What's the Difference Between Protestants and Catholics?

Question

Sorry if this is a stupid question. I was born in China, so I don't know alot of stuff about Christianity. I think it's an interesting subject though.

Answer 1

"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)

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

Protestants- Protest many elements of the Catholic Church

Protestants confess to and are forgiven by Christ, Catholics need a priest to be forgiven.

Catholics put allot of importance on statues, and other Holy items
Mary, and the Saints. Protestants forgo all of that and Just worship Jesus.

Catholics think that Children in Catholic families are born Catholic, Most Protestant faiths wait till the child professes faith to consider them a full fledged member.

There are allot of differences but we both confess the Apostles creed so they are still called Christians.

Answer 3

Faith has different meanings for a Catholic and an Evangelical Protestant. To the Protestant, faith means a trusting self-surrender of the complete man to the revealing God. For a Catholic, however, this act of cordial surrender is called faith, hope and charity.

To a Catholic, the word faith alone conveys the notion of an intellectual assent to the content of revelation as true because of the witnessing authority of God. The Catholic understands faith intellectually and supernaturally. Faith is the Catholic's response to an intellectual message communicated by God.

But for the Catholic, God reveals Himself through the medium of the teaching of the living holy community called the Church. A Christian of the Reformation tradition believes that God makes Himself and his truth known through a collection of books called the Bible.

This book is the teacher, and all other teaching is commentary, good or bad. The divine message itself is restricted to the Book. Actually the Holy Spirit is the teacher, who uses his instrument, the inspired Book. Also, this is only true of Evangelicals of the Reformation tradition, because liberals hold a much more subjective view.

We can see the great difference between the Catholic and Protestant conceptions of the God-encounter. For the Catholic, the locus of meeting is the Church, which for its task of bringing men to God uses many means:
·The teaching of authorized masters, i.e.,
the bishops and their primate: the Pope;
The liturgy; books written by men of the Church under divine inspiration,
The Scriptures, the common beliefs and practices of Catholics stretched out over time and space.

The inspired books, which have God as their author in consequence of their inspiration, are ecclesiastical instruments for teaching, building and exhorting. They are not over the Church, but rather a part of the Church's panoply to be used in her work of accomplishing the task of uniting man to God.

It is the Church, which teaches, the Church, which sanctifies, the Church, which builds and vitalizes. The Church is not a fruit of the Book but rather the Book is the fruit of the Church.

Hence it is that the Catholic does not say in the first instance, “What does the Book say”? Rather he asks, “What does the teaching Church say”? The Church and the Book say the same thing, and since the Book is in a peculiar sense God's Word, he will turn to the Book.

However, this is not his ultimate recourse. He has only one ultimate recourse, the Church herself, and the Book is accepted from her hand and with her explanation. The Book is not the proof but only a divine expression in human language of the Church's teaching.

Over the Book stands the Church, while according to the Reformation conception, over the Church stands the Book. This fundamental vision of the Church causes the Catholic to look to the episcopate for doctrine, because the bishops are the authentic exponents of God's message to the world.

The Church is an organized visible fellowship. Because it is divine institution and dynamism, the Holy Spirit dwells in it, keeping it alive, keeping it true, and making it grow. The Spirit is the source of the life of the Church, but that life is the life of a body.

The body is made up of many members who are distinguished one from the other by functions for which they have a fixed structure. In the Body, the bishops have the function of teaching and guiding, and this task they perform through the power of the Spirit who transfuses the whole Body, making each member effective in his function.

The Body is one, and so the episcopate is one, and the unity of the episcopate is achieved through solidarity with the prime source of Episcopal power, the Bishop of Rome. In the Catholic vision the pope teaches in the name of the episcopate and the episcopate teaches in the name of the Church and the Church teaches in the name of Christ, and Christ teaches in the name of God.
Another element is that Catholicism insists that it teaches the preaching of Christ, and only that. The Catholic believes that his beliefs are identical with those of the Apostolic Church, without a jot or title changed.

However, he knows that the syntheses made in an earlier day are shorter and more meager than the syntheses made now. The affirmations of the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) are fuller affirmations concerning the constitutional structure of Jesus than the original New Testament statements.

However, the Catholic insists that the doctrine of Nicaea is the identical doctrine of the New Testament. Nicaea detailed formally and clearly what was implicit in the scriptural formulas. Cardinal Newman called this the development of dogma.

Now when the theologian interprets the perennial expressions counter to the living consciousness of the Church, the magisterium, i.e., the teaching authorities, will reformulate the old expression so that the innovator's interpretations will be excluded. The new expression is obviously longer than the old one, but it is not a different one.
This must be understood correctly.

It is impossible for the Catholic Church to invent any new doctrines. Misunderstandings like the answers above, abound.

Answer 4

The Catholic Church is the only Christian Church that Jesus (God in the flesh) founded.

