protestantism and catholicism?

Question

I was having a conversation with my Aunt today who is a Catholic, however she never got round to telling me the differences between protestantism and catholicism - so if somebody could please help and also fill me in on why some people think catholics are hypocrites, it will be much appreciated! Thanks guys.x

Answer 1

i don't know why catholics are considered hypocrites...

but the main differences are that Catholic=salvation by faith and works, protestant=faith alone

Catholic believes that Eucharist is actual body and blood of Christ, protestants believe it's symbolic

Catholic has more sacraments (confession=confess sins to priest who then forgives in name of Christ under authority given in New Testament)

Catholics believe saints can intercede of their behalf, praying to saint is like asking a friend to pray for you.

Protestants only follow the bible, Catholics follow the bible and sacred tradition, which is what church fathers believed and practiced before the bible was written.

and of course, Roman Catholic has the pope, which is the sucessor of Peter.


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Answer 2

The major differences between Catholicism and its daughter Protestantism are that Prot. maintains that the Bible(Sola Scriptura) is all-sufficient for doctrine without Apostolic Tradition and the Church,that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone instead of by grace alone through faith which works through love ( that faith must be accompanied by the good works of grace )and that only the Trinity alone is to be invoked in prayer and not the saints.

In many ways there are more differences within Protestantism than between some forms of protestantism and Catholicism.

Unlike the Catholic Church there is no one Protestant church but some 30,000 to 50,000 different denominations. There is no one leader like the Catholic Pope.

If someone thinks all Catholics are hypocrites ,such a person is a bigot and would not be able to prove his slanderous accusation.
Catholicism is a consistent,connected and ultimately harmonious Christian religious system of faith. All the Protestant groups are "protests' against one aspect or other of the Catholic whole( and often against other Protestant theologies and systems). If there were no Catholicism there would be no Protestantisms.

The Catholic Church believes that not only is the Bible infallible( which many,but not all, Protestants believe) but that the Apostolic Tradition (oral Teaching) and the Church are infallible. An infallible book without an infallible interpreter( the Church) and an infallible way ( God's Tradition,not the traditions of men) to interpret there can be no assuranceof truthful teaching.
The Catholic Church teaches that General Councils of the bishops of the Church and the Pope( himself in his Papal Office) in certain (in rare circumstances for the Pope called ex cathedra) can make infallible proclamations.

Protestant Churches do not believe that any Church is infallible. However, many act as if their interpretations of the Bible are infallible and many of them functionally believe in the infalliblity of their particular Church interpetation of Bible passages.

Answer 3

The Protestant church split off from the Catholic church in the 16th century.

Basically Protestants believe that faith alone is enough to secure a place in heaven, Catholics need faith and good deeds.

The Catholics also have the pope as head of the church and and a strict hierarchy, theoretically protestants don't need this, they have a direct line to god.

The Anglican church (church of England) is protestant, but kept the structure of the catholic church, bishops and archbishops, but removing the pope and replacing him with the king or queen.

It is therefore a watered down catholic church with a secular head, a strange hybrid.

Ii suppose your aunt's comments about catholics being hypocrites refer to the fact that they can go to confession, say a few hail marys, get absolved and go out and sin again.
my parents said much the same.

BTW, Protestantism did not start with Jan Hus, the name is taken from Martin Luther's "protest" in 1517.

Jan Hus criticised the Catholic Church, but did not initiate the split, which Luther did.

If you cite Hus, you may as well go even further back and say that John Wycliffe and the Lollards were the first Protestants.

They weren't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation

Answer 4

Most don't think catholics are hypocrites. Thats more for Evangelicals. Catholics do penance for things they do wrong ordered by a preist supported by an arch diocese going all the way up the chain to the pope who can deliver the direct word of God on earth in the form of a Magysterium (sp?) Catholics are usually associated (wrongly or rightly is up to you) with idol worship because of all the emphasis on saints.

Basically the fundamental difference between Catholics and Protestants is Protestants don't have a tradition of priests to deliver more personal messages of the Lord (like in confession/penance) while Catholics do.

