Why do some Protestants believe that Catholics are not Christians?

Question

I've grown up all my life knowing that Catholics are Christian. All history books, encyclopedias, etc. have stated/implied it to be so, and of course my catechism. My friends, most of whom are Presbyterian, have done the same. But then I get into a relationship with a Presbyterian who firmly believes that we are not Christian.

We have major differences, such as confession, but wouldn't the fundamental beliefs of a Christian be professing belief in Jesus as Christ, our savior, and following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus?

She has MANY misconceptions of Catholicism, such as salvation is ONLY through good works and that we worship Mary. It seems like some of their bible study consists of teaching what Catholics and other denominations believe. I, a Catholic, would know what we believe, and our beliefs are based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

But the main thing I want to know is: Why do some Protestants believe that Catholics are Christians, and some don't?

Answer 1

well precisely because that is how Protestantism all began. Without being extremely damning of Catholicism there would have been little chance of the first fallen away Catholic enticing other Catholics to leave the fullness of Christian faith for something else or more to the point something less.

All the anti-Catholicism, all the bigotry, all the demeaning, slanderous and misinformation is required to continue to keep the body of Christ separated so Satan plays his part here to. In today's world our separate brethren like your Presbyterian friends naturally don't see it that way because it is truly embrassing to admit it so they avoid any honest investigation of history. The great irony is that many first Protestants like Jean Calvin of whom I'm sure your Presbyterian friends greatly admire would be more Catholic than Protestant when compared to what is Protestant today.
Protestantism is continually changing and I don't mean developing but countering itself from what it claimed was true before.
Calvin taught Mary was eternal virgin and Mother of God yet the doctrine of eternal virginity and the title Mother of God are both denied today by many who claim reformed doctrine go figure.

Ask your friend(s) to precisely give you proof of a teaching of doctrine of works, for example where in the Catholic catechism does it say doctrine of works? If she redirects you to the bible and talks about faith than show her in James where it says "faith alone does not save" or Eph 2:10 where it states "we are made in God's workmanship for the purpose of good works".

The problem with non-catholics who argue this position against works take biblical text out of context. Many times Paul is quoted from Romans or Ephesians or somewhere else and he is misquoted as if all works are bad or not required for a Christian when in fact Paul is talking about works of law as required by the first covenant peoples the Israelites. But when Paul or for example James who i've already directed you to talk on works in other biblical places they are required of a Christian in our salvation process as they talk on works of love.

Your friend has been taught biblical text OUT of context her understanding is faulty because of this poor frame of reference.

Dominus vobiscum

Answer 2

I am Presbyterian and I know that Catholics are Christians. There was never any doubt in my mind at all. I went to Catholic school as a small child, and for Junior High and High School went to a Baptist one. It seemed to me that if anyone wasn't a Christan it was the Baptists. They were so hypocritical. Catholics never claimed to be perfect, had a humbleness about them, and a true love for God and for their faith. The Baptists ( who seemed to be more fundamentalist than anything else) - and other protestant denominations - were so unforgiving, hypocritical, and malicious that I was shocked. It was hard for me to listen to them criticize my Catholic class mates, so I stopped listening and started talking. Told them that they were wrong, and how dare they say and do these things.

It has been my understanding that if you believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit - that they are the Trinity - and that God sent his son Jesus to die for our sins, then you are a Christian.

I can not tell you why some believe that Catholics are not Christan's. I have heard so many things, from worshiping idols - having statues of Mary and Joseph in the churches, to using the rosary. They condemn priests - who really are not so different from preachers ( except they have taken a vow of celibacy). I think they want everyone to be the same, to believe the same things they do. They will also say that Jehovah's Witness and Mormons are not Christan's either - they are, they are just different.

I am sorry about this woman who has such a narrow system of beliefs as to think you are not a Christian - and that members of your faith are not. Yes, you are right, belief in Jesus as the savior is the only thing that really matters. I hope that this helps you, in any way it can.

Answer 3

The simple answer to your question is because the vast majority of Christians (inc Catholics) don't know what they need to believe in to be a Christian, it must be the most complicated and most unbelievable religion on the globe.
You could argue that all Christians were Catholics with the Pope as head of the united church in the beginning , but why argue, it is a fact that Catholics are Christians and were Christians long before these upstarts ever came on the scene.

