Catholicism Vs. Christianity How do they differ?

[linzy 0]

I have always wondered why they were so different. It seems like Christian and Catholic beliefs are nearly exactly alike, but I know there must be some differences. Does anyone know the facts?That is interesting. I have also heard that Catholics believe in Purgatory, which is not something Christians believe in. Is that true? Edited April 9, 2012 by moderator (see edit history)

[ree 0]

I have always wondered why they were so different. It seems like Christian and Catholic beliefs are nearly exactly alike, but I know there must be some differences. Does anyone know the facts?

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My brother is a Christian... but we were raised Catholic. one thing i do know according to Him is, He "Doesnt" believe in Saints at all.. where on the other hand (Catholics "Do") ... i myself am a mixture of just about all* of the religions. i believe that, there is a "Supreme Being" no matter what *ever* you want to call Him/Her

[ree 0]

That is interesting. I have also heard that Catholics believe in Purgatory, which is not something Christians believe in. Is that true?

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hi linz actually i dont know about that..i know that Catholics "Do" believe in Purgatory!! but am not sure if Christians believe in it.. I (my) opinion "Dont" Christians dont believe in Purgatory. something that has crossed (My) mind was... i (might?) believe that this is Purgatory right here on earth..... BTW..... can i ask you how you got the cute little kitty for your picture? i hope that i am giving you some "insite" on my (Own) Philosphys hehe take care and Hope to keep in contact with you ~luv~ ~~ree~~

[iGuest 3]

I have always wondered why they were so different. It seems like Christian and Catholic beliefs are nearly exactly alike, but I know there must be some differences. Does anyone know the facts?

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Catholics go through a cycle of events in their spiritual lives known as the seven sacraments. Although all Catholics can not partake in each sacrament, the majority receive the Holy Eucharist and are baptized as children. The sacraments are the rites of passage in the Catholic faith. Some of the sacraments require proper preparation and knowledge of the oneâs faith. The seven sacraments include Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and the Holy Orders.

 

Faith ties the people of God together. We are united through our belief in faith. I see the sacraments as the acceptance of faith in God and of our faith. With all the diversity that exists among Godâs people, faith in God and To Chrisitan, Jesus Christ is the being that connects us all as one. He played many roles when he was on this earth and is the incarnation of God. In essence, He is God âinfleshedâ.

 

While he was on the earth, some viewed him as a healer. I believe that receiving reconciliation and the anointing of the sick would require an individual to accept Jesus as the ultimate healer. The Eucharist accepts that Jesus had the ability to turn bread and wine into himself for his people. Receiving the Eucharist is the acceptance of the Last Supper and the symbolic meaning along with it. Jesus Christ is referred to as the anointed. At baptism we are anointed with holy oil to welcome us into the Catholic faith. In confirmation we again, confirm and renew our faith and individually commit to the vows our godparents had spoken for us. Again we are anointed with holy oil, symbolizing the truth of Jesus Christ, the anointed one.

 

The sacraments are a rite of passage among the Christian people. We are all tied to one faith and the sacraments are the links that we tie it all together. Sacraments sometimes required preparation. In preparation of a sacrament, we are taught the underlining faith of Jesus Christ. Through our sacramental practices, we accept and acknowledge the faith of Jesus and who he was. Sacraments bring people of the church together in celebration. These gatherings are common ties among people of faith and their acceptance of God and Jesus.

[Jguy101 0]

Um, I still don't get why the Protestants are called Christians while a whole lotta people don't consider us to be. The Catholic Church was the first Christian church, and was pretty much the only one ('cept for the Orthodox churches) until Luther broke off.

[VisionGraffix 0]

I have always wondered why they were so different. It seems like Christian and Catholic beliefs are nearly exactly alike, but I know there must be some differences. Does anyone know the facts?

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Huh? The Catholic church IS one of the Christian denominations.

 

It would be correct to recognize perhaps four main "branches" of Christianity depending on how you want to group them. The first would be Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox. Some like to group these two together as a single group of related religions. I will call them separate.

 

The next group includes the Protestant churches. These would be those denominations that split away from other churches in protest of things that they saw as wrong in those other religions. Though these churches do have various points on which they disagree, they also tend to have many similar doctrines and practices that come from there related origins. The Lutheran, Methodist, and Anglican churches would be examples of Protestant religions.

 

The next group I will call the Restorationist churches. Unlike the Protestant religions, these churches did not break away from other churches. Nor do they necessarily share a significant body of beliefs beyond the absolute most basic of Christian doctrines. The only thing that relates them is that they all claim that the traditional Christian religions had all gone astray and therefore, did not have the authority act in Gods name. Therefore, the only solution was for God to call a new prophet or prophets with whom He could directly communicate and restore truths lost, correct error that that had crept into Christianity, and/or restore his authority. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Seventh-day Adventists are examples of members of this group.

