How to become a Christian?

Question

OK I don't mean to offend here so if I say anything wrong, please just let it go.

What I want to know is, if someone was to become a Christian, what factors govern whether they choose to become a Protestant or a Catholic? My limited understanding is (coming from a predominantly Catholic area of the UK myself) that Catholicism tends to be more governed by the masses and family ties..eg, your parents are Catholic, all your friends are, so you are obliged to be, whereas Protestantism tends to be more individualistic.

I've also been told that Protestantism is basically just watered down Catholicism, which is the original Christianity, although the former is closer to what Christ taught (albeit still far removed).

I'm not suggesting either is right or worng but would like to know what you think on the matter?

Serious, informed and non-insulting answers only please!

Answer 1

This was my answer to a similar Q
I was taught that where two or more are together talking in my name that is my Church,
This to me means I do not have to go to A Church every week to pray to God
When I and someone else is talking about God as we are NOW
Then this is a Church of God So if you believe you are Atheist, Agnostic, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Witness, Catholic! or what,
We are now talking about God.
God comes to us with many Names
Allah, Mohamed, Buddha, Jehovah
Many many more names,
It is we the human race who pray to Him in different ways
I BELIEVE Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Witness, Catholic!
We are all human We all live on this Planet
We should all be able to live together.

Religion is about GOOD not EVIL
MAY YOUR GOD
BLESS YOU ALL

Answer 2

Both Catholicism & Protestantism are inherently flawed.

Catholicism is so far removed from the Christianity of the Bible, being incredibly steeped in Pagan ritual & superstitions.

eg. Bible "you must call no one father, except your heavenly father (God)" - Roman Catholics revere MEN and place an ELECTED pope just below Christ in importance.
Christ is the saviour of mankind - yet they revere & worship Mary and numerous 'saints'.
The crucifix is an IDOL that they pray to, bow down & worship. A corruption of the Babalonian 'Tau' figure. Imagine worshiping the instrument of your saviours death....
Celabate priests....NOT a biblical command, leads to much publicised homosexuality & child abuse within the priesthood.
The trinity - NEVER mentioned in the bible. Even the so called evidence that "the Word was god" can be debunked by looking at the original texts and noting that 'god' is meerly to denote a powerful being - eg. "the devil is the god of this system". Jesus even prayed to his father IN HEAVEN whilst on earth. The Catholic faith have brutalised numerous peoples, crusades, missioraries, and even had German priests blessing their armies...whilst the British did likewise.

The protestant faith is just the PROTESTING against certain elements of the roman catholic faith, yet holding onto some non-scriptural elements and becoming more diluted as time progresses.

If you are truely intent of searching for a true Christian faith, then begin by praying and asking for guidance. Look deeply into the core of any religion and see how it measures up to the original Christians of the first century.

Do they love their 'neighbour'? Do they reject war & politics as Jesus did? Do they engage is spreading the word? Do they use the scriptures in full - neither taking away nor adding to it? Do they worship God alone, and place little or no importance on the men taking the lead?

I hope you find the answers you are looking for.

Answer 3

Oh good gracious, I bet fact-finder didn't type that lot!!

As for the original question that appears 19 feet above this, on the whole, it depends on - the people in the church/meeting place, the closest church/meeting place to the "seeker's" home and if they are invited along by someone.

Some converts have converted to a religion because they were influenced by the works of a person, Malcolm Muggeridge, the TV reporter converted after a trip to Lourdes.

Religion is a personal choice, you go with what feels right, be it Christianity, Islam or something else.

My view on my personal form of Christianity is that all "God" figure heads are the same, so Muslim and Christian both worship the same god, but in a different way. After all, the God that Christians and Jews worship IS the same, why can't the rest be the same God from a different viewpoint.

Answer 4

Your observations regarding why people profess Catholicism or Protestantism are correct.
Protestantism is NOT watered down Catholicism at all.
Anglicanism might be considered that way but genuine Protestanism is not the same thing at all.
For the best answer as to why people broke away from the Catholic church go to www.chick.com.
Look under "books" and then under "Catholicsm".
You will see why Protestant (like myself) neither trust nor wish ever to be Catholic (or indeed Anglican).
Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Becoming a Christian means following the ways of Christ (I Peter 2:21, I Corinthians 11:1). Those Ways are recorded for us in the Word of God, the Bible.

Jesus said:
1) Seek first the Kingdom of God and HIS righteousness (Matthew 6:33)
2) Repent (Mark 1:15) -- that is, stop breaking the Commandments (sinning).
3) Believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15) -- that is, the Gospel that Jesus preached and is recorded in the Bible, not the gospel that churches preach, which is deficient.
4) Be baptised (immersed -- Acts 2:38) into God, into the Son, and into the holy spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. And he commanded his disciples to become perfect (Matthew 5:48). The book of Hebrews also teaches that we are to become perfect (Hebrews 6:1).

This is the begining of the life of a Christian.

