Protestant belief is also expressed in the same Nicene Creed and Apostles Creed that you quoted.
In another thread, I once quoted the Apostles Creed, asking "if this is what I base my faith on, why do you Roman Catholics tell me I am not a Christian nor am I saved?"
I was basically told that it does not matter that I believe in that Creed, because if I am not a Roman Catholic then I still am not saved.
So apparently in the eyes of Roman Catholics, there are man-written other "works" that must be performed before one can be saved saved. Joining the Roman Catholic church seems to be one of those works.
“In another thread, I once quoted the Apostles Creed, asking “if this is what I base my faith on, why do you Roman Catholics tell me I am not a Christian nor am I saved?”
Pope Benedict confirmed this:
“It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church”
So if your Catholic friends disagree tell them to take it up with the Pope.
This crazy ‘Christian Apologetics & Reasearch Ministry’ website lumps Orthodox and Catholic Christians with Islam. That’s pretty far out there, in my opinion.
Freegards
**Protestant belief is also expressed in the same Nicene Creed and Apostles Creed that you quoted. **
I doubt that since the wording on them changed two years ago with the new translation.
Do you have an older version?
I’m really sorry somebody misinformed you. I’m a Catholic and I don’t know of any reason why you would not be considered a Christian. Of course you are a Christian. People are saved through Jesus, the Word. We know that people are saved through the Church, capital C, the bride of Christ. However, we do not rule out that people could find their way to God without being Catholic, we just don’t presume to outline a way for God to do that. It would be up to his mercy, and less likely, given the number of directions in which people could stray. (Like trying to learn to cook without someone helping you or providing a cookbook). But if you think of some of the righteous men of the Bible (Jesus’ father Joseph, for example), you have to figure God took them to Himself somehow.
Saying “yes” to Jesus, is the work that saves you. The other work we do is because Jesus told us to— feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. Not for personal gain, but because He asked us to love God and love our neighbor. The good we do flows from us to make the Kingdom come on earth, as it is in Heaven. It’s God’s show. We participate, because it pleased Him to let us help. Like when you let a little kid help you with something you could have done faster by yourself, because it’s good for the child and it’s a heartwarming part of life.
I think the whole faith/works thing is a distracting argument that Satan really enjoys watching. Let’s drop the inter-faith antagonism and ruin his fun.