Catholics are Christians, Do You Not Know??

Question

I am a Catholic, and I'm so sick and tired of people thinking I'm not a Christian!

In 7TH GRADE HISTORY BOOK, it states that the Catholic Church was the first Christian Church. It was founded right after Jesus's time, by one of Jesus's disciples. Catholics believe in Jesus Christ.

During the Reformation period, the Catholic Church was extremely corrupted, selling indulgences, etc. So a man by the name of Martin Luther tried to reform the church. But instead, he ended up making a different church and a different religion called Protestantism. Most people who claim that they are Christians but not Catholics are Protestants!

On Myspace, many profiles say "Christian-Other" while there's a perfectly good category called "Protestant". What are they, then? Mormons? I KNOW they are Protestants, but they say "No, I'm not a Protestant. I'm a Christian!"

And worse, some say "Catholics worship Mary".

How COULD IT BE that they don't know? Didn't they take 7TH GRADE HISTORY????

Answer 1

Ignorance my dear. Pure and simple ignorance.

People would rather mindlessly believe what their pastors tell them then to actually learn why Catholics believe the way they do.

They would rather confuse, spread hate and ignorance then to grow up and open a book and actually learn for themselves.

I was a Catholic for a very long time (I left Christianity in general but still have a soft spot for Catholics) and stoped allowing such people to bother me. Now, as a non-Christian I am told I was never a 'real' or 'true' Christian because I was Catholic!

It never stops. Just let them pass you by. Most aren't worth the effort. They are never going to change.

As they say - ignorance is bliss.

Answer 2

I've only heard very few extreme protestants say that Catholics are not Christians. However, I do know quite a few Catholics that say Protestants aren't real Christians. Either way, I think both views are wrong. I am Protestant and there are a few minor things about the way Catholics conduct religious services that I do not agree with completely; however, I think they are Christians. Yes, the Catholic church was first, however they were very corrupt. They burned 'heretics' that even questioned their word and the infamous selling of 'indulgences' which you said. You quote the instance with Martin Luther's reform attempt, but the catholic church was not very tolerant of him and his ideas. Most common people did not have a bible at their hands daily to check the correctness of the actions of the church. Luther was a monk and studied the bible and found things he thought to be wrong with the church. If you're interested you should look them up. There are quite a few. Of coarse the catholic church today is nothing like the church of that time. The main differences between Protestants and Catholic would be that the way the church if governed, differences in the conducting of religious services, and our bible lacks about some books called the "apocrypha" (i might have spelt that wrong) which is basically some historical books that their cannonacity was questioned. Protestants do not believe that you must confess your sins to a priest, we view it as a mediator between you and God, and the only mediator is Jesus Christ. However, most would not say it is wrong to confess your sins to a priest, simply unnecessary.

Answer 3

Some Christians do not recollect Roman Catholics to be truly Christians, and those are most of the time protestants. But virtually, Roman Catholics are Christian however no longer all Christians are Catholic. Roman Catholics are lead through the Pope in Rome. Protestants do not respect the Pope's authority and are equipped into 1000s of one-of-a-kind denominations. The Eastern Orthodox(Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox) additionally don't respect the Pope, despite the fact that their teachings and ceremonies are similar to the Roman Catholics. The Eucharist is meant to be Jesus's Body and Blood, this can be a Holy Sacrament, an overly main facet of Catholic church rite. I do not suppose in it. I can form of comprehend the notion however I am no longer Catholic or Christian. Never be fearful of asking questions of your priest or fellow parishioners.

Answer 4

The Bible teaches us that the good works we do cannot make us acceptable to God. Titus 3:5 tells us that it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” So, a Christian is someone who has been born-again by God (John 3:3; John 3:7; 1 Peter 1:23) and has put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” A true Christian is someone who has repented of his or her sin and put faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. Their trust is not in following a religion or a set of moral codes, or a list of do’s and don’ts.

The “first church” is the church that is recorded in the New Testament, especially in the Book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul. The New Testament church is the “original church” and the “one true church.” We can know this because it is described, in great detail, in Scripture. The church, as recorded in the New Testament, is God’s pattern and foundation for His church. On this basis, let’s examine the Roman Catholic claim that it is the “first church.” Nowhere in the New Testament will you find the “one true church” doing any of the following: praying to Mary, praying to the saints, venerating Mary, submitting to a pope, having a select priesthood, baptizing an infant, observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as sacraments, or passing on apostolic authority to successors of the apostles. All of these are core elements of the Roman Catholic faith. If most of the core elements of the Roman Catholic Church were not practiced by the New Testament Church (the first church and one true church), how then can the Roman Catholic Church be the first church? A study of the New Testament will clearly reveal that the Roman Catholic Church is not the same church as the church that is described in the New Testament.

