Christians and catholics??

Question

i was just wondering what is the difference between the catholic and christian religion some friend of a friend of mine tried telling me to become christian im catholic but im not strict catholic...and she started argueing with me why i chose catholic so whats the diff??

Answer 1

Christianity was started by the Catholics, everyone else are wannabes.

Answer 2

Christianity and Catholicism are not the same thing. Christians don't believe in going through a priest to get to God, Catholics do. A Christian bases this on the Bible where Jesus said "I am the way the truth and the life no man comes to the Father, but by me". For this reason Christians do not believe in praying to Mary or any other saint. Christians believe in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and believe He alone is our advocate with the Father. Christians believe that salvation is a gift of God and cannot be earned and that good works will naturally come as you put your faith in what Jesus did for you on the cross. Good works alone will not earn you a right into heaven and neither can you be prayed into heaven after you die by paying someone in the here and now. The only way to secure a "ticket" into heaven is to accept that Jesus is the only way. Not works, not priests, not Marry, not saints, not anything! Only Jesus!

There is a great big difference between true Christianity and Catholicism if you study it out. A great place to start it the original cannon of scripture without the added stuff. Put the added stuff in (catholic bible) and suddenly the bible contradicts itself. That does not make allot of sense. God would not contradict himself.

Edit: There are many strong statements about these two beliefs. I would encourage you to pray that the Lord will help you to see the truth between the two and what He would have you to believe. God's opinion trumps man's everytime. If you seek the Lord with sincerity I believe He will guide you in the right direction and in such a way that you will know it is His hand.

Answer 3

thats y i dont like religion . everyone thinks that their way is the right way to worship and everyone else is wrong. i think the way you worship is between you and your god.its like the sunni and shiaa problem

Answer 4

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is not the only authority. Their teachings include such documentation as Catechisms, and Papal Encyclicals (defined as "authoritative teaching instruments from the Vicar of Christ" (the Pope)) which have been written and added to throughout the years of the history of the Catholic Church.

Because of this, the Catholic Church has many teachings, beliefs, and traditions that are different from a Christian who believes the Holy Bible is the exclusive authority of Christianity.

A Catholic Christian believes in the Catholic doctrines, teachings, and traditions which include, but are *not exclusive to* the Holy Bible.

Most non-Catholic Christians believe the Holy Bible is the *exclusive* authority of Christianity... No other documents.

Much argument comes from this, as quite a few non-Catholic Christians believe the Catholic doctrines to be un-Christian and not corresponding with Biblical scripture. And obviously, Catholics disagree.

Anyone who believes in Jesus as the savior is a christian. Catholicism is the only christian religion that has been here since Jesus´s death. The  real differences are that the Catholics have certain beliefs because they believe in the bible and tradition brought out from the time of Jesus. Catholics have sacraments: baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, orders, reconciliation, and the Eucharist. In the celebration of the mass the Catholics truly believe that in that wafer and that wine Jesus is there in  the body,  blood of Christ. Catholics also believe that saints, angels, Catholics also have a pope!  

There are other differences...but these are the main ones.

Oh..and also...

Protestantism was a political rather than a religious invention. King Henry VIII had originally married Catherine of Aragon. In the mid-1520's, he met and fell in love with Ann Boleyn. He wished to annul his marriage to Catherine and marry Ann.

When the pope wouldnt do this, Henry did what every other king would do. He fired his closest advisor Cardinal Wolsey, the Lord Chancellor of England. The negotiations with the papal court were largely carried out by Wolsey. When he failed, Henry dismissed and arrested him and replaced him with Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell. Both these men were sympathetic to the new ideas of Martin Luther.

They gave the king some radical advice: if the pope does not grant the annulment, then split the English church off from the Roman church. Rather than the pope, the king would be the spiritual head of the English church.

Answer 5

christianity covers all the religions that believe that christ is our savior. this includes catholicism, protestantism, mormon etc. It is like the Sunni, Shiite denominations of the Islam religion.

Answer 6

When you think catholics, think saints and angels. They believe in having mediators between themselves and jesus/god. They pray to Mary, patron saints, angels, etc. Christians cut out the middle men and do away with the all the ceremonies. However, there are so many sects within the both of them, it's difficult to keep any of them straight. After being raised a catholic in a fundamentalist church, I came out an atheist. So... neither did me very much good. Best of luck, tho.

