Why the distinction between Catholic & Christian?

Question

Lately, a lot of questions (and some answers) have had the phrase, "Catholics and Christians". Why this sudden self-contradictory distinction between a religion and one of its denominations?

Answer 1

if u are a catholic, then u belong to a religious group, they believe and "follow" christ, therefore catholics are christians

christians are those who follow christs, many religions, sects etc do, and therefore many religions, including the catholics are christians
therefore the distiction between the two is that christians are those who believe and follow christ and therefore much broader than "catholics" which is under the umbrella of christians

Answer 2

You’re encountering what is correctly termed Catholic and Protestant (Christian). Categorically, there is only Christianity. The principle, original Church is the Roman Catholic Church, which historically dates back to the time of Christ.

Protestantism is a break, schism, from the Catholic Church 500 years ago. What began has a handful of breaks has become a mirror with now thousands of cracks, each broken piece representing a separate denomination. The reason there are so many is because Protestantism is based on personal interpretation of the bible and doctrine. Since there is no central authority governing Protestantism, each person’s interpretation is no better or worse than the other. Obviously, this leads to two different denominations believing completely different things yet both claiming to be the same kind of Christian and both claiming the true teachings of Christ. Protestantism contradicts itself from the start.

There should only be one denomination, one Church, and there is. It’s the Roman Catholic Church. I discovered this myself after many years of empty Protestantism and searching for the truth. When I found the Church, I finally found the truth, and found home.

Do some research yourself and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

God bless and take care.

Answer 3

'Catholic' means 'universal', so the Catholic Church means the universal church.

Catholicism is not a denomination of Christianity in the strictest sense. Catholicism *is* Christianity. The word 'Catholicism' nowadays refer to the Church that existed since Jesus's demise, passed on from the apostle, Peter. It was the sole church until Martin Luther broke away from this Church some 500 years ago, and those who broke away with him are termed 'Protestants' - ie in protest against the Christian Church then (ie known as the Catholic Church nowadays).

Going by the above, one can say that the Catholic Church is the root and stem of Christianity, and Protestant and all other churches are the branches that grew out of it.

Further to the split with Martin Luther, the church in the East broke away, in the sense they did not agree to the Bishop of Rome ie the Pope as the head of the Church, so nowadays we have the (Eastern) Orthodox Church. Later, the Church of England also broke away because of the King's divorce which did not meet the sanction of the then Pope.

When these two main denominations broke away, ie the Protestants and the Orthodox Church, not all the theology and beliefs of the till-then church ie the Catholic Church, were protested against or gone against by these denominational branches. Slowly over time, these evolved to have major differences with the Roman Catholic Church.

In the years of Pope John Paul II recently, he had reached out to all these denominational branches and seeked reconciliation and great progress was made. Indeed, he also seeked dialogue with other religions eg was the first Pope to enter and pray in a mosque.

As for the impression that the Roman Catholic Church is stricter than the Protestant churches, it is strongly recommended that anyone seriously interested should study the teachings of the Church - you will be very pleasantly surprised eg someone wrote a Baptist is more likely to accept evolution than the Catholic Church - the position is really the opposite.

As to why there is now in usage the terms tending to differentiate between 'Catholics' and 'Christians', I guess it has to do more with an easy and quick way of writing and expression rather than saying that Catholics are different or are not Christians, although some Protestants are against the Catholic Church and do not deem them as Christians. Anyway, that's not important - everyone is entitled to their own views and opinions.

ADDITIONAL:
There are many beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church that others (including Protestants) do not understand or have not researched into, and they therefore think these are not 'Christian' in nature. To them, I would sincerely ask you to go to any good Catholic site/forum and put forward your questions, and you will find that contrary to what you have heard or come to know/believe to be 'Catholic' positions, are indeed erroneous or there is a sound reason/foundation for them.

Misunderstanding can also arise very easily - take the recent statement by the Pope where he commented on churches other than the Catholic Church - a major part of what he said was not reported, and this led to all kinds of statements against him and the Catholic Church. To all those who are fair minded, please always read the original documents, and decide for yourself.

I would add that many Protestant churches are slowly adopting the practices of the Catholic Church, although their congregation may not be aware of it.

Answer 4

There are differences but not a lot. Some Catholics are saved, Christians, some are just going through the motions. Some so-called Christians are just going through the motions too. I don't kow why there's a sudden distinction being made. Lately, the Pope said that anyone who isn't a Catholic is not a real believer and only the Catholics are going to heaven, which is totally not true.I don't think I helped did I.

Answer 5

Amazing, isn't it? And there's good reason there though. "Christian" is one that believes that Jesus CHRIST is God. Pretty simple. And each denomination within Christianity has established a set of man-made doctrines, rituals, traditions and theology that is different from the next. They all share the commonality of Christ as God, but it is the Catholic Church that has dozens of false teachings that go directly against Scripture. It is in this false doctrine teaching that tells people that Catholic is not Christian. I do agree. They are Christian, but just barely! Look, if the Reformation was not the truth, it would have died out immediately. Instead, it continues to grow and grow picking up more and more Catholic converts as they finally sit down and find out the truth of what Scripture says! Why do you think that most Catholic churches DON'T do Bible study?

Answer 6

The word Catholic means universal and could refer to any denomination. To avoid any confusion the word Roman Catholic should be used. Many Christians believe that the basic existence of the Roman church is based on a false premise and would not regard it as a Christian organisation, although I know there are Christians within it.

Answer 7

Because an essential aspect of the Protestant Reformation was to reformulate Christian theology and the basis of doctrinal authority in such a way as to delegitimize the Catholic version of both. Before then, authority was based on traditions passed on from previous concilliar decisions and the experience of the Church, presumably guided by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by an unbroken succession of episcopal ordination dating back to the Apostolic Age. The basis of Protestant authority was scripture, the only thing predating the legalization of Christianity and the keeping of reliable records. As a result, some of the more zealous denomination consider it important to put as much distance between themselves and "papists" by emphasizing the supremacy of the Bible and condemning the "man-made traditions" of Rome. Unfortunately, there are some Catholics who are only too happy to return the sentiment, and Benedict seems unlikely to discourage them. We should pray that cooler heads will prevail.

Answer 8

There is no difference, of course. Catholics are Christians. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church is statistically considered to be the largest single denomination within Christianity.

Answer 9

"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)

Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.

Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):

By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html

There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.

A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

How would those askers react if people addressed "Protestants and Christians'?

Catholic is not only the prime,largest and dominant subset of Christianity,but Catholicism is the origin of Protestantism.

If Catholicism is not Christian then Protestantism is not either since all the major "Christian-making" tenets of Protestant Christianity came from Catholicism.