.

Warm regards, Trishie
 
Vita said:
I am wondering, why Catholicism over a non-denominational practice of faith?
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Historically speaking, Catholicism is the most ‘authentic’ form of Christianity. Next in line would be the Eastern Orthodox Church. Protestantism only accounts for about one-fourth of the time Christianity has existed.

IMO, Protestantism is a superficial form. It lacks historical authority, and in fact, quite deliberately ignores history altogether in its deification of the Bible. It’s also very superstitious in its dependency on the ultra-magical aspects of Christianity. For example, it teaches that the Bible is a singular book, directly written by the same author, God, and therefore perfectly harmonized and literally true in every instance. History clearly indicates that that isn’t correct.

Moreover, Protestantism teaches salvation by faith alone, promoting the idea that once a believer reads certain passages in Romans, all he has to do is to say, “I’m saved”, and from that day on it doesn’t matter whether he actually follows the teachings of Christ or not; he is supposedly ‘saved’ forever, regardless of what he does or doesn’t do, again, simply because he said so after reading Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. This is really contrary to what Jesus taught, how He lived, and what He tried to accomplish. It also strips God of His power, by negating the significance of Judgment Day, and by granting believers a free-license to sin at will, while arrogantly boasting of a *‘lifetime warranty’ *from the Lord. If Jesus had been Protestant, He wouldn’t have bothered to die on the Cross.

In sum, Protestantism lives in denial, depends on magic, has deified the Bible and rendered God powerless. It’s more than just misguided – it’s an adulteration of the Christian religion.😦
 
Thanks for the responses.

To be sure, it seems to me through my reading that Catholicism is more centered around the teachings of Jesus, while a non-demoninational (Protestant?) church is more open to interpretation of the Bible?

Can I use my new NIV study bible during RCIA / the practice of my faith?
 
I would suggest an NAB bible. I use that version a lot myself. Plus it’s more common than others.
 
I will be praying for all coming into the Church through the RCIA process.
May God bless you on this journey. Amen
 
Christy_Beth said:
I would suggest an NAB bible. I use that version a lot myself. Plus it’s more common than others.
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what is the reasoning behind this?

i am wondering because i was looking into another church and they recommended this for easier reading. are there fundamental differences? just bought it and it’s got a lot of really nice features to it (sidenotes, maps, timelines, etc.) and it was only $30.

i figure i can get a new one though and maybe someone would buy this one on craigslist or something.

still welcoming any comments on the original post.

Thanks!
 
Well, for one, the NAB is a Catholic Bible, while I believe NIV is a protestant Bible.

I’ve also heard bad things about NIV, such as faulty translations.

NAB comes with maps and footnotes as well.
 
Not to mention the most important reason NOT to use the NIV… it’s not COMPLETE! It won’t have the Deuterocanonical books from the Old Testament (leaving you seven books short of a full Catholic Bible, plus additions to a couple of other books). There are also some important changes in wording in some key passages in the regular text that DO make a theological difference.

Approved Catholic Bible translations include:
The Douay-Rheims
The Confraternity
The Jerusalem Bible
The New Jerusalem Bible
The New American Bible
The Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (not to be confused with the Protestant edition)
The New Revised Standard Version
Today’s English Version (The Good News Bible)
 
Vita said:
what is the reasoning behind this?

i am wondering because i was looking into another church and they recommended this for easier reading. are there fundamental differences? just bought it and it’s got a lot of really nice features to it (sidenotes, maps, timelines, etc.) and it was only $30.

i figure i can get a new one though and maybe someone would buy this one on craigslist or something.

still welcoming any comments on the original post.

Thanks!
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Hi Vita,

The NIV is a Protestant version, so does not contain the entire biblical canon.

The NAB is an easily readable version, but contains all the books of the bible, including the deuterocanonical books of the OT, which Protestant bibles lack.

However,… I would provide caution regarding footnotes.

