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MainBrain
Guest
I am very disappointed when I people don’t think I’m a Christian since I went back to the Catholic Church. Don’t they know their doctrine came out of Catholicism? How do I deal with this?
Why don't some people think I'm a Christian since I'm a Catholic?
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crystal_waters
New member
I think its because in some places people use the term christian as an umbrella term for any/all non catholic christian denominations…
They do the same where I live too…dont let it get to you…you know that you follow Jesus and are a catholic christian…you have nothing to prove to anybody…
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JimR-OCDS
Guest
Why are you worried about labels ?
You know who you are, and its all that should matter.
Jim
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Evania
Guest
That’s right!
Tell them you are Christian. You don’t need to accept their labels. End of story.
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sirach2v4
Guest
This is an attack on the Catholic Church. Most Protestants downplay the importance of a church, and they upplay (did you ever hear that word used before?) their “personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
My 66 year-old evangelical cousin was lecturing me that “we’re not going to be judged for what church we belonged to.”
And, she simply returned to me, unread, a book I sent her about the basis and importance of church Tradition.
Her mother wrote me that all Catholic are going to hell for worshiping idols (bread and wine).
These are all attacks intended to put Catholics on the defensive, at the least, and more likely to close off any discussion.
Yes, I went to a bible study in a Christian Reformed Church, and one lady there said the equivalent, I was a Catholic but then I became a Christian.
Do you watch* The Journey Home *program on EWTN? I think it’s been on tv for 19 years. Most of the time, the guests are lapsed Catholics who came back to the Church, OR, there are people who could not accept their Protestant faith and started on a “journey” of coversion to Catholicism. These include some people who were very anti-Catholic in belief. Despite the image of Christ’s words in the gospel, I don’t expect to “lower a net” and pull in an overflowing catch of converts to the Church. Maybe that was Christ’s point, to do that and expect that.
This “Christian vs Catholic” distinction is also meant to make people convince themselves that their Protestant faith is the real faith of Jesus Christ.
It’s a cheap shot to make us Catholics feel bad about ourselves. Expect it. The Protestant point of view is to attack anything “Catholic.” We have a church law that says go to Mass on Sunday. first, they don’t have “the Mass” and second they don’t require Church attendance, in most cases.
My 66 year-old evangelical cousin was lecturing me that “we’re not going to be judged for what church we belonged to.”
And, she simply returned to me, unread, a book I sent her about the basis and importance of church Tradition.
Her mother wrote me that all Catholic are going to hell for worshiping idols (bread and wine).
These are all attacks intended to put Catholics on the defensive, at the least, and more likely to close off any discussion.
Yes, I went to a bible study in a Christian Reformed Church, and one lady there said the equivalent, I was a Catholic but then I became a Christian.
Do you watch* The Journey Home *program on EWTN? I think it’s been on tv for 19 years. Most of the time, the guests are lapsed Catholics who came back to the Church, OR, there are people who could not accept their Protestant faith and started on a “journey” of coversion to Catholicism. These include some people who were very anti-Catholic in belief. Despite the image of Christ’s words in the gospel, I don’t expect to “lower a net” and pull in an overflowing catch of converts to the Church. Maybe that was Christ’s point, to do that and expect that.
This “Christian vs Catholic” distinction is also meant to make people convince themselves that their Protestant faith is the real faith of Jesus Christ.
It’s a cheap shot to make us Catholics feel bad about ourselves. Expect it. The Protestant point of view is to attack anything “Catholic.” We have a church law that says go to Mass on Sunday. first, they don’t have “the Mass” and second they don’t require Church attendance, in most cases.
J
johnnyc176
Guest
I am very happy to identify as Catholic as it distinguishes being in the Church that Jesus founded.
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sirach2v4
Guest
I think the best reply is two parts: what makes that person feel they are a Christian (get a response in detail, probing every assertion) and then, what is not Catholic about any of those things?
I don’t think you should argue, but I don’t think you should back down from the challenge, either.
There is a book called The Protestant’s Dilemma by Devin Rose which discusses problems with the Protestant’s point of view.
He discusses some big problems and concludes that the Protestant’s biggest common problem is the lack of centralized authority – that the Bible is their only authority and that the Church is just a friendly gathering of like-minded people. They deny that Christ established a Church with divine authority to teach and pass on the truth which is contained in a deposit of faith. Scripture seems to say otherwise.
I think your acquaintance will fail in trying to assert that a Catholic is not a Christian. That will simply come down to his/her word against yours. You can only lose that discussion by agreeing to his/her biased assessment of Catholicism.
I don’t think you should argue, but I don’t think you should back down from the challenge, either.
There is a book called The Protestant’s Dilemma by Devin Rose which discusses problems with the Protestant’s point of view.
He discusses some big problems and concludes that the Protestant’s biggest common problem is the lack of centralized authority – that the Bible is their only authority and that the Church is just a friendly gathering of like-minded people. They deny that Christ established a Church with divine authority to teach and pass on the truth which is contained in a deposit of faith. Scripture seems to say otherwise.
I think your acquaintance will fail in trying to assert that a Catholic is not a Christian. That will simply come down to his/her word against yours. You can only lose that discussion by agreeing to his/her biased assessment of Catholicism.
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Casilda
Guest
The basis of most, if not all of their doctrine. I know of one Christian church’s teaching that reads like a point/counterpoint on the Catechism.
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pianistclare
Guest
They should be able to tell I you are a Christian by your words, deeds, and composure.
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mjs2001
Guest
They think that the Catholic Church teaches a false Gospel–a “gospel of works”–whereas their faith is supposedly the “true” Gospel–the “gospel of faith.” So, no, they do not accept that their doctrines came out of Catholicism (and many of their doctrines certainly do not come out of Catholicism). How to deal with it? (1) thank God for your faith, (2) engage them in discussion if you and they want to have discussion, and (3) pray for them and yourself.
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Purgatory_Pete
Guest
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mdgspencer
Guest
This is a common human failing, involving other groups too…
It is like people who believe black people aren’t normal human beings.
It is like people who believe black people aren’t normal human beings.
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Rosarydevotion
Guest
I’m a big youtube user, and I used to like to listen to various videos from different Christian sources. But I had to stop doing that because I cant tell you how many times when I would stumble upon some Protestant channel and they would always end up criticizing if not condeming the Catholic Church. This happened so many times I cannot count.
Funny how you never hear Catholics putting Protestants down. At least I rarely see it. But I can empathize with how you feel about it. I guess we can look at it as motivation to learn our faith better in order to defend it better.
God bless.
Funny how you never hear Catholics putting Protestants down. At least I rarely see it. But I can empathize with how you feel about it. I guess we can look at it as motivation to learn our faith better in order to defend it better.
God bless.
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Sarcelle
Guest
The Catholic Church, like it or not, is a huge target for anyone to take pot shots at.
But as Jesus said to St. Faustina, “What’s it to you? Be merciful to them anyway.”
But as Jesus said to St. Faustina, “What’s it to you? Be merciful to them anyway.”
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pwlj_christ87
Guest
anyone that is ignorant of the church doesnt know what they say when it comes to such matters,
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