Posted on 02/20/2015 3:22:59 PM PST by NKP_Vet
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.
Whether you are Catholic or Protestant— we are all followers of Christ, and He is the ultimate goal.
Exactly!
Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, Constitution 1, 1215, ex cathedra: “There is indeed one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which nobody at all is saved, in which Jesus Christ is both priest and sacrifice.”1
Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, Nov. 18, 1302, ex cathedra:
“With Faith urging us we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess this Church outside of which there is no salvation nor remission of sin… Furthermore, we declare, say, define, and proclaim to every human creature that they by absolute necessity for salvation are entirely subject to the Roman Pontiff.”2
Pope Clement V, Council of Vienne, Decree # 30, 1311?1312, ex cathedra:
“Since however there is for both regulars and seculars, for superiors and subjects, for exempt and non?exempt, one universal Church, outside of which there is no salvation, for all of whom there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism…”3
Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Sess. 8, Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra:
“Whoever wishes to be saved, needs above all to hold the Catholic faith; unless each one preserves this whole and inviolate, he will without a doubt perish in eternity.”4
Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra: “The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.”5
Pope Leo X, Fifth Lateran Council, Session 11, Dec. 19, 1516, ex cathedra: “For, regulars and seculars, prelates and subjects, exempt and non?exempt,
belong to the one universal Church, outside of which no one at all is saved, and they all have one Lord and one faith.”6
Pope Pius IV, Council of Trent, “Iniunctum nobis,” Nov. 13, 1565, ex cathedra: “This true Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved… I now profess and truly hold…”7
Pope Benedict XIV, Nuper ad nos, March 16, 1743, Profession of Faith: “This faith of the Catholic Church, without which no one can be saved, and which of my own accord I now profess and truly hold…”8
Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council I, Session 2, Profession of Faith, 1870, ex cathedra: “This true Catholic faith, outside of which none can be saved, which I now freely profess and truly hold…”9
Coming from a Protestant background myself, the Catholics always appeared to be a little stiff and removed, living under what many thought were unbending rules and oddly dissonant ideas. Then, as the curvature of the earth slowly became apparent, Catholics turned out to be very little different, in any significant way, from any other branch of Christianity, and in fact, they were pretty much ALL of Christianity for the first thousand years or so. The clergy of the Church had pretty much removed themselves from the daily life of the lay people, and perhaps this was what contributed to all these misconceptions that grew up over the centuries. But once the lay people were really allowed to participate in the dialogue and to discover the very spirit of the words of the Scriptures, then a great transformation came over the means by which Christianity was broadcast to the world.
The convergence has been a good thing.
I am not a Catholic and I’m tired of hearing there too.
Daniel prophesied that the antichrist will come from the people that destroyed the temple. The tenth legion under Titus Vespasian destroyed the temple in 70 ad. So the antichrist comes from he old Roman empire right? The Pope right? The 10th legion was comprised of Syrians and Turks...pay attention to the details. Islam cuts off heads, not the Pope.
What sect does that?
You forgot the part where we all really drink the blood of Christ and eat his body during the eucharist.
Catholics consider prayer as not necessarily worship. The Catholic considers prayer as a personal spiritual conversation, or is some cases communal prayer.
When a Catholic is at Mass he or she prays, but at the moment of the raising of the Host, that is when a Catholic "worships" the Body of Jesus present at that point in time.
So, to ask the Mother of Jesus for help is NOT worship, it is a spiritual conversation.
Huge difference.
Protestants do not have a Eucharist to "worship" so their entire service is a "worship" service.
So when a Protestant prays he or she is "worshipping" God.
The words "worship" and "prayer" mean different things to the Catholic and the Protestant.
I don't ask my deceased relatives to watch over me. Jesus said the only way to Heaven is through Him. That is where prayers need to be directed. Not to saints. Not to Mary. Jesus. He IS the only way. You won't get into Heaven by asking Mary to pray for you. You won't get into Heaven by praying to a saint or asking a saint to pray for you. Jesus said He is the ONLY WAY.
This is a very nice collection of false answers to real questions. The hits keep coming.
Amen.
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Yea, verily: Whether you are Catholic or Protestant— we are all followers of Christ, and He is the ultimate goal.
I can’t belief what I saw at the Catholic cemetery where my parents are buried. Inside the mausoleum part, where bodies are stacked indoors, people leave cards and letters to the dead as if during the night, they all crawl out of their crypts and read the stuff, probably to each other.
The HYPOCRISY of the Vatican that has been infiltrated by communist and socialist that mix politics with religion. Which means they are of "worldly" concerns not of our spirit or souls.
I am a Roman Catholic..
We have enough problems in the world without this Catholic-Protestant/Evangelical tension. Leave it alone....put it in a box and forget it. There are far greater evils that face Christianity (Mormons included) than the perceived theological inaccuracies that each and all can find with each other.
So what are you trying to say?
Regarding “pay your way into Heaven,” That was one of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, “sale of indulgences,” if I remember correctly. Also I remember that the Catholic Church abolished those within a hundred years of Luther’s Theses. Yes, it probably took to long, but it was ABOLISHED and thus recognized as an issue that was wrong and a correction was made.
I leave the Kennedy’s and their relationship with God, to God.
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