What's the difference between a Catholic and a Protestant Christian?

Question

What's the difference bewteen a Catholic and a Protestant Christian?
thanks!

Answer 1

Way toooooooo much to explain here. Talk to a priest

To malcom:
protestants have done maaaany bad things themselves. The point is that here many people loath the Catholic Church and try to make it look bad, whereas look to the other side regarding the protestants.
To fit in this country you must be WASP ( white Anglo Saxon protestant )

To edge:
You may add that in spite of that, protestants use the Bible like a convenience store. They take what they like and leave what they don't. They customize God.
You find a hundred different protestant denominations with a hundred different interpretations of their own of the Bible

Answer 2

Pastor Billy says: short answer is... Catholicism is the whole of Christendom and Christian thought and faith. It is a prefigurement of the Godly kingdom to come hence the fidelity to the Church by all Catholics. It contains and preserves the entirety of God's revelation. Protestant on the other hand only does so in part and is a disobedient reaction to God's authority in his original Church.

Don't let propagandists fool you the Christian bible is in truth a Catholic book and given no less respect by Catholics who have preserved and protected it, who have copied the original text and maintained the original interpretation whether or not used by non-Catholic Protestants this day

Answer 3

There is fertile ground for discussion, but you'll mostly find vociferous musings here on Y!A.

Most Christians (Catholic or Protestant) can find common ground in the phrase "Sola Gratia, Sola Christus" - Grace alone, Christ alone. For Catholics, salvation is primarily through faith, which comes through grace but needs works to sustain and edify it. For Protestants, generally salvation comes through faith, which is a gift of grace and allows someone to do good works. In practical terms, you won't see much difference in what a faithful Catholic does and what a faithful Protestant does.

The single largest points of contention for Protestants are over Mary, the saints, and the Pope. In all my conversations with non-Catholics, they seem to put more emphasis on these three than most Catholics do. Mary and the saints are revered in the Catholic Church, but not worshipped, although many non-Catholics considered such reverence to be equal to worship. Many non-Catholics think that the Pope has absolute authority over Catholics, whereas most Catholics see the teachings of the Papal office as inferior to Scripture and Tradition.

And then there's Tradition, a somewhat amorphous body of beliefs that effectively refers to everything that isn't verbatim from Scripture. Catholics aren't the only ones who adhere to Tradition (though no Protestant would admit it). For instance, the Trinity is inferred from Scripture, and is believed by Catholics (and other Orthodox branches), as well as most Reform branches, but not by all Evangelical ones. Rhetorically, Catholics generally argue that Tradition refers mostly to the teachings of the Early Church that weren't passed down in Scripture (since Scripture only includes written documents believed to have been authored by Apostles, and so neglects ecclesial issues such as whether to assemble in churches, what vestments to wear, how celebrations should be laid out, etc) as well as cultural affectations. Protestants will sometimes accuse Tradition of being an excuse to hold anything that looks "pagan" - such as the use of candles or the celebration of Feast Days.

There is also a difference in treatment of baptism - Catholics and some Protestants (particularly Reform) see baptism as a necessity for salvation, an act that is purely a gift from the Lord, and therefore is just as valid on infants as on persons of the age of reason. Some Protestants (particularly Evangelical) see baptism as the outward sign of inward faith, and thus it is a mere symbol a not needed for salvation.

The treatment of Communion also presents some differences. Catholics see it as the Eucharist, and take literally the teachings in John 5, that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ, a re-presentation of his Sacrifice, and necessary for salvation. Lutherans (a Reform branch) see it similarly but not to the extent Catholics do. Other Reform branches generally see it as mere symbol. Most Evangelical branches see it as unnecessary, and some see it as a mocking of Jesus' teachings.

The point is, where theological and ecclesial distance varies, we are all seeking Christ, and this is easiest done when we put self-righteousness and contention behind and approach one another in love as siblings in Christ.

Answer 4

Protestants claim to believe only what they find written in the bible, and they believe that salvation is obtained by faith alone.

Catholics claim that Jesus remains the head of the Catholic church, that the Holy Spirit remains actively engaged in guiding the Catholic church from age to age, and that God saves us, by his grace, because he loves us.

Answer 5

The first one is all about tradition. They falsely believe you have to hail mary your way out of a sin with a priest, but all you have to do is go to God and confess your sin!! Also, the Catholic church has a pope who tells them what to do. There are too many different Protestant faiths to compare then to the Catholic church, but those are the two main ones. Don't pay attention to the answers that tell you the Catholic church is the only true one, that's bogus.

Answer 6

One of the major differences is that the Roman Church teaches that salvation cannot be guaranteed or assured by faith alone but requires additional works (baptism and sacraments). However, the Protestant Church believes that salvation is assured by faith alone (' ... these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life -1 John 5:13)

Answer 7

that is reflected in the story of the tower of babylon....

and satan( this is a human) said to humans I see the blind spot in nature... I could deliver onto the human race eternal life.. and the humans said yes... and he worked at manipulating nature, but nature does not allow for eternal life and when the humans continued dying they complained and the man said it is after your life that I have found a way ... for he knew he'd never have to prove it... this is heaven through the catholic church... it is symbolic in the bible as the tower of babylon.. and mother nature came and gave the truth onto humanity and they discovered that what had become known as god was actually a man and other men said we could do the same.. and they battled... and they began their own religions ... nature was battling at the same time for religions register as faulty in the information emitted through the bodies of humans... so that all these religions didn't understand one another and battled one another for the sake of the men who created them... Eventually the first one who had more experience and information would manipulate them all... that is why it is said that Satan shall be called god of the earth...

Answer 8

A catholic follows one doctrine passed down.

A protestant follows whatever his / her pastor says. There are no one doctrine for protestant, each denomination has their own interpretation and two protestants can conflict each other.

Answer 9

Protestants believe in the Bible alone. Catholics believe tradition is equal to the Bible. That is the basis of all differences.

Answer 10

Protestants believe in the authority of God's inspired word - The Bible.
Catholics believe in the authority of the "traditions" handed down from the forefathers - Popes.