What do Protestants think of Catholicism?

Answer 1

I remember reading Pope Benedict XV said "Our similarities outweigh our differences". I would agree with that.

However, those small differences are still fundamental enough to keep me away from the Catholic Church. Specifically, the prayers to the saints and Mary, the preaching of Purgatory, and the whole idea of Indulgences.

All those are non-biblical and destructive.

I would love to join the Catholic Church and be a part of their history but, until they come back to the orthodoxy of Christianity, I'll remain a Protestant.

Answer 2

Protestants is a rather broad brush. Do you mean Southern Baptists? Methodists? Lutherans? Episcopalians? Unitarians?

The idea being you shouldn't suggest all of any group of people (especially a "group" that isn't really the same) all believe the same thing.

That being said I can tell you that years ago the Church of Christ taught that the Pope was an "antichrist". Southern Baptists often teach similar things. At best most protestant denominations believe the Catholic church has it wrong in emphasisizing:
1) Mary - she is Jesus' mother but not quite as big a focal point to protestants.
2) Priestly intercession with God - Protestants typically believe that individuals have their own relationship with God and do not need intermediaries to come to him.

Of course you have very different dogma even there. e.g. Jehovah's Witnessess believe the "elect" have already been selected and nothing you do has any impact on whether you go to heaven or not. Mormons have The Book of Mormon with a focus on "Latter Day Saints" and revelations to Joseph Smith.

Having said all that by and large in the U.S. at least Protestants and Catholics get along fine even if they disagree with each other. Don't confuse fundamentalists nut jobs with the mainstream even if they are more vocal.

P.S. I'm not a Christian - just giving you the viewpoints I've seen at times I did go to churches.

Answer 3

For openers, not all Protestants agree.

Some believe the Catholic church is just another Christian denomination of believers that have a particular way they like to practice their faith.

Some believe the Catholic church has okay theology, but has several things they shouldn't be doing, like praying to Mary. Although, overall they think the average Catholic is a Christian is going to heaven.

Some believe the Catholic church is a non-Christian cult and the the members are not saved and will perish in hell if they don't "come out" of the church and become born again.

Some have no opinion.

Pretty much sums it up.

Answer 4

It depends upon who the Protestants are. If they come from Ireland or Scotland then they probably have a very negative view of Catholicism based not only upon their disagreements with the office of the Pope, the exaltation of Mary beyond Scriptural boundaries, and the traditions of the church of Rome that are given the same weight as the Word of God but also because of the historical persecution that Protestants in those countries suffered.

If they are American Protestants they probably are more concerned with the doctrines of the church of Rome and will say that some Catholics are saved but they are in a corrupt system.

Answer 5

To be fair, if ANYONE looks at the definitions of the word 'CULT', they will see that we could all be considered to be in a cult.

Cult
noun
1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
–adjective
9. of or pertaining to a cult.
10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cult

As far as what I see in Roman Catholicism:
1) If a Roman Catholic manages to keep their focus on Christ as being the way for salvation, they can be as saved as any of us.

2) Roman Catholicism, as I see it, teaches many things which are contrary to the meanings in the Bible, and therefore teach many things which are contrary to trusting God through Jesus Christ.

3) It is possible to be Roman Catholic and be saved.

4) There are the lost in churches whether the focus is the Roman Catholic Church or the Protestant churches.

5) God's grace may be able to get past the erroneous doctrines of the Roman Catholic Churches. That's why I think that there are some in the Roman Catholic Church who are saved.

6) Catholicism is typically portrayed by Roman Catholics here on Yahoo!Answers as selling their church, not Jesus Christ. Their focus is on exalting the Roman Catholic Church rather than preaching the Gospel. I find this horrible! It is perhaps the greatest reason on why to reject them as being what they call 'The True Church'. By turning their backs on the Gospel message they make themselves seem less than what Christ would have wanted the church to be.

Answer 6

I'm neither Protestant nor catholic. However, I at one time was catholic. My comments are not base on "I think" or "I feel". I would rather that the Word of God speak for itself on this matter.

For the record, I'm a Independent Fundamental Baptist. I also use to be a Southern Baptist. None of the Baptist came out of the vatican or the Church of England. Therefore, we are not Protestants.

Base on the Word of God and the Word of God alone (AV1611), the catholic church is not Christian. Besides the Bible, there are "many" books written by former catholic's that clearly show that the vatican is not Christian.

The Apocrypha vs. The Word of God

The Apocrypha was written solely on the behalf of the vatican. It has nothing what so ever to do with God's Word. When refering to the Apocrypha always remember John 8:44. And here's why:

Find one that was written during the day's of Christopher Columbus.

It's a common known fact that land vs. water is 30-70. We also know that God doesn't lie. Refer to John 17:17.

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

The Word of God clearly states what He "will do to anyone" that adds or deletes from His Word in Revelation 22:18-19.

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

Remember in 2 Peter 1:20-21 were it reads "...no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." Remember that the vatican has sole ownership of the Apocrypha.

Apocrypha reads that land vs. water is 50-50. As I stated, remember John 8:44

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

And this is just one issue.

Answer 7

This Protestant looks at Catholicism's theology as sound enough in describing itself as the bride of Christ, but I believe that it goes too far in its assumption of its own holiness. Catholics believe that heaven can be attained through a sufficiently holy life -- use of the sacraments, indulgences, adoration of the Saints, baptism of babies to remove original sin, etc. and therefore able, through the dispensation of merits, to attain eternal life this way. I think they have a point. Those who love Christ do go to church, they do subject themselves to its authority. And to be fair, many Protestants believe that, below the age of reason, children can also attain heaven by means of unaccountability. And some even believe that those who cannot make a decision for Christ due to complete lack of knowledge of God throughout their lives, will be able to make a choice after death.

This Protestant says no, not true. Catholics are correct in their doctrine of original sin, but it is not wiped out in baptism, it is not covered up in confession and indulgences and things that man does to "save himself." It is not covered up in union with the bride of Christ, because the bride of Christ is a collection of sinners -- justified by faith, but not yet glorified. EVERYONE stands in need of a Savior, and that Savior alone is the one who brings us back into fellowship with God, lost through Adam, regained by Jesus Christ.

Answer 8

It was the mother church before the Reformation. When Luther was excommunicated, he took the best parts of Catholosism with him and the Lutheran church was formed.

We still have private confession, although only if you wish, not required. We believe in the true presence in the word, the waters of baptism, and the Lord's supper. We profess the same three creeds: Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian.

Do I agree with everything they do? No way! But as I Lutheran I have much more in common with Catholics than I do many Protestants.

Answer 9

I'm a Protestant, and I think they're Christians, just like me. Isn't it good sense to look at the similarities, rather than to pick apart the differences? After all, what are the first two words in the prayer Christ gave us? It says 'Our Father'. To me, it's all-inclusive. Nobody's left out. Makes sense to me.

Answer 10

Catholicism teaches a false gospel of works that leads to eternal hell (Galatians 1).

Catholicism is a pagan cult that originated with Contantine in the 300's AD. He took his pagan beliefs and added a few out of context Chrisitan ideas to them. Catholicism is not Biblical Christianity, and it never was.