Answer 5

I do not know how much in depth you want me to go. The biggest thing is the head of their church is The Pope, they also do confession orally with a priest, and the communion that is done at each service. The Protestant Church is made up of different denominations each have their own form of worship. There are also independent churches, as well non-denominational. All of these could be classified as non Roman Catholic, there are also Greek and Anglican Catholic. Help this helps a little.

Answer 6

The Catholic church is the world's largest organisation. It is huge, and contains just about every shade of practice and opinion imaginable. What makes it cohesive is the acceptance of the ultimate worldly authority of the bishop of Rome as Christ's representative, and adherence to a core set of doctrines.

Protestant churches vary considerably. Lutherans and a large part of the Anglican communion are very similar to the Catholic church apart from some strong political differences. The main question that divides them tends to be "Who's the bishop." Other protestant churches tend to lay emphasis on a particular line of doctrine that they claim (often wrongly) that Catholics don't believe.

As to hypocrisy, all human organisations have their fair share of that. We all have ideals that we find we cannot personally live up to. If we were perfect, we wouldn't need religious organisations to tell us what to do. Remember, all churches are full of hypocrites, but they can usually find room for one more.

Answer 7

It's impossible to do justice here to such a complex Q, so consider this an aperitif:

Protestantism began with the excommunication of Martin Luther by the Pope in 1520. He and his supporters set about establishing their own ways of worship, free from the traditions and corruptions they objected to. They kept it simple. The Bible alone was their rule and authority. They believed in the priesthood of ALL believers (even women!) and in being taught and led by the Holy Spirit. Such freedom brought immense blessings but was sometimes abused, and some felt so insecure without papal strictures they began accumulating their own rules and regulations. It's sad that many people want clear-cut, black-and-white religiosity that will 'carry' them through - for such ones, highly structured religion gives a sense of security. Protestantism, by comparison, is worship stripped to the bone. There's nowhere to hide. You stand before God with only Christ interceeding on your behalf. Only faith in Christ alone will save you, but once you put all your trust in him, you find yourself born again into God's family, with all the treasures and resources of heaven at your disposal. The Catholic religion seems to have more attention fixed on earthly treasures and on human, political resources, but then, I'm prejudiced. I'm a Protestant. What do I know? Certainly not enough to say whether any Catholic or Protestant is a hypocrite. That's God's domain.

Answer 8

protestantism begins with jan hus who led a revolt against the catholic church in 1411.

it is difficult to be sure when catholicism begins, but most catholics believe it was instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ during His lifetime.

the basic difference between the two religions is that protestantism is a modern religion (about six hundred years old) whereas catholicism goes back to the time of Our Lord ()two thousand years ago).

Answer 9

Protestants have no Pope or "Papal Authority"...they believe in going straight to God... and, as such, that each individual is responsible for their own salvation and relationship with God-whom each individual can talk to and pray to without a middleman...Protestants reject the Catholic Bible and Canons of doctrine and saints....Protestants think of Jesus's Mother Mary as a blessed WOMAN but not as someone they should ask to be an intermediary for them-Jesus is the only intermediary to God...

However...from experience [my dad was Catholic and mother was Lutheran(protestant faith)] Though we didn't go to church when I was young, as I got older I went to both churches with relatives and friends and was surprised to see how there were many similar PRACTICES within the churches.

Both types of churches hand out bullitins at the beginning of service or have separate books with the same thing and it will be announced which page or chapter to go to and recite the chants/prayers/even when to say "amen"-"sit"-"kneel" etc.,. lol

Also, regardless what they SAY...most of the Lutheran Ministers were against their congregations to seek a relationship with the Lord at their own choosing and Catholic Priests pretty much did the same thing...both would rather that their congregations only do what they say and point out the sections in the Bible which they say overruled anything else to the contrary.

These are just "some" of the differences... LOL...I chose neither my dad's family religion nor my mothers... {My mother was "saved" when I was 15 and chose to change her denomination of Faith to be more like the Pentacostal Belief in the Bible...and we have like minds and Faith now even though I have chosen to be non-denominational :) ]

Peace be with you :)

*** I would suggest going to wikipedia.org and look them each up to get a better and more full detail of their beliefs :)

Answer 10

"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.