Why do protestants always badmouth catholics and not vice versa?

Question

I'm searching for the right Christian religion for my life. I've searched catholism and alot of protestant denominations.

each time I go to protestant denomination, they're always agains the catholics. whenever I go to the catholics, they never badmouth any other religion, instead they teach me samples of their beliefs. Weren't the catholics the first Christians?

Answer 1

That is the job of the protestants ..... they protest against everything, including fellow protestants.

Answer 2

Shawn,

Last question first. No, the first Christians were born and raised Jewish but trusted Jesus Christ as Messiah, Savior, and Lord. The Gospels and the book of Acts share that story. The term "catholic", meaning worldwide or universal, didn't seem to be used much for many years. So no, the first Christians weren't catholics.

As for the badmouthing, yes, there has been a lot of that from both sides. Part of this is based on misinformation and some on miscommunication, but the truth is that there are some major differences in belief among the denominations. Sadly, there is not one church or denomination that completely follows the teachings of the New Testament. Some come close, to be fair, and some are, well, not even close.

Before you make a decision, please take a deeper look into what the denominations actually believe. I know for a fact that there are some denominations that flat-out say "unless you join us, you don't have a hope of Heaven", etc., etc. Some denominations have a catechism, or program of instruction, that should lead you into their specific belief system. Several Christian bookstores (maybe even Barnes & Noble, etc) have sold these in the past; some still do. Read and heed, then see how they compare to the Bible. I hope you are reading your Bible regularly.

(Friends, this post is not, repeat NOT, intended as a bash or rant against any church or denomination. Please do not interpret this as a rant or bash or anything else.)

Finally, the best Christian faith, for you, is the one that preaches the Bible regularly and explains it to you so that you can understand it. (I've listened to a few sermons that I had no idea what the preacher was talking about!!) Sample several and pray--God will lead you to the right place. And don't hesitate to ask questions, as there are many of us who will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Answer 3

Just to get things straight, yes, Catholics are the first Christians. People who worship Jesus start to be called "Christians" in Antiokhia, at the time when the apostle's still alive and the church they go to are called "Catholic".

I've seen Catholics who badmouthed Protestants and vice versa. Catholic christians, as all other christians and non christians, are flawed, but that doesn't mean that one should judge the Catholic faith by the flaws of its followers. The best way to know why (most) Catholics won't badmouth Protestants is to study the Catholic doctrines. You will see there that Catholic church view is that salvation may come from other churches as they also draw people to Jesus, although the Church can't confirm anything because Catholics believe they are the only one who receive the fullness of grace and truth from God.

In other words, the Catholics doesn't badmouth Protestants because they believe that being right doesn't mean demeaning other faith, thus Catholics simply has nothing to prove!

Answer 4

Have you ever heard about all the fighting in Northern Ireland between the Protestants and Catholics? I'm pretty sure both denominations have badmouthed eachother. I'm also pretty sure they've killed each other. How's that for Christian love? Religion corrupts some people into believing that they are justified in taking another's life, and that's no belief system that I'd wish to be a part of. It doesn't matter what you choose, because in someplace at sometime, all religions have been used to justify "UnGodly" actions, thus making them all hypocritical.

Answer 5

Yes. And I believe it was King Henry the 8th who started the Protestant religion because the Catholic Church would not allow him to divorce his wife (can't recall which number she was)... After that in Europe the two religions were constantly fighting each other, though I think the Catholic Church decided it wasn't worth it so they did a turn about and started respecting other beliefs... Don't think the Protestants have yet though.

Answer 6

Catholism as a matter of fact was the first Christian religion, it is said that it was founded by one of Jesus' disciples, Peter; now your question is about who badmouths who, and let me tell you that ALL religions badmouth the others, WHY? because it is a business!!!, if you go to the Baptist church you will be leaving your money to that church, if you go Catholic, same thing!, any way you turn will be the same BS, that's why all of them say they have the truth, but guess what? when you die, you won't face the almighty, you won't be judged for your sins, you'll rotten in a box and you'll go back to earth as dust.

So, my friend, the best advise I can give you is this: ENJOY YOUR LIFE, DON'T FOLLOW AN HIPOCRITE TELLING YOU HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE, if you want to believe in God, do it, but do it in your heart, not in a Church, and leave your money in your pocket, not in Brother John's pocket... AMEN!

Answer 7

I don't think it's fair to say that Protestants always badmouth catholics.

Protestants are catholic anyway. "Catholic" just means "worldwide." If you are referring to Roman Catholics, it is not fair to say that Protestants always badmouth Roman Catholics either.

Roman Catholics were not the first Christians. The first Christians were Jewish people, who believed that Christianity was only for Jews.

There was then a division between the Orthodox Christian Church (still in Greece and Russia), and the Roman Catholic church.

There was a division in the Roman Catholic church a bit later, when the headquarters of the Roman Catholic church was actually in Avignon France for a while.

I regret that some of the Protestant denominations are fundamentalist, and they think that everyone is wrong but them.

Most ordinary Christians, whether Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, or Protestant have a tolerant and accepting attitude to members of other denominations.

Answer 8

A Roman Catholic would not last ten minutes in an honest debate with a Bible-believing Protestant.

Experience has taught them, as it has taught The Jehovah's Witnesses, that if they allow their kids to enageg in grown-up battle, they lose them!

By putting on a friendly demeanor, they are able to lure in and obtain tolerance from weak lazy Protestant Christians- many of whom think that the Popes are HOLY men of God!

Answer 9

Catholics are just as guilty of "bashing" the other Christian Faiths . If not more . In America it may be a little different but In Eastern Europe, Catholics have gone to the extent of Martyring Orthodox Clergy in Poland( St. Maxim Sandovich) . And recently Pope Benedict refereed to the Orthodox Churches(Russian Greek, Serbian and ETC) as "DEFECTIVE" in the summer of 2007 .
The Major Point it is not that the Catholics don't badmouth other faiths, They are Just as Guilty as anyone else . They lose sight of Christ's teachings and fall in to the "I am better than you" mentality

Answer 10

I'm Catholic, and we trace the apostolic succession clear back to Pope St. Peter. It's harder to get much earlier than that as far as Christianity is concerned.

Speaking purely for myself, I love my church and am secure in my faith. I don't feel the need to badmouth anybody else's religion or denigrate what they believe.

Answer 11

I'm truly not taking sides here, being neither Catholic or Protestant. Just looking at the history books.

Because Protestants are the rebellious children of the Catholic church and, like normal rebellious children, are still bad mouthing their parent.