I am born again (the only way you can really be a Christian, although you can hold to Christian philosophy). My problem with Catholicism is not that it does not have any truth, but it mixes truth with paganism and other untruths. For example, Catholicism teaches that Mary is sinless (not true - only Jesus Christ is true), so this actually makes Mary God, or at least "a" god. Catholicism teaches it is the only "true" church. By deduction, this makes every other church a "false" church. Catholicism teaches that you must do certain things to enter "sainthood." The Bible teaches that all believers in Christ are saints. Catholicism demands that priests and nuns remain celibate. The Bible calls this a teaching of demons. There are a few more examples I could give, but these are just a few of the major ones I can list. This will not be popular on this board, but you have to call them like you see them. :)
You are way off in some of your characterizations.
I don't remember being taught that Mary was sinless. Just a vigin. And then "Holy" (After giving birth to Jesus, I guess? Or maybe before...And that's why she was chosen by God?)
Anyway...I don't remember anything about her being without sin.
??
If you put up a Christmas tree and decorate Easter eggs, you're mixing Christianity with paganism.
We know that Mary was sinless because the angel Gabriel declared her so ("full of grace"). Man fell from grace by Original Sin. Grace was unattainable. Man could not enter heaven. The prophets were sais to rest "in the bosom of Abraham". Logic thus dictates if the angel Gabriel was being honest in calling Mary "full of grace", then she was saved from Original Sin by her saviour, Jesus Christ, at the time of her conception ("The Immaculate Conception").
The ark of the covenant carried the presence of God in the Old Testament. Mary carried the presence of God in the New Testament. Take note of the painstaking detail God commands of His people in building the ark (then the Temple later on) where He would reside. Chapter after chapter of exact measurements and decoration and procedure. Now tell me the Lord would gestate in any old womb of any old girl.
If the ark of the covenant was pristine, what then of the mother of Jesus Christ - God Himself?
Just because it doesn't say "SHE WAS SINLESS!" in bold letters, doesn't mean it's not scriptural. Just as nowhere do we find the word "Trinity" in the Bible, and fought back heresy after heresy questioning the Divine nature of Christ with the traditional understanding gained by the Magisterium, most Protestants agree that the Trinity exists as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Just as the Bible does not contain the admonition, "create a Bible", Protestants accept the Wisdom of the Church in determining that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the only Divinely inspired Gospels among the thirty or so that circulated before the canon was compiled. And this was determined not by citing the letters of Paul, but through Old Testament writings and oral tradition passed on by the Church patricians leading up to the Council.
These are historical facts which cannot be denied.
This is the profession of faith we Catholics make. I don't see alot of arguable points.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.