All Protestant Bibles, including the NIV & KJV provide many footnotes that include Protestant interpretations.

While the NAB is a Catholic translation, there are some serious goofs in it’s footnotes.

For example, one particular note in my NAB on Matthew 16:21-23 says that is was probable that Jesus only “foresaw that his mission would entail suffering and perhaps death, but was confident that he would ultimately be vindicated by God”, implying that Jesus didn’t know about his death and resurrection.

This flatly contradicts Christian faith, as well other parts of the Bible which clearly show that Jesus knew perfectly well that He would be crucified & would rise again.

Personally, I recommend the RSV-CE, or"Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition", which is both a literal translation & very readable. The 2nd edition of the “Ignatius Bible” is a great version, & is both my favorite as well as my wife’s.

You can get it for $30-45 depending on the cover type.

God bless,

Chris
 
Vita said:
I am wondering, why Catholicism over a non-denominational practice of faith?
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To keep it short and sweet, you can trace the history of the Catholic church back to Jesus Christ Himself. You can’t say that about any other church.
 
Vita said:
I am wondering, why Catholicism over a non-denominational practice of faith?
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I once asked my dad that question while I was questioning my Catholicism.

His answer, “You find me a church that has more ways to worship God, then I’ll go join that one.” In short, the (universal) Catholic Church is authentic and it is complete. There are no holes and it fits everyone.

As to the question on your Bible, you need to find a Catholic one since the protestant ones are incomplete. My favorite book in the Old Testament is the book of Judith. It is worth the read.

In the US the readings are from the NAB. I am currently debating my personal use of the NAB though, because of one particular fuzzy translation. It is one that has the angel Gabriel saying to Mary, “Highly favored daughter!” That translation leaves a lot to be desired. She is ‘full of grace.’ Our Lord renames her in that passage. That is important in understanding her role. NAB is good in most other ways though.

As to your NIV Bible? Do what I am doing. I took my husband’s Bible (KJV) from his evangelical days (I’m a cradle Catholic, he’s a convert) and am turning it into an apologetics Bible. I am putting sticky notes on the pages that Evangelicals use against Catholicism and then referencing it to the page that refutes it. Then I can go Bible to Bible with them. I am also including sticky notes saying, “Where is the book of Judith? Why is it missing? It was there in the year 400. Where did it go?” and such inserted where the missing books should be.

Sorry, probably more than you wanted here…God bless you in your studies.
 
very helpful all! I didn’t realize there were books entirely missing!?!?!

i’ll have to go out and pick one up, probably today! i’ll also keep the NIV version for a comparison too. sounds like a good way to see for my self the differences…
 
Vita said:
I am wondering, why Catholicism over a non-denominational practice of faith?
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That is an excellent question and the more you ask that question the deeper you will delve into historical Christianity. Then you will read what the Early Church Fathers wrote and find that they were Catholic. Then you will ask,“Where did the 27 New Testament books come from and how were they acknowledged as being inspired”? And you will find that the Catholic Church was there again. Then you will wonder about the seven Sacraments and find that they were utilized as a tangible means of God’s grace since the Apostolic era.

It just keeps on going. How about who’s in charge when Jesus ascends into heaven? Why would millions and millions continue to believe that the bread and wine substantially change into the Body , Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord at every Mass? Why would priests spend countless hours hearing confessions if this were a man made idea that could be eliminated?

Why Catholicism? Because that is Christianity in its fullness. All other Christian faiths took some truth from Mother Church and then distorted other doctrines to appeal to any and all who would follow anything less than the complete truth.

Oh and one last thought. The term non-denominational? What does that mean exactly when we have thousands of “churches” claiming to be “non-denominational”. Are they all doing different things together with a Bible that no one agrees with??

God Bless you and keep that question rolling. Jesus asks the most profound question in Scripture: “Who do you say I am”? It is how we answer that question that determines whether or not we are following the Christ that taught us and died for us 2000 years ago…teachccd 🙂
 
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