Roman Catholics: Christian brothers and sisters? Or a false religion?

Question

I have difficulties in comprehending how people condemn Catholics to hell because of the beliefs they retain. Where does the basis for such a belief come from? For every argument against the Catholic faith, there is an equal, if not stronger apologetic response as to why Catholic's believe what they do. I also see, time and again, the ignorance (Here I am not referring to stupidity, far from it, I mean the official deffinition of the term: Without knowledge) of people who suggest ideas against Roman Catholic beliefs without their own investigation into the matter, it is almost as if the majority of people just come up with an argument because they are prejudiced against Catholics. (Let me add, do not argue that Catholics prejudiced against other beliefs during the dark ages...Because right around the Renassaince period forward to reformations away from Catholicism, Catholics were severely prejudiced all the way through today, so there is no point in pointing fingers around that.)

So I am asking, why don't people accept us as Brothers and Sisters in Christ, just as Catholics accept other denominations as Brothers and Sisters in Christ? We all have our means of attaining Eternal Life, some different than others, but is it not the destination that matters most? In my opinion, Catholics do not need to be saved from eternal damnation for the religous beliefs, they are Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and to suggest otherwise, is without love in your words, and we all remember the commandment given by Jesus, to love our neighbors. Are Catholics condemned? No, Catholics aren't.

In response to Quailman,
There are, in fact, 36,000 protestant denominations...

So what you are saying is that it takes those 36,000 to, as you put it, "beat" them?

Then why is the Catholic faith the second largest religion in the world, second to Islam by sheer population.
And, Catholicism is growing extremely rapidly in Africa too. So, in response, no, I am sorry to say that you are wrong, Catholics are not beaten...Catholics grow more in numbers than any other religion.

In response to L.C.:

Well, good for you, you are not ignorant in Catholic teachings...You say they have questionable doctrine?

Well let me add this, You must be ignorant (Non-negative connotation) on other Christian Denominations, because as I have seen, most of protestant religions seem to have much much much more questionable teachings than the Catholic Church.

In Response to Douga:

This may be a lengthy response, so bear with me.

First of all, Catholics do NOT follow saints and mary in the deffenition that you use...

Rather, they follow their example...Catholics pray to saints and Mary, yes, but there is a DIFFERENCE in how you do it, when Catholics pray to the saints and Mary, there is no worshipping involved, they ask that the saints and Mary pray for them too, because, lets face it, the more the merrier, the more you have praying for you, the better, I think we can all agree on that.

And you do not "bow down"? Well there is a mistake, because in the Bible, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."—Philippians 2:9-11. (C)

To Douga again:

Heck, with that Bible passage in mind, I wouldn't just BOW DOWN, I would prostrate before God.

(Prostration is the act of lying down on one's stomach head to the ground showing great humility and respect to an entity, in this case, God.)

And the religous "jewelry"? How can you say that, What religous Jewelry? For one the Rosary is not jewelry, may Catholics believe it is such a thing of beauty and prayer, that they don't wear it, and it is not to be worn, in my opinion, it is a tool used for prayer to Mary, asking her to intercede for them to Jesus Christ.

And the Scapular is not jewelry either, WOW the significance of this piece...All scapulars are created to look humble and poor...So I see no religous jewelry, save for the occasional golden cross like all Christians wear.

Answer 1

I know the feeling of frustration when I see people here condemning our faith on the basis of what they've been (falsely) taught by someone else. "Pastor So-and-so said that Catholics worship Mary and put the Pope above God, so it must be the truth."

Rather than talk to the many Catholics here who've studied our religion and know why we believe what we do, they don't want to be bothered to learn the truth. You can see that by some of the answers that you've already gotten here.

The second category are the bigots -- and there's no other word for what they are. They hate Catholics and refuse to listen to anything we have to say. They demand that we support our arguments with Scripture, but when we do, then we're taking things out of context or misquoting the Bible, according to them. Translation: nothing we say or do will be right because they've closed their minds and won't hear.

We Catholics worship the one living and true God, and we know that the only means of salvation is by accepting Jesus Christ's atoning death on the Cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If that doesn't make us Christians and brothers and sisters in the faith, I don't know what would.

Which brings me to one last thing. St. John said, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." (1John 3:15 ) Those who claim to be Christians and yet hate their Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ may be fooling themselves. . .but they're not fooling God.

Answer 2

A lot of things that some people "know" about Roman Catholicism are just plain wrong.

For instance, they "know" that we worship Mary and the saints. But, of course, we don't do those things.

They "know" that Catholicism teaches that we are saved by performing good works. The Catholic Church, though, has never taught such a doctrine.

They "know" that Catholics worship objects such as statues and other images. Of course, the people who "know" this don't understand the difference between worshipping an object, and using it as an aid in worship. The Catholic Church condemns the former, but has Exodus 26 as Biblical support for engaging in the latter.

These things that people "know" about Catholicism get passed down from one generation of anti-Catholic fundamentalists to another. They're very hard habits to break.

