Catholicism Vs. Christianity How do they differ?

[siddharthacomplex 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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks, treefrog, i didn't know about papal writings... the saints are on my reading list immeditately.

 

my initial reaction, (although i am wary of these) is that excellent models of life have been written throughout history by members of such a wide variety of faiths that it would be difficult for me to structure myself to a centuries old orthodoxy. i should note, however, that i didn't structure well to high school either.

 

btw, does anyone know if there's truth to this glanced upon rumor of bones being held as relics in the vatican?

 

Good Post

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

CHRISTIANITY

CATHOLICISM

[siddharthacomplex 0]

here's an excerpt from the post i linked above, and again below:

 

A classic example of this is the evolution

of the doctrine of the Trinity.  1st-century Judaic Christianity was

completely unfamiliar with this doctrine.  The belief originated with

the Pauline writings, was only gradually (and with much bloodshed)

accepted throughout the Hellenistic Christian world, and was

'canonized', i.e., accepted as official doctrine, in the year 325, by

way of a majority vote of bishops.  The doctrine was officially

proclaimed by a then-pagan emporer Constantine (who accepted Christian

baptism on his deathbed), and became church/state doctrine.

Good Post

 

religion is such politics it makes me want to sacrifice my lunch.

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

CHRISTIANITY

CATHOLICISM

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[siddharthacomplex 0]

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Very thoughtful post solrac. i appreciate a unified view such as yours.

[siddharthacomplex 0]

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~~

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

no doubt this material earth is as close to purgatory as i wish to imagine!

 

there is definitely evidence that the idea of a torturous afterlife is entirely fictional, beginning with Dante's Inferno.

 

there is also evidence that the words that were translated into 'hell' in the english version of the bible were in fact descriptions of burial sites, with no connotation of punishment, eternal damnation, or judgment in general.

 

although i'm not very well read on this subject, i have come across some who believe purgatory to be a fear tactic designed by the church (keep in mind the times were far different from what they are now, the churchmembers were the ruling class, and were themselves venerated by many to a more 'godly' status).

 

similar to the theory that the more we are convinced of imminent terrorism on the other side of the water, the less we'll pay attention to the indescretions of our own body of government.

 

the way i see it (butchered quote from jesus) 'he who believes in light and resurrection shall never die.'

[siddharthacomplex 0]

Does anyone know the facts?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I. DOCTRINE REGARDING RELICS

 

The teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to the veneration of relics is summed up in a decree of the Council of Trent (Sess. XXV), which enjoins on bishops and other pastors to instruct their flocks that "the holy bodies of holy martyrs and of others now living with Christâwhich bodies were the living members of Christ and 'the temple of the Holy Ghost' (I Cor., vi, 19) and which are by Him to be raised to eternal life and to be glorified are to be venerated by the faithful, for through these [bodies] many benefits are bestowed by God on men, so that they who affirm that veneration and honour are not due to the relics of the saints, or that these and other sacred monuments are uselessly honoured by the faithful, and that the places dedicated to the memories of the saints are in vain visited with the view of obtaining their aid, are wholly to be condemned, as the Church has already long since condemned, and also now condemns them." Further, the council insists that "in the invocation of saints the veneration of relics and the sacred use of images, every superstition shall be removed and all filthy lucre abolished." Again, "the visitation of relics must not be by any perverted into revellings and drunkenness."

quote taken from the catholic encyclopedia

 

I didn't realize catholicism went so far to declare what is and isn't holy for people.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

here's an excerpt from the post i linked above, and again below:

Good Post

 

religion is such politics it makes me want to sacrifice my lunch.

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

CHRISTIANITY

CATHOLICISM

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Funny how "The Truth" was decided by blood and a vote.

[azusadude 0]

what nobody here has mentioned is the fact that catholics put way to much emphasis on humans and not enough on God. For example, they pray to the virgin Mary. Yeah she was a great woman, but that is all she was; a human woman. The Bible states that "thou shalt not have any other gods before you." I would say praying to a human comes dangerously close to breaking that law. However, I am not trying to say Catholics are sinners, thats not my job, but for some reason I get an uneasy feeling whenever I have attended a catholic service. Bottom line love the Lord, live a blameless life, and share God's love with everyone you can and that is all that matters. God doesn't care if you are protestant, non denominational, or whatever denomination you claim in the end its how you lived that will determine whether He says I never knew you or welcome my child. This is my hope for the christian world, put aside your differences and work together as one, it is then and only then that we will see the true power of the church. God bless.

 

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 one’s 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 God’s 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 “infleshed”.

 

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.

