Are Catholics and Christians the same?

Question

Do Catholics and Christians worship the same? Whats the difference?

Answer 1

Yes on the big stuff, no on the little stuff.

Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.

Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):

By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.

There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.

A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Let's see. A Christian is a follower of the teachings of Christ, right? Do Catholics follow the teachings of Christ? Jesus said that in a religious sense, we should call NO man "Father". Matt. 22:9 Aren't Catholic priests called "father"? And what about the Pope? His title comes from the Latin "pap-pas" which also means "father". At John 13:35, Jesus said that love would be an identifying mark of true Christianity. Haven't Catholics participated in most, if not all of the major wars of the 20th century? They still have chaplains in the armed forces. At Matt. 6:10, Jesus taught his followers to pray for God's Kingdom to straighten out earth's affairs. Doesn't the Pope try to encourage the world's governments to settle their own differences? At John 4:24, Jesus said that his followers should worship God "with spirit and truth"? How can Catholics do that if they believe in God-dishonoring doctrines like hellfire and the trinity? The evidence proves that Catholics and Christianity are not the same.

Answer 3

Yes, Catholics are Christians. In fact, the word catholic (w/ a lower case "c") means "universal" or "singular". Back in the day, the Catholic Church used to be THE one and only Christian Church. Then, as people began to recognize abuses of power and corruption within The Church, they saw a need to break away and form new churches-this is how some of the other major denominations of Christainity came to exist.

We (Catholics) believe the same tenets of Christianity as other well-established Protestant denominations. There are a few differences and A LOT of myths. For example, some people think we worship Mary, the Pope, Saints, etc. That's false. We recognize these are very special people and we ask them to "put in a good word for us" w/ God.

Answer 4

Yes Catholics are Christians.

Answer 5

Catholics were the first Christians.

Answer 6

Catholicism is one of the three main branches of Christianity. The other two are Protestent and Orthodox. The Protestants and Catholics split on three main points: 1) Sola Scriptura (only scripture) - Protestants believe only the Bible is authoratative while Catholics believe in the Bible and church tradition. 2) Sola Fide (only faith) - Protestants believe in salvation by faith alone while Catholics believe salvation comes by faith and good works. 3) The priesthood of all believers - Protestants do not believe that priests have a special relationship with God.

Even so, these major branches of Christianity have far more in common than they have differences (the virgin birth, the death and resurrection of Christ, et cetera). I would, therefore, define Christianity as those sets of beliefs which most Christians hold in common rather than their doctrinal differences. That definition is critical because I've known some who define "Christianity" using a very narrow set of beliefs, sometimes things as esoteric as eschatology or immersion baptism. To quote one of my seminary professors, "Some people draw their circle of orthodoxy so small that they're the only ones in it."

Bearing all that in mind, Catholics are Christians, but many Christians are not Catholic.

Answer 7

Wow! I am a Catholic, Catholicism is the Mother Church. It was the first Christian Church started by Jesus himself. I just don't know how to thank all these people who have sprung off of the Mother church for including us as Christians seeing how it was the Catholics that coined the phrase "Christian" to begin with. Incidentally the word catholic means universal. In some parts of Europe you can still see garages that advertise that they have catholic auto parts or parts recognized as being the same all around the world.. It is simply a faith recognized around the world as THE faith.

Answer 8

Catholics are not Christians, but are actually a cult. A cult is any group that puts other books or traditions on equal or higher level than the Gospel.The Bible contains 66 books, the Catholics have added the Apocrypha books to that. They also have the Catechism, which in many places is in direct conflict with the Bible. They make statues of saints and angels in direct contradiction to the 2nd commandment which says: Thou shall make no graven image of anything that is in Heaven or on Earth, and thou shall not bow down to them. The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works. The Catholics believe in salvation by works. Christians believe that salvation comes from Jesus, Catholics believe that salvation comes through Mary. The Bible says that when a Christian dies he goes directly to Heaven: to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Catholics believe if you die with a little sin on your soul, you go to purgatory. If you die with a mortal sin, you go to Hell. Christians believe you can't lose your salvation.

There is very little similarities between Catholics and Christians.

Answer 9

Christians don't worship Mary!!
& Catholics have a priest sort of forgive your sins etc
but they both love God & Jesus
so that is the main thing i say

Answer 10

In my observation and opinion, Catholics have alot of man made traditions that are not in the least biblical. They also erroneously teach that you have to be in good standing with the Catholic church to be saved.

I'm sure there are Catholics that love Jesus....but Catholicism to me looks like it's more about the church (and church tradition) than it is about the Lord.