Non-Catholics: What is it about Catholicism that turns you off?

Question

I have seen a lot of hate towards Catholics, Why? Seriously. If there was one thing that you could honestly say that just riles you about Catholicism , say what it is. Even if it's more than one thing. I'm not asking you this in sarcasm, I'm asking this because I do not understand . When I see Protestants & Catholics arguing, over things it really makes me sad. How do you think this makes Christianity look as a whole when its own believers are fighting, we are all Christians shouldn't we love each other as family, does not the Bible teach us to love every one?

l really just want constructive criticism. I know we have our faults and that there is a lot of misconceptions/ misunderstanding between Protestants & Catholics out there. Personally, I would like to learn why all the fuss so that I can help to fix this. I honestly believe that if we set aside our differences we would ALL see that we are ALL God's Children.
Please explain in a few words if you don't mind.
Thank you & God bless

Answer 1

I appreciate your motivation for asking this, but as you can see from most of the responses here this is not something that you are likely to be able to fix singlehandedly. It's been going on for centuries. As long as there are Christians who do not accept Catholics as members of the family of God, not only disowning us as brothers and sisters but denying that we were ever related at all, what the Bible teaches about loving will always be trumped by fear -- which is at the heart of any prejudice.

Better to not give anti-Catholics yet another wide-open opportunity to take potshots at the Church to rationalize their prejudice, but instead to make unity among all Christians your daily prayer intention if your heart is burdened for our separated brothers and sisters.

God bless you, sweetie. Your heart is in the right place.

Answer 2

I was once Catholic, and plenty of of my peers nonetheless are. I do not hate Catholics or Catholicism. But you requested for flip-offs, so I will let you know why I left the RCC: the pedophilia scandal that broke large open approximately four years in the past. I can not placed cash in a set plate figuring out it probably going to fund a payment that protects a pedophile. My possess father, from whom I am estranged, is a pedophile, and I undergo from PTSD as a consequence. I in no way formally left; I simply stopped going. The final time I felt a significant want for Confession, I went to an Episcopalian priest, and might at a few factor become a member of an Episcopal Church. The incontrovertible fact that they ordain ladies (who're a long way much less prone to be pedophiles than guys) and married guys offers them a "thumbs up" in my ebook.

Answer 3

I used to be Catholic, and many of my friends still are. I don't hate Catholics or Catholicism. But you asked for turn-offs, so I will tell you why I left the RCC: the pedophilia scandal that broke wide open about 4 years ago. I can't put money in a collection plate knowing it might be going to fund a settlement that protects a pedophile. My own father, from whom I am estranged, is a pedophile, and I suffer from PTSD as a result. I never officially left; I just stopped going. The last time I felt a serious need for Confession, I went to an Episcopalian priest, and may at some point join an Episcopal Church. The fact that they ordain women (who are far less likely to be pedophiles than men) and married men gives them a "thumbs up" in my book.

Answer 4

I grew up going to an assembly of god church, (pentacostal). I don't have a hate for catholics, but I have a hard time understanding some of the things they believe or practice. These are things I either don't agree on or wonder why catholics believe or practice:

1. Baptising an infant. Baptism is something a person should be ready for in their heart and mind with the understanding that Jesus died for their sins and the person is or already accepted Jesus into their heart and life and is ready to be wiped clean of their sins and is wanting a fresh start. An infant or small child doesn't have this concept.

2. Preying to Mary, saints, and who ever else it is that catholics prey to besides Jesus and God. I would have to look it up, but I know somewhere in the bible it says that you are to prey to God through Jesus, so where preying to anyone else came from, I don't know.

3.One thing I have seen at the grave yard was someone preying for the dead person. I have asked several people about this and got the same response. The response was that they were preying for that persons soul in hopes that that person will make it into heaven. Well, the person is already dead, when Jesus returns and we are all judge, that's when we will know.

4. Purgetury, don't know it that's spelled right or not, but there is no inbetween, just heaven or hell. It's either one or the other your going to.

Answer 5

Actually the Bible tells Christians to seperate from those who teach false doctrine and refuse to repent after being shown their error. I'm sorry, but you are wrong. Christians and Catholics can not just come together for the sake of love and unity. It's more loving to stand for the truth and die for it (as a pacifict, not a warrior) than to live in error for the sake of a false peace that doesn't lead anyone into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Listed below are some of the things that the Catholic Church teaches that are errors. You can prove this by comparing a Catholic Church authorized New American Bible with a Catolic Church Catechism. You will find that the Catechism contradicts their own authorized Bible over and over again.

One of their greatest blasphemies is the mass. In this they claim that Jesus Christ is crucified again for the sins of man. They claim the wafer is the literal body of Jesus. Why is it then that the wine is not passed around? Why is there no blood in the wafer? The Bible says that without bloodshed there is no remission of sins. The Bible says that Jesus was sacrificed once for all, never to be repeated. You have to put your faith in his death on the cross as the atonement for sins, not a wafer that you eat.