1064297420[/snapback]

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

what nobody here has mentioned is the fact that catholics put way to much emphasis on humans and not enough on God.  For example, they pray to the virgin Mary.  Yeah she was a great woman, but that is all she was; a human woman.  The Bible states that "thou shalt not have any other gods before you."  I would say praying to a human comes dangerously close to breaking that law.  However, I am not trying to say Catholics are sinners, thats not my job, but for some reason I get an uneasy feeling whenever I have attended a catholic service.  Bottom line love the Lord, live a blameless life, and share God's love with everyone you can and that is all that matters.  God doesn't care if you are protestant, non denominational, or whatever denomination you claim in the end its how you lived that will determine whether He says I never knew you or welcome my child.  This is my hope for the christian world, put aside your differences and work together as one, it is then and only then that we will see the true power of the church.  God bless.

1064325167[/snapback]

I want to point out that Catholicism is much much older than protestantism, and that its traditions stretch back to almost the time of the main man himself (Jesus), as such, I am more inclined to consider them the authority on such things than you. No offense, but they have been reading, studying, and debating the bible for centuries.

 

Which is not to say I always agree with them, but that is because I am not Christian.

 

In any case, reading the bible and deciding what it means, without a SOLID understanding of the economic, political, and historical events underwhich each section was written, and the similar situation under which the modern bible was put together (not to mention translated), is very shortsighted, in my opinion. Especially when people like to quote it as law. Even if you know the words, unless you know all the stuff above, you don't REALLY know what you are talking about.

 

But that is just my opinion.

[E_CULB 0]

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.

How can the first christians be Catholics? The bible never taught that the early church believed in purgatory, prayed to saints, or deified the virgin Mary. Mary needed Jesus just as much as everyone else on earth. The early church never prayed to a God still hanging on the Cross, so how can the first christians be catholics? Then is was stated the Latter-Day saints were also christians, this is so far from the truth a christian believes that Jesus is God very God. Everything he did on the cross finished the work and there was no need for a man Joseph Smith to fix a fallen church.

[mitchellmckain 0]

I want to point out that Catholicism is much much older than protestantism, and that its traditions stretch back to almost the time of the main man himself (Jesus), as such, I am more inclined to consider them the authority on such things than you. No offense, but they have been reading, studying, and debating the bible for centuries.

 

Well that is certainly what the Catholics would have you believe. But the truth is that birth of Catholicicsm begins with the making of Christianity a state religion, absorbing a lot of the practices of the pagan religions and particularly the practice of forcing everyone to accept a human authority in the place of God so that Christianity could be shaped into a tool of power. With the veneration of Mary the Roman empire could absorb the pagan female deities with a simple change of name and the Catholic church became the universal church for everyone. It was the habit of the roman emperors to use religion as a means of control and power, just as they used entertainment for the same purpose. So it is in the formation of the Catholic church that Karl Marx's accusation finds a seed of truth.

 

Real Christianity, however, was preserved in the scriptures, but as long as the majority did not read them, the Catholic church could retain the reigns of power by assuming the role of telling everyone its contents and meaning. The Protestant Reformation came about when more and more people began to read the scriptures for themselves and realized that the authority and practices of the Catholic church was to be found nowhere within them, and that Jesus was only mediator needed between man and God.

 

Which is not to say I always agree with them, but that is because I am not Christian.

 

It is funny how denominational non-believers are.

 

In any case, reading the bible and deciding what it means, without a SOLID understanding of the economic, political, and historical events underwhich each section was written, and the similar situation under which the modern bible was put together (not to mention translated), is very shortsighted, in my opinion. Especially when people like to quote it as law. Even if you know the words, unless you know all the stuff above, you don't REALLY know what you are talking about.

 

Thus I firmly believe that the Bible is the only authority given to man from God in regards to the truth, and that no human being or organization of such are given any authority to dictate its meaning (interpretation) to others. Anyone can say they understand the historical background in order to make their understanding of the scriptures seem more authoritative. But Jesus promised Himself in the scriptures that He would send aid to each of us personally to help in our understanding of the scriptures and that aid clearly trumps any imaginations of history by human beings.

 

But you may complain, "then why do people interpret the Bible differently?" Well I say that this serves the purpose of God. We human beings like to get our understanding all in one language to create a human ediface of power and authority, but the result is always a tyrannical dominion of evil. God always seems to find a hope of human righteousness in the in the one individual who does not follow the crowd. So I think diversity has become the confirmed strategy of God among human kind just as it has always been His way in the natural world. So it is that after finding that one human being, Noah, who did not follow the rest, and destroying the evil dominion that human beings had over the world, God prevented mankind from creating another such system of power and control in the tower of Babel and through the diversity of language and culture prevents such a thing from ever happening again. So it is in the freedom of the individual that man has the hope and possiblility of a relationship directly with God, without the corruption that comes from the teachings of men.

