Question for Catholics -?

Question

Reading these boards there is a lot of catholic bashing, mostly around things that are not true.

So whats the difference.

Catholics look to priests, bishops etc to interpret the bible, evangelicals look to their pastor. Now surely someone with 2000 years of tradition, history etc has more experience than some pastor who in western society is living a pretty nice life.

Catholics dont pray to saints they ask they to pray for them. This is in revelation, have you never heard of the prayers of the saints (again you will say that your uneducated pastor said it meant believers)

Catholics do believe in Salvation only through Jesus Christ by grace. I mean Jesus set up the cathlolic church.
The evangelical model alows people to give two fingers to God and the rest of the world as long as they say a few words on a card.

Please help me understand this.

Answer 1

No one should look to anyone for absolute truth of scriptures, we should all look to the bible and ask GOd to show us. Yes talk it over but don't just take mans word for it. And we should Never ever bash anyone especially people who hold Christ up as there Saviour.

God bless Catholics and every one else who loves the Name Of Christ.

Answer 2

Not necessarily a question for Roman Catholics,there are Anglican Catholics and others in Eastern churches who may wish to comment.You are right there is 2000 plus years of history in the Roman Catholic church going back to Peter who was chosen by Jesus Christ to be the first head / leader of His church.Churches of all denominations are made up of people and people disagree on the way things should be done and even in families go their separate ways and sometimes to the extent of setting up in opposition.This may be due to actual or perseved " corruption" or abuse of power by those in authority.Sadly in time some of those who broke away in turn break away and this has been repeated over the centuries giving us the many and varied churches and congregations large and small.
The sevices in many of the smaller churches are based on their version of the Bible,which has been rewritten to meet the requirements of the time and in some churches to placate someone who has public not spiritual authority.
The one fundemental of the Roman Catholic church is Mass. Jesus Christ at the Last Supper blessed the Bread and Wine and gave it to the 12 Apostles,His chosen followers,and said "Do this in memory of Me". Some other churches still do it at some services but as aforesaid they broke away from the church that was formed by Jesus Christ and are therefore seen by some to be less than true to the teachings and by other to be others to be clinging to the teachings of Roman Catholicism.
Having said all that what really matters is how we will be judged when we die and irrespective of how and where we worship God unless we have lived in a spirit of true Christianity(relevant in this explanation but the same principle applies for other faiths) and in harmony with our fellow man we are very likely to regret our actions in the next life.

Answer 3

When Martin Luther realized that there was no way he was going to be able to reform the Roman Church, he had to revise his strategy, creating a separate Christian Church. But to beat the "heretic" rap, he had to legitimize it. The only tool he had to trump "Apostolic Succession" was the Bible, so that became Protestantism's sole doctrinal authority. And it was used whenever possible to DE-legitimize Roman authority.

It was a matter of survival, and both sides adopted a "them or us" attitude, leading to several European wars. The Protestants had to completely jettison the trappings of "Tradition", leaving their liturgy and theology rather stark and cold. And the Catholic Church was eventually forced to admit and abandon many of the abuses Luther legitimately condemned.

Since then, older Protestant denominations have learned to coexist with their estranged Catholic friends. But some Protestants (and Catholics for that matter) with a poor understanding of history like to keep the coals of hatred stoked, casting their adversaries in as bizarre and contemptible a light as they can manage. Understanding and reconciliation are not their objectives.

Answer 4

I thought this was a question for Catholics. Instead, I have found you are just airing the Catholic viewpoint and it's not addressed to Catholics at all.

However, I will answer. Most Christians have a living relationship with Christ and look to the Holy Spirit for interpretation of the bible. The prayers for the saints were said for the living, not the dead. A saint is someone born again of the Spirit of God. There were many living then and there are many living today. There is no point in praying to or for the dead in fact God forbids it. Jesus did not set up the Catholic church. He set up His Church. People set up the Catholic church and placed a man at the head of it instead of Christ. If you looked to your bible for yourself instead of relying on your priests, you would find a Priest Higher Than Any Other and would discover that you need no-one but Him to intercede for you. That's the difference. God bless!

Answer 5

You are missing the point on a couple of items.

The early Christians did not have their priests, nor bishops, nor pastors interpret the scriptures for them. The early Christians read and studied the Bible for themselves.

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11

The Catholic Church maintains that "the Bible is a dead letter and unable to interpret itself." Yet in the Bible, whether Catholic or not, we read, "The word of God is living and powerful [quick and active], and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

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All members of the church are saints. The entire congregation at Corinth were addressed as saints.

" Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:" 1 Corinthians 1:2

and the church in Ephesus:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:" Ephesians 1:1

and the other churches listed in the New Testament.

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Nowhere in God’s Word are we taught to pray unto anyone other than God, and nowhere in His Word are we taught to pray through anyone other than Christ, who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).
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The biggest misconception is the idea that Jesus established the catholic church. This has been refuted many times. The catholic church cannot trace any roots back any further than AD 606 with the appointment of the first pope Boniface III. The catholic church is not the church established by Christ in the first century and Peter was never a pope. These facts are historical and Biblical but lengthy, see the source for scriptural reasons why the church of Christ established in AD 30 existed long before the catholic church and why Peter could not have been the first pope.

These facts are what members of the catholic church should understand. Study the Bible and you will find the truth. Do not put your faith in man or man's teachings.

Answer 6

When reading some of the answers here it appears that some people disregard the commandment of our Lord not to bear false witness against others in their hatred for Christ's Church. I would like to blame their errors about Catholicism on ignorance but how can thart be when they are told time and time again that their statements about Catholic beliefs are false and yet they continue to perpetrate the same old false myths about Catholicism. Can it be that they have not been so blessed as to have the discernment of the Spirit dwelling in them to even be aware of their error in theolological understanding.

They continue to insist that saints that have passed on to their eternal reward are not alive but dead and by their criticisms have no belief in the salvation of humanity. The Bible teaches differently, that we who are sanctified in His grace have eternal life and do not die as they allege. The Bible teaches that the saints rejoice at our salvation and that they hear or prayers and present them before the throne of God. We are all one congregation of the Church militant, suffering and triumphant who have responded to the call of the Spirit and surrendered to the law written on our hearts who either have hope in Christ or have received our eternal inheritance through Him.

Despite the fanciful or revisionist history, it is Jesus who created His Church with Himself as the cornerstone and the disciples as the twelve foundation stones. He established that His disciples would be succeeded by their disciples building a solid foundation of the Church which would endure for all times.That same church endures today as a shining example of the veracity of Christ through His promises to His Church. May the Lord have mercy on those who's hatred blind them from the truth and whos hearts are so hardened as to not accept the love that Christ offers to flow through them to others through His grace for faith, hope and charity for all mankind.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 7

Jesus set up the Christian congregation, Catholicism came along centuries later bringing in apostasy and false doctrine.

Answer 8

Are you asking why there's protestantism?
I'm Catholic and believe it's a deeper form of Christianity than protestantism. The very word protestant means they are in protest - of the Catholic church. I believe protestants are missing out on what was intended for us by Christ.

Answer 9

I'd say your on you way to converting to the Catholic church
not many people these days get the straight story about Catholics, I'm glad you did your homework.
If you hadn't noticed i'm catholic too
I'm not sure you asked your question very directly
please ask again or email me
i'll try and help

Answer 10

If you do not give examples of catholic bashing, you are only preaching.