On the other hand, born-again Christians consider mainstream Protestants as Christians. However, mainstream Protestants consider Catholics as Christians. There's something wrong in the progression somewhere. Who's wrong then, born-again or mainstream?
2007-06-27 06:24:51 · 44 answers · asked by japino00 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I asked this question yesterday and was shocked by some of the answers I got. I was told that Catholics aren't really Christians because they are never born again, only "baby-baptized". It's ridiculous. The definition of a Christian is someone who worships Jesus as the saviour of mankind and Catholics do. The rest is just tradition. All the people who say Catholics aren't really Christians need to do their homework and remember that Catholics were the ORIGINAL Christians!
Also, to "Hottie".....You've obviously never been to Catholic mass if you don't think they're encouraged to read the Bible. Know what you speak of before you say it.
2007-06-27 06:31:14 · answer #1 · answered by OhKatie! 6 · 13⤊ 4⤋
This is a question that brings out the most radical, not very knowledgeable, elements of "born again Christians," and the defensiveness of Catholics.
What is mainstream among Protestants and Evangelicals can be a matter of semantics. Not all Evangelicals are Fundamentalist. Fundamentalist take the Bible literally sometimes. What is a mainstream Protestant. Some will say Methodist are, Baptist aren't. However, Baptist religion has existed longer than Methodism which was just a movement within the Church of England at the time of the American Revolution. It was out of the Methodist Church that the first Pentecostals and Assemblies of God broke out of. So the movement John Wesley started when he left the Church of England has had a larger impact than what many people realize. The Baptist have a tendency to be leery of Pentecostalism and speaking in tongues.
In my hometown my Catholic pastor for years dialogued with the pastor of an Assembly of God Church. The pastor of the Assembly of God Church, our Bishop, and the local Rabbi all had cancer and would put their arms around each other and pray together at the Cancer Treatment Center.
One of the misunderstandings I read in many replies is that we think we get to Heaven on works. No, we believe faith in Jesus Christ save us but works are the manifestation of our faith and increases the life of grace. We do believe that a person can lose the life of grace and fall away. That is one area where we disagree with the Baptist, but not all Evangelicals or Fundamentalist.
In many ways, we have more in common in our beliefs with a lot of Evangelicals than what we do with some whose worship style is very similar to ours.
2007-06-27 09:20:18 · answer #2 · answered by Shirley T 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
+ Are Catholics Christians? +
Most non-Catholic Christian denominations accept Catholics as Christians. A very few do not.
A dictionary would say that a Christian is someone professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Catholics would fit this definition.
In the Nicene creed, from 325 A.D., Catholics profess:
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 accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We are baptized as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
We truly are spiritually "born again," we just don't usually use those words.
With love in Christ.
2007-06-27 16:28:58 · answer #3 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they don't believe the exact same thing as the other group.
I'm always put in the non-Christian category too. But I kinda let that go, since they don't fully understand my beliefs, or my church's beliefs.
I think Catholics are Christians. They believe in Christ, they follow Christ. Isn't that the definition of Christian.
As far as what the born-agains think, I don't know that much about them, so I can't really say.
I had a friend in high school that was born-again. Her dad was the pastor and they were always trying to get me to "see the light" and to "come to God". Well, I believed that I already had! I've been baptized, I've felt the Holy Spirit testify to me, so isn't that the same as being born-again? So I don't follow the exact same thing as they do, so what? I feel that I have been saved by Christ, isn't that all that matters? And doesn't that make me Christian?
2007-06-27 07:33:33 · answer #4 · answered by odd duck 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Holy crap (no pun intended)! This has got to be the 50th time I have seen this question asked this week.
Apparently, the born-again, self-righteous, bible-thumping-without-actually-reading, fundie crowd has a serious hard-on for the Catholic Church. Since the various religious fundamentalist groups all like to think that they are "more christian" than everyone else, it makes sense (in a twisted sort of way) that they would attack the catholics because the Catholic Church, along with the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the oldest and largest christian religious organization. Bottom line is, if you follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, then you are a christian. The rest of it just doesn't matter.
2007-06-27 06:41:11 · answer #5 · answered by badkitty1969 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
I consider myself a born-again Christian and a Protestant and know that Catholics are Christian, but I know the people you are talking about. My grandma is a Southern Baptist and believes that Catholics aren't Christian. The reason that they believe this is because Catholics pray through saints to intercede for them with God. Southern Baptists consider that idolatry...like the Catholics are praying TO the saints and worshipping the saints. Also, S. Baptists think that priests are worshipped since they take confessions and give forgiveness.
Who's wrong? I believe that God is Love, so whoever worships Him through whatever means that are right to them, God will accept. And although I don't believe in praying through saints and asking forgiveness through an immissary of God, I don't believe that Catholics aren't Christian. I believe that anyone who accepts the grace of God's forgiveness although they can't deserve it, is saved. :) Yay!
2007-06-27 06:35:36 · answer #6 · answered by Martha 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Because born again Christians havent been in the game long enough to realize that the term Christian refers to the belief of Jesus and not a single religion. Think of Christianity as the NBA and Mormonism would be the Bulls, Catholics would be the Jazz, Protestants would be Kings, ect. Thats really the only way I can explain it
2007-06-27 06:28:56 · answer #7 · answered by Par 4 7 · 9⤊ 2⤋
Your question seems to be based on an incorrect premise. It seems that what you are actually wanting to know is: "what, exactly, is a Christian?"
It seems that the essential difference of these groups is in their philosophy of "how to get to heaven".
A conservative Christian (born-again), such as a Baptist, would say that a Christian is someone who has acknowledged that they are a sinner by nature, recognize that due to God's perfect nature He cannot have relationship with sin, they acknowledge that they are powerless to obtain "perfection" on their own, they believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was sent to the earth by God for the explicit reason of being the once-and-for-all substitutional sin sacrifice, and that by believing in their heart and verbalizing with their mouths this fact, then they have a "new nature" whereby their sins are forgiven just by asking Him, and they are able to continue a relationship with Him, all without any intermediary other than Jesus Christ Himself (through prayer, etc.)
Other denominations of Christianity ("mainstream Protestants") typically basically believe all that other stuff I just ranted about, but they add "works" to the equation.
Catholics typically basically believe that heaven is attained through "works" and that one confesses sin through an intermediary - priest. And I think they take the blame for calling themselves Catholics.
2007-06-27 07:53:56 · answer #8 · answered by ChaCha 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
The term "born-again" isn't the exclusive property of evangelicals or fundamentalists. I am a born-again, Bible-believing Christian, and belong to the Catholic Church. Period. I am very weary of hearing from those I consider brothers and sisters in Christ that my Christianity is wrong and theirs is right. The Church itself finally realized that calling our separated brethren "heretics" was decidedly un-Christian and no longer does so. It would seem that the ball is now in their court.
2007-06-27 07:13:40 · answer #9 · answered by Clare † 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Since when? I have never heard that in my life.
It would be utterly illogical to suggest that and the Protestant Reformation would be horribly served by anyone with such a belief.
The word Catholic actually means "one" and refers to that fact that all Christian churches are built "under Christ." That means that even after the split, the Church is still one because it is Christ's church. In fact, he specifically states in the Gospel that it is he who will build his church (on the rock of Peter).
And just for the sake of terminology, ALL Christians are "born again." It is a fundamental tenant of the faith. First one is born of flesh and then is reborn in spirit.
2007-06-27 06:30:49 · answer #10 · answered by David S 5 · 8⤊ 1⤋