Answer 7

...Catholics are the largest denomination of Christians.

Do people really debate that?

Answer 8

catholicism is one of the christian denominations. actually, it's the first christian denomination.

the word "catholic" comes from the greek "katholikos" which means universal, general, whole. because what jesus really wanted was to have all the sheep from many folds become one flock, with him as the one shepherd.

the more important questions are... do you believe that jesus is the son of God? and that he died for you and was resurrected? do you believe that he is your savior? only if you answer yes to these questions can you rightly say that you are a true christian, regardless of whether you were baptized as one, or what other christian denomination you belong to.

i hope this answers your question, and i hope this spurs you to ask yourself other questions.

god bless you. =)

Answer 9

Catholicism is a branch of Christianity.

I think you mean Catholicism vs Protestantism.

Answer 10

If you have a "Christian" friend who is telling you that because you are Catholic, you are not Christian, your friend is neither a Christian or a friend.

Harsh I know, but maybe she's just a little misguided. I just wish people like that would be better informed, or rather COMPLETELY informed, before they make statements like that.

Answer 11

Christian: Anyone who accepts Christ as a saviour, including Catholics.

If someone tells you different, they're wrong.

Answer 12

Catholics have a different hierarchy than Protestant. it's not that they're not christian, but that we differ on a few points. For instance (remember, these are just generalized points, i'm sure not every Catholic or Protestant will agree with what i write):

Protestants believe that the Pope is fallible, Catholics believe that the Pope is infallible (i think on 2 specific areas, but i can't remember what they are)

Protestants believe that Jesus took our punishment once and for all and when we confess, we can confess straight to God, without penance. While Catholics believe Jesus took our punishment, they still need to confess to a priest (not necessarily a bad thing) and then carry out their penance.

Protestants do not believe in purgatory, paying money to the church to get a loved one out of purgatory, and praying for the dead in general. Catholics do.

Protestants do not believe in praying to God through Mary (the mother of Jesus), they believe that the Holy Spirit is their direct line to God. Catholics believe they can pray to Mary to go to God on their behalf.

Protestants believe that any follower of Christ is a saint. Catholics have much stricter requirements for that title.

these are just a few. it really doesn't come down to your denomination, but what's in your heart.

Answer 13

i beilive catholic falls under christian, its something like another denomination, but some christians see it as a whole nother religion. God bless

Answer 14

i have some family members that are catholic, i'm christian.  my opinion is that the catholic tradition is more about traditions than anything else.  you go to church, stand up, sit down, stand up, kneel down, sit down again.  and you're only doing this because you're being told to do so and something that is meant to show praise and honor towards God is turned into more of a routine.  also, catholics have the whole coffesionals things.  like, you go to a priest and you tell him your sins and he supposedly asks God for your forgiveness as if you're not worthy enough to ask for it yourself.  Christians believe that since we are in fact children of God that we have the right and power to speak to him ourselves.  No other man on earth needs to know what we are asking forgiveness for.  A lot of the beliefs with these religions are the same, but there's also a lot of differences too.  You just have to experience them both for yourself and decide what it is that you want to be a part of.

Answer 15

Catholics are a type of Christian. Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the living, risen Jesus. It is the same Jesus who appeared to the Apostles (when Thomas was not there). In the words of St. John Vianney, "It's really Him!"

Catholics also believe in the veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary is our most powerful intercessor. Do not people ask their living friends and relatives to pray for them? How much more powerful, then, is the intercession of God's own Mother, who loved Him perfectly during her life on earth, and to whom He remains obedient in heaven. Mary can pray to God more effectively than you or I ever could.

The Holy Rosary is an extremely powerful prayer when prayed from the heart, when each Hail Mary is prayed with love and childlike simplicity. (Many will testify to this--St. John Vianney, St. Padre Pio, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, etc.)

