Protestant Christians, did anyone go to heaven before the 16th Century?

Question

If so, why aren't you Catholic?

Very sad how many people don't even understand the history of their own religion.


oh, and chdoctor; that's exactly my point.

To a few of you, the Bible wasn't officially canonized until a little before 400 AD, hth.

Answer 1

Pastor Billy says: Oh I like this one, like your yahoo name as well trolling can I get an,Amen?.

This is a really good question after reading the first 20 or so answers most of your respondents are clueless as to what you mean. As all Orthodox Christians before the Protestant Reformation were Catholic this question really does make sense. There is a book called 'Foxes book of Martyrs' produced during the Tudor reign in England around the time of Elizabeth I. It was produced by a Protestant who was opposed to the Mary Tudor reign and the retribution which occurred, anyways it's a Protestant text listing Christian saints yet for thee first half of the book all you read are...........Roman Catholic saints from the first 16 centuries who Catholics still remember and venerate still to this day.

If Protestantism has it right and Catholicism has it wrong than all the Christians before the beginning of Protestantism in the 16th century aren't saved and aren't Christian as many of the zealots amongst you keep reminding Catholics.

Edit: I'd love your last respondent crimtthann69 to point out which Protestant community today is "the Way" and has a tracable lineage back 2000 years which avoids listing the Roman Catholic in the west? Fact is the geographical churches in the bible like the Church of Corinth or the Church of Thessalonica don't go by the name Baptist or Reformed or Methodist or Evangelical or non-Denominational or by any of the denominational names found in Protestantism. What about the Church of Romans oops heard that one before but of course Paul did write to them and what about the Church of Antioch where we are first called Christian and also where historical documentation of the Bishop of Antioch circa 100ad first calls the Church attended by these Christians as....................Catholic (big C meaning Roman Catholic today) ouch that reality has got to hurt. :D

Answer 2

Of course there were faithful Christians before the 16th century! That much is obvious.

However, I am not Roman Catholic because I believe some corrupt pagan practices have crept into the Catholic Church's Traditions and customs. I cannot accept these teachings, which are contrary to pure Christian faith, and therefore could never be confirmed.

To be specific, I reject the assumption of a sinless Mary ("Immaculate Conception"), praying to passed-on saints, Marianism, relics (bones of "saints" kept as holy charms), the separation of clergy and laity ("holy orders"), the limitation of the Sacraments to only Seven, the doctrine of Purgatory, the Veneration of the Saints, and the Transubstantiation of the Elements of Communion.

I believe that the record of Scripture outweighs Church Tradition in matters of Doctrine. Where there is no clear record, no cleric should resort to inventing doctrine!

Please note, NONE of the above are necessary for Salvation to be recieved, or a Christian life to be led. However, they ARE necessary as personal doctrine, if one is to belong to the Roman Catholic Church. In rejecting these (unnecessary) things, I disqualify myself from membership in that particular fellowship, but not from Christ.

Answer 3

You pose an interesting question. I know of no one that says pre 16th Century is void of those worthy of heaven. Everyone should know that Jews that followed Mosaic law and even before that gained entrance to heaven at God's discretion. Enoch for example then Elijah etc...

Now, the Catholics are the oldest existing Church, but they are not the original Christian church regardless of their claims. There are several Churches that are named in the New Testament and they are all followers of the way. catholic means "universal church" and in this we should all be catholic, but the Catholic church is a far cry from the original churches that were indeed universal. They are closer to the Pharisee and Sadducee sects of Judaism. As such I am sure that more than a few are going to be in heaven, but it is more than your denomination it is your personal walk with God and faith in Jesus that will gain you heavens reward.

As for why I am not a Catholic it is simple. They have become a harlot dressing up in silly outfits, praying to Saints like they still have authority, rituals not supported in the Bible, not removing perverts and deviants from Church leadership. This is the short of it and I hate sounding like a Catholic basher but since you asked I have answered.

Answer 4

You asked two questions: Did any one go to heaven and why aren't we Catholic?

When you die, where are you? It is commonly called the after life. So where is that?

When God spoke through his prophets, did he get something wrong?

