Questions for Catholics and Protestants?

Question

How can I tell the bible alone is enough - Catholics make very strong arguments (from the bible and other texts) that it was never intended to be used alone.

Why is grace in the catholic church so complicated, believing in Jesus and being "Born Again" seems a lot more easy for people.

What is a mortal sin - not a definition but what are they - I want to avoid them.

How can one group be so deluded, I am not saying which one but clearly one of them has to be. either the protestants have abandoned the true church and created a man made religion.
Or catholics have created a system of Grace that was different that what god wanted.

I am getting really confused. I find that evangelicals cant provide answers that are not full of holes and easy to pick off.

If the evangelicals were right then why for 1600 years were there no christians everyone was catholic. SO people only got saved after the reformation?

Answer 1

The Holy Ghost guides both sides to the perfect truth even though they both say opposite things.

Why is this.....?....... it is a mystery which is as elusive as the Trinity.


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Answer 2

Grace isn't complicated in the Catholic Church. Grace comes from Christ. Period. But there are more ways to go before Christ and receive Grace in the Catholic Church (seven sacraments, instead of one or two, and you can receive one sacrament every single day [Eucharist] and another as often as you need it [Reconciliation]).

Mortal sins are basically breaking one of the Ten Commandments on purpose, without coercion, in a serious way, and knowing that is what you are doing. So if you go on a witness stand, take an oath to tell the truth and purposely lie in such a way that another person is sentenced to death, that would be a mortal sin (bearing false witness). However, if your wife asked you if she looked fat in her dress and you told her she didn't because you wanted to spare her feelings, that wouldn't be a mortal sin because it wouldn't be a "serious matter." Likewise, if somebody told you a lie, and you repeated it because you believed it was true, you would not be committing a sin, because you didn't KNOW you were telling a lie. And if you somebody held a gun to your head and made you call the police and report a fire that didn't exist, you wouldn't be accountable because you were being coerced into the action. Does that make any sense?

Protestants aren't deluded about Jesus -- they know He is Lord. We agree on all the important stuff, really, so there is no need to assume one side is "so deluded." There is truth in Protestant Churches, too...Catholics just believe that the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth.

Answer 3

Grace can never be completely defined. God's love and grace are as eternal and limitless as God Himself. What the Church does comes from the knowlege she has about God's grace. This includes sacraments and indulgences she may grant. This may seem to involve a complicated system to an onlooker but is not so complicated as one becomes a member.

Mortal sins are defined by breaking or failing to fulfill the ten commandments. All mortal sins are traced back to the ten commandments. The two commandments Jesus cited as the most important were to love God first and foremost then love your neighbor as yourself. All of the ten commandments are summed up by these two commandments. Once a Christian, one must love one's neighbor as Jesus has loved him or her.

The Church has not created a system but fulfills the Church that Jesus started. The "laws" the Church follows are spiritual laws. They are defined by the Church making it easier for a Christian to live a life of grace. The Church protects her members by defining their spiritual lives. Once members are in the state of grace, life gets easier because Jesus carries the yoke of life with them.

Over the years many Christians have broken off from the Church. The breaks began as early as in the time of St. John the Apostle. He writes his arguments against the practices of these Christians in his Biblical letters. The Protestant Reformation is really a splintering of factions that have fallen from the Church. There are many beliefs that only hold together in their rejection of the Church.

Hope this helps.

Yours in Christ Jesus, Grace (an ex-Protestant)

Answer 4

Organized religion has covered the Truth of the Bible with so many layers of rubbish, replaced it with traditions of men, and that's what's confusing.

No one has a monopoly on the Truth. The Bible itself declares, "here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept". God purposely hides the truth so we have to earnestly seek it.

All sin is mortal because all humans sin and we are definitely
mortal. But the good news is, God made a Way to reconcile
all creation to Him. There is physical DNA and spiritual DNA.
That's why Jesus said, "You must be born again" to
get "Christ in you, the hope of glory". God gave us many examples of just how His plan works. You plant a seed of corn
and it "dies" (actually it germinates) and a new life is formed.

Let me put it another way, to the caterpillar it's the end, to the butterfly it's the beginning. God leaves nothing to chance. A good book to help clear up a lot of misconceptions is SonPlacing by Garrison Russell. Available from http:www.amazon.com

Answer 5

How can you tell if the Bible alone is enough? Don't make such hard work out of it, my Friend. The Bible is the ONLY book we need! All others are men's opinions and interpretations. Prior to the Reformation there were many who believed in the risen Christ who were NOT Roman Catholics. They were called 'Anabaptist'. God has always had His true followers, amidst people's attempts to subvert things. Look to your heart, my Friend.....and find Jesus there. He is calling you to a life with Him. Blessings to you.

Answer 6

There is only the Word of God, Jesus Christ. Catholics put tradition above the Word. Protestants put their own understanding above the Word. Go with the Word alone because every man is a liar. Jesus said, you must be born again in John 3. Paul in his letter to Timothy, do the work of an evangelist. We don't need denominations and traditions, only the Word of God.

Answer 7

After the reformation, the Pope got angry anf sent 300 of his guards to trck down Martin Luther. Luther's followers found out and hid Luther in a wine cellar. There ensued a great battle and when the surviving guards returned to the vatican without Luther the pope got really mad and excommunicated them.

Answer 8

I've always wondered why a man of simple life and virtue, left behind such a complex and convoluted message through so many religions.

Could it be that the church serves itself and not God?