Answer 4

Mainly because the Church focuses on the sacraments - Salvation is attained through the sacraments, as opposed to simply accepting grace through faith. Add to that a non-acceptance of Once Saved, Always Saved, & it leaves a big gap.

There's been so many partings from the original, that many people aren't clear on exactly what constitutes being Catholic. Much of what is taught is only loosely based on Scripture, stemming more from Tradition & Dogma.

Whether Catholics are, by denomination, Christian or not, can be discovered by studying the beliefs.

Answer 5

As a Catholic myself, your guess is as good as mine. I have come to discover that many people who don't view Catholics as Christians, or have any other biases toward the Church, are just ignorant. If you take even a few minutes to explain the basic beliefs of the Church, and let them know that their religion stemmed from ours, and that we basically believe the same things (Christ died for us so we can go to Heaven), they will become more open to the Church and ask more questions. I know several people who knew nothing about the Church. I took time to explain it to them, and now they are devout Catholics! Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you answer anyones questions.

Answer 6

Print this out and give it to your friends:

The way Catholics pray to Mary/the Saints is not the same as the way they pray to God.

The way Catholics "pray" to Mary is closer to a way a good Christian woman would send prayers to her dead husband. Clearly her dead husband has absolutely no religious significance, but he has incredibly important personal significance.

Similarly, the Saints are important in a human way, not a religious way. The Saints are mainly important as examples to live by, and also in addition one can call on a saint to pray for them.

Think of what would happen in a good Presbyterian family where a family member gets into a car accident. Every single family member would pray for the individual. To take a further degree of distance, I'm sure many people pray for people in need much further away.

To Look at the Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee;
blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

The first 2 lines recognize Mary as someone who has received Grace, something which I think every denomination takes for granted.

The 3rd line says that she is blessed "amongst" women:
Quote:
2) We believe Mary should be worshipped AMOUNG women not ABOVE women.

The 4th line says Jesus is blessed, something I think all Christians can agree on.

The last 3 lines are a request for intercession, the request for her prayers. Yeah, every protestant denomination is against her/the Saints praying for another's sins, but it's not a particularly huge difference. Small enough that one could consider it simply a denominational difference.

The idea of challenging the Catholic Church on its non-Biblical beliefs is a bit silly, especially considering that basically every school of Christianity maintains a belief in Creatio ex Nihilo, which isn't quite supported by the Bible.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 7

I think it is because most protestants believe ONLY what is written in the bible, and if you cannot find a verse in the bible to substantiate your belief about christ, salvation, confession or anything else, then it would just be a nice belief but NOT biblical

Answer 8

Don't worry your friend isn't the first to listen to her parents and preacher instead of actually studying the truth about a religion. Salvation through works ask her if she knows what these catholic works are or will she have to go ask her pastor about it. Alot of these people are taught by there parents to be close minded and don't get our religion because they don't actually check it out but these days I'm starting to realize that most protestants dont judge catholics and except our belief as theres and worship the One and only same God... then theres those who continue to listen to false lies.

Answer 9

There are Christians who are Catholics. There are Christians who are Protestants. If you believe that Jesus, Son of God, fully human, fully God, led a sinless life, was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the grave in triumph over death for the atonement of your sins, and you have accepted His free gift of salvation, you are a Christian. The rest is window dressing.

I will say, however, there are some deep problems within the Catholic faith. Jesus sacrifice is all that is required for salvation, or else He died in vain. If we could attain our own salvation, His death would not have been necessary. So, baptism, while a great gift of God, is not necessary for salvation (the thief of the cross next to Jesus was not baptized). Communion, while a great blessing from God, is not necessary for salvation. Confession to another human being (priest) is not necessary, and un-Biblical - Jesus is the only intercessory for sin. Praying to the Saints is not Biblical - they are just people not God and are not worthy of our adoration, praise, or worship. They cannot intercede for us with God. The Pope, is not Christ on Earth or infallible.

Peace.

Answer 10

Who said that we do. I've been going to protestant churches my whole life and I've never heard one bad word about catholics and I've never heard anyone say they weren't Christians. I've grown up believing Catholics were just as Christian as I was and I've never heard anything different in church. If I did hear that in my church I would change churches because my pastor would be focusing on the wrong things.