what is the difference between being a catholic and a Christian?

Question

I say there is a HUGE difference- husband says I am a pagan as I am not a catholic- I say I am a Christian and act like one too, tell me what you think about this?

Answer 1

Dr. Boettner then gives us "Some Roman Catholic Heresies And Inventions" and the dates that these alleged "Apostolic" traditions were added to Roman Catholic theology &endash;
* Prayers for the dead, began about A.D. 300
* Making the sign of the cross 300
* Veneration of angels and dead saints, and use of images 375
* The Mass, as a daily celebration 394
* Beginning of the exaltation of Mary, the term "Mother of God" first applied to her by the Council of Ephesus 431
* Priests began to dress differently from laymen 500
* Extreme Unction 526
* The doctrine of Purgatory, established by Gregory I 593
* Latin used in prayer and worship, imposed by Gregory I 600
* Prayer directed to Mary, dead saints and angels, about 600
* Title of pope, or universal bishop, given to Boniface III 607
* Kissing the pope's foot, began with pope Constantine 709
* Worship of the cross, images and relics, authorized in 786
* Holy water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by a priest 850
* Canonization of dead saints, first by pope John XV 995
* The Mass, developed gradually as a sacrifice, attendance made obligatory in the 11th century
* Celibacy of the priesthood, decreed by pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) 1079
* The Rosary, mechanical praying with beads, invented by Peter the Hermit 1090
* Sale of Indulgences 1190
* Transubstantiation, proclaimed by pope Innocent III 1215
* Auricular Confession of sins to a priest instead of to
God, instituted by pope Innocent III, in Lateran Council 1215
* Bible forbidden to laymen, placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Council of Valencia 1229
* Purgatory proclaimed a dogma by Council of Florence 1439
* The doctrine of Seven Sacraments affirmed 1439
* Tradition declared of equal authority with the Bible by the Council of Trent 1545
* Apocryphal books added to the Bible by the Council of Trent 1546
* Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, proclaimed by pope Pius IX 1854
* Syllabus of Errors, proclaimed by pope Pitts IX, and ratified by the Vatican Council; condemned freedom of religion,conscience, speech, press, and scientific discoveries which are disapproved by the Roman Church; asserted the pope's temporal authority over all civil rulers 1864
* Infallibility of the pope in matters of faith and morals, proclaimed by the Vatican Council 1870
* Public Schools condemned by pope Pius XI 1930
* Assumption of the Virgin Mary (bodily ascension into heaven shortly after her death), proclaimed by pope Pius XII 1950
* Mary proclaimed Mother of the Church, by pope Paul VI 1965

And then Dr. Boettner concludes:
Add to these many others: monks - nuns -monasteries - convents - forty days Lent - holy week - Palm Sunday - Ash Wednesday - All Saints day - Candlemas day - fish day - meat days - incense - holy oil - holy palms - Christopher medals - charms - novenas - and still others.
There you have it - the melancholy evidence of Rome's steadily increasing departure from the simplicity of the Gospel, a departure so radical and far-reaching at the present time (1965) that it has produced a drastically anti-evangelical church. It is clear beyond possibility of doubt that the Roman Catholic religion as now practiced is the outgrowth of centuries of error. Human inventions have been substituted for Bible truth and practice. Intolerance and arrogance have replaced the love and kindness and tolerance that were the distinguishing qualities of the first century Christians, so that now in Roman Catholic countries Protestants and others who are sincere believers in Christ but who do not acknowledge the authority of the pope are subject to all kinds of restrictions and in some cases even forbidden to practice their religion. The distinctive attitude of the present day Roman Church was fixed largely by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), with its more than 100 anathemas or curses pronounced against all who then or in the future would dare to differ with its decisions.

The Protestant Churches teach Scripture, with no traditions added to it.
The Bible teaches that Scripture alone is the supreme and infallible authority for the church and the individual believer. This is not to say that creeds and tradition are unimportant, but the Bible alone is our final authority. Creeds and tradition are man made.
Jesus said, "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). He said "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matthew 5:18). He said, "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the law" (Luke 16:17).
Jesus used Scripture as the final court of appeal in every matter under dispute. He said to some Pharisees, "You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down" (Mark 7:13). To the Sadducee's He said, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God". (Mat 22:29). To the devil, Jesus consistently responded, "It is written..." (Mat 4:4-10). So following Jesus' lead, the Scriptures alone are our supreme and final authority.
The Protestants broke from the Catholic church because they did not agree with the traditions that were being held as the authority, rather than God's word the Bible.

Answer 2

Hi there. As a non denom Christian that is studying catholicism, I would encourage you to study this on your own. I would recommend avoiding all catholic related bulletin boards, and realize that this venue is not the best place to get the most impartial information. Both sides are pretty much guilty of finger pointing and harsh accusations, and you can see if you do searches on questions regarding catholics that there are a number of regulars here that will support catholicism because it is catholicism. I would very highly recommend taking some courses or doing independent study on the history of the church, again, YA is not your most comprehensive source of this information. Compare the translations. I know KJV very well already, so when I read my catholic bible the differences (or lack of them) are generally obvious, outside of the Apocrypha which is new material. That would be another area specifically that I would study and ask (not here lol) why catholics accept the Apocrypha and non denom Christians reject it. There are many greek/hebrew references available for word origin. There are a couple of responses that I have found on here that were actually quite good when it comes to why certain words are used to the exclusion of others in the original language. I know! It seems like a lot of work and I am not directly answering your question, but it will be worth it in the end if you take the time to do the research on your own!

