Posted on 07/07/2015 10:33:57 PM PDT by Morgana
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.
“The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it, let it loose, and it will defend itself.” -St. Augustine of Hippo
I lost my Church 10 years ago when the Methodists hired a lesbian minister, a church I joined at 12 years old.
Since then I have felt a pull to the Catholic Church. Maybe because of the formality, and definitely because of the Church’s stand on abortion, same sex marriage, etc. I was adopted at birth so I may have been Catholic at birth. I don’t know. I had checked with some folks to find out what I needed to do to become a Catholic.
Now this Pope is really disappointing me just like the Methodists.
Around here we got Methodists, Presbyterians, and people who jump up and yell during service, or snake handlers, and I ain’t picking up no rattlesnake.
I guess I’ll stay home and talk to God by myself. He seems to respond when I call on him.
Well written. Excellent post. Despite that, I hope you have your flame-proof clothing handy because the Catholic-bashers are sure to show up soon.
Where in the Bible does it say Mary was born without the sin of Adam? Also the logic of Mary needed to be without sin for her to conceive Jesus without sin implies that there is shared DNA amongst Jesus and Mary. If this is the case then Jesus cannot be 100% man and 100% God. You would also have to believe that Mary herself did not sin before the birth of Christ and if she did not sin afterwards and didn’t inherit sin she would not be in need of a Savior.
And that is a pity. All Christians, particularly at this time when so many are being murdered in the Near East, must come together and stop arguing.
We are far stronger united under our belief in God - the father, the son, and the holy spirit - than the pitiful backbiting about details.
Well said.
In the New Testament didn't the Apostles give lectures when Christians went astray.
Can't we have theological discussions amongst us???
As it should be. Nothing in the bible states you need to go through a middle man.
And this is the fault of Protestants? Why link it to the Reformation?
I don't ask deceased relatives to look over me and I don't know of any Protestant who does.
That’s up to you. Frankly, I think it is silly.
To one another, not a middle man.
Since these issues are disturbing you then perhaps it’s better you not read or discuss them when they are being debated...... On the other hand if you are seeking the truth of what God is saying to believers then perhaps you need to consider what’s being posted and/or in fact attempt to defend your position with the authority of the scriptures.
It is not enough to simply say that Catholic teachings are truth by the decree of the Catholic Magesterium. Like any spiritual teaching we must compare it to the Bible..... In other words, do the teachings of the Catholic church, that are often derived through mans tradition, transgress the commands of God?
When Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in Matt. 15:1-6, He reprimanded them for not understanding God’s word. They were appealing to the tradition of the elders ...those who had passed down oral and written tradition. Jesus, on the other hand, exposed their error by citing scripture.
It must be observed that the tradition of the religious leaders was always subject to the Word of God. Are the religious leaders of the Catholic Church exempt from subjection to the Word of God? OF course not.... And likewise, is their Sacred Tradition also exempt? Also not.
I believe that there are some Catholics who love the Lord and are saved. But I believe it is in spite of official Roman Catholic doctrine.
On the inside of the cover of the New St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism published in 1969 there is a prayer. After the prayer it says the following:
“An indulgence of five years. A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, provided this prayer has been recited daily for a month.”..... This means that by saying the prayer properly, five years is removed from a person’s time in purgatory.
On the same page of the New St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism it says,..... “The faithful who devote 20 minutes to a half hour to teaching or studying Christian doctrine, may gain: an indulgence of three years. A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions twice a month, if the above practice is carried out at least twice a month.”
So ‘indulgences’ continue and were definitly re-enstated in Vatican ll...which is paying your way.
Indulgences only have value in Catholicism due to the unbiblical teaching of purgatory, which the Roman Catholic Church teaches is a place of punishment where people expiate their own sins there (CCC, 1475).
Expiation is “a term associated with the removal, cleansing, or forgiveness of sin.”1 But how does a person expiate or cleanse himself of his own sins? He doesn’t. If there were a means by which we could cleanse ourselves on our own sins, then God would have provided that.
“I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly,” (Gal. 2:21).
I’ll tell you something that I have told others, and I’m sure they think I’m nuts. You may think so also, but here goes.
Any time I have a real problem, something I can’t solve because of too many variables, or outcome insecurity, how it affects others, etc. That’s generally when I ask for God’s help. For the smaller stuff I figure that’s why he gave me a brain.
Every time I have done this, called on God for help in solving the problem (I never ask God to fix things, I don’t believe it works that way) within a couple of days I’ll see 2 solutions to the problem that will practically appear as words in front of my eyes. It’s very similar to getting a message in my head, here’s your 2 best options now you decide the best way. Surprisingly one of the choices always seems the most obvious, like God swept away all the stupid stuff that I don’t need to consider.
To me it seems like a miracle, and like I’m getting my prayers directly answered, but I’ve been taught my whole life that God doesn’t work that way.
The result is I quit telling people about it before I get put in a strait jacket for claiming I am communicating directly with the Almighty.
“...just as a Protestant asks their deceased grandparent/parent to watch over them.”
Never have I done this. Seems like sacrilege, to me. Christ and His angels watch over me very well, thank you very much.
Yes, I agree. Read Hebrews. He needed to be man
to represent the elect among men. Christ is
divine, priest, human and the sacrifice. Take
one out and you don’t have Christ. He was human
because he was born of a human, divine by the
Holy Spirit, an acceptable sacrifice because
of a sinless life, and the language in Hebrews
chapter 1 describes his priestly role in terms
normally reserved for a sacrifice. Chapter 1
also describes him as creator, sustainer and
heir of all things. He is the radiance of God’s
glory and the exact representation of His being.
He provided purification for sins and sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on High. He
is the eternal mediator. Catholics show a
gnostic streak when they elevate his mother
to sinlessness.
You ARE communicating with the Almighty, or rather He's communicating with you. I've experienced similar communications many times. I've come to believe such communication goes on constantly with everyone and that it is quite common. People listening, acknowledging and accepting the guidance, however - that's not common at all.
The Catholic Church offers RCIA classes. These are night classes for adults wanting to learn through intense study of the Bible and the history of the Church. You’ll find out why we do what we do, and delve into the original Greek. For instance John 21:15-19 never made any sense to me until the priest explained that in Greek, there are three completely different words for “love”; as well as what later happened to Peter as Jesus predicted here. There were so many layers of meaning that I’d just never realized were there. I really recommend RCIA.
You could call the diocese or any Catholic Church and inquire.
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