Is the Catholic Religion Christian...They pay more attention to Mary and the saints. ?

Question

For the catholics here please use the Bible Gods Word not your Cat or man made Lit. Thanks.

Answer 1

The most crucial problem with the Roman Catholic Church is its belief that faith alone in Christ is not sufficient for salvation. The Bible clearly and consistently states that receiving Jesus Christ as Savior, by grace through faith, grants salvation (John 1:12; 3:16,18,36; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10,13; Ephesians 2:8-9). The Roman Catholic Church rejects this. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that a person must believe in Jesus Christ AND be baptized AND receive the Eucharist along with the other sacraments AND obey the decrees of the Roman Catholic Church AND perform meritorious works AND not die with any mortal sins AND etc., etc., etc. Catholic divergence from the Bible on this most crucial of issues, salvation, means that yes, Catholicism is a false religion. If a person believes what the Catholic Church officially teaches, he/she will not be saved. Any claim that works or rituals must be added to faith in order for salvation to be achieved is a claim that Jesus’ death was not sufficient to fully purchase our salvation.

While salvation by faith is the most crucial issue, in comparing Roman Catholicism with the Word of God, there are many other differences and contradictions as well. The Roman Catholic Church teaches many doctrines that are in disagreement with what the Bible declares. These include apostolic succession, worship of saints or Mary, prayer to saints or Mary, the pope / papacy, infant baptism, transubstantiation, plenary indulgences, the sacramental system, and purgatory. While Catholics claim Scriptural support for these concepts, none of these teachings have any solid foundation in the clear teaching of Scripture. These concepts are based on Catholic tradition, not the Word of God. In fact, they all clearly contradict Biblical principles.

In regards to the question “Are Catholics saved?”, this is a more difficult question to answer. It is impossible to give a universal statement on the salvation of all members of any denomination of Christianity. Not ALL Baptists are saved. Not ALL Presbyterians are saved. Not ALL Lutherans are saved. Salvation is determined by personal faith in Jesus alone for salvation, not by titles or denominational identification. Despite the unbiblical beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, there are genuine believers who attend Roman Catholic churches. There are many Roman Catholics who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. However, these Catholic Christians are believers despite what the Catholic Church teaches, not because of what it teaches. To varying degrees, the Catholic Church teaches from the Bible and points people to Jesus Christ as the Savior. As a result, people are sometimes saved in Catholic churches. The Bible has an impact whenever it is proclaimed (Isaiah 55:11). Catholic Christians remain in the Catholic Church out of ignorance of what the Catholic Church truly stands for, out of family tradition and peer pressure, or out of a desire to reach other Catholics for Christ.

At the same time, the Catholic Church also leads many people away from a genuine faith relationship with Christ. The unbiblical beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church have often given the enemies of Christ opportunity to blaspheme. The Roman Catholic Church is not the church that Jesus Christ established. It is not a church that is based on the teachings of the Apostles (as described in the Book of Acts and the New Testament epistles). While Jesus’ words in Mark 7:9 were directed towards the Pharisees, they accurately describe the Roman Catholic Church, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”

Answer 2

Pastor Billy says: this is one of those misguided questions taught to non-catholics as a way of confusing themselves and those they talk with in the mission field.

Catholics do not give honor to Mary or the saints at the expense of God Almighty!

Fact #1.

Holy Trinity One God is a Catholic dogma which most (but not all) Protestants still hold to. It is because of the teachings of Catholicism that the rest of Christianity has come to accept the teaching of Father, Son, Holy Spirit as God. Mary and the saints are not listed as part of the Holy Trinity hence your question is flawed.

Fact#2

The Christian bible is a Catholic book.
Without the dedication of Catholic priests and monks through the centuries protecting the holy scriptures, copying them, translating them and so on all of Christianity today would be less likely to have this deposit of the faith at our disposal. Martin Luther knew it and knowledged it even after his leaving the One Catholic Church read him sometime not many do they make him a martyr though I often wonder why especially as he is known in name alone I guess it's that alone fantasy you know like faith alone, bible alone, Luther alone oh well when will people learn they are not ............alone in this discovery of faith.

Fact 3#
Catholics do as the bible says when paying attention to Mary
for it is written "all generations shall call me blessed" and "a sword shall pierce your heart also"

sidenote: asker I left the chapter and verse numbers out so you can discovery them for yourself as I'm almost sure these are ones you haven't taken the time to memorize. By the way who do you think took the seprate books of the bible and divided them into chapter and verse for theology study? A Catholic of course now go and learn about historical Christianity how might be surprised at what you find.

Pastor Billy

Answer 3

As stated ably by my fellow Catholics; Catholic faith was the first and in fact ONLY Christian church for over 1,500 years. Alot of years to add up. So, of course we are Christian. And we proudly proclaim that it is the One True Church which God Himself founded.

The Catholic Church created the codex of which the is the Word of God, the Bible. We will need to have a further discussion to explore that. Understand, that after we come to the valid conclusion of where the Bible came from; and it's from the Catholic church...you will not be able to use it as your source...because only the Catholic Church has the authority to interpret the Bible, not you or your cronies.

Also, what books were first listed as belonging in the Christian canon? How has the canon changed over time in various groups? What books were included in the first edition of the King James Bible? When did the Council of Jamnia take place, who were its members, and what did it do?

Before the Books of the Bible were canonized, how was the Gospel spread? Before the printing press was invented some one-thousand and five hundred years after Christ, how was the Gospel spread? How do the answers to these questions apply to the concept of "sola scriptura," or the "Bible alone" as the rule of faith? What does 2 Peter 3:16 warn against? 2 Peter 1:20-21 says....what?

Answer these questions for yourself. Look it up. Honestly inquire.

