Catholics? Protestant ignorance?

Question

See my friend shares a common, not hatred, but more of an ignorance toward Catholics.

He thinks you pray to Mary, and dont read the Bible, that your oppinions are based completely on Priests, and that you are entirely ritualistic.

I know otherwise, but i just want to know frist hand what Catholics do.

Who do you pray to, whats your doctrine.


Please no copy and paste crap, this is to end the ignorance of a good friend from and actual Catholic.

Im protestant and i like that Pope.

It's not that we HATE to the point of blowing each other up.

Some just have a misguided view.

Answer 1

That's a lot to cram into such a short answer, but let me see if I can clear up the most common misconceptions:

* The pope is NOT infallible. There is a provision for him to make an infallible teaching on matters of faith, but it has only ever been used twice, both regarding Marian teachings. This is called "ex cathedra" meaning "from the throne."

* Mary is the mother of Jesus. She isn't a goddess or divine or anything like that; she is simply a model of how to live one's life in obedience to God's will. (She could have declined.) The official Catholic church teaching is that she is eternally virgin, but honestly, most Catholics don't buy that.

* Immaculate Conception = Mary was born without the stain of original sin. Virgin Birth = Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, no man involved.

* When we say that we pray "to" saints, it is a lazy bit of speech on our part. We ask the saints to pray with us to God on our behalf. It's like asking a friend to pray for you. Saints are nothing more than men and women who have lived lives of faithful example. Yeah the Vatican has an official list, but that kind of misses the whole point.

* Priests do NOT forgive sins; only God does that. The sacrament of Reconciliation (which includes confession) is a healing experience. Why do it? That's a long answer in and of itself... I've typed it before but don't feel like copy/pasting it.

* The bible... yeah, we Catholics are traditionally not as good about reading and studying the bible as our Protestant brothers and sisters. The good news is that bible study groups are becoming more common and more popular.

* The Trinity is "one with three distinct persons." So when we talk about God, we do mean God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If you allow yourself to think outside of three dimensional space and time, it starts to almost make sense. We call it a mystery, but we are encouraged to wrestle with the concept.

* Catholicism is a ritual religion. That's just what we do. And as a liturgist and musician, I've seen good ritual and I've seen bad ritual. *shrug* Welcome to humanity, I guess. But we don't need ritual to pray.

* Priests used to be looked to for all sorts of leadership and guidance. They still are, but they are by no means the end-all and be-all of teaching. In fact, I know quite a few lay persons (non-clergy) who know more about particular Catholic topics than many priests.


Anything else? If I think of something, I'll add it. If you want references to resources, just drop me an email - I'd be more than happy to share some links.

Answer 2

We do read the Bible. We have Bible study groups and I myself am attending a four year Bible school program through the Church.

We have Mass every single day, with 3 Bible readings at every Mass.

We ask Mary to pray FOR us, as we ask our friends to pray for us. We do not believe that she is dead - God is the God of the living, not the dead.

We worship God alone.

We believe in the Incarnation, the Redemption, the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Answer 3

Don't call your friend, and others like him or her, Ignorant.

It's just not kind.

Most of the differences between Protestants and Catholics are pure misunderstanding. Which you seem to understand. Realize too, that name calling doesn't help. It only serves to close doors.

We pray to God. Non other than the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Nicene Creed sums up all we believe in.
http://www.creeds.net/ancient/nicene.htm

Might I recommend a book for your friend? It was written by a Protestant. It answers all the big Protestant questions. Alex Jone's book "No Price Too High."

http://www.amazon.com/No-Price-too-High-Pentecostal/dp/0898709199

Oh dear. Poor Rebeka. We do not pray to Mary. We ask Mary to intercede for us. "Pray for us sinners. Now and at the hour of our death." Just as we would our friends. Since Mary is very special to God, he tends to hear her prayers more readily than those of us regular folk.

Answer 4

Hi,

We believe in the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), the forgiveness of sins, baptism, marriage, healing and annointing of the sick, things of that sort. BUT how we are different from protestants is this, we believe during eucharist (BREAD, WINE) that is the blood and body of Jesus Christ, for Jesus said whoever does not eat my flesh and drink my blood does not inheret eternal life. So we take that literal, we also have a government (La Vaticana) That composes of the pope, bishops, cardinals, priests, and these all prepare communities for events and such for the public like confirmation. They keep everything in line. Catholics were the first Christians

Answer 5

We pray to god as our Lord, but we pray to Mary and saints for help also. Everyone has a different opinion about religion. I am Catholic, but have my own opinions about the church's doctrine because like so many things in the world, it has always been dominated by men and so that concerns me. All religions are ritualistic as is brushing your teeth so tell your friend to think about the things that he says.

Answer 6

There is also a difference between the Protestant and Catholic Bibles. Rather than have a 6 of one, half dozen of the other 'fight'; suggest that he look at a third source as to which is correct. I picked the 'Dead Sea Scrolls'; which referenced books in the Cathoilic Bible. To me; disagreement settled in favor of the Catholic Bible (I was raised in a Protestant denomination). Besides, Christ told us to ha '2 or more witnesses' (Matt.18:16).

Answer 7

The Nicene Creed


I (We) believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. Born of the Father before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God. Begotten, not made: consubstantial with the Father; by Whom all things were made.

Who for us men and for our salvation, came down from Heaven: and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: and was made man.

He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And on the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. And He ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead: of Whose kindgom there shall be no end.

And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life: Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified: Who spoke through the Prophets.

And in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Answer 8

We do pray to Mary but we do read the Bible, I read the Bible everyday,
We live by the Bible because it is the word of God, and that is what our Priests teach us

While we may pray to Mary, Jesus and God is our number one in Prayer, I prayer to all three, but mostly to Jesus

Answer 9

Rebecca said we pray to Mary. You have to understand the first definition of prayers it to ask, petition. Originally it did not mean worship. We pray to Mary to pray for us. In other words we ask Mary to pray for us.

Answer 10

+ Prayer +

Prayer is the elevation of the mind and heart to God:
+ In praise of his glory
+ In petition for some desired good
+ In thanksgiving for a good received
+ In intercession for others before God

Through prayer the Christian experiences a communion with God through Christ in the Church.

"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)

"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." (St. John Damascene)

But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? (Psalm 130:1)

He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God."

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt4sect1.htm

+ 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, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

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.

And prayer to the saints is optional not required.

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

+ Doctrine +

A summary of Catholic beliefs is contained in the Nicene Creed (from the year 325):

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

For a complete description of what Catholics believe, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

+ With love in Christ.