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Answer 3

Lol... check out that ignorance you were relating to! It's even here with us in this answer forum::

"Well jesusfreak, I am a "follower of Jesus" not mary or any saint"

There's a funny answer to that question: Many people don't do their research and basically believe whatever their parents believe. Or they blindly follow others and end up with the same beliefs as them due to their own ignorance... as the quote above shows. No one questions anything anymore. No one knows how to defend their faith with logical arguments.

Essentially, all Christians are brothers and sisters because of their uniting belief in Jesus. However this is very broad, and if the "Church" Jesus spoke of was really Christianity as a whole, Christianity is a failure. If the "Church" is the worldwide group of Christians who are anything but united in worship, doctrine, and government, the Church is a joke! Even Muslims are more united than us (They have basically Shia and Sunni).

I am Roman Catholic. The book that I couldn't argue against was "Apologetics and the Catholic Doctrine" by Archbishop Michael Sheehan. The books logic is flawless. I have had even a Protestant say that!

But in answer to your question: Yes, we are Christian brothers and sister, but there is only one true religion, and not all Christians are in that true religion.

Answer 4

I enjoy provoking thought, not attacking people. Personally I believe that all people are messed up, just those who are more religious show it more. Absolute truth is unknowable, and those who claim to understand it are entertaining at times. I do not condemn anyone to hell... Only G-d knows their heart... I will judge their actions toward other people however. Other the years I've had good friends and bad apples from many religious. Religion, itself, is not a deciding factor.

I base my knowledge of Catholicism on "The Catholic Encyclopedia" at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html . Many times I find their descriptions of the more questioned beliefs to be indefensible scripturally. Then again I find much dogma of any religion indefensible.

Answer 5

First, let me say how very much I appreciate your question. It is incredibly frustrating to come here and see, day after day, that our Protestant brothers and sisters persist in believing things about Catholicism that aren't true, and that they apparently don't care to listen to Catholics who attempt to educate them. I was so astonished to see a question like yours that I hardly knew what to say. *Thank you* for not jumping to the same conclusions everyone else seems to.

Quailman makes an excellent point; there are few things that will unite a diverse group of people more effectively than a common enemy. If they can paint us Catholics as evil incarnate, then they can extol their Christian unity in the face of Satan, or whatever.

Have you noticed that you rarely, if ever, see questions like "Protestants: why do you heretics refuse to believe in transubstantiation?" or "Are protestants blaspheming because they refuse to believe in the communion of saints?" Catholics, in general, do not point fingers in this manner. However, I see a half dozen questions a day, at least, asking about why do Catholics practice idolatry, and why do Catholics set Jesus aside in favor of Mary, and aren't Catholics sinning when they pray to dead people, and isn't the Pope the anti-Christ. It sort of makes me wonder who is teaching our protestant brethren about what it means to be Christian.

The Roman Catholic Church, in form if not in name, has endured since the time of the Apostles. We live and worship by the Holy Scriptures, and we cherish the sacred traditions that have been part of Christianity since its earliest days. In all those long years, we have certainly had our periods and our people of whom we are deeply ashamed. We have also had our periods of brilliance and our great saints. Whatever storms the world sends our way, we will weather them, as we always have. The Church will endure in Faith and stand ready to greet her Savior. It is my sincere hope that all Christians, Catholic or not, will stand shoulder to shoulder with us on that day, and that God will judge us all with equal mercy.

Answer 6

Thank you! We Catholics, as believers in Jesus Christ and EVERYTHING He said (including John 6:51-...) are Christians (the first Christians, I might add, who still possess the "keys to the kingdom" given by Christ Himself). If anything, other branches of Christianity are false, because, as someone so eloquently said, teaming up against Catholics is their only unifying factor. Wow - there's something to base your life on.

Answer 7

Yes, she is called that, but it has nothing to do with the verses in Jeremiah. It is pure logic. In a Davidic kingdom (of which Jesus was of course in that lineage), because originally the king had many wives, it was the mother of the king who was given the title of queen. This allowed those polygamist kings the ability to keep from playing favorites since otherwise he would have to pick one wife out of many to be queen. This tradition continued long after polygamy ended, and the Church follows that tradition on through the Davidic lineage all the way to Jesus. And since Jesus is the king of heaven, and Mary is his mother, she is logically the queen of heaven. It is important to understand that the title ascribes her no power and is of no relation, except in name, to the verses in Jeremiah.

Answer 8

Orthodoxy was the first church and Roman Catholic split off from there. What traditions,etc that Orthodox and Roman Catholic do are actually in the Bible. I was surprised, though I should not have been, recently when the Pope said that only Roman Catholics are right, Orthodox are defective, and no other churches are valid. The Pope is not God even though he acts like it.

Answer 9

Good News for Every Catholic: by Lyle P. Murphy...

It isn't rude, hateful, condeming, etc. It specifically focuses on the Roman Catholic faith and the contradictions of the Catholic faith against the Bible.

I personally refuse to condem anyone to hell, that's not my job.

Answer 10

The Pope says they're the One True Faith. Works for me.