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I have question that has always bothered me. It's silly really. But it has been a road block for my faith. I'm not "educated" in the matters of religion, so forgive me if I sound ignorant. I feel a tug, if you will, towards God lately. But, I'm stumbling on some issues. Maybe you can give me some insight. I respect the catholic religion, in respect that their tradition/faith/religion is unified and (for the most part) unchanged. It's However, I cannot get over the worshiping of saints and the virgin Mary... as that seems like worshiping a false idol? And, the fact most of their docturines are handed down by men, and not by God. Are they to be interp as God's word. Or, just a insight to God's word?
At the same time, I have a hard time swallowing the Protestant faith because it seems too diversified. Almost as if, new branches are formed to please a new group of people. It feels like the faith is being bended to please the people... shouldn't people bend themselves to God and his will? I don't mean to sound disrespectful. I've tried to ask this question before, and it has offended. I'm am honestly looking for something to show me the truth. Thank you for your time.

2007-02-26 17:22:39 · 22 answers · asked by lilnickle144 2 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

I am floored by the quick response for so many people. So much to think about. Thank you for your kind answers, and for not taking offense.

2007-02-26 17:52:59 · update #1

22 answers

my dear, have you asked the Lord directly what He thinks? There are teachings in the Catholic Church there are absolutely anti-Biblical. I have both family and friends that are Catholic and I respect them but some of the beliefs are against the Word of God. Now Protestants are varied because understanding of God's Word is different among people groups. Sit down with your Bible and open communication with God and search the Scriptures. List down what God shows you from His Word on the major points of Doctrine, such has: salvation, The Word of God, Baptism, God Himself (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the "afterlife" and issues like these. Then see which "denomination" comes closest to what God has shown you to be Truth. You can always ask the Pastor of local Churches for a copy of their Statement of Faith which usually includes their major doctrinal beliefs....such as the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Assembly of God, or such like. They will all "get you to heaven" so to speak, but growing in God will be different in each group. Please be careful with the once saved always saved doctrine - it is a lie from satan and will rob you of your eternal destiny if you let it. You cannot live like the devil and get to heaven no matter what anyone says. God Bless you on your spiritual search.

2007-02-26 17:39:12 · answer #1 · answered by wd 5 · 0 2

"...the worshiping of saints and the virgin Mary..."
We don't, but from the outside looking in, I can see how so many people make the mistake. You see, we (those of us currently on earth) pray for each other as well as ask each other for prayers. We do the same with the dead, too. We ask for the prayers of Mary & the saints because we're pretty darn sure they're already in Heaven, & thus closer to God. Besides, what else are they gonna do up there? :-P (That was a joke ^_^ )

"...most of their [doctrines] are handed down by men, and not by God."
Inspired by the Holy Spirit (aka God), written by the hands of many different individuals.
It solidifies my faith knowing that so many people over such a long period of time believe & prophesied the same thing.

I love being Catholic, & I'm overjoyed that you feel called to the faith. If you're ok with it, I'd LOVE to talk some more. I've never tried to push my beliefs on people: I love discussion. If that's ok with you:
tslittleflower@yahoo.com

God bless!

2007-02-26 17:45:26 · answer #2 · answered by tslittleflower 3 · 0 0

I was raised Catholic and left it for a protestant faith so I think I can add a little insight here. I would tell you that the "little tug" you feel most definitely IS God calling you and most importantly, don't ignore that. God knocks on the door but it's up to us to open it!
I wholeheartedly agree with your skeptical view of organized religions. I left the Catholic church because I decided it was more about mans laws than Gods. I am currently going to the Methodist church because it seems to be a good Bible-based church that doesn't throw alot of it's own rules in the way of God's own rules. What I would suggest to you is to read the New Testament in the Bible, pay particular attention to the works and words of Jesus. Pray first for God to give you some insight and help lead you to the right form of service to Him. You do NOT have to be in a church to be a faithful follower of Jesus. The church exists to give us a place to worship with others that share the same faith in God that we have, it's a support group, in a way. But you are not required to join a church. I find just being outside enjoying nature to be Gods most beautiful church setting.
Try different churches to see what might fit into your beliefs once you have prayed and read about Jesus. You will find what you seek, I assure you. Good luck and bless you!