If a king invites you to have dinner with him, this is a great honor. However, if he calls a gathering of the entire kingdom, and proclaims your greatness in front of them so that they may praise and honor you too, this is an even higher honor. In the same way, Jesus, our King, wishes to honor His mother by making her loved and venerated by all. Jesus was so grateful to the woman who poured an expensive ointment over His Head that He proclaimed "In truth I tell you, wherever in all the world this gospel is proclaimed, what she has done will be told as well, in remembrance of her." (Matthew 26:13) If such is His gratitude for this woman's one act of kindness, imagine then, His gratitude for His mother's entire lifetime of love (Mary's "yes" to God ("Be it done to me according to thy word") despite what it would cost her, her pregnancy at a time when she was not yet married and thus her humiliation before St. Joseph and her acquaintances, her nursing of the Son of God, the way she lovingly held and caressed the Divine Child, the clothes she knitted for Him, the meals she prepared for Him, all that she suffered upon seeing her innocent Son so brutally tortured and murdered, etc.)

God is infinitely happy. He has no need of human praise, so He lets Mary be our Vessel of Devotion.

The fifteen promises of Mary to Christians who recite the rosary:

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against h**l, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.

6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in Paradise.

9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit high degree of glory in Heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Our Lady has 117 titles. She selected this title at Fatima: "I am the Lady of the Rosary."

St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying IS- Pray the Rosary.

St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome, Italy on just the Hail Mary.

St. John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand.

"The rosary is the scourge of the devil" -- Pope Adrian VI

"The rosary is a treasure of graces" -- Pope Paul V

Padre Pio, the stigmatic priest, said: "The Rosary is THE WEAPON"

Pope Leo XIII wrote 9 encyclicals on the rosary.

Pope John XXIII spoke 38 times about Our Lady and the Rosary. He prayed 15 decades daily.

God bless!

Rob

Answer 16

Ok this is ONLY  my opinion......christians are everyone else that aren't catholics. And I've known a lot of christians, And personally I've not a strong catholic.....But I'd rather be catholic than, someone  that to be a born again christian that thinks, they know everything.......

I have gone to different churches...and they

ve all been pretty much the same............

Answer 17

There are some Catholics that are Christian, but because of they deviate from the scriptures so much, they don't always resemble conservative Christianity. The Catholic Church believes that the pope has papal authority, meaning if he 'hears from God', then he can override what the scriptures teach. Thus, you have non-biblical teachings, such as priests cannot marry, or infant baptism, the deifying of Mary. These teachings are so far removed from what most evangelical churches teach, that most Protestants consider Catholicism to be more of a cult.

     They do believe in Jesus Christ, but just believing in Christ is not enough to become a Christian. The demons believe in Christ too, the Bible says, and they tremble.

       Evangelical churches have tried to stay consistent with scripture in their practices. They do not believe anyone has the authority to overrule the scripture, or change the text to fit their agenda, like the popes have done over the centuries.

Evangelical churches practice baptism by immersion (the word baptizo means 'to immerse') They do not believe that in transubstantiation, or that the bread and wine become the ACTUAL body and blood of Christ. The scriptures do not teach that. Evangelicals believe we should confess our sins to God. Catholics are taught to confess their sins to a priest, and HE stands in God's place to forgive. That is totally unscriptural.

       The priests in the Catholic church are called "Father". Yet Jesus told us in scriptue, "Call no man "Father"- for there is only one Father, your heavenly Father. This is another unbiblical practice. So much of the teachings and practices of Catholicism came from early pagan priests who 'converted' to avoid losing their jobs in the temple of idols under Constantine, and they brought their superstitions and pagan traditions with them. The church bought it, hook line and sinker, and because of that, you have the dark ages.

      You need to consider finding an evangelical church that will teach the scripture, not what the pope says, or what tradition says. This is why a lot of folks do not consider Catholics Christians, although I know there are some who truly love the Lord. But many of their teachings border on heresy.

Answer 18

theology.

for example... catholicism believes in a theology of works (earning a way into heaven), closed communion, the subjugation of women (no women priests), and transubstantiation, etc. that a lot of other denominations don't agree with.

Answer 19

A Catholic IS a Christian. A Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ. This includes Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, etc.

Answer 20

Catholics are Christians. Just like any other denomination of the Christian religion.

Answer 21

Catholic: Man's attempt to reach God.  True Christian: God's attempt to reach man.  <')))><