How to Catholics and Prodestants differ in their view of Jesus Christ?
149237
I'll tell you my bias from the beginning. I am a protestant. I do, however, consider Catholics to be my brothers and sisters in Christ. Both Catholics and Protestants believe that Jesus is the Messiah that was promised to the Jews. We both believe that He was born of a virgin, died for our sins, and rose from the dead. The Catholic New Testament and the Protestant New Testament are the same. The main difference between Catholics and Protestants today is the value given to tradition. The Catholics seem to value tradition as highly as I value Scripture. I have also heard some people argue convincingly that the Catholic view of pennance and purgatory deny the finished work of Jesus on the cross. While I disagree with some Catholic doctrines, I still believe them to be Christians.
246669
Ya, as a recovering Catholic, I would have to agree with you. \n\nThey do think of us as Christians, they just think that we really don't get it. I asked one, one time, didn't they think I was going to heaven? I explained that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, and that I believed in my heart and proclaimed with my mouth, that Jesus Christ died on the cross so that I could have eternal life. Their answer was that , well ya, I would get into Heaven, my Heavenly rewards would just not be as great.
333221
As people have said, Catholicism is just a specific type of Christianity.  As for the cross bit, many Protestants use crosses as opposed to crucifixes (the cross with Jesus on it) because of the commandment that says you shouldn't make any graven images.  Catholics interpret this to mean you shouldn't worship any graven images and use the crucifix to help focus their thoughts during prayer or worship.  Some other points based on the differences between Catholics and Protestants (most Christians who aren't Catholic are Protestant):\n\n 1. Saints.  Catholics will pray to saints, asking them to intercede on their behalf.  Protestants don't do this, and don't really have saints.  I believe one reason is they sometimes think of this as worship, naturally forbidden.  Also, Catholics believe Mary was born without sin (the "immaculate conception").  Protestants do not.\n 2.  Structure.  Catholicism has a hierarchical structure with the pope at the top, then cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, other religious, and laypeople.  This is not to say Catholics follow the pope mindlessly or above God, just that he acts as a father and a guide for the Church.  Protestants do not have this structure, but rely on small self-governing communities.\n 3.  The Eucharist.  Catholics say that the Eucharist is the essence of Christ, present with them.  They worship Christ in and through the Eucharist.  Protestants (generally) think the Eucharist is bread, symbolic of Christ, but not actually Christ.\n 4. Salvation.  Generally, Protestants believe that salvation can only come from accepting Christ as your savior.  Essentially, no matter how good a person is on their own, because they're not perfect, they wouldn't be able to make it to heaven if it weren't for Chirst's sacrifice.    Catholics believe this is true, but that you also have to 'walk the walk, not just talk the talk.'  Salvation is based on the acceptance of Christ as savior combined with good works.
1078928
Catholics follow the teachings of popes and concels and Christians follow the teachings of the Bible.
628037
You nailed it!\n\nThe fact that there is more opposition to the Catholic Church, and less opposition towards the other Christian denominations, proves the Divine Origin of the Catholic Church.\n\n"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. \n"Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. \nRejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.
576739
It's just what form of Christianity you are talking about.  Protestants will say Peter (because they don't have Saints).  Catholics will call him Saint Peter (because they do have saints).
837006
"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)\n\nAlmost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians. \n\nHere is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):\n\nBy grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.\n\nThere are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.\n\nA Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.\n\nWith love in Christ.
1168295
The Truth is Jesus.  Nothing compares to this.  Study your Bible and see for yourself,  John 14:6\nI am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.  NO NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.  Not the priests, not the pope, but JESUS.  Jesus is the mediator between God and man.\nI love the TRUTH.  It is when this gets misconstued and misinterpreted that I have a problem with it.
630236
catholics are christians
542512
Semantics...\n\nChristian = "little Christ", and according to scripture, a Christian is one who by GRACE through faith is saved, not by works, by believing on Jesus Christ and having faith that God will keep His promises.\n\nRoman Catholicism teaches that good works are the qualifiers for heaven, which counters the truth of scripture. \n\nThe Roman Catholic Church teaches many false doctrines that are simply NOT in scritpure.  Since they teach a completely different way of obtaining "heaven" than scripture does, most Roman Catholics are not saved, even though most are very nice people.  \n\nCatholics in general are not true Christians, according to scripture's definition.  \n\nThe dictionary's definition is just that...the dictionary's definition.  \n\nSalvation is by grace, not works.  No amount of good works could ever merit eternal life for anyone.  That is why most Catholics are not true Christians.  \n\nRoman Catholicism is pagan, and those who abide by the tenets of it are far from the truth.