Answer 6

this is a difficult subject, and I'll admitt I'm no expert but as I protestent christian I will try and give my thought. As far as I am aware yes they are both the same religion, they believe the same thing the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and acknowledge him as lord and saviour. The main difference are mainly traditional. How things are done.
I know the main split from the catholic church was caused by Henry the eighth when the pope would not let him divorce one of his wives.
The other thing I know is that the protestent church itself has many different denomination each with there own traditions, normally caused by slightly differnet interprations of the bible but all of whom I would class as christians. And it is the same with Catholics of course I would call them christians anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as their lord and saviour is a christian.
I believe there is also a division in catholism ie Roman Catholics
yet it is still all the same god. I hope this helps and I've not rambled too long

Answer 7

well personally I am a Christian but I still don't know what protestant actually means, I always thought it was a type of church such as baptist or C of E but was recently told it's anything which isn't Catholic. I think people mainly tend to find a local church and go to it. If they like it there they stay i fthey don't they move on until they find one where they feel they should be some try to do this by themselves and some make sure God it fully in control.

Answer 8

I would say that the factors are mainly your own feelings. If you attend a few different services, you might find comfortable with some and uncomfortable with others. Also you mght feel closer to God in some, not so much in others. But in addition to that you must inform yourself on some of the other factors involved.

I am a Catholic, so feel I can answer the second part of your question. Yes, mass is the most important part of worship in the Catholic church. I am from Catholic parents, but they were not churchgoers although I am sure they both lived Christian
lives and I believe that influenced me more than anything else. I was not interested in the church when I was young (my formative years). It was later that I decided that Christianity,and Catholicism in particular,was right for me.
Having said that, many nonCatholics do convert to Catholicism, in fact we often say that converts are more Catholic than the Catholics.
I think it is rather harsh to say that protestantism is a watered down Catholicism, although there are some important omissions.

The most important one is the Eucharist (Holy Communion). The Catholic church puts a great deal of emphasis on Jesus teaching in John 6:25-52 or thereabouts. This is when Jesus told us to
eat/drink his body and blood. He was quite explicit and emphatic in his teaching on this and Catholics believe that when they receive Holy Communion at Mass there is in some way, which is beyond human understanding, there is the real presence of Jesus. Many protestant have a type of communion service, only occasionally, without believing in the specialpresence of Jsus in it.

Another one is the question of faith and protestants point to a verse in the Bible which states that faith alone can save us (in one of Paul's letters) In other words once you have accepted Jesus as Lord you are saved. This is why, if you join some protestant churches you can get almost instant baptism.

The Catholic view is that we are all on a journey to salvation and that the way we live our lives is as important as faith, in fact it proves are faith. Catholics point to a verse in the Letter of James which says that there is no faith without good works. Without good works, faith is dead. This is not to say that our good works can save us, but the two must go together.

The protestant Bible is different. After the Protestant church was formed they opted for certain books to be omitted, not many, but their Bible is now slightly smaller than a Catholic Bible. No changes were made to the texts, however.

Also their Lord's prayer is different. Their version is slightly different to how it always was and how Jesus taught it, because they have added at the end '....For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever Amen'.

I think they were trying to create an identity which would make them distinctive from the Catholics, probably why they threw out all the devotional images, although I must admit that there were some excesses regarding the use of these at the time.

I am also not saying what is right or wrong, just that the Catholic church is right for me.

There is much more I could tell you but time (and your patience ) prevents it.

The only thing I would add is that you will probably hear a lot of prejudice dished out regarding the Catholic church, much of it will be untrue and based on ignorantce.
-They do not worship idols. Statues, etc. are only meant as aids to prayer and meditation.
-They don't worship Mary nor treat her equal to God, although she IS given special respect as the chosen handmaid of the Lord and because she was the first person in the New testament to say, 'Yes.' to God. So we believe that she must be in a very important position in heaven and can therefore help us by praying for us.
-they do attach a great importance to the Bible. Including a reading from Psalms, there are a total of 4 Bible readings during Sday mass, selected on the basis of one theme which changes from week to week. Also many Catholic Churches have Bible study groups.

Finally, remember that protestantism covers a very wide spectrum and numerous churches, so some of the things I have said may apply to some and not to others. For example the Anglican church has a communion service almost the same as ours.

I wish you all the very best. If you wish, feel free to contact me on My Q&A.

Answer 9

Becoming a Christian is about acts and deeds rather than belonging to one specific religion.
Coming from N.Ireland I have seen what religion Catholic and Protestant does for its people.I have attended serices in both churches and they are very similar,both rely on instilling fear into their congregation to keep them loyal "god fearing christian";sinners will burn in hell for eternity etc etc.
The problem I have with religion is the amount of brainwashing it does throughout the world,how many people kill because of their or someone elses religious beliefs.
I believe that if you act in a moral,responsible,compasionate way in your every day dealings with people and your enviroment,then this is more about being a good person (christian) that following any church preachings.
If you go through your life and do good deeds and never do any one any harm most religions say that you will not go to heaven because you are not "saved" or "born again";yet they can say that a rapist,murderer who repents his sins and turns his soul over to the lord,can and will be welcomed into heaven;how can this be right ??
I just dont buy it !

Answer 10

The basic requirement to being a CHRISTIAN is to accept that Jesus is the Son of God, that he became Man for your sake & that He died, rose again & that if you believe this you will spend your life after you die with Him in Heaven. Being Catholic or Protastant depends (I think) on how you feel drawn to the matter.

I was born Protastant, & up to a certain age accepted it, but later in life became a Catholic. I dont think either way is perfect, but I reckon its HOw you feel there that matters. May God Bless you.