Catholic, Christian

Does anyone have a good reason why Catholics are often seperated from Christianity when labeling someones beliefs?

I mean, do they love Christ any less than say a Baptist?

Oh, and for the record, Catholic doesn't equal Roman Catholic, which is another one of my pet peeve assumptions...

 

Its because the Roman Catholic Church has a nasty history of persecuting folks that don't agree with them. ie Spanish Iquisition, St. Bart's Day Massacre, persecution of the Waldenses and Albegenses etc etc....


The Catholic Church puts mans tradition above the word of God.

 

It's because some Christians think they are the be all and end all of the Christian experience. For some reason they are the same guys running around taking sides in the Israel/Lebanon conflict. Why or what Catholicism and Middle East affairs are so important to them I have no idea.

 

Ummm, didn't you see the "by the way" where i said that Catholic doesn't always mean Roman Catholic. Anglicans are catholic, so are Lutherans.

Heck, depending on your view, all Christians are catholic because we are a part of the body of Christ although we believe slightly different things.

 

Protestantism has always tried to seperate itself from Catholicism - remember it is a reformed catholicism and they have never been fond of the church. The seperation is entirely a product of their history.

Roman Catholic or Catholic is generally a moot point to a protestant, so is whether they still hold grudges about past persecutions. Protestants reformed the doctrine of the church because they disagreed with it, and that still hasn't changed today - they still disagree with much of it. They don't see it as practicing christianity the way christ wanted.

 

No one should be labeled or separated. A Catholic's love and devotion to Christ are no less than the love and devotion of a protestant. If one loves Christ, it will be manifest in that life; and it will be recognizable and identifiable in the lives of all others who share that love.

Yeah, Catholics have gotten a bad rep: but no more so than the rep of human-kind. Here is the overlooked thing about the word 'Catholic':

Catholic means 'Universal'.

 

Protestants that I know have a problem with catholicism because catholics use mary magdaline to get to god rather than solely going through jesus. That's how I've heard it put, at least.

I've also heard them ranting about how catholocism requires duties to god such as confessionals and all these things, while the bible states that one must only accept the gospel to be saved.

 

No...Catholics respect Mary, the mother of Jesus...that's whom the prayers are for...not Mary Magdaline...though Mary Magdaline was a cool lady...because she was full of beautiful devotion.

I grew up Catholic and I never understood that...because kids would ask me in school, "What religion are you?" and I'd say Catholic. And I say you? They'd say Christian...and I'd say...well so am I and I was told no. And I guess I never saw what the big deal is...its all loving Jesus...Commander Dander said it pretty well.

There are cultural differences...and that's different sects...but they're all based in the same person...right? ::shrug::

 

So all this praying to the different saints and important people isnt taking any attention away from the most popular figure of western culture? Are you so sure?

Around here, protestants believe that jesus is the one and only figure to recieve credit.

 

Probably because the Roman Catholic church is so large, bigger then the main protestant churches and Orthodox churches put together, and having the Pope as one sole leader is quite different then those.

However, people that say Christian or Catholic are just retarded about their religion. It's basically like saying "Are you Russian Orthodox, or Christian?"

 

Protestants too have done their share of persecuting - for example during the reign of Henry VIII in england.

 

How about God the Father? And without intermediaries such as saints, how would we know anything at all about Jesus? He didn't write the Bible, it was written by others now designated saints.

My view is that the reformation threw the baby out with the bathwater, and has now lead to a sterile and narrow religion which often has no real connection with God.

Thing is though WhisperingWoods, if you think catholics rely on mary magdelene you obviously know very little of catholicism. Maybe it would be better to find out some actual facts before criticizing,

 

The old Catholic-Protestant thing...they co-exist peacefully here in the U.S. south, but every now and then you hear disparaging comments, almost always from the evangelical Protestant side. These centuries-old conflicts do endure below the surface here, though now it takes the form of sharp doctrinal differences rather than outright warfare.

Bill, regarding Catholicism...it's intellectually restrictive, but in comparison to Protestantism immensely colorful and alive, with a strong mystical element still active, and the oldest tradition of artistic and architectural greatness in the western world.

The evangelical Protestants here in America seem to be bent on crushing every mystical and intuitive truth and any remaining spirit of inquiry out of Christianity, and replacing it with a book-religion that is as dry and joyless as dinosaur bones...kind of a spiritual version of Orwell's 1984.

 

Ahha, that is great

 

It is my impression (as someone who has only read about such things and hasn't studied them...yet) that you do not pray to the saints, but respect them, and use them as models that you CAN live a Christ-like life and that because they are in heaven you can ask them to pray or you.

 

As someone who spent 12 years of my childhood attending baptist church three times a week, I couldn't agree with you more.

 

::nods:: Yes...its something more like that. You respect them as enlightened beings...people who lived a real Christian life and people to look up to (like Mother Theresa...what an amazing woman!). Many people to pray to the saints...but mostly to pray for one...

 

I didn't have it nearly that rough...two years of Episcopal gradeschool and Sunday church through midteens. Mainstream Christianity wasn't nearly as strident and not at all politically charged in the 1950s and 60s, like it is now. My main exposure to this new style of Protestantism has been through relatives, friends, college, workplaces, etc., and now online.

 

Hey before you people jump on me, let me point out that I was stating VIEWS of OTHER PEOPLE from AROUND HERE when talking about mary. Fuck. Can't you read? No, I don't care about catholicism or christianity, I was merely helping to explain--whether they're right or wrong--views from the other side of the table. Views.

 

those cant be views. because no matter how much you believe that catholics pray to mary magdaline, your wrong. catholics think she was a whore just like protestants. its not an opinion thing. its a fact