Up until the year 1054 AD, all Christians were united with the Pope as the vicar (representative) of Christ.

In 1054 AD, the eastern churches broke away from the authority of the Pope, they went into schism. Then they divided among themselves because they had no pope to unite them any more. So they dividided into the Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and others. Over time, some of the eastern Churches came back into communion with Rome.

In the year 1517, the first Protestants, the Lutherans broke away from the Catholic Church. That was like opening up a can of worms because since then there has been disintegration among Christians and divisions upon divisions. Now, Protestants are so divided that it's almost like each person thinks they alone are the Church.

Here is something about it from EWTN:

"The Catholic Church does not officially use the term "Protestant."
It uses several Christian groupings which fall into 2 basic categories -- Churches properly speaking and ecclesial communities.
Churches are limited to the Catholic Church, Orthodox Churches, and other Churches properly speaking (e.g., Armenian) which have valid bishops, valid apostolic succession, and other valid sacraments.
Ecclesial communities include the Anglican/Episcopalian community and other so-called Protestant communities that have valid baptism.
Groups without valid baptism may consider themselves to be Christians but are not considered such by the Catholic Church.
Historically, the term "Protestant" derived from the fact that such groups had broken away from the Catholic Church (or from other groups that had broken away from the Catholic Church) in protest. If such individuals are no longer protesting, perhaps they should consider joining the Catholic Church.
Anna added the following: Dear Father Gantley, the term protestant is not related to the verb to protest in the meaning of protesting against something, but in the meaning of to testify, like in "he protested his innocence". The term protestant dates back to the diet of Speyer, where the adherents of Martin Luther protested their faith, that is explained it in a document."
http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=488532&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2006&Author=&Keyword=Amen&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=38&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ID+DESC&start_at=

Here is the official website of the Pope in Rome:
http://www.vatican.va/

And here are a few other excellent Catholic resources that will get you off to a good start in learning about the Church that Jesus founded:
http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/index.htm
http://www.catholic.com/
http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/
http://www.newadvent.org/
http://www.salvationhistory.com/
http://www.catholicconvert.com/
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/
http://www.catholicculture.org/
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/index.html

Answer 5

The main difference started from the position of who has spiritual authority.

The Roman Catholic Church believes that the Pope has the ultimate spiritual authority and tradition holds a higher position than the Bible. They believe that the Pope and his decisions have a measure of infallablity. For example, this is how the Pope could have decreed that Jesus' mother Mary was sinless and had an imaculate conception even though this was not in the Bible. They hold Mary to a higher view and also believe in the prayer to dead saints as intercessors to God. They believe that the priests who bless communion turn the wine and bread in communion into Christ's actual blood and body, and this imparts grace. They also believe that the baptism of an infant will help that child get to heaven if the child dies. Most importantly they belive that salvation comes through faith plus works.

The Protestant Church believes that the Bible has the ultimate spiritual authority, and does not recognize the Pope as the head of the church. They generally hold to the Bible as the spiritual guidlines of their faith. They believe also that the praying to the saints and elevation of Mary as sinless is not seen in the Bible and a form of idoltry. They believe that Jesus is the sole intercessor to God and pray through him as Jesus taught to do in the gospels. Depending on the denomination, they believe that the church leaders either help the bread and wine in communion to impart grace to the congregation or that the bread and the wine are only symbols of Christ's sacrifice. Most protestants believe that baptism is a concious act that demonstrates a changed heart and needs to be done at an age of consent of the individual believer. Most importantly they believe that salvation comes through faith alone.

While the Roman Catholic Church is a sect of Christianity, one of the popes declared that all those who follow Christ but are not in their church are "separated breathern." There is differing opinions if that means that the Roman Catholic Church believes that other Christians are not saved.

Both churches recognize the trinity. However they are very different. It is important to note that original reformists Calvin and Luther recognized the Roman Catholic Church as a legitimate church and did not require rebaptism when entering into the Prostestant Church.

There are truly saved people who recognize Christ as their Lord and Savior in both churches (as well as unsaved people who attend both churches).

Answer 6

Lutherans were the first PROTESTant faith to break
away from the Catholic faith. The biggest difference
was that Catholics were saying some souls go to
purgatory, and there is a place like that. A Limbo
where souls go and don't even know they're there.
But the Catholics were saying people had to pay the church money to get them out. Lutherans said this was bull, and only prayer could help them.

Answer 7

Protestants and Catholics don't get along very well, but they're both Christians...just different denominations.

Protestants are every single denomination EXCEPT Catholic.

Answer 8

The Protestants pray directly to God, the Catholics, have a Priest to pray for them. The Priest is an intermediary.

Answer 9

Catholic priest can't marry.

Protestant can.

If you are a Christian you either fall into Catholic catergory or Protestant Catergory.

Answer 10

Catholics are alot more strict..