Answer: When we die, we are dead waiting for the resurrection. This is true of everyone. Moreover, God did not get it wrong that some man needs to correct. 2 Peter 1:20 which simply says that God got it right in the first place.

Answer 5

Please remember Peter,James,and John were Jews not catholics.Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin (a Jew).Paul brought the Gospel to Europe, he knew nothing about catholics.Jesus sent the disciples out in Israel not Rome.
When Paul was converted there was no pope in Rome or even Christians in Rome.
Acts 11:26:
They were first called Christians at Antioch.
Why were early Christians fed to lions?

Answer 6

Troller,
To begin with the Catholics are not following the Bible as it was written in the first century. Those of the First Century Church had a number of Christians who probably followed the Apostle's Doctrine exactly as it was given to them but none of them will be in heaven until after the Judgment.. As time went on there were a number of people who injected whatever they wanted to into their Denominations and we have the mess that exists today. Protestantism was a return to Bible Thinking for a group of Catholics who saw a lot of things that wee being done wrong. The same is true today in many "churches" that follkow man's ideas rather than GOD's. Have a great evening.
Thanks,
Eds

Answer 7

Real Christians had always existed. The true church had always been seperated from the Catholics, the original church has always existed separate from the Catholics. For example, before the 16th century there groups of evangelicals such as the Anabaptist, Valdenses, and others. However, they had always been persecuted and killed by the Catholic Church. Therefore, they had to keep in secret our beliefs from the Catholic church.The Catholic Inquisition try exterminate us Christians but they failed. I guess one of this Evangelical Christians manage to influence Martin Luther so he could start the Reformation era.

Answer 8

There have always been true Christians, and there are some Protestants who won't end up in heaven. Only God knows the heart and can say who is a true Christian. Protestantism just has doctrine that is closer to the Bible. I'm sure God is capable of forgiving doctrinal errors....

Answer 9

4 Months yet to harvest.
Revelation 6:9-11, this was the 7th season of the 5th Age, the season of rest and ended 280 AD
They saw Jesus coming in a cloud for he was Glorified and they were all dead and their spirit were loosen from their dead houses.

Answer 10

The Catholic church before the 1550's was nothing like it is today. It was in the 1500 that the Catholic church changed the religion. Like making it rule that the Catholic church is heaven on earth and that the Pope acts as God on earth...o don't forget killing anyone that didn't agree.

1. In the Bible, the CHURCH is Christ's body; to a Catholic, the church is the Roman Catholic Church system.
2. In the Bible, you enter the church by a new birth which the Holy Spirit imparts when you believe on Jesus Christ; in the Catholic Church, you enter it when a priest sprinkles or pours water on you.
3. In the Bible, you come to God directly through His Son Jesus Christ, whom you contact DIRECTLY; the Catholics get to Christ through Mary, the sacraments and dead saints.
4. In the Bible, you commemorate Christ's death with a supper to show His Second Coming; the Catholics re-enact Christ's death with an unbloody 'sacrifice' for the souls in 'purgatory.'
5. In the Bible, the Scriptures are self interpreting and contradict every Roman Catholic doctrine; to a Catholic, the Bible is a mysterious enigma that only the Catholic authorities can interpret, and you must accept their interpretation every place where they contradict Scripture.
6. In the Bible, Christ's one final and perfect completed atonement completely saves and justifies and predestines the believer to wind up just like Jesus Christ; for a Catholic, no one has his destination fixed, and Christ's sacrifice must be repeated and repeated and repeated, because it does not save anyone 'for sure".
7. The Bible contains sixty-six books; a Catholic Bible contains seventy-three.
8. In the Bible, Mary is a sinner who gets saved by believing on a Saviour and she is never called "mother" one time by Jesus Christ; the Catholic Mary is not only a sinlessly conceived mother of Christ, they call her the sinless Mother of God.
9. In the Bible, the church is built on Jesus Christ, the Rock; to a Catholic, the church is built on Peter.
10. In the Bible, all sin and all sins are PURGED by Christ's BLOOD; In Catholic land, they are purged by FIRE!