Im A Christian and sadly...i Dont know the difference...Could you please tell me?
2007-02-19 05:05:30 · 17 answers · asked by AmandaNic™ 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Catholics are a kind of Christian. Think of it as pasta. There are macaroni noodles (Lutherans) and spaghetti noodles (Methodists) and lasagna noodles (Catholics) etc. (Note: nothing is meant by any of that, I was just illustrating their relationship to each other). Its all pasta, just a little different. There are quibbles among the denominations about who is more right but it is basically the same thing. There is a long drawn out history of why Martin Luther didn't think that Catholicism was right and the Great Schism and the rest but that is much too long to type here.
2007-02-19 05:15:13 · answer #1 · answered by Huggles-the-wise 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
*sigh* There is NO difference. Catholics ARE Christian. In fact, they are the FIRST Christians (aside from the disciples, of which the Catholics trace the lineage of the creation of the Catholic church).
But here's where the confusion comes in. For the longest time, the Catholics (I'm talking the Roman Catholics, the other Catholics - like the Greek Orthodox, etc - had already broken off), were the major (and only) religion in Europe (and the countries that Europe had taken over). Then, Martin Luther came along, disagreed to such an extent, that he nailed his changes to religion onto a door of a church. Hence the Lutherans. Then, as other people realized that THEY disagreed with the stances of the Catholics and Lutherans, they broke off of the churches and created THEIR versions of Christianity. This is where the Protestants and Anglicans come into play.
Granted, this is the fast and neat version of the story. But it is the story nonetheless. Catholics ARE Christians, the FIRST Christians, and trace the history of their church back to the appointment of Peter by Jesus as the leader. Hence, Peter was the first Pope.
2007-02-19 13:13:58 · answer #2 · answered by jlene18 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
The short answer is this: Catholics ARE Christians.
Most forms of Christianity (with the exception of the Orthodoces) descended from Catholicism.
As a result, they define themselves as how they are not Catholic (sort of like how you defined yourself, when you were a teen, by how you were not like your parents.)
For example, many churches use bibles Based on the King James Bible, which is translated from a book the Catholic church created- they decided which books went in the Bible, and which books got left out (The gospel of Judas is a big deal right now.)
Most churches have a hierarchy sturcture either based on Catholic hierarchies or in response to it.
In early Christianity, there was no difference between the Catholic church (The first country to "go Christian" was Rome- Jesus was Jewish, and after he died, where he came from stayed Jewish) and being a Christian. In the 11th century, you had the first "real" denominations- Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.
Most forms of Christianity in the English-speaking countries are descended from Catholicism.
The quick check is this- if your Christianity has a Rapture or Millenium, it is descended from Catholicism.
This isn't a Catholic POV, BTW, it's just history. You should learn where your church or beliefs separated from Catholicism-it's important to know.
(The only big Christian group that actively claims to not be descended from another is that of the CLDS, Mormons)
The fact that most Christian churches left Catholicism because they had a problem with it is why many Christians are nasty towards Catholics, which those who are no form of Christian tend to see as sad and funny.
2007-02-19 13:27:05 · answer #3 · answered by LabGrrl 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A Roman Catholicism is a form of Christianity. Other forms of Christianity are baptists, protestants,etc. Catholicism believe the same things but adhere to different practises and do things a little differently
2007-02-19 13:09:43 · answer #4 · answered by ChicaInquisitiva 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Catholic are the original Christians.
2007-02-19 13:08:50 · answer #5 · answered by Lives7 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
There is no difference - Catholic are Christians. Too many people make the assumption that Catholics are not Christian, which is untrue.
Are you questioning specific beliefs or practices?
2007-02-19 13:10:27 · answer #6 · answered by SpiritRoaming 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Catholic is one of the sects of Christians. All Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholics
2007-02-19 14:47:31 · answer #7 · answered by Ayaz N 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christians believe in god. That is all there is to it. Catholics believe much more in depth about the lord and his doings. Catholics are also Christians because of the fact that they believe in god.
2007-02-19 13:11:07 · answer #8 · answered by Amanda 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A Catholic is a Christian, as is any other religion that believes in the Christ concept.
2007-02-19 13:16:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Catholics are a subset of christians. Other christian include the various denominations of protestants.
Catholics are also made up of several groups. There are the roman catholics, the greek orthodox catholics, etc.
2007-02-19 13:13:03 · answer #10 · answered by CC 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