If Catholics also believe in Jesus as being the son of God , as being the mediator between us and God,the fact that He died to wash away our sins.\n\nThen why go to a priest for confession ? Jesus died that we may have a relationship with God, we can now talk to God anytime ,anywhere.\n\nYou have to believe by faith that He hears you and that if you ask God to forgive you, He has forgiven you cse of what Jesus did for you. You no longer need priests.\n\nNo mean or rude answers please, if you do not have one, please do not answer. Thanks.
132157
Catholics don't deny that you can receive absolution by praying directly to YHVH or Christ.  However, in the Catholic view, Priests are Christ's representatives on earth and so its also acceptable to go through them.  Many (pehaps most) Catholics choose to confess their sins to a Priest, because being forgiven and performing penance has psycho-social benefits.
301965
You shouldnt confess to someone other than God. I dont know why Catholics do that. I grew up Catholic and that was one of the major problems I had with the religion. It doesnt make any sense. You are right. Priests are just humans. \n\nBottom line: your relationship with God is between you and God. You know what the relationship is and you know what works for you. Do what you feel is right and dont let anyone boss you around or make you do something you dont feel in your heart.
504443
I was raised Catholic and left the religion when I got older. \nHere are the reasons why:\n1) They pray to Mary. This is not what the Holy Bible tells us to do. Mary was the mother of our Saviour, Jesus, and we should know this and honor it, but she is not to be prayed to. Right now she is just another person like we are, only dead. Catholics also are told to pray to St. Peter and and some of the others in the Bible. The only one we are to pray to is God, as it says in the Ten Commandments.\n2) They use beads and such to pray. We don't need those beads or any other graven immage. \n3) They expect us to go through a priest to tell our sins and expect that priest to pray for us. God wants us to repent or sins to Him on our own, not through a third party. We need to ask for the forgiveness all on our own, as this is a very emotional experience.\n4) Catholics baptize infants and children when they don't even know what it is they are getting baptised for. Baptism is for when we are ready to be saved and born again and have excepted Jesus as our saviour, and old enough to understand.\n5) The prayers the Catholics say are the same ones all the time. Anyone can rattle off a couple of memorized prayers in a few minutes. God wants prayers to come from us and to say whatever is is we need to tell Him or ask, not something that is written in books that He has heard a milloin times over and over.\n6) In history, Catholics are known to have killed many for their baptism beliefs. They killed the Hutterites for this reason. You can find this information on    www.hutterites.com \n\nThese are the reasons I left the religion. I became a Christian. I don't put down Catholics, as they are on the right track as far as when it comes to God and teaching, just that they have some beliefs that I did not agree with. I hope this helps.
159532
A Christian is one who believes in Jesus as God and accepts Jesus as his/her personal saviour. As such, Catholics ARE Christians. The Roman Catholic church is said to have started with Peter, to whom Jesus said,\n\nMatthew 16:18-19\nAnd I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.\n\nRoman Catholics say they have a direct line of Popes starting from Peter, to the Pope of today.\n\nThen along came King Henry VIII, who liked to chop and change, as it were. He took issue with the Christian doctrine of not being allowed to divorce and remarry, so started his own church: the Church of England - the first form of Protestantism. "Protestant" comes from "protest" as they were protesting against the rules of the existing Church. According to my year eight history teacher (oh so long ago!) any Christian denomination that isn't Roman Catholic, *is* Protestant by definition due to the origins of the term "Protestant." And on the story goes, with different sects popping up along the way.\n\nCatholicism does tend to be a bit more "flowery" and ornate than other denominations of Christianity. I grew up in the Roman Catholic church and changed to Pentecostal fundamentalism later on. I did the rounds and tried nearly every denomination out there to see what felt right for me. My experience has been that while basically the same overall, the Catholic church tends to be far more formal where other churches are a little more laid back. Catholics have a set hierarchy, where many modern Christian denominations have lay people participating at higher levels than in the past, and women being more involved in church leadership. I'm not saying this is either good or bad; this is just an observation. Other than that, there aren't many differences in core beliefs. \n\nSome people do argue that Roman Catholics "aren't really Christians" because of different rituals and practices, such as confession and penance. However, it's not about receiving forgiveness from a Priest instead of God. It's about confessing your sins as the bible instructs Christians to do - it's about the act of confession and the Priest affirming forgiveness from God. Some people find this helpful; others don't. Certainly, praying specific prayers as a form of atonement may seem strange - but think for just a minute: who are the prayers really for? God can't benefit from anything we do. The prayers are for the benefit of the person who is praying, and no one else. There are reasons behind things that people who have never been Catholic won't understand. It may seem strange - but *anything* that isn't understood seems strange, whether that be religious ritual or otherwise. Scripture to support this is:\n\nJames 5:16\nConfess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.