The Catholic Church teaches that you must believe in all of the 37 teachings below, or you got to Hell. Then they turn around and tell you in the same Catechism that the Muslims worship the same God. How can this be? The Muslim Koran teaches that Jesus was never sacrificed for the sins of man.

Catholic friend, It's time you began to learn what the Bible says and not what the Pope and the Magesterium says. Did you know that nearly half of all Popes murdered or bought their way into the so-called Seat of Saint Peter? Is this what you call Apostolic Succession?

And let us never forget (although many already have) that over 60 millions of Christian 'heretics', Muslims and Jews, and others were killed in the Inquistions beginning in the 13th century.

The Catholic Church teaches a false gospel. Here are some of the problems:

37 Roman Catholic Doctrines

1 Salvation Through The Church
2 Salvation Through Good Works
3 The Church Forgives Sins
4 The One True Church
5 Baptism Saves
6 The Pope: Vicar of Christ
7 The Pope: Infallible
8 The Sacraments Save
9 The Sin of Presumption
10 Infant Baptism
11 Degrees of Sin
12 Transubstantiation
13 Eucharist: Preserves from Sin
14 Eucharist: Helps the Dead
15 Mary Saves
16 Mary: Saved from Birth
17 Mary: Perpetual Virgin
18 Mary: Source of Holiness
19 Mary: The Intercessor
20 Mary: Recipient of Prayers
21 Mary: Queen Over All Things
22 The Mass
23 Purgatory
24 Praying to Saints
25 Praying for the Dead
26 Statues
27 Confirmation
28 Confessing Sins to a Priest
29 Indulgences
30 Interpreting God' s Word
31 Catholic Prayer
32 Penance
33 Are Catholics Christ?
34 Could 850 Million Catholics be Wrong?
35 Reconciliation
36 Celibacy
37 Last Rites

These things listed above are some of the many things the Catholic Church teaches that keep people from a true saving faith in Christ Jesus.

To learn more:
Understanding Roman Catholicism
by Rick Jones

http://www.chick.com/reading/books/160/160cont.asp

http://www.chick.com/reading/

Who is the
Woman Who Rides The Beast
in Revelation 17?

Answer 6

Pastor Billy says: here is some constructive criticism for ya, the only thing you learn from a question such as this is how much non-Catholics misunderstand Catholicism.

Many of these answers from non-Catholics don't actually address Catholicism but only what they think it to be. They are attacking a caricature of Catholicism and not Catholicism itself. You have even had someone quote Jack Chick a known racist, bigot and hate literature author not to mention terrible comicbook-ish artist.

Discover the origins of all other non-catholic christian sects in the Protesting reformation and you discover your answer. It is propaganda, misinformation, slander, lack of education, ignorance etc which keeps Christianity separate and still protesting the first Church Catholic.

Answer 7

As a Catholic, I think a lot of the criticism comes from a misunderstanding of our beliefs. Just reading some of the above posts, they are misinformed about what Catholics really believe. Even a lot of Catholics are confused about what the Church teaches.

For example, we do not believe that Priests forgive sins. Only Jesus can forgive sins, but priests are acting in persona Cristi (In the person of Christ). They are Christ's instrument here on earth.

People often view Heaven and Hell with a scewed concept that Catholics believe if you don't do XY and Z you won't get into heaven. That's not it at all. Jesus took on ALL of our sins. Going to Heaven means (in simple terms) accepting Jesus's sacrifice and forgiveness and Divine Mercy. Going to hell means rejecting it. Jesus said, love God and love others before yourself. When someone sins, they are are putting themselves before God and before others. People send themselves to hell because they have rejected God and others.

Praying to Mary and the saints is another big misconception. Their souls still exist, just like we have souls. Only, their souls are that much closer to God. You ask your friends to pray for you... why? Saints are our heavenly friends. When we need extra help praying - we ask them to petition God too.

The CC teaches several ways to pray - memorized, spontaneous, meditation and contemplation, etc. Memorized prayers are good because people can pray together as a whole. The prayers give us words to ponder and meditate on. Why do we read the Bible over and over again? Nothing has changed, but each time, we might get something different out of it and even Jesus instilled a "memorized prayer" - the Our Father.

Again, there are TONS of misconceptions about what Catholics believe in and the media only propagates these ideas further.

Answer 8

Ignorant rumors. Like Catholics are something other than Christian people. The word catholic just means universal. It was hoped to be a Universal Church in it's day. Many silly rumors are about how the Pope is the antichrist. And the Vatican, the Roman Catholic faith is Great Babylon.
I don't accept any of it!

