Hi, I'm a noob and I am new to Jesus Christ and I want to believe but I don't know. what's the difference between Catholic, Christian, Lutheran? and is there anymore? What else is there and how are they different? Thanks.
For those who say Jesus don't exist or making up BS about what I asked because you don't believe him. Dude, just grow up and stop obsessing about what other people have chosen to believe.
2007-09-27 17:37:11 · 39 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
To be a "Christian" merely means that you follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. It does not mean you have to belong to a specific church or denomination.
However, should you feel inclined, there are many to choose from. Most choose a denomination where they feel they have the most in common.
Catholics believe that the "Pope" is Jesus Christ's representative on earth, and they look to him and cardinal law to dictate a great deal of what they believe. In the early years of the catholic church, they worshipped on Saturday, but later changed it to Sunday. They also adopted pagan festivals and turned them into so called Christian ones (hence where we get Christmas, Easter, etc.).
They are heavy on guilt, confessions and believe in Saint's, pergatory, etc.
Lutheran's aren't a great deal different. They don't look to the Pope for divine authority, but they do believe most everything else, save for perhaps a few minor differences here and there. In fact, you may well find that a great deal of denominations essentially believe the same thing with just a few differences (babtism, speaking in tongues, role of the woman), etc.
My recommendation?
STUDY ON YOUR OWN!
Read the Bible and decide for yourself what it believes. Don't look for a human being to tell you what to believe. Think for yourself! Read and study and when you have questions, ask not one pastor but several! You may find conflicting opinions. Work them through logically. Don't take anything on just blind faith! The Bible does make sense if you read it properly. Get a Strong's concordance and look up words in their original language to get a better example of the context.
Good luck! And no matter what you choose to believe, may God guide you in journey.
2007-09-27 17:44:36 · answer #1 · answered by hrgirl1701 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
First off...good stand against those that say Jesus doesnt exist!
Now..we have a character-keystroke limit on how long our answers can be, so I want to leave you with this...the difference between Lutheran, methodist, presbyterian, baptist, pentacostal families (assembly of God) are doctrinal differences, not theology...
what I would do, is start with finding a church you feel comfortable in sitting through their worship....many times the worship is a big difference....next...and this is important..find a church in which the preacher starts by saying "now turn your bibles to...." because this is a church that places a high importance on the Bible... which is at the basics...a love letter from God, a message of hope and so much more.
Look...I'll promise you this...I won't advocate any one particular denomination...not going to be a "come join mine!" answer person...but I will be happy to discuss with you the differences between the many. I was once an atheist, and even after accepting Christ, (newbie), it took me near 4 years to find where I felt I should be. I'd be more than happy to walk with you during this time of discovery, because there is so much to learn and participate in! Remember, email stamps are free!
† Traveling Prayer Warrior †
2007-09-28 14:41:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your question is a lot larger than you may think. Catholicism and Lutheranism are some what similar. Martin Luther during a dark time of Catholicism realized you are saved by faith not works. Catholics at the time were buying penances (paying to get out of purgatory) for their family and friends who died. At this time the bible was not available for everyone. If memory serves Latin was the only language the bible was written in at the time. Priest would share parts of the bible with they parishes and that's all the people new.
Christian in its raw form is supposed to mean Christ like. Somewhere along the line I think people may have converted its meaning. I have been to a few church buildings trying to figure who had beliefs like I did. I learned something during that time. Its not about what I believe but what God said (Hard fact to learn). Visit some churches, find some people who are not legalistic or to mystical, but grounded in basic scripture. Understand people are human and make mistakes, don't be do judgmental with us. God wants us to fellowship together and help each other. Remember the church is the people not the building. I am sure you already new that though.
2007-09-27 17:56:28 · answer #3 · answered by kitkat 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
ddldave, I'm certainly very sorry that no one here is being of much help to you. (For one, I've never seen as much misinformation about the Lutheran faith as I have here. I thought they should be properly represented. For the record, however, that story of Martin Luther is pretty accurate.) If you are longing for some objectivity about what Christianity is (rather than a bunch of opinions), I highly recommend learning about the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
You say that you want to believe. This means that the Holy Spirit has worked faith in you through something written or spoken to you from the Bible. You've probably been told the general Law (that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness) & the general Gospel (that you have a Savior Jesus Christ who died to forgive your sins & grant you eternal life). Is that correct?
Have you received Holy Baptism? Holy Baptism is a water baptism which is connected with Christ's words, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) teaches that it is God who establishes & maintains a personal relationship with a believer through His chosen means of grace: Word (The Bible:Law & Gospel) & Sacrament (Holy Baptism & Holy Communion), rather than the person who establishes & maintains the relationship. Why does this matter? The definition of grace is that nothing is required of the person receiving it. If this personal relationship is something humans do, grace has been turned into a work & is no longer grace.
When we read, study or hear the Bible it is God speaking to us, not us to Him; when we receive Holy Baptism it is God accomplishing the work of forgiveness of sins & sonship, not us; when we receive Holy Communion, it is again God who forgives us through Jesus' body & blood, not us.