\n\n1 John 1:9\nIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\n\nAnother thing that can be seen as strange by non-Catholics is the fact that priests and nuns don't marry. The explanation for that is quite simple: they used to. Way back when, when priests had families and they died, they left everything to their families. Unfortunately, the Church at the time didn't like this. Priests usually lived on the church property, causing a problem for the Church. It was a question of financial gain, rather than anything religious, and so the church banned priests from marrying. This way, even if they had a child, it would be out of wedlock - making the child illegitimate (by their standards) and consequently the chil
79840
First, I am a fellow Roman Catholic.  I am also a Knight of Columbus, which should tell you my devotion to the Catholic faith.  Now, to the question:\n\nHave you ever hear the logic example that says, every square is a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square?  The same applies.  Every Catholic is a Christian, but not every Christian (those whose religions refer to themselves as it, anyway) is a Catholic.  The difference here is Protestantism.  Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists, etc.) all call themselves Christians, but would be lothe to be referred to as Catholics.  Here are the main differences:\n\n1) Catholics believe that St. Peter was the first Pope, and the line of Popes runs from him down to our current pontiff, Benedict XVI.  Protestants do not recognize the authority of the Pope.\n\n2) Catholics believe in 7 sacraments, which are Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders (priesthood), and Annointing of the Sick (aka Last Rights).  Different protestant religions take out different sacraments, depending on how they were founded.  Martin Luther did not fully believe the Eucharist became the Body of Christ, so they do not fully consider it a sacrament.  Baptists only celebrate 2, baptism and confirmation.  They do not consider marriage to be sacramental.  This is one of the big disputes...Catholics believe marriage is a sacrament, so divorce is not possible.  Annulment, if you have heard of it, simply states that the sacrament never happened...it does not break a sacrament.  NOTHING can break a sacrament.\n\n3) As you mentioned, Catholics believe in the intercession of Saints.  That means that you can ask different Saints to pray to God for you, and God can allow them to help you do different things.  Jesus, during His transfiguration, spoke with Moses and Elijha, proving that Saints are very real.  Revelations talks about God hearing the prayers of Saints.  Protestants generally do not believe in Saints, even going so far as to say you are evil for praying for their help.\n\n4) Catholics actually have a more books in their Holy Bible than protestants do.  Luther decided, and others helped over the years, that certain books just did not belong in the Bible.  So, they got rid of books like "Wisdom of Solomon," "Baruch," both books of Maccabees (which reference Purgutory), "Sirach", etc.\n\n5) Catholics (Roman Catholics, anyway) have celibate priests and nuns.  Other faiths can have their preachers and sisters get married.\n\n6) The biggest difference:  Lutheranism was founded by Martin Luther.  The Methodists were founded by John Wesley.  Baptists trace their church to John Smyth in 1609.  Catholics, my friend, were founded upon a command by Jesus, the Christ, to Peter, His Apostle (read Matthew 16:18).  Other religions may revere Christ and speak of the Apostles.  The Catholic faith was made by Christ's command, to the Apostles.\n\nI hope this helps.  Do not be fooled by those who tell you that salvation is found anywhere.  Be sure you get the original, untainted source.
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I'm Catholic as well. \n\nPlease let me clarify for you. \n\nCommunion is a sacrament of the Eucharist.\nConfession is sacrament of reconciliation.\nConfession is not the scary thing of shame and punishment that many of our Christian brethren think it is. It is telling God that you are sorry for the sins that you have commited and that you want to be forgiven. Jesus did of course give dispensation to Peter (The Catholics churches 'first' pope) for "those sins you forgive, i forgive, those sins you retain, they shall be be retained"\n\nPlease note that you must be a baptised Catholic to receive communion.\n\nIt is preferable to participate in the act of reconciliation before you receive communion.\n\nPlease do email me if there are any other questions that you might have that i can help you with.