 

When God through Abraham, founded one nation with whom He could make a special relationship, those people came to God's prophet to demand of God that they have a king. It is interesting to see how God responded to this.

 

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, "Look, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to Judge us." So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day--with which they have have forsaken Me and served other gods--so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them." So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king.

(continue reading 1 Samuel 8:11-18, for the description of kings here is delightful).

 

So even in the time of Samuel it is clear that God saw no need for the people of Israel to have any human authority over them, and by appointing such an authority God saw this as forsaking Him and choosing not to have God Himself rule over them. What then can we say of the Catholic church who insists that they have been appointed over mankind as a human religious authority to tell all Christians what the Bible means? They are liars who would have us forsake God choosing not to have God himself rule in our lives!

 

Look there is much to admire in the Catholic church and it is the decision of the worldwide Christian consensus that they doctrinally conform to the definition of what it means to be Christian, for these doctrines are what is considered the most essential, that as long as these are taught then they can share a common experience with other Christians as one community. But in so far as the Catholic church points to itself as the authority instead of God, it ceases to be Christian altogether and they have made themselves into a religion of the doctrines of men to deceive and mislead.

Edited January 26, 2007 by mitchellmckain (see edit history)

[yuhuu 0]

Well,,how can I put this softly.....The meaning of "Catholic" is universal...It means that salvation is a gift to everyone who accepts Jesuschrist as his saviour...This means that anybody has the chance to go to heaven..Isnt that great.? From that pont of view...Protestants are catholics to...because they believe in the universality of salvation...What happens is that we come to confusions because we tent to use words without thinking the whole meaning of each word..We just use words we normally use,,and everybody understands...but sometimes we loose the original meaning of the word...and come to confusions..Nowadays, we say "Catholics", but we really mean "Roman Catholics", which means the roman catholic religion..which,,well explained before...is traped in its traditions..and his manipulation strategies...They have so many doctrine errors. For example: the are not christians..a christian is someone that makes a way of life the effort, the effort to live as Jesuschrist did while on earth. While "roman catholics" try to life as Mary lived or as San Agustin lived,,or as the pope did, they have made their saints as Gods..in a way that they do not pray to God anymore..They prey to their saints...How can somebody be called christian,,when they pray to San Agusting instead of God...that is idolatry...and God rejects idolaty...Well, that is one difference...there are a lot....for example the purgatory...Gosh.,,nowadays,,they dont talk about it, but it was a key manipulation tool in the middle age...nowhere in the bible a thing like the purgatory is mentioned...well,,,etc,,etc,,,

[demolaynyc 0]

Catholic means "The Universal Church"This means that all christian beliefs including Roman Catholicism and Protestant Movement churches are under the term "CATHOLIC"What the title should be is: "What is the diff. between Roman Catholicism and Protestant Churches"My purposes is not to bring down Roman Catholic but purely to show the slight differences between them.Roman Catholics:- worship saints- pray to saints as to praying directly to the Lord and Savior- some believe in "Salvation through good works"- ritual prayersProtestants:- "Salvation through faith" (meaning all work is DONE by Jesus Christ at the cross)- No man is sinless other than Jesus our God- pray only to God and no saints- all Christians are saintsThese are not guaranteed because some people overlap these beliefs.

[Vue 0]

I am Catholic. I'm not sure, but I think it's that Christians do not praise Mary and/or consider her "Virgin Mary". That's what a Christian friend of mine said. That aside, the leading religion in Australia is Catholicism.

[Orca239 0]

No, the main difference is we don't praise / worship (whatever you want to call it) Mary (I mean, she isn't God after all...), but we do believe she had the miracle virgin birth.

 

I think in Catholicism they pray through Mary to God, but we Christians pray and talk directly with God.

 

And before someone goes and jumps on it, no I don't mean we actually look at his face and talk to him, but we do pray directly to him and talk with him. Talking as in, we say something to him, and he replies, though it might not be right away, and it's not normally a voice in our head. There probably have been some times when it came as a voice in someone's head so to speak, but... I think you get what I'm saying.

Edited April 7, 2007 by Orca239 (see edit history)

[beatgammit 0]

My understanding of Christian is any religion who accepts Jesus Christ as their personal savior. Each Christian religion does not believe exactly the same thing, but they must believe the Bible to be the word of God. Catholics ARE Christian in this respect. Catholics do not adhere to mainstream Christian, but they are still technically Christian.