” I have had Catholics here on Free Republic tell me that there’s only ONE TRUE CHURCH and it’s theirs?”
And they’re right.
So the only legit Christian religion is Catholicism?
(I’ve actually read quite a bit .... and I’m a Protestant....)
You wrote:
“So the only legit Christian religion is Catholicism?”
How many Church’s did Christ establish? One. How many did He send? One. If you’re a Protestant, it ain’t yours.
“(I’ve actually read quite a bit .... and I’m a Protestant....)”
The one has nothing to do with the other either way. Being Protestant doesn’t mean you read much or little. Although John Henry Newman, a former Protestant and an excellent scholar in his own right, once wrote, “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.”
To be Protestant simply means you adhere to a version of Christianity that is man-made, created in the 16th century.
>>So the only legit Christian religion is Catholicism?<<
Of course! To a Catholic. If we didn’t believe this, we would be something else.
I never understand why non-Catholics get upset by a Catholic saying it. You believe that Lutheranism is the one true religion. If it wasn’t, you would go to where it was true. Dontcha think?
People don’t seem to understand that Catholics believe we have the fullness of faith. YOU, in any other religion, can make it to heaven in your faith, it’s just harder for you, because you don’t have what we have (the Eucharist) That doesn’t mean that Billy Graham doesn’t go to heaven. In fact, presuming that ANYONE will not go to heaven, is reading the mind of God and His forgiving power. We don’t do that.
When my hubby talked about converting, I told him to think hard about this. It’s a difficult religion. Everyone who is Catholic CHOOSES to stay in it. With all the smells and bells. It’s tough, but the traditions make us feel closer to God. And that is a big US. We don’t normally evangelize. If you can make it into heaven doing what you do, we will be happy to introduce you to our way but it isn’t an imperative that we make you do it. Unlike some Non-Catholics that seem to think they won’t go to heaven without hundreds of souls converted by them or the Muslims who think everyone should be like them.
Does that help?