Catholics and Christianity?

Question

Are catholics Christians?

If so, why do they worship statues and continue to believe that Mary was born without sin when the Bible SPECIFICALLY does not say that she was born without sin?

The Bible clearly teaches that "All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God." (Book of Romans)

Jesus died for us on the cross.

What does John 3:16 say?

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

The next verse continues to say:

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but the world might be saved through Him."

The word WORLD includes all HUMANS past, present and future.

So, are Catholics Christians?

Catholics don't even teach about the second coming and the message of Jesus' return is found in over 100 passages in the Bible.

Your thoughts?

Answer 1

No not even close........Christians woship God and give him praise not because they have to but b/c they love God....and your right the Bible SPECIFICALLY does say that mary was not born w/o sin all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God......no man comes to the Father except through him......mary is a blessed mother but she needed to ask Jesus for forgiveness just as we all do and to worship her and do things "pleasing"to God should not be done religeously but out of love and all those who think chritianity and catholosism is selling something....


thanx for reading and may God bring ou to himself

Answer 2

Firstly, Catholics do not worship statues. We don't even pray to them. We do pray (communicate) to the saints in heaven, because we believe that they can hear us and can ask God for graces for us. If you don't believe the saints are in heaven or that they can help us you are free to avoid their assistance.

With regard to the sinlessness of Mary, remember that when the angel of the Lord appeared to her (she was a young virgin) he said she was "full of grace" and that "the Lord was with her." This indicates that she had a special position before God, which makes sense when you realize that she was the Mother of God. The Church knows a great deal about Mary that is not recorded in the Bible, for example the names of her parents (St. Ann and St. Joachim). The combination of additional knowledge about the life of Mary, Christ and the apostles and centuries of careful thought and analysis has produced the teaching that Mary was immaculately conceived. The problem with the sola scriptura (scripture alone) approach is that the scriptures state that Christ did and said much more than is recorded in the gospels...

"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." - John 21:25

The Catholic Church, which compiled the New Testament, embodies the witnesses of all of the early apostles, many of whom were contemporaries of Christ although they did not write a gospel. Until the sola scriptura people realize that Christ is much more than what is written down in the gospels they will continue to question the teachings of the Catholic Church, even though the sources of information at the Church's disposal stretch all the way back to the twelve apostles, the evangelists, Paul and the other early disciples.

We do by the way teach about the second coming. Every mass we recite the Apostles Creed, which states that Christ "will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead."

Answer 3

Yes & No,Many People call themselves "Christian" because they are not like "Those Heathen Injuns"(or whatever Group) as in the "Old West", just as U will find in All "Religious Organizations". The Catholic "Dogma" is as U point out, Lacking Emphasis on the "Teaching of the Bible" because this would put their "Clergy" out on the "Street"!!! The "Incorporation of Pagan Idols & Rituals" is an Attempt to Satiate the Natives that they helped Conquer & is Wrong per Scripture!!! History even shows Us that Several "Papas" have Banned the Bible & the Studying of it by their Members!!! I mean U just Gotta Ask Why??? And now this "Papa" says the "Mass" is to be said in "Latin" Again!!! Truly, the Catholic church must be classified as a Cult. Ur Observances are "Spot On" my Friend!!! John

Answer 4

Anyone can call themselves 'Christian'.

But I see that you have some question as to why a person is saved, or how.

A Christian is a Christian because they believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. They go through life in an imperfect way and trust God for what He said; what is revealed in the Bible.

So can a Roman Catholic be a Christian? If they trust God through Jesus Christ they can, same as anyone else.

All the things about End Times prophecy might not be the thing for a Christian to believe. Jesus didn't say that you had to believe that kind of stuff, but only in Him.