270044
Everyone does things that God tells us are wrong. This is known as sin. God doesn't expect you to be perfect. He just wants you to accept His forgiveness, so He can be your friend. This is called salvation. \nThe way God forgives us is through Jesus. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus died on a cross and was buried for three days. \n\nBut then something awesome happened. He rose from the grave and came back to life! He is now in heaven and wants you to accept Him. \n\nTelling Jesus You Need Him \n\nYou can accept Jesus by telling Him you need salvation. Have you ever done or said or even thought something that you knew was wrong? Maybe you lied to your parents, said something mean to your brother or sister, or thought something that wasn’t very nice about someone. This is all sin, and every person in the world has sinned. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." \n\nWhat It Means To Repent \n\nJesus not only wants us to accept Him, but He also wants us to be sorry for our sins. He wants us to repent. To repent means to change or to turn from our old ways. Jesus wants you to act in new ways that are good and pleasing to God. (Luke 13:3) \n\nUnless we repent, we will always live away from God–not allowed to go to heaven and not able to live life to its fullest here on earth. (Romans 6:23) \n\nIn order to turn from our ways, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the only way we can truly change. He wants us to ask Him into our lives. Just like you might ask a classmate if he or she will be your friend, Jesus wants us to ask Him to be our friend too. \n\nInviting Jesus into Your Life \n\nIf you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your life, all you have to do is ask Him through prayer. He wants to be your best friend. Here’s a good way to ask Him:\n\nDear Jesus, \n\nI know that I have sinned, because I have done and said wrong things. I do not want to be apart from God because of my sin. I need You to take away my sin and forgive me. I believe that You died and rose from the grave for me because You love me so much. Thank You, Jesus, for forgiving my sin and coming into my life. Please help me to know You more every day. Help me live like You want me to live.\n\nAmen.\n\nCongratulations!\n\nYou are now a child of God! \n\n(2 Corinthians 5:17-18) God has made you brand new, and He has great things planned for you.\nNow you have a new birthday. This day is your new birthday. You have now been born again. You have a birthday, when you were born of the flesh, this is your day you were born of the spirit! Happy Birthday.
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I know this is long, but it's worth reading.\n\nI believe in God because I've found peace in Him.\nWhen I have a bad day at school, or if my parents get mad at me, all I have to do is read my Bible. Instant spirit boost. It reminds me that God is always there right beside me, no matter what I'm going through (and that he went there before me and knew everything that was going to happen, and that nothing happens that he doesn't already have worked out). It's a faith thing.\nTo answer your last two questions: Indeed, we are all sinners. It had to be that way. God wants us to have a relationship with him. That relationship is called "fellowship", and you can't have real fellowship with someone unless they genuinely want to. It wouldn't be a true relationship if, say, you tried to be friends with a computer; the computer just does whatever you tell it to do, it doesn't have a real choice of whether to stay with you or go somewhere else, so its friendship really means nothing. So, in order for God to have true fellowship with His creations, there had to be something standing between humans and God, so that only people who genuinely wanted God in their lives had a relationship with Him. That's why there had to be sin, and all of us had to be sinners, so that we could opt to have fellowship with God. And, if He destroyed us, there still wouldn't be fellowship. You just have to realize, God has already won. He won when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for all the sins of mankind, so we can have a relationship with Him. He loves you and He wants you, and He's already forgiven you; all you have to do is accept it.\nTo answer your last question: I'm not sure about either Ghandi's or Einstein's faith in God or their salvation, so I don't know if they went to heaven or hell. But I do know this: Jesus said "No one comes to the Father except through me." So if Jesus wasn't their personal Saviour and they had not placed their trust in Him, they did not go to heaven. For the Bible says that no good deeds on this Earth are enough to "buy" your way into heaven, even if you're incredibly smart or act on integrity all the time, you still need atonement for your sins through Jesus Christ.
206820
I don't know where you get your information from.  You have been misinformed.  There are some so called "Catholics" that are misguided, as well as many others.  I was raised and taught in Catholic schools.  Not once, did anyone ever suggest praising statues or worshiping anyone or anything other than (Jesus, Holy Spirit & the Father) Holy trinity = one God.  We believe in offering prayers for loved ones, and we believe that the Staints offer they're prayers for the living.  But if someone was to assume that Catholics are taught to worship anyone or anything other than God, they are sadly mistaken.  Statues, pictures, etc... are reminders of who are good examples of how to live as Christ did.  Just like having pictures of your children.  The pictures are NOT your children, but an image of your children.  you would feed, clothe or talk to the picture.  Being Cathoilic does not mean that you are out of touch with reality.
