Why do Baptists say Catholics are not Christians?

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I have had this told to me a bunch since I live in an area with a lot of Baptists. We all believe that Christ died for our sins. I think if Baptists looked at all the similarities we had with them they would realize that we have more in common then they give us credit for.
 
I think they realize that the Catholic Church can only be one of two things;
  1. It is the True Church established by Christ, preserved by Apostolic Succession, etc.
  2. It is a false Church that teaches idolatry in the Eucharist, worship of saints, etc.
Since they are not Catholic, and they tend to be fairly well versed biblically [by this I mean they realize our Lord said to avoid false churches that lead people astray], they will hold the second view.
 
Because they are misinformed, and unfortunately many poorly catechized Catholics reinforce certain misconceptions.

From the North American Mission Board:
…Southern Baptists all agree that there are some serious errors in the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrine and religious practice that undermine or interfere with the gospel and actually allow many people in the church to think they are Christians when they are not. These problems include their views on the sacraments, their devotion to Mary and the saints, and their views on the salvation of non-Christians (which essentially ends up being that sincere people of any belief will be saved)…
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Source: 4truth.net/roman-catholicism/
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Not all Baptists take this point of view. In fact, I think it is only a minority that take this position, based on my own experiences with them.

Most just view the Church as misguided, but recognize that they are Christian.

Which, I feel they should, because for most of them, what defines someone as a Christian is to confess Jesus Christ as Savior, which we do. And if that is the only qualification to be a Christian, then we meet that qualification. If they say that is the only qualification, and still do not recognize Catholics as Christians, then they are either ignorant of Catholics, or they are being straight up hypocrites.
 
Also you have to remember that for an awful lot of your more conservative evangelical protestants (not just Baptists), salvation is dependent upon having a certain emotional experience (inward conviction of one’s sinfulness) and praying a certain prayer (“the sinner’s prayer”).

Since Roman Catholics do not condition salvation upon these things, but instead upon different things, these conservative evangelical protestants believe that Roman Catholics are not “saved” and therefore are not real Christians.
 
They say that out of pure ignorance. I know because I attended Baptist churches for many years.
 
“Man lives not on bread alone, but on every word from the mouth of God”. It tends to be that when a non-Catholic (or which also applies to a lot of poorly catechised cradle Catholics like me) see genuine, strong Catholicism, they acquire a hunger so to speak, that only grows stronger. It really is a longing for spiritual food.

For that reason, protestants (or any non-Catholic group under the sun) try to prevent any of their congregation from being in a state of mind to even desire to come within a mile of Catholicism. That’s why we have the most misunderstood faith in the world by a long shot, despite having every aspect of it authoritatively defined, written down and available so easily (penny Catechism!) not to mention 2000 years of history without a single contradiction. We are in the age of information yet the vast majority are misinformed. A powerful proof of the devils bias.
 
YoungCatholic86 said:
I think they realize that the Catholic Church can only be one of two things;
  1. It is the True Church established by Christ, preserved by Apostolic Succession, etc.
  2. It is a false Church that teaches idolatry in the Eucharist, worship of saints, etc.
Since they are not Catholic, and they tend to be fairly well versed biblically [by this I mean they realize our Lord said to avoid false churches that lead people astray], they will hold the second view.
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This.
 
POJIUJH said:
“Man lives not on bread alone, but on every word from the mouth of God”. It tends to be that when a non-Catholic (or which also applies to a lot of poorly catechised cradle Catholics like me) see genuine, strong Catholicism, they acquire a hunger so to speak, that only grows stronger. It really is a longing for spiritual food.

For that reason, protestants (or any non-Catholic group under the sun) try to prevent any of their congregation from being in a state of mind to even desire to come within a mile of Catholicism. That’s why we have the most misunderstood faith in the world by a long shot, despite having every aspect of it authoritatively defined, written down and available so easily (penny Catechism!) not to mention 2000 years of history without a single contradiction. We are in the age of information yet the vast majority are misinformed. A powerful proof of the devils bias.
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There is a psychological inferiority-complex vector to protestant anti-catholicism. However, I don’t think that it every rises to the level of deliberate consciousness that you seem to be portraying here. The feeling of inferiority, for most I think, remains below the conscious level, manifesting as fear and sometimes hatred.