Answer 5

Anti-Catholics use dirty tricks and black propaganda to discredit the Church. For example they have called the Pope the Anti-Christ and the Church the whore of Babylon.

It is said that if a lie is repeated often enough and loudly enough, people will come to believe it. That isn’t necessarily so.

A real whopper may never be believed fully by anyone, no matter how often or loudly it is proclaimed, but for a whopper to be effective, it does not need to be believed in every detail. It is enough that it leaves behind a bad impression. People will think that if anyone bothers to promote such a lie, there must be a kernel of truth in it.

The same goes for exaggeration and false implications. Distort the truth and people will think it has some basis in fact. Take a truth and phrase it in such a way that it looks suspicious, or juxtapose it with an acknowledged evil, and the mind will be tempted to draw all sorts of ill-founded conclusions.

I admire your courage for taking the cudgels for the Church.

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 6

I'm not Catholic, but I totally agree with you. Everyone who believes that Jesus Christ was the Son of God is a Christian, including those who are Eastern Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants. But regarding your history book... wasn't the Eastern Orthodox church the first "Christian" church until the Great Schism in 1054? I may be wrong, but that's what I was taught...

I don't know where this "Catholics aren't Christians" sentiment came from... I suspect that part of it (not all of it) has to do with certain Protestant denominations who are anti-Catholic (and anti-Semetic) spreading the idea that only THEY are Christians. It's unfortunate...

However, it's also true that Catholics believed that they were the only saved Christians until Vatican II... many Catholics still believe that Protestants are going to hell, because that is what they were taught...

Why can't we all just get along? (sigh)...

Answer 7

Most Christians are not even Christians. They just call themselves that because they are uneducated and think it is what they are because of the area, usually the Bible Belt. Catholics still carry the stigmatism of their earlier years. Also, I grew up thinking Catholics worshiped Mary and put her above Jesus. We did not have religion classes in school, so we did not learn that the Catholics were the first Christians names until later. By the way where in the Bible does it talk about Popes and Cardinals and Bishops and asking a priest for forgiveness of sin instead of God in Jesus' name? I have not been able to find it.

Answer 8

There is only one true Christian, and that is a catholic, all others are of a protestant belief, as catholics we believe in the lord Jesus Christ, the father, and the holy spirit, something protestants do not follow, to be a true Christian you must believe in all three it's that simple, and if you do not then you cannot really call yourself Christian.

Answer 9

I get asked this question all the time:

"Are Catholics Christians?"

And this is my answer:

"Some are, some are not, same is true about Lutherans and Baptists and Presbyterians."

Your 7th grade history book was partically correct.

The Roman Catholic Church started to become corrupt about 800 years AD and it still is.

Martin Luther did not create a different religion, he started preaching the original Christianity which Jesus did and the Apostles did, but was no longer being taught by the RCC.

In the last 500 years the Lutheran Church has fallen away from the truth and become another dead religion, but that's not Martin Luther's fault. Its the fault of the modern day Lutherans. Not all Lutheran churches are dead, but most are.

I've had as many as 4,000 Catholics attending my church and they told me they used to worship Mary.

I visited a Roman Catholic Mission in California 2 weeks ago and watched and heard people worshipping Mary right there in the mission.

They were doing thing the Bible defines as worship, and the Bible's definitions are what count, not yours, not the Popes.

The Bible is God's Word. The Pope's words are no more valuable than mine or yours. He's just another sinner.

The San Gabriel Mission is the one I visited.

I'm sorry you feel picked on.

I hope you'll read the Bible and study it as carefully as you studied your 7th grade history book.

I don't like the term, "Protestant" either.

I wish My Space had a better choice to choose from.

I prefer the term, "Christian", "Follower of Jesus".

Pastor Art

Answer 10

i was just talking about this this morning!!! -- you're so right about myspace.com profiles too. the "christian-others" are clearly protestants, but they don't want to be labeled like that because they feel it takes away from their having a "personal relationship with jesus" and somehow being above religion. and terms like "baptist" and "lutheran" are hardly being used by younger people anymore. they've all switched to "non-denominational", which is just trendy, false, and ultimately meaningless.

and you're also right about how so many people think that christianity and catholicism are separate. what really strikes me as funny though, is when catholics themselves say, "i'm not christian - i'm a catholic". it's like, do they even know what they believe?