“But you do see the issue of ‘appearance’ even in your jest.”
No, I don’t. That was the point. It is not about “appearance”. It is about Protestant ignorance. As I have said before, when a Protestant is open to learning the truth he or she usually gets over their ignorance even though the “appearance” doesn’t. Protestant ignorance can be fixed. A misunderstanding over appearance doesn’t mean the appearance needs to be fixed. It means the ignorance needs to be.
“So, we non-Catholics (don’t the Orthodox claim to be ‘Catholic’?”
Are they? First, you say it is about appearance. Now you say it is about what someone claims. Truth then - the actual truth - seems to have no role to play in your post. It’s all just “appearances” and “claims”.
“....in any case, we’re not all out of protestant churches...some of us came about after the reformation.”
If you believe in Protestant doctrines, you’re a Protestant. It doesn’t matter whether your sect was founded in 1520 or 1920 or last week. It’s Protestant if it is based on Protestant doctrines.
“My own, some 200 years later, and then again 200 years after that.)”
Johnny-come-lately Protestants are still Protestants. Truth is still truth.
Nope. We’re not all protestants. As I have repeatedly affirmed, words have meanings. The ‘protest group’ was specific. They only gave rise to a split. Those who arose later had nothing to do with that split.
And we all don’t have the same doctrine. Doctrinal distinctives are probably the major reason for different denominations.
It rankled me as a military chaplain when higher-ups grouped certain ‘sects’ into the ‘Protestant’ camp simply because they weren’t Catholic. It became clear to me at that time that we were all more understood by our differences, and that some were entirely different religions.
I have a career’s worth of experience in dealing with these different denominations. No one can convince me of their being ‘in the same camp’.
Well, if a Catholic can get to define Protestantism for Protestants, then Protestants can get to define Catholicism for Catholics.
Otherwise, Catholics are operating on a double standard, which I see is really not very unusual.