633460
I'm a catholic and you know i never even thought of that. Glad you did and pointed it out. As far as Don up there maybe the reason he didn't go see it. Is because he's to much of a chicken, he would realize what kind of person he really is. He claims to be a christain but is always bashing the catholics. Calling us a perverted & cult like religion. A true christain doesn't bash another for their beliefs and religious practices. They are kind and understanding. If you are a christain and honestly feel  that some other religion is wrong the best  thing to do is pray for those ppl, not bash them . Thats the true christian way.
347486
YES.  According to the good ol' American Heritage Dictionary, a Christian is one who professes "belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus."  I'm a Catholic, and I know this describes me, as I'm sure it describes you as well.\n\nI have come to understand a bit more about why sometimes Protestants say Catholics aren't Chritistian, however.  Hopefully, these will help you understand your friends' logic:\n\n1. The Saints.  It's thought that by praying to saints, Catholics are worshiping them.  This isn't true, of course, for reasons I won't get into here - I'm sure you know them - but you can see how people might think you're not Christian if they thought this was true.\n2. The Bible.  Because Protestants don't have a Church structure the way Catholics do, Protestants often end up paying a lot more attention to the Bible, memorizing passages etc.  It seems to them that Catholics ignore the Scriptures and so the word of Christ.  This isn't true either, but it's a not-infrequent misconception.\n3.  The Eucharist.  Catholics say that the Eucharist is the essence of Christ, present with us.  We worship Christ in and through the Eucharist.  If you're Protestant, you (generally) think the Eucharist is bread, symbolic of Christ, but not actually Christ.  So if they see us worshiping God in the Eucharist, they think we're bowing down to a piece of bread.  You can see how this would seem sacriligious?\n4. Salvation.  Generally, Protestants believe that salvation can only come from accepting Christ as your savior.  Essentially, no matter how good a person is on their own, because they're not perfect, they wouldn't be able to make it to heaven if it weren't for Chirst's sacrifice.    Catholics believe this is true, but that you also have to 'walk the walk, not just talk the talk.'  Salvation is based on the acceptance of Christ as savior combined with good works.  The reason some Protestants have a problem with this is because they're thinking we're discounting the importance of Christ's sacrifice and that we think we could get into heaven on our own. \n\nSo you see, the concept of Catholics not being Christian is generally based on misconceptions.  Try explaining these concepts to your friends (without proselytizing) and try to find out why they think Catholics don't count as Christians.  We all believe in Christ as the source of eternal life.  Maybe you can help them see this.
549704
Christians believe in many different things. Me and my mom are Christians but she is Mormon and I am Pentecostal. We don't see the same things but we both are Christians. For me it is how I want to Praise Jesus. For her she is mostly told how to praise Jesus. But we have the common factor which is Jesus.
924644
Christians believe in one God, in three parts, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.\n\nMuslims do not accept this belief, believing that Jesus was only a prophet and that there is no Holy Spirit.\n\nNo, they are not the same.
93643
Catholicism is a religion of idol worship.  The Bible does not support worshipping or praying to Mary.  She was a human being like all of us.
10738
Those who  call  themselves Christian & who believe that the Savior died so they can eat bugs & scavengers are from  the traditions of man (mainly Emperor Constantine & his Popes).\n\nTrue believers know that God does not change; that God's Laws are perfect; that it is willful heresy to "iinterpret" Scripture to justify  whatever they want to do.\n\nIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.... Jesus is the Word, He always has been, the OT is the Word (Jesus) of God..., and in the NT, Jesus is incarnate. Of course He could explain the OT Scriptures so well - He is the Author. He didn't change & He didn't change Scripture - He prophesied it; He clarified it; He personified it! That is our advantage of being born AD - we have the blessing, of knowing the prophesies have come true (we get to be Doubting Thomas'), and of being given divine insights into Scripture.\n\nWhether we were born BC or AD is rather irrelevant, salvationwise. In the OT days of the Patriarchs & prophets, God justified the faithful by Grace; in NT-days, God still justifies the faithful by Grace.\n\nEating unclean animals is an abomination to God.
366939
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