Why do I find myself defending the Catholics? They have the strongest religion in the world?

Question

Maybe it is because they don't seem to want to bother defending it.?
Anyway besides us Atheist why are you protestants always riding the Catholics. I notice they never get on you guys? BB

cclleeoo HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE HOW CAN A PERSON NOT BE ATHEIST IF THEY CLAIM TO BE. BB



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Answer 1

Funny, I sometimes feel the same way. I'm an ex-cath and I HATED HATED HATED being one. And yet I see those stupid questions about worshipping idols and whatnot and I want to bang my head on my desk.

Answer 2

As the first and still easily the largest of the Christian religions, Catholicism is the natural starting point for religions that want to show how they are distinct. Since Protestant sects hold most of the same core beliefs as Catholics, it has always been simplest to stress how they are different from Catholicism. Stressing differences often sounds like attacks on Catholicism. Also, since there are more Catholics, it has been natural for other sects to target Catholics when recruiting by attacking specific Catholic beliefs with a level of research and rhetoric that most lay Catholics are unequipped to argue with.

Catholic defenders do, however, exist and are called "Apologists", which actually derives from a Greek word meaning a reasoned defense. Here's a good site: http://www.catholicapologetics.net.

As a convert to Catholicism myself, I have decided that it all comes down to personal beliefs with a little knowledge. Knowledge of the Bible for us Christians, and some knowledge of the history of Christianity as well. Wiki does good enough at these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

Answer 3

I don't know that anybody needs to defend the Catholics. They have the resources to defend themselves and they are not shy about doing so. Maybe that's why it always SEEMS as if they are under attack. Their battles always get a lot of attention. Also, by having such a centralized system and a well-known figure in the pope, I think it makes it easy to harp on catholic policy. Most of us don't know what protestant groups set. It's much more rare to see coverage of something like the Anglican division over gays among their clergy.

You can count me among the agnostics.

Answer 4

The Catholics can not defend most of their key problems - so they don't try . . .

They believe stuff that is not taught in the Bible and they will tell you straight up, "it is Church tradition!"

Well that is not good enough . . . it is either taught in the Holy Scriptures or it is not.

They have made up a whole set of rules for sinning - some sins are better or not as bad . . . that is not in the Bible!

This whole thing about Mother Mary . . . ludicrous! She was chosen to bear the Messiah, yes . . . but she needed Salvation like any other person and she has no 'closer connection' to Jesus than anyone else, and it is blasphemous to pray to her!

These are only a few things that I care to mention . . .

I need to say this: there are a lot of people who are miss lead by the Catholic Leaders. They tell their people,"you cannot understand scripture, do not try" and so they are not "at fault" like the leaders! But they should try! The Bible is not hard to understand with one exception: when you don't read it!

Answer 5

It's ingrained into the Protestant mindset. Anti-Catholicism was a necessity for the early Reformers since they had to justify why they were breaking with the Roman Catholic Church, the only official western church of the time. So, a lot of their writings are filled with anti-Catholicism. That in turn got passed on through generations of Protestant scholars, all the way down to the present day.

I was raised conservative Lutheran, so naturally there was a healthy (or rather unhealthy) dose of anti-Catholicism in my religious training. It's true you don't see any anti-Protestant stuff on here. But it exists among hard-core, traditionalist Catholics.

Answer 6

Have you never studied History? The Catholics were behind the Crusades, The Catholics were the instigators of the Inquisition, had not the Pope signed a Concordance with Hitler, the death of Millions of Jews, Mentally ill, developmentally disabled, crippled, and Bible Students, what they called themselves at the time -- Now Jehovah's Witnesses would not have been killed, tortured.

Answer 7

I don't think the catholics have the strongest religion in the world. I wonder why you want to defend them. Maybe you are not truly athiest. Most people who claim to be athiest are not.

Answer 8

I know and love some good people who are Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Church of Christ members, Presbyterians, Assembly of God members and, even Atheists.

Religion is not what saves us. The teachings of Jesus Christ gives us life abundantly, the death of Jesus Christ, as our sacrifice, for the sin that we have committed, saves us. The resurrection of Jesus Christ resurrects us to eternal life. So, it's all about Jesus not religion.

P.S. everyone.

The church was started on the Day of Pentecost (Read the book of Acts). There were no Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Church of Christ, Presbyterians, Assembly of God, or any other denomination present. They were all just called Christians.

Answer 9

The word Protestant. Break that down. Protest-ant. A person who protests something. So we protest what the Catholics believe.

Answer 10

Catholics tend to interfere more and are more demanding than proties.
I personsaly would like to see a body representing the Athiests as I believe there are more and more of them.