2007-02-26 17:32:18 · answer #3 · answered by ladysashya 4 · 2 0

Religion is one thing... Christianity is another.
Religion = Fallen mankind trying to reach God.
Christianity = God trying to reach fallen mankind with the Gospel of grace.
What we want is NOT religion; its true Christianity.
I think its more important to have the right Pastor-teacher than it is to have the right Church. When you find the Pastor God has equipped to minister who God is to you personally; now you've found your Church.
That's my theory.

I'm Non-denominational Christian. Born and raised in the protestant denominations, and for 20 years a Catholic also. I settled on the Non-denominational faith because I feet that denominations tend to crystaliaze in their traditions. This can be a stumbling-stone to getting to know the God of the Bible, which I feel is what it really is all about. It follows that "teaching" is very important. What you want is a ministry where there is strong teaching. How to get there?? Pray! Pray! Pray! But first of all make sure you're born again. Read John 3:1-12. The born-again experience if the first step to finding the right Church.

If you want to be born-again you can be very easily by simply saying this little prayer ( or something similar).

Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus.
Lord Jesus, come into my life; save me; forgive my sins; make me the person you created me to be.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit; give me eternal life.
Take me to Heaven to be with you when I die.
Thank you, Jesus.
Amen!

Hey ! I will pray that you will say this prayer and really mean it; and that God will lead you to the right Pastor-teacher (Eph 4:11-16).

Hey! Try this web site ----> www.ggwo.org

God Bless!
Love in the Lord,
P. Ron Swingle

2007-02-26 17:44:37 · answer #4 · answered by ronald.swingle@verizon.net 1 · 0 0

Thank you for your kind question.

First, I'll say no, Catholics do not worship saints or Mary. This is a misconception. We pray to them and ask them for help because they are our family in heaven, no different than if we'd ask family here on earth to pray for us. This link will go a long way to answering your question:

http://catholic.com/library/Saint_Worship.asp

Explore the rest of the site as well; it has tons of great information.

I have the same sentiments about Protestantism, since I used to be a protestant. The fact that it splinters so much because one guy believes the bible says this and another guy say no, it says that is a basic fallacy that glared at me when I was exploring catholic vs. protestant. It was one of the reasons why I converted.

Check out the site, and also, look up EWTN.com. This is the website of the Catholic television station on TV. If you want more answers, check out that channel. You'll be glad you did.

Take care, and God bless.

2007-02-27 10:04:55 · answer #5 · answered by Danny H 6 · 0 0

Good question. I think that you have absolutely put your finger on the problem. Too often churches are consumer driven and tell people what they want to hear. If you want to be healthy and wealthy, just turn to Jesus! I agree with you, true faith is faith that is concerned with the way that God would have us live.

Generally speaking, I think that Protestants have generally believed the same things about those things which relate to the matters of salvation. Unfortunately, many main-line protestant churches have gotten away from what their churches have traditionally held. The academic institutions in which their pastors are trained are taught by academicians who have no faith commitment to Scripture. And so many of these churches are spiritually dead.

I would recommend that you try one of the following churches: A Southern Baptist Church, an Evangelical Free Church, a Bible Church, a Presbyterian Church of America, a Reformed Baptist Church, an Orthodox Presbyterian Church, or a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church (I'm sure I'm forgetting many good denominations).

I want to mention two final things. First, look for a church where the pastor preaches expositionally. Expositional preaching is preaching in which the pastor walks you through a passage of Scripture. This way you know that the message he is delivering is God's message rather than his own. Secondly, look for a church service in which the supremacy of Christ is evident (a God-centered church VS a man-centered church!).

2007-02-26 17:41:34 · answer #6 · answered by Steve 3 · 0 0

I'm JPII (John Paul II, we love you) generation.

"Personal Adoration" is a beautiful part of Catholicism; however, since the "Vatican II" much of this tradition has faded away with the fortification on the focus of the "Mass". Most Catholics still use the Rosary as personal adoration, however, no where is this implied that we should "Worship" Mary or the other Saints. Again, being a JPII generation, I have little knowledge of the traditional "Baltimore Catholics". However, I've found many wonderful retired ladies who are genitally sharing the beauty of their traditions.