Answer 3

I believe there are a lot of differences.
Catholics pray to Mary and to Saints, which in my opinion makes no sense since these people are dead. Whereas, Christians pray to God.
Catholics believe they can do pretty much anything they want all week as long as they go to confession. Why do a confession knowing that you are going to go out and do the same thing all over? That's not being sorry for what you did. And why confess your sins to a priest, he can not forgive your sins? Christians go directly to the source, they has God to forgive them.
I know a few people who go to a Catholic church and the priest or the treasurer will ask the people for their paystubs to see is they are actually giving their 10% tithes. At my church they don't ask, they do not even know who gives what, we put our offering in the offering basket. It is no ones business as to how much another person gives, that is between the person and God.
They treat the pope as a god. They live and breathe on his every word. They idolize him, which is wrong because the bible strictly forbids idoltry.
I am sure there is more but I am not an expert at Catholicism. i am not saying that Catholics are wrong, but a little improvement and change never hurt anyone. I think maybe they should reevaluate their laws and practices.

Answer 4

A Catholic is a Christian. You only said you were Christian so I don't know how to go about comparing the two and I'll assume you adhere to some form of Protestantism (??)

It's all about the Protestant reformation that happened in the 16th century and Martin Luther. They threw out/challenged the Catholic ideas of purgatory, devotion to Mary, saints, most of the sacraments/rituals, and authority of the Pope. They branched off and most people who call themselves 'a Christian' today follow a version of one of the newer traditions.

I don't see how that makes you a pagan!! It would make more sense if he called you a heretic, if anything, since your religion isn't as old and established as his is and therefore it would be 'controversial'. If you are not affiliated with any church, I guess someone may call you a pagan if you were never baptized.

Answer 5

There is no difference between Catholics and Christians because the Catholic Church is the original Christian Church founded by Jesus Christ Himself for all mankind, the only Christian Church He ever intended to exist. There are many differences however between Catholicism (full Christianity) and Protestantism (partial Christianity). Just what the differences are depends on which of the thousands of unauthorized, conflicting Protestant sects you are talking about, since each of them has different beliefs, and some of them are more different from each other than they are from Catholicism. What they all have in common is that each of them has rejected some of the beliefs of original Christianity (Catholicism), replacing them with new traditions introduced by their various human founders.
.

Answer 6

There is no difference.

Catholics and Protestants all claim to be christians. They just have different rituals and interpretations of religion, and also different translations of the bible.

Your hubby probably thinks you are not a christian if you dont go to church. Christians can be christian in body & spirit without going to church. The churches would like you attend church because they want to be able to continue brainwashing you.

If you feel you can read your bible, have a "relationship" with God, keep the faith and NOT break too many of the 10 commandments on your own without support - then I say good for you.

Answer 7

God has sent us many people to guide us along our way in order to live in peace and harmony. To me whether your a Catholic or a Christian doesn't really matter, it's what promotes your faith in God that matters first and foremost, you live your life and try to take the "good from your life and run with it and kick the bad to the curb". I didn't ask to be born into the religion I was taught when I was a child but from those days forward from the moment I committed that first sin, I had a moral obligation to choose what's good and what's wrong and God being in my life sure lead me to do the best I could with what I've been taught. God is still teaching me new things to this day.

Answer 8

"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 9

Catholicism is the first Christian church. for over a thousand church it was Christianity. There are now many types of Christians out there because of divisions in the body of Christ.

As long as you believe in the Trinity and the Divinity of Christ and that He is the only path to salvation then you are a true Christian. Many Catholics are suspicious or misunderstanding about the Protestant Reformation and all of its' multitudes of offshoots, it sounds like your hubby is one.

Your husband could use a good dose of Ecumenism. I belong to an Ecumenical Charismatic Community. We are from many different Christian churches and all worship and live together in harmony and have fruitful and helpful dialog to help understand each other. The pope and the previous pope are totally in favor of this type of thing and they are working in Rome to be more and more in unity with other Christian churches because this is the heart of God, that we all are one as expressed in the Book of John chapter 14 and 17.

Answer 10

First off I am a Catholic. A Catholic bleieves in Jesus Christ as our saviour, a certain set of dogma and the infallability of the pope. A Christian believes in Jesus Christ as his or her saviour and a different set of rules (dogma) and probably
not the pope's infallability. Bottomline...not too much difference as the belief in Jesus as our saviour is the important factor. A Christian is certainly not a pagan ...That statement is straight out of leftfield.

Answer 11

Christians identify themselves as monotheistic, believing that there is one God.

Catholics Worship the statues of Mary and Jesus. Which is forbidden in the scriptures. They worship 3 gods in one calling it a mystery since it does not follow the scriptures.

Paganism: Rome had many Gods and customs to please the sky Gods. When The Roman Catholic chruch was formed they took the old practices of worshipping the Sun and mixed with christian teachings. Hence giving thanks to the SUN God instead of Jesus on Christmas which is not Christ birthday but a Roman Sun God's birthday.