If you would like to receive Holy Baptism, if you want to wait, or if you already have (& just learn about the Lutheran faith & other denominations) I highly suggest you try to find an LCMS Lutheran pastor near you. He will be a great resource for you in any of these cases. Before receiving Holy Baptism &/or Holy Communion, you will be instructed in all the essentials of the Christian faith through the use of Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. Many of your questions about Christianity, the Lutheran faith & other denominations can be answered by the pastor as well during this time. If you do not accept the things taught therein, you will not be coerced into receiving Holy Baptism (or if you are already baptized you will not be coerced to join the church).
Below are links to some 2 pg. pamphlets teaching you about the Lutheran faith. Luther's Small Catechism (without explanation) is available online as are the entire original Lutheran Confessions (don't worry too much about all that right now, many Lutheran laypeople don't even know the details of these longer documents).
Another good resource for a new Christian is a book titled *The Spirituality of the Cross* by Dr. Gene Edward Veith Jr. He has navigated through many belief systems himself to find true & lasting spirituality in the Lutheran Church.
2007-09-28 11:22:22 · answer #4 · answered by Sakurachan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Almost none of these people are Catholic. Not Oremus either. You can begin your study with prayer. You should study as much as you can. Find a Catholic church and Google some good catholic websites. Catholic answers dot com is a pretty good one. The EWTN catholic bookstore is a good place to find some excellent books. Also a good place to download some great talks and audio materials. Try logging on to the Bible Christian Society's website. It is very informative as well. Keep in mind that Christ didn't intend for there to be two truths. There is only one truth. Most of these answers are from people that believe that truth is up to the interpreter. It is not. There is only one truth and one Church that teaches it in its most complete form.
2007-09-27 20:25:28 · answer #5 · answered by Helo, its me. 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I am assuming by "noob" you mean newbie?
Hi back -
The Catholic Church teaches things contrary to the Word of God in the Bible. The Lutheran is a Protestant denomination of the Christian church.
I prefer non-denominational churches.
The very best thing you can do is read and study for yourself.
Read and Study the Bible.
If you want to compare what the catholic church teaches with what the Bible says, here is a web site that will help.
http://www.reachingcatholics.org/
If you would like help with Bible study, email me.
Sincerely - Redeemed
2007-09-27 18:05:22 · answer #6 · answered by redeemed 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Why not just try being a Christian without tagging a name onto it. Denominationalism is the biggest thing that the devil have going for him today. With the Catholic fighting the Lutheran and the Lutheran fighting the Baptist and the Baptist fighting the Church of Christ, and so on and so on and so on, all satan has to do is set back and count the souls that slide into hell and laugh in the face of God while we so call Christians are helping him with our fussing and fighting. One day we will have to stand and tell God why.
2007-09-28 09:09:41 · answer #7 · answered by PREACHER'S WIFE 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It would take a long time to explain all the Protestant heresies (direct falsehoods regarding religion) but all "Christian" groups that are not Catholic are composed of heresies.
Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church while here on earth. All the apostles were bishops and of course priests. St. Peter was the first pope, "On this rock, I shall place my Church". All the Christian martyrs were Catholics. It wasn't until Luther came around that the first Protestant Church began. All the "Christian" churches that are not Catholic were started by men, not Our Lord. They are false and cannot lead to heaven.
The difficult thing in this is that most "Catholic" churches are no longer Catholic because with Vatican II (a council held in the 1960s) much of the Church was lead astray by Protestants and Masons that had crept up into positions of authority within the Church in hopes of destroying it from within. The last five "popes" have not been popes. They are heretics and teach things directly contradictory to what Jesus taught us. They have made the Church look ridiculous with scandal and wishy-washy ideals and morals.
The real Catholic Church is found throughout the world in small pockets where the latin mass is said and pre-1960s Catholicism is followed. I'm sorry. I realize how confusing this sounds. message me if you'd like any more info. Sorry if I bored you! :)
Take care and may the Lord help you find your way to the truth.
2007-09-27 17:55:01 · answer #8 · answered by oremus_fratres 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Christianity is a religion that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. It has many branches, like Roman Catholicism, Anglican (Church of England), Lutheran, and among others, though different interpretation of the life and death and lessons of Jesus Christ.
So if finding Jesus is a serious business for you, then I suggest to follow your heart and make up your mind on what religion you will lay your faith with.
2007-09-27 17:45:32 · answer #9 · answered by nobody 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
hi, it's really cool that you are considering Jesus as savior. I haev no idea what does the Lutherans are, but the difference between Catholic and Christians is mostly that Catholics believe more in the Saints and the Virgin Mary who was Jesus's mom on earth and Christians do not. Catholics believes in doing good deed and Christians relay solemly on God's holy blood to wash away our sins. Catholics do baptism when a baby is born and Christians make their own choices of baptism.
i'm not 100% sure on the differences but i'm pretty positive i got it right.
2007-09-27 17:44:04 · answer #10 · answered by jen 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