View on Roman Catholicism?

Question

What is your view on Roman Catholicism? Do you consider Roman Catholics to be Christians? Please explain. Also, please state your religion; if you are Christian, please state your denomination.

I am a Roman Catholic.

Benny Hinn is NOT Catholic! He is an evangelist!

Answer 1

I think Catholicism is great!

Yes, I consider Catholics to be 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.

Answer 2

Yes, Roman Catholics are Christian. It is pure misunderstanding and ignorance that causes others to say anything else.
Christian simply means someone who follows Christ. Catholics follow Christ, therefor, they must be Christian. The difference between Catholics and other Christians are so unimportant that Catholicism cannot be classified as it's own religion, but, instead a different denomination.
Here are a few of those differences:
1) Belief in the immaculate conception of Mary: Catholic believe that Mary lead a sinless life, and therefor was conceived without a father. This does not make her a deity in the eyes of Catholics (unlike many think), but rather the human that was most favored by god.
2) Prayers to the Saints: Yet another misconception about Catholicism. Many none-catholics think that because catholics prey to saints, the saints are regarded as deities. This is not true. The catholics ask the saints to prey for them, as a Saint's prayer is thought to be more powerful then the prayer of a normal human being. The Saints themselves are not thought to divinely intervene with the physical world. Saints, however, can be messengers for god. The Saints are not deities, therefor, do not make Catholics any less Christian.
3) The hierarchy of the Church. Unlike other Churches, the catholic church is united under the pope. This is a means of organization, and ensures a uniform teaching at each church. While the Roman Catholic Church is the only church with such a complex hierarchy, Roman Catholics are still Christian.
4) Catholics (as well as Lutherans) believe that a person's actions determine his or her destiny after death. Other Christians believe in a more random process. This, again, does not make Catholics any less Christian. This disagreement is a simple matter of interpretation of the scriptures.
5) Symbolic value of the Bible. Catholic believe that the bible is a collection of stories, stories that we should use to guide us in our lives. Many Christians take a more literal interpretation. This, again, is a simple differentiation in Christian creed.
Catholics are Christian. Those that call them anything else are still stuck in high school. To be frank, people need to learn to grow up, and stop the name calling. If someone disagrees with you, fine, but don't let the small things cause a virtual battle.

Answer 3

I read everyone's opinions before stating my own.
WOW - A lot of people sure used your question to tear apart your way of worship.

I AM A CHRISTIAN FOREMOST - AND A NAZARENE BY DENOMINATIONAL CHOICE.

YES - Roman Catholics ARE Christians. I confess that I do not worship and pray the same way that you do, but that is the difference between being Roman Catholic and Nazarene.

You have the right to worship anyway you want. The only difference between you, me or any-other Christian is just the name over the door. Most Denominations guideline were written by men based on their interpretations of the Bible. A Denomination is just a name. The term Christian means "Christ-Like". As long as anyone is following the teachings of the Holy Bible, that makes Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Answer 4

I consider Roman Catholicism to be rooted deep in tradition. They are one of the many sects of Christianity. I personally don't agree with some of the ceremonies, but at the same time I understand why Catholics do them. I am a southern Baptist and as Baptists, we follow the Bible and that is all. We do not believe the Pope is any more important to God than you or I. We believe we are all equal in the eyes of God. We do not condemn any other sects of Christianity, we only see them as different. However, we do not support Mormons. According to the Bible, the Mormons are a cult and should be condemned.

Answer 5

I was a Roman Catholic for 27 years and yes I believed I was Christian. Oddly enough I actually never knew that other Christians didn't consider me Christian although I was aware of some nasty feelings from other Churches. Jesus is central to all Catholic beliefs (my birth family are devout Catholics and there isn't one wall without a picture of Jesus or a prayer card). I think of my R.C. family as Christian. Catholicism was the first Christian Church and then it branched from there. I'm a Buddhist now but I really don't understand the whole R.C.'s aren't Christians.

Answer 6

I was born and raised as a Presbyterian. My parents were very active in that Church. I converted to Catholicism when I was 22 because I had issues with that Church. The Catholic Church embraced me like a long lost son and taught me a lot of things I didn't know then. I searched the Scriptures and to my surprise I came to the conclusion that the Catholic Church is the most Biblical of all Christian religions. There is absolutely no truth to the black propaganda being waged by Anti-Catholic groups that the Church apostatized. If it did then Jesus would be a liar because He promised to guide this Church till the end of the age. Thank you for your post.

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 7

Roman Catholic practices and doctrines are almost totally adopted from paganism. Please study the following book:

http://www.cbcg.org/twobaby/twobaby.htm


I am a member of the Church of God

Edit: Benny Hinn most certainly is Catholic. All those who acknowledge the authority of the Pope to change the day of worship from the 7th Day Biblical Sabbath to the pagan day of worshiping Mithra, Sunday, are part of the Catholic church system.

http://www.cbcg.org/rome's_challenge.htm

Answer 8

RC is perhaps the most successful of all religions. They hold billions of dollars worth of property, often in all the best locations. They don't pay tax and have about a billion members who regularly handover their money. They enjoy great power and influence over governments, especially with respect to keeping scientific research back. They have indoctrinated many beliefs into society and culture as 'norms' including no sex before marriage, no divorce, no homosexuality, no pleasure without sin. Ironically however RC'ism happily supported capitalism and the population explosions which have threatened the very existence of our ecology and our future as human beings.
We are all equal members of the human race but the RC's have done a very good job of saying 'we are all equal but some of us are more equal than others'.
I was raised RC but do not believe any religion serves the purpose of furthering the human race.

Answer 9

I consider Roman Catholicism a Christian denomination, that is, it is a gathering of people who seek to follow Christ through the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.

That being said, it IS possible to faithfully attend an RCC all one's life, and NOT be a Christian. It is also possible to attend a Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, or non-denominational (ETC ad infinitum) denomination all one's life, and NOT be a Christian. In the absence of faith and adherence to orthodoxy, membership in any religious club means nothing.

(I have met a so-called "good Catholic" who did all the right stuff: mass, prayer, confession, etc, yet she did not believe Jesus Christ ever even existed.)

I fully accept the traditional teachings of the RC Church as orthodox doctrine. However, the later developments of religious customs, such as Marianism, the veneration of Saints and Statues, and Papal infallibility, are things I cannot accept as dogma.

Answer 10

I view Roman Catholicism as a Christian communion led by the Pope and its bishops. Catholics seek to follow Jesus Christ, so of course they are a Christian religion. I am Anglican.