Posted on 02/20/2015 3:22:59 PM PST by NKP_Vet
1.“Catholics worship statues.” This stereotype is painful to hear. Not only is this completely false, but it is ludicrous. Despite the fact that there are 801 millions Protestants world-wide, according to the Pew Research Center, my rant will be geared towards our brothers and sisters in the United States. In this country, approximately 51.5% of people are Protestant Christians. Realistically, most of these families have pictures in their home, which is completely normal, right? Right. They have pictures of their loved ones, both living and deceased. Is it not hypocritical then to say that Catholics are idol worshipers, when these families have portraits of their loved ones on the walls? If these Protestant families can have pictures of Uncle Bernie and Mawmaw hanging on the wall, then most certainly the Church can present pictures of our beloved Jesus, his disciples, and the saints.
2.“Catholics pray to Mary instead of God.” This is a very common misconception throughout the Protestant community, and while I can understand why it is, I am also disheartened that many jump to such a harsh conclusion of the Catholic faith. We don’t pray to Mary, we ask her to pray for us, just as a Protestant asks their deceased grandparent/parent to watch over them.
3. “The saints can’t hear your prayers, because they are dead.” I beg to differ. Since when is anyone who is in Heaven considered dead? We call it the afterLIFE for a reason. In fact, there is biblical proof that the saints can hear our prays: -Revelation 5:8 “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” -Revelation 8:3-4 “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.”
4. “Mother Mary isn’t important; she’s just like anyone else.” If our Blessed Mother isn’t important, then every female would have had an immaculate conception. For this reason, that is why the declarative statement above doesn’t make sense. Of course Mother Mary is important, she gave birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What is so amazing about the Catholic faith is the fact that we recognize the importance of Mary, and we honor her accordingly. She is a role model and saint for all Christians to look up to, because she submitted to God completely. Until the day another woman gives birth to Jesus, no one will ever be just like Mary. She is a very special, holy woman.
5. “Catholics made up all their rules.” Every single tradition we have in the Catholic Church, namely during Mass, has biblical roots. Not to mention the fact that Jesus was the founder of our Church. I don’t know about you, but Jesus doesn’t make mistakes.
6. “God said to confess sins to Him, not a priest.” This one is a personal favorite of mine. Drum roll please. -James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” It is true that we pray directly to God, and ask Him to forgiveness, however for sins (mortal) we do as Jesus commands and confess it to one another (our priests). Jesus said this directly to his disciples, so through Him, they were able to forgive sins. This power passed down to every priest, and so on and so forth. That felt good.
7. “Catholicism is a cult.” Jesus Christ founded this Church more than 2,000 years ago, I would hardly call it a cult.
8. “Catholics aren’t Christians.” The word Christian is associated with anyone who follows Christ’s teachings, and since the Catholic Church does just that then we are to be called Christians. Not to mention Catholics were actually the first Christians.
9. “Catholics added books to the Holy Bible.” This one is so hilarious it hurts. For 300 years there was no Bible, only random writings from the prophets like St.Peter etc, until the Catholic monks compiled and canonized what is now known today as the Holy Bible. (That is until the Protestant Reformation occurred, in which one man *Martin Luther* removed 7 books). Ouch.
10. “Catholics believe you can pay your way into Heaven.” We definitely do not. That is a huge misconception which occurred during the Protestant Reformation.
Despite the many stereotypes that hang over our faith, the important thing to remember is our Church has stood the test of time and remained for more than 2,000 years. Whether you are Catholic or Protestant-- we are all followers of Christ, and He is the ultimate goal.
“If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world” ~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
I agree with you Yetidog.
“Catholics worship statues.”
This one makes me laugh. Since most non-Catholic Christians put up nativity scenes at Christmas, I guess this is the only time of the year when they worship statues.
Amen!
“nah.. don’t ask the Kennedy’s... ask the clergy that wink and nod with the cynic’s eye. Those pathetic fops are the reason the church has had problems. NOT THE STRICT Catholics but the ones that coddle the homosexual priests, the abortion supporting political connections, the money transfer for annulments and such.
The HYPOCRISY of the Vatican that has been infiltrated by communist and socialist that mix politics with religion. Which means they are of “worldly” concerns not of our spirit or souls.
I am a Roman Catholic.. “
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh...say what? I don't pray to my deceased parent/grandparents and I don't ask they pray for me. Talk about ludicrous.
I want to know that too. I have neve head of such a thing.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
How can you have a depiction of JC when you don't even know what he looks like. I seriously doubt he had blond hair and blue eyes, which is just one of the depictions I've seen. Also, there is no commandment that says you can't have a picture of a human.
I've always believed Christ to be a simple and extraordinarly gifted spiritual man who would be dismayed how his teachings were so perverted to build a powerful and obscenely rich theocracy.
I still don't get why a Pope has a direct line to God. He's voted in by a bunch of fallible humans called Cardinals. It's a human popularity and political contest.
That said: I live my life according Judeo/Christian ethics. However, I don't need flowing robes and big hats and arcane rituals to tell me what my heart already knows. It's called empathy, sympathy, and compassion. If God gave them to me, then I thank him. I want to believe.
Jews leave prayers written on paper in cracks in the wailing wall.
One another would be your peers, not some priest.
Disagree. The nativity scenes are not about worship, but a reminder of what Christmas is about. I want to believe.
1. Catholics always reduce peeves to countable lists.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Done that? That is what makes you a Christian.
I'll bet you find the Viet Nam Memorial downright hilarious.
The Things They Leave Behind: Artifacts From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
From your quotation, I take it that you have no photographs, paintings, statues or like items in your house. that you have no photographs of yourself or family members?
They’re not tired of 10 things. There actually are 11.
#11: The Truth.
I don't have anything that would be a violation of the second commandment.
yup.
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