Yes, Catholics are Bible lovers. Mass is set up so that we read the Bible every 3 years. With the authority of the Pope and the Cardinal of Bishops, the religion is able to be stead fast to the teachings of Christ, and unify in modern challenges like divorce, abortion, stem cell research, euthanasia, and other "modern" challenges.

The younger Priests seem to be more "Conservative"; they too are JPII generation. Even current Pope Benedict is very similar to JPII. Here's a link to the "Encyclicals" that Pope's use to teach their flock (us). This one is Pope Benedict's first encyclical on "Christain Love".

Hope you have the time to read and see if this authority and teachings inspire you. GB

2007-02-26 17:30:22 · answer #7 · answered by Giggly Giraffe 7 · 1 0

+ 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

+ Communion of Saints +

Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.

The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.

Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mother Teresa.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p5.htm#946

+ Questions about the Catholic Faith +

If you are interested in joining or just learning more about the Catholic Church, contact your local parish and ask about information about their RCIA Inquiry group.

You can go and ask any questions you want.

This is the first step in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) but you can stop at any time.

There is no obligation to become a Catholic.

+ With love and prayers in Christ.

2007-02-27 15:44:40 · answer #8 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0 0

I will do the following:
1) answer your questions regarding images in the Catholic Church
2) answer your question regarding Protestant splits
3) clear up a misconception in your question about the Catholic Church

1) Catholics sometimes do look at images and pictures when praying. They have, many times, been accused of idolatry for this. They also pray to Mary, and have been accused of praying to a false god (for both things actually).

Regarding Mary: Catholics believe in the Communion of Saints. This means that the saints (people of Christ) are all brothers and sisters in Christ, so we are as one family. Saints are both living and passed on, and together they make up the Kingdom of God. The saints in the Kingdom are both living and passed, all in the Kingdom together.

Since Mary is within this Communion of Saints, what Catholics do is ask her to pray for them. That's IT. They don't worship Mary, nor do they believe that she has any godly powers. She's a saint, a beautiful saint, but that's it. They do the same with patron saints as well, asking for Intercession, asking that particular saint to pray for them. That's IT. Saints have no power, only God does.

As for images... people look at images as a visual reminder of what they are praying for. If you look at a photo of your loved one, you KNOW that the photo isn't the loved one, but merely a visual image. It may conjure up feelings of love in your heart. Same principle. Catholics see images of Mary, Jesus, saints, etc, and it reminds them of what they are praying for, and it can conjure up feelings too. Statues and pictures have no power, only God does.

2) You know, the Protestants have so many splits, I really am not well-equipped to answer this question. People have in the past conjured up denominations based upon one particular biblical belief or another. Christianity has appx 20 THOUSAND sects, can you believe?

You said: "It feels like the faith is being bended to please the people... shouldn't people bend themselves to God and his will?"
ABSOLUTELY!!! This is one thing which I so disagree with Christianity.

4) You said: "I respect the catholic religion, in respect that their tradition/faith/religion is unified and (for the most part) unchanged."
Actually, it has changed, and did significantly as a result of Vatican Council II. Over time, even the Mass itself has changed. There are too many changes to list here, and to be honest, it's been about 15 years since I learned of these changes, so my memory is foggy. You can always read about Church history for the details. I just wanted to clarify that the Church has changed, it's never been the same. A living thing changes, and the Church is a living thing as well.


I hope this has helped.

2007-02-26 17:39:48 · answer #9 · answered by Dolores G. Llamas 6 · 0 0

You seem to have the right idea. I was raised Catholic, but do not practice.

Catholicism was the original form of Christianity, protestantism was formed by people who disagreed "protested" certain aspects of it that they thought were hypocritical and were probably sick of being tortured and killed by the Church for the smallest reason., However the Protestants ended up doing many of the same things (torturing, executing), that they were opposed to in the first place.. This was all long ago, and today people are free to believe what the choose in democratic countries. All forms of Christianity have toned down in the last few hundred years, and have agreed to let people be judged by God, not fellow men. We don't execute heretics and burn witches anymore because people realized that that is just stupid.

2007-02-26 17:35:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1 1

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