And of course I feel like it needs to be said that this is not true for all protestants. Only for some.
 
Revanneosl said:
Also you have to remember that for an awful lot of your more conservative evangelical protestants (not just Baptists), salvation is dependent upon having a certain emotional experience (inward conviction of one’s sinfulness) and praying a certain prayer (“the sinner’s prayer”).

Since Roman Catholics do not condition salvation upon these things, but instead upon different things, these conservative evangelical protestants believe that Roman Catholics are not “saved” and therefore are not real Christians.
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I think that if we were supposed to say The Sinners Prayer if that was all we had to do, The Bible could be a lot shorter of a book. When I receive the Holy Eucharist as Jesus says to do quiet Clearly In John 6, Its the most emotional moment of my life. To abide in Jesus and for him to abide in me. Thanks be to God.
 
The title “Christian” came out of the city of Antioch in the first century. The title Catholic addressed to the early Church, came from St.Ignatius (Bishop) of Antioch late first to early second century recorded in his letters. The apostle Peter ordained the first bishop of Antioch.

The Catholic church made the blessed Trinity which confirms a “Christian” a dogma of the Church binding on all Christian faithful.

How anyone can conclude Catholics are not Christians? 🤷 Lends itself to ignorance of christianity or one moved by every wind of doctrine come from men.

How Ironic, Catholics believe one enters the kingdom of God by baptism to become Christian, yet some “baptist” (non-catholics) don’t accept Catholics as Christians.

Peace be with you
 
Some of them are misinformed on our beliefs about Saints. They will try to imply that we are polytheistic. They will try to claim that we put Mary on the same level as God. They have a tough time with us asking the Saints and Mary to pray for us.

The other big sticking point I have found is the Faith vs. Works argument. They will try to claim that Catholics just do X,Y, and Z, rather than actually loving Jesus.

However, I will say the majority do not claim that we aren’t Christian, but that we are extremely misguided Christians. I find many times their ministers are quicker to say we are going to hell than the average member attending one of those churches.
 
TeamCaptain said:
I have had this told to me a bunch since I live in an area with a lot of Baptists. We all believe that Christ died for our sins. I think if Baptists looked at all the similarities we had with them they would realize that we have more in common then they give us credit for.
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Simple.

It’s what their holy men teach them.

Period.
 
I especially don’t like it when “Catholic or Christian” is said, in place of the proper “Catholic or Protestant”.
 
Joko2599 said:
I especially don’t like it when “Catholic or Christian” is said, in place of the proper “Catholic or Protestant”.
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That drives me crazy. “Oh, you’re Catholic? Well, I’m a Christian.”
 
Blue_Goose said:
They say that out of pure ignorance. I know because I attended Baptist churches for many years.
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Yes, they just don’t understand, but do so well-intentionred. Most do love Jesus and want to follow him. Appreciate them for that and forgive them and love them!
mlz
 
mark_a said:
Simple.

It’s what their holy men teach them.

Period.
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Yes. It would seem that they imply an exemption in “thou shalt not bear false witness” when it comes to the Catholic Church.

Given that the Baptists only date back to the early 17th Century, I wonder how they explain the gap in time between the Apostles and their own denomination.
 
Not all Baptists think that. The majority of my family are Baptists. They are happy that I am a young adult who attends a church, since so many don’t. I had one person to tell me that Catholics aren’t Christian, but that person isn’t religious at all. 🤷
 
KendraDZ1902 said:
Not all Baptists think that. The majority of my family are Baptists. They are happy that I am a young adult who attends a church, since so many don’t. I had one person to tell me that Catholics aren’t Christian, but that person isn’t religious at all. 🤷
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Depends where you live I’ve seen both but my overall impression is that they view “some” Catholics as Christian but most not. (Although they don’t come right out and say so- it’s shown in more discussion . Just my experience! These days we all praise God when youth are protected and encouraged to live the Christian faith regardless to denomination due to the strong pull of humanistic secularism these days!
mlz
 
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