What are the differences between the Catholic & Presbyterian demonations?

Question

I'm curious what the major differences between the Catholic and Presbyterian demonations are. Why do Catholics worship statues, why do Catholics put tradition on the same level as scripture? Why don't Presbyterians' kneel and genuflect in church?

I, myself, am Catholic. My boyfriend is not, he's Presbyterian. I'm trying to gather answers for him, to help him better understand the Catholic faith. I am proud to be a Catholic and will never, under any circumstances, change demonations. I believe in what the Catholic church teaches.

One of the questions my boyfriend had was in regards to the statues. He said that we should only pray to God, because no one is above God, so why do Catholics have them around. Another question is, if statues serve as reminders for us, then our (Catholic) faith must not be as strong as the Presbyterian faith.

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.

+++ Statues +++

Do you have pictures of your loved ones?

Statues and pictures of people we love are not idols.

Statues and paintings of Jesus and the saints are just like pictures of the people we love and respect.

The King James Version of the Bible states in Exodus 20:4: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth"

Why were the Jews commanded not to make graven images? Graven images were the standard method of pagan worship. They were representations of false gods.

This is a very clear command.

However God commanded the Jews in Exodus 25:18 and 1 Chronicles 28:18–19, "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them"

And in 1 Kings chapter 7 Solomon made bulls and other images out of precious metals.

It seems obvious that the Jews did not worship the cherubims and Solomon did not worship the bulls he had made. These images did not violate the command of God. Therefore, an image not made for worship is acceptable.

In Numbers 21:8-9, "And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered."

And in John 3:14-15, Jesus says in correlation, "And just as Moses lifted up the [image of a] serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

How can a statue of our Lord Jesus Christ dead on the cross be considered an idol to a false god? A crucifix is the message of the Gospel without words held up for all to see, a visual reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus, no different from a painting, a play, or a movie.

Catholics do not worship statues but the almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

+++ Sources of Doctrine +++

The Catholic Church does not use Holy Scripture as the only basis of doctrine. It could not. The early Catholic church existed before and during the time that the New Testament was written (by Catholics).

There were hundreds of Christian writings during the first and second centuries. Which New Testament writings would become official was not fully decided until about 400 AD.

Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit was guiding the early church (and is guiding the church today) to make the correct choices about things like:
+ The Holy Trinity (which is also only hinted at in the Bible)
+ Going to church on Sunday instead of Saturday (which is actually directly against one of the Ten Commandments)
+ The Communion of Saints
+ Which writings include in the New Testament?

Things that are even more modern like
+ Slavery is bad. Slavery is never declared evil in the Bible. This was one of the justifications for slavery in the Confederate States.
+ Democracy is good. The Bible states that either God should be the leader of the nation like Israel before the kings or kings should be the leader, "Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's." This was talked about a lot during the American Revolution.

This second source of doctrine is called Apostolic Tradition.

Do Christians who do not allow the continuing guiding force of the Holy Spirit to make their beliefs more and more perfect, still endorse slavery as Colossians 3:22 commands, "Slaves, obey your human masters in everything"?

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.htm#80

+++ Kneeling and Genuflection +++

Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist (Holy Communion). Most Protestants do not.

Catholics genuflect and kneel our of respect for the real physical presence of Jesus Christ, God the Son, in the church.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Hi. Let me start by clarifying that you are misunformed that Catholics "worship statues" - they don't, that would clearly be idolatry. On the question of Tradition, why do Presbyterians cast it aside? Tradition has been with the Church since the beginning. Sacred Tradition was used in the discernment process of which books belonged in the Bible and which ones did not. Some of the practices that you speak of like kneeling or genuflecting come out of the liturgical character of the Catholic Church. The Mass has as it's focus the worship of God and being one with Him in the celebration of the Eucharist. Presbyterians do not have a Priesthood, so even if they do have a Communion service, it is on a whole different level and some of the gestures don't really apply. Meaning, if Jesus isn't physically present, then what is the need to genuflect?

Answer 3

Why do people ask one another to pray for them and then refuse to ask the Saints who are alive with Jesus in Heaven to pray for them? As far as the statues go people carry pictures of their relatives in their wallet but, they do not worship those pictures, they are reminders is all. Ask your boyfriend if his family has a Nativity scene that they put up around Christmas and what the difference is? Are they worshiping the statues in the Nativity scene? No, it is only a reminder for them as it is for us. We actually have Jesus present and at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow they say so why shouldn't we bow? I think the thing is is that they have to make them-self look less stupid by putting us down otherwise why wouldn't they be Catholic? It's ;ole the best defense is a good offense but, there was only the Catholic Faith in the beginning of Christianity and every one else branched off from there. The Catholic Church is all the other denominations Mother and there is a Proverb that says : Do not despise your Mother, when she is old.

Answer 4

THe Roman Catholic Church is the true Church, this is why: If you research what the early church fathers believed (direct disciples of the apostles), they believe in many Catholic tenets, such as the real presence of Christ in the holy eucharist, The Virgin Mary, etc. The CAtholic church is the original church that Christ founded on St. Peter (the rock) 2000 years ago! Christ said the holy spirit would never leave his church!

Ignatius of Antioch In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans he wrote: "Where the bishop is present, there is the CATHOLIC Church [A.D. 107]

"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the TRADITIONS which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us" 2 Thess. 2:15

Answer 5

Catholicism was what the church became after all the apostles were killed off.

The Protestants, of which the Presbyterians are one, protested against the Catholic church because they believed the church had corrupted the true Gospel of Christ and lost its authority from God. Some protestant founders even believed that there was no true Christian church left on the earth and looked forward to a time when God would restore the authority that Jesus brought and the truth that he taught.

There is one Christian denomination that professes that Jesus did return to restore his authority on earth. They do not accept Catholicism as it corrupted the church. And they do not accept protestantism because they are not protesting anything. They believe in restoration through revelation.

Answer 6

>>Why do Catholics worship statues<<

We don't worship statues.

>>why do Catholics put tradition on the same level as scripture?<<

The Catholic Faith predates the books of the NT. When they got around to writing them, not everything was included (John 21:25). That is why the Bible instructs, "stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thessalonians 2:15; RSV)

Answer 7

I will answer your second question. I have been to many Catholic/Protestant weddings. You can work something out if you want to. My sister married a Protestant husband in a Catholic church with a Mass and all. The only difference is that my brother in law did not receive communion. If you did not pay close attention you would not notice a thing. If you and your boyfriend are considering marriage I recommend you talk to both of your clergymen regarding specifics.

Answer 8

I am Roman Catholic. Contrary to popular fiction we do not worship statues. I can not speak for Presbyterians.

Answer 9

So you believe everthyhing that a man who lives in Italy tells you about your life although he has many opinions on marriage and children yet he has niether. Intresting Finid out information on how the Chatholic church survived the Nazi's in WWII.

Answer 10

Catholicism was, and is, the Church. The others split away from it for various reasons.