600111
I LOVE JESUS! He died for us for that we would not perish,but have eternal life! Just think of giving up your only son so that he could bare our sins,I couldnt do it but GOD did!The beatings and torture he went through is because of us,we put the scars on him!If you really want to show your friend,be christ-like,and do as JESUS did! I'll keep you in my prayers,but remember you can try to lead them to believe,but you cant make them if they accept not to believe!
487980
In the Catholic faith, we believe forgiveness is offered only if certain things are preseent. ( And FYI, confession to a priest is only necessary for mortal sins, not venial sins.)  God alone does the forgiving, not the priest.  The sinner must acknowledge that what he has done is truly a sin, and that it was done out of free will.  He must plan to try to not do it again.  He must be truly sorry .  He must be willing to make up for his sin in some way.  The priest, after hearing the confessor, is in a position (through the power of the Holy Spirit) to express what God has offered, forgivess.  Of course, if the confessor is lying, and doesnt have true remorse, or immediately goes out to sin again, then obviously God sees the reality of it all and forgivess was not present.  Jesus understood human nature perfectly when he instituted this sacrament: we have a need to talk to someone when we are feeling anxious, upset, and guilty.  A trained person who can listen and offer comfort and help us work through our sinfull desires, and then assure us, only after he himself is sure, that our loving and forgiving Father has welcomed us back with open arms.
263363
Unless God has shared something with him that He hasn't with the rest of us, the guy is wrong.\n\nBelieve it or not, Catholics can make mistakes just like other people.\n\nWith love in Christ.
201488
It is a false belief that Jesus was God or was the only son of God. God cannot make himself die. Also He does not deceive people. He sends reformers who tell the truth about God. Jesus called him father only because he loves us all like a father loves his children, that does not make the God actual father of Jesus.\n\nThis is a fact too, that Jesus did not die on cross as he was put on cross for such a shorter time the he did not die. His wounds were cured after he was take off of it. Why would a person tried to be cured if he is dead? Read Bible and you will find the truth about Crucifixion. Christians do not want to use their brains in this matter, otherwise a sensible person can simple understand that he did not die on cross. Why do they think, he died? Only because they do not find the traces of Jesus after crucifixion. My question to them is that in such a case where did Marry go? Did Jesus's deciples thrown her into no where and not care about her? Some researchers had tried to bring the facts into the knowledge of those who really want to know the truth, instead of just following the wrong belief.
164594
All prayers are answered by God if you're a Christian. Catholics are another denomination of Christianity, like Protestants. Man has set up a number of barriers to free worship of God. To say you're Catholic or Protestant further divides Christianity. What it amounts to is like Crocodile Dundee said, a bunch of fleas arguing over who owns the dog they live on. That's what I tell them. Christians all pray to the same God, no matter if you're Protestant, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, or any of the others. To say that God only answers the prayers of people who pray the Rosary or does it differently based on your denomination is just not logical.
580247
Jesus didn't take part of our sins to the cross; He took ALL OUR SINS.  He is waiting for you to return to Him.  If you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you.  Just ask Him.
375028
There is no time like the present. None of us can throw stones, if we believe in God  or not and are sorry for anything we have done, and where possible make amends, that is all one can do. If we treat others as we would like them to treat us, can't be bad. By the way Catholics do not have their sins forgiven if they have no intention of trying not to sin again. Anyone should know that!
67182
Praise God yes honey if they were a believer they most certainly will go to heaven.  Not going to heaven from suicide is something the catholics made up. The only way you can't go to heaven is if you were to deny Jesus as the son of God or that he didn't die for your sins.    .  Praise God there is NO sin too big for God to forgive through Jesus's blood >  Don't let anyone tell you any different.  If they do they are making it up  There is definately nothing in scripture to say anything different.(unless they take scripture out of content)  some people say that by killing yourself you are taking over for God so to speak. I mean that is like saying God isn't in control   God knew what we were going to do before we were made in our mothers womb.  In referenc to destroying the temple of God our bodies.  We are a spirit we live in a body and we have a soul (our mind will and emotions) our bodies are only temporary tents .  your spirit will return to be with God (this is a good example of taking scripture out of content)