As for Mary, and other saints. As it has been mentioned these people are in heaven, and their souls, which you and I believe in eternal continue on. They are alive. They have senses. They are at the feet of God the Creator. They can petition for us just as you would ask your fellow church members to intercede in prayer for you...same thing. Yet you don't like that?? Why?

As a convert, from the Pentecostal sect Assembly of God, I know fully where the seeming hatred comes from that seems to be oozing from your question. I will state that I was very well grounded, well versed and well taught by my family, Sunday school teachers, and the myriad of pastors we had. The fact is, when you ask questions, simple ones like "Where did the Bible come from?" "My church started in 1914....what was before?" And you look at purely historical context in everything; you will notice that it is the Catholic church, only.
Nothing else. Certainly not Assembly of God....read up on some of the books I will be listing for you. They are books that I found that I found enjoyable. Do this before you continue to spittle mouthed hate. Learn about the Faith unblemished, before the Reformation violent rupture of God's church.

Take care and blessings to you.

Answer 4

You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.
The heart of the Roman Catholic Religion is Jesus and not Mary or the saints. When we attend Mass, we receive Jesus, not Mary or the saints. Some attention is paid to Mary and the saints, but not as much as to Jesus.

Answer 5

Yes, Catholics do pay attention to the saints, since they are members of our own Church who have lived lives of great holiness, and therefore can serve as models of the Christian life for us. They have been saved by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, often overcoming great personal trials in the process, and their stories are therefore inspirational to those of us still on earth. In addition, they are in the intimate presence of god. All Christians are called to intercede on behalf of other Christians. But those Christians who are already in heaven are in a particularly excellent position to present our prayers to God - and Revelation tells us that this is exactly what the saints before the throne of God do. They present to Him "bowls of insense" which are "the prayers of the saints" on earth - us. This has been the practice of the Christian Church from the very beginning. Ignoring the saints is a recent and very sad tradition of men. Such unchristian ideas didn't come into existence until unauthorized manmade churches began to proliferate in the 16th century, in direct violation of the stated will of God, "that they all may be ONE".
.

Answer 6

Would you also label the Methodist, Presbyterian, other Protestant churches not Christian simply because the word Christian is not attached to the name of their Church?

Catholics adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ who founded this Church. Acts 11,26 defines Christian an "adherent" of Christ. The word Catholic simply means the larger or universal church. The early church fathers were the first to use it. For example the epistles of James, Peter, John and Jude are referred to as the Catholic Epistles. So when we say the Catholic Church, we mean the universal Christian Church.

Anti-Catholics often suggest that Catholicism did not exist prior to the Edict of Milan, which was issued in 313 AD and made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. With this, pagan influences began to contaminate the previously untainted Christian Church. In no time, various inventions adopted from paganism began to replace the gospel that had been once for all delivered to the saints. At least, that is the theory.

This accusation does not hold water because Jesus Christ promised to guide his Church till the end of the age.

"And so I tell you. Peter; you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven." - Matthew 16,18-20

"And teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28,20

"I have told you this while I am still with you, The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you". - John 14, 25

"When, however, the Spirit comes who reveals the truth about God, he will LEAD YOU INTO ALL TRUTH." - John 16,13

After making the above promises are you now saying that Jesus cannot be relied upon to keep his word?

Pagan Influence Fallacy

Opponents of the Church often attempt to discredit Catholicism by attempting to show similarities between it and the beliefs or practices of ancient paganism.

Ultimately, all attempts to prove Catholicism "pagan" fail. Catholic doctrines are neither borrowed from the mystery religions nor introduced from pagans after the conversion of Constantine. To make a charge of paganism stick, one must be able to show more than a similarity between something in the Church and something in the non-Christian world. One must be able to demonstrate a legitimate connection between the two, showing clearly that one is a result of the other, and that there is something wrong with the non-Christian item.

In the final analysis, nobody has been able to prove these things regarding a doctrine of the Catholic faith, or even its officially authorized practices. The charge of paganism just doesn’t work.

May the Lord's peace be with you!

Answer 7

Here are a few scriptures that might help:

Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."

"[An] angel came and stood at the altar [in heaven] with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God" (Rev. 8:3-4).

Here is the link I got it from: http://catholic.com/library/Praying_to_the_Saints.asp

God bless.

Answer 8

the Roman Catholic Church has been using God's word since the beginning about 4AD. other denominations have chosen what they want from with the Rcc doctrines to make their lives easier and lest eventful.

you really should read and study more about the Rcc from sources other then denominations who condemn without knowing only to make themselves seem more understanding or from sources that only hate like those jack chick sites. read and study and you will understand.

within the Rcc we are taught that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour and it is in accpeting Him and building a relationship with Him that we are saved. the saints are wonderful mortal humans who's lives act as a history of people who have lived for God.

BTW, where did your "bible" come from.... since, more then likely it was after the Rcc chose what was to go into the bible.... your's came from ours.

if you would like some links to sites that can answers your questions - please do not hesitate to ask.

Answer 9

You want a Bible passage? OK, here's a couple for you:

1 John 3:14-14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Or how about:

1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Straight from God's lips to your ears. Because you hate your Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ, God considers you to be no better than a murderer. You may think you love God, but the Bible says that you're a liar because of your bigotry towards others in the faith.

Is that enough Scripture for you, or should this Catholic Christian find a few more?

Answer 10

Catholics are the FIRST Christian religion.

Never forget that. We don't pay more attention to Mary and the Saints as we do Jesus.

Get an education.

Answer 11

As if you would have any idea what Catholics actually do, or believe!

Here ... take this ... literally!

Mar 14:22 And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke and gave to them and said: Take ye. This is my body.
Mar 14:23 And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it.
Mar 14:24 And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many.