Answer 9

The issue concerning any church and its practices should be “Is this Biblical?” If a teaching is Biblical (taken in context), it should be embraced. If it is not, it should be rejected. God is more interested in whether a church is doing His will and obeying His Word than whether it can trace a line of succession back to Jesus’ apostles. Jesus was very concerned about abandoning the Word of God to follow the traditions of men (Mark 7:7). Traditions are not inherently invalid…there are some good and valuable traditions. Again, the issue must be whether a doctrine, practice, or tradition is Biblical. How then does the Roman Catholic Church compare with the teachings of the Word of God?

Salvation: The Roman Catholic Church teaches that salvation is by baptismal regeneration and is maintained through the Catholic sacraments unless a willful act of sin is committed that breaks the state of sanctifying grace. The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace which is received through simple faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that good works are the result of a change of the heart wrought in salvation (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17) and the fruit of that new life in Christ (John 15).

Assurance of salvation: The Roman Catholic Church teaches that salvation cannot be guaranteed or assured. 1 John 5:13 states that the letter of 1 John was written for the purpose of assuring believers of the CERTAINTY of their salvation.

Good Works: The Roman Catholic Church states that Christians are saved by meritorious works (beginning with baptism) and that salvation is maintained by good works (receiving the sacraments, confession of sin to a priest, etc.) The Bible states that Christians are saved by grace through faith, totally apart from works (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 3:10-11; Romans 3:19-24).

Baptism: In the New Testament baptism is ALWAYS practiced AFTER saving faith in Christ. Baptism is not the means of salvation; it is faith in the Gospel that saves (1 Corinthians 1:14-18; Romans 10:13-17). The Roman Catholic Church teaches baptismal regeneration of infants, a practice never found in Scripture. The only possible hint of infant baptism in the Bible that the Roman Catholic Church can point to is that the whole household of the Philippian jailer was baptized in Acts 16:33. However, the context nowhere mentions infants. Acts 16:31 declares that salvation is by faith. Paul spoke to all of the household in verse 32, and the whole household believed (verse 34). This passage only supports the baptism of those who have already believed, not of infants.

Prayer: The Roman Catholic Church teaches Catholics to not only pray to God, but also to petition Mary and the saints for their prayers. Contrary to this, we are taught in Scripture to only pray to God (Matthew 6:9; Luke 18:1-7).

Priesthood: The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there is a distinction between the clergy and the “lay people,” whereas the New Testament teaches the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9).

Sacraments: The Roman Catholic Church teaches that a believer is infused with grace upon reception of the sacraments. Such teaching is nowhere found in Scripture.

Confession: The Roman Catholic Church teaches that unless a believer is hindered, the only way to receive the forgiveness of sins is by confessing them to a priest. Contrary to this, Scripture teaches that confession of sins is to be made to God (1 John 1:9).

Mary: The Roman Catholic Church teaches, among other things, that Mary is the Queen of Heaven, a perpetual virgin, and the co-redemptress who ascended into heaven. In Scripture, she is portrayed as an obedient, believing servant of God, who became the mother of Jesus. None of the other attributes mentioned by the Roman Catholic Church have any basis in the Bible. The idea of Mary being the co-redemptress and another mediator between God and man is not only extra-biblical (found only outside of Scripture), but is also unbiblical (contrary to Scripture). Acts 4:12 declares that Jesus is the only redeemer. 1 Timothy 2:5 proclaims that Jesus is the only mediator between God and men.

Many other examples could be given. These issues alone clearly identify the Catholic Church as being unbiblical. Every Christian denomination has traditions and practices that are not explicitly based on Scripture. That is why Scripture must be the standard of Christian faith and practice. The Word of God is always true and reliable. The same cannot be said of church tradition. Our guideline is to be: “What does Scripture say?” (Romans 4:3; Galatians 4:30; Acts 17:10). 2 Timothy 3:16-17 declares, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Recommended Resource: Reasoning from the Scriptures with Catholics by Ron Rhodes.

Answer 10

The reason I can say there is a difference between Christianity and Catholics is we honor " Jesus " alone. I've rarely gotten through a conversation with friends who are Catholic and their praise is directed toward " the blessed mother." I don't know what bible catholics read from, but in mine even Mary shunned people praising her by her words, " everyone is His mother, His brother, etc." Mary was blessed by God only because " she was chosen," just as we all are chosen and have a perfect plan designed just for us. Jesus is still " on the cross" in Catholic churches I've gone in. In others, Jesus is off the cross, signalizing His resurrection and our promised Hope. And because of the cross the way was made for us to come before His throneroom ourselves and have the assurance our prayers are heard and forgiveness is given us. The concept of going before a priest, who is a sinner himself and needs saving himself, is beyond clear comprehension. I've never voiced any malice or dislike for Catholics