 

Finally, I will add the Baptists. Personally, I am inclined to call them another Protestant denomination.

 

So, depending on just how you want to group them, we have 3 to 5 major divisions of Christianity. Only the Protestants can really be said to trace their origins back to the Roman Catholic Church. The rest claim to have origins that are independent of any connection to the Catholic Church.

 

The fact of the matter is that each of our religions are branches of the larger group of religions that are collectively know as Christianity. Which one of us is the trunk, the one and only true religion, is a matter that we can debate ad nausium. However, that is outside of the scope of the question and in no way invalidates my answer.

 

VG

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

OK. The title of this post is wrong. CATHOLICS ARE CHRISTIANS. Period. They were the FIRST christians. if anything, it should be Christians vs. Protestants as it makes a lot more sense. Sigh.

[VisionGraffix 0]

if anything, it should be Christians vs. Protestants as it makes a lot more sense.

No.. that doesn't make sense.


VG

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

No.. that doesn't make sense.

VG

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Historically it does. The catholics were the first christians. Then the protestants split off, and then split into more groups. If one of the two groups is going to be referred to as anything other than christian, it should be the protestant groups.

 

There are other reasons as well. The catholic church has a consistent doctrine and theology whereas there are something like 10,000 forms of protestantism. Why should the 10,000 groups be referred to as christian when the first christans are not? That doesn't make sense at all.

 

The best name for this topic would be Catholics vs Protestants.

[l337 Nurse Pedestrian 0]

I was going to say that too, Majestic. So is Baptist, Lutheran and stuff. Catholicism is just a different view on things.

[siddharthacomplex 0]

Don't know all the precise beliefs that differ, but in my estimation it boils down something like this:Ages ago scriptures were written, some of which were later compiled in a book we now know of as the bible.Many people follow these scriptures as a religion, Catholicism being one. Christianity is like the term kleenex, coke, or band aid. It doesn't have to be a specific brand to call it by that name. Within Christianity there are hundreds of denominations, divided from each other almost entirely by their divergent interpretations of scripture.This effectively opposes people against each other, which to me goes against spiritual common sense. Arguing about someone elses description of events 2000 years ago isn't my cup of tea.That said, Jesus sure was a heck of a good guy it seems.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

Actually, its more than that Siddharthacomplex. Catholic doctrine involves more than just the bible. This is actually part of the split between the protestant denominations and the catholic church. The protestant denominations only accept the bible as a source of God's message(or really, their interpretation of the bible). Catholics on the other hand have a 'living tradition' in the form of the papacy and centuries of papal writings and the writings of saints such as St. Augustine.Hilariously enough, much of protestant doctrine actually comes from such catholic saints and such. These views are then justified, sometimes with great difficulty, into protestant theologies.

[Brian1405241474 0]

The title of this topic should be different. Catholics are Christians. There are many different denomination all of which are Christians. and you really can't say anything is a "Christian Belief" because there are so many different denominations each with there own ideas and interpretations of Christianity. So you can't compare Catholic beliefs to "Christian Beliefs."

 

But this Topic is also not about "Christian Beliefs" vs Protestant beliefs, because Linzy wanted to know how catholic beliefs differed from those of other Christians, So I think it should be called

"What makes Catholics unique from other Christians?" or something like that.

 

VisionGraffix explained Christianity best:

Huh? The Catholic church IS one of the Christian denominations.

 

It would be correct to recognize perhaps four main "branches" of Christianity depending on how you want to group them.

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(the the orange arrow at the bottom right of the quote to read his full post. It's really good.)

 

So to answer the original question of this topic: You can't compare Catholic beliefs (or the beliefs of any other Christian denomination) to "Christian Beliefs" because there are so many different variations of Christianity.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

While to some extent I agree Brain, You CAN compare catholic beliefs to 'mainstream protestantism' or even 'evangelical protestantism'. While denominations differ in certain aspects of theology, they also agree on much more, which is why they are all Christian and are all protestant.

[Dizasta 0]

Most Catholics will tell you they are Catholic before they will tell you they are Christian. If you ask a Catholic what his religion is, he will most likely say, "I'm Catholic."If on the other hand you ask him if he is Christian, he will say, something like "Yes, I'm Catholic." It's unbelievable how many times this little hypothesis seems to have worked. Anyway, my point is that Christian people do not, to the best of my knowledge, alienate the Catholic Church - the Catholic Church seems to distinguish itself from the rest.PSI was raised Catholic