Answer 5

The Christianity is the belief and worship in Christ and as Catholics do believe and worship Jesus, then yes they r Christian! We do not worship statues!!! I am catholic and I haven't even prayed before a statue!! Catholics believe that the book of Revelations is written in figurative language and is to be interpreted. I hope in the end it won't matter what you classify yourself as...if you love God with all your heart and all your soul and your neighbor as yourself then it doesn't matter!

PS- Most Churches don't do Latin services and if they do the sermons are in English. (I personally don't see the point of a Latin mass)

Answer 6

First of all, Catholics are indeed Christians in the sense that they are followers of Christ, the founder of their religion. (You may be confused because evangelical Christians have co-opted the term and apply it only to themselves.)

The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was conceived without sin as a special favor from God, to prepare her to be the mother of Christ. She was not sinless on the basis of her own merits, but in anticipation of Christ's saving death on the cross.

Catholics most definitely believe in the second coming. They may not imagine it in the same way as evangelical Christians (the Rapture, the End Times, and so on). But they do believe in the Last Judgment at the end of time, as well as individual judgment at the time of each person's death.

Answer 7

+ Are Catholic Christians? +

Yes.

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 C.E., 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.

For a complete description of what Catholics believe, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

+ Graven Images +

Do you have pictures of your loved ones? Have you ever looked at the picture of someone while talking on the phone to them?

Statues and pictures of people we love are not idols.

Statues and paintings of Jesus and the saints are just like pictures of the people we love and respect.

The King James Version of the Bible states in Exodus 20:4: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth"

Why were the Jews commanded not to make graven images? Graven images were the standard method of pagan worship. They were representations of false gods.

This is a very clear command.

However God commanded the Jews in Exodus 25:18 and 1 Chronicles 28:18–19, "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them"

And in 1 Kings chapter 7 Solomon made bulls and other images out of precious metals.

It seems obvious that the Jews did not worship the cherubims and Solomon did not worship the bulls he had made. These images did not violate the command of God. Therefore, an image not made for worship is acceptable.

In Numbers 21:8-9, "And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered."

And in John 3:14-15, Jesus says in correlation, "And just as Moses lifted up the [image of a] serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

How can a statue of our Lord Jesus Christ dead on the cross be considered an idol to a false god? A crucifix is the message of the Gospel without words held up for all to see, a visual reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus, no different from a painting, a play, or a movie.

Catholics do not worship statues but the almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

+ The Immaculate Conception +

Catholics believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

When the angel Gabriel called Mary, "Full of grace," Mary was already full of grace.

When the angel Gabriel said, "The Lord is with you," the Lord was already with her.

The Blessed Virgin Mary was in a state of grace before she says "yes" to the angel's question and before the Holy Spirit came upon her for a different purpose.

When did Mary's state of grace begin? The Bible does not say.

Catholics believe this state of grace was with Mary since her Immaculate Conception. This means that Mary was conceived in the normal way (not like Jesus) but that she did not inherit original sin.

God prepared her for her later role as the mother of Jesus.

Catholics celebrate this miracle on December 8 as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 490 and following: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt2art3p2.htm#490

+++

I am not sure what you are asking in the last part of your question.

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

the only thing nessasary to be a christian is to believe that jesus was the son of god. catholics believe that jesus was the son of god, there for catholics are christians, no matter what other dogma, or ritual is involved as long as they beleive that jesus was the son of god then they are christian

Answer 9

first remember that the first commandment states, thou shalt have no other god before me. that doesnt mean there is only one god, it merely means that the christian god is the top god, a sort of tribal chief. catholics pray through the saints because they feel that the saints are closer to god than mere humans. also if you read the bible you will find that mary, mother of jesus, while not born without sin, was glorified because she is the mother of the son of god. are catholics christian? yes they definately are, as are mormons, and jehova's witnesses.

Answer 10

No, the beliefs of Catholics are not identical to those of Christians. Just examine what the two lifestyles believe, and compare.
The difference is evident.
I would recommend just finding a Bible, and a quiet place to read and talk to your creator.
God Bless...