honestly, i don't feel inspired or touched by God when i am at my catholic church but when i am at the christian church, i feel amazingly close to God.
is this wrong? because most of my friends are questioning me about my faith but i don't understand the big difference between being catholic and being christian
cristoiglesia
Favorite Answer
Huh? You really are confused. the Catholic Church is Christian. In fact it is the original and only Christian Church. All other ecclesiastical groups calling themselves Christian are in protest of the Church that Christ created. the difference is that Catholic Christians are taught the fullness of faith and practice taught by Jesus and the apostles while non-Catholic ecclesiastical groups teach some truth mixed with their heresies and man-made doctrines. God bless!
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
Daver
<<I am catholic and i go to both a catholic and christian church. ?>>
That's fine, so long as your attending a non-Catholic Christian service does not interfere with your weekly Catholic Mass attendance.
<<honestly, i don't feel inspired or touched by God when i am at my catholic church but when i am at the christian church, i feel amazingly close to God. is this wrong?>>
You don't "get anything" out of Catholic Mass because you don't understand the Catholic Mass. The more you understand the Catholic Mass, the more you will "get" from it.
<<because most of my friends are questioning me about my faith but i don't understand the big difference between being catholic and being christian>>
That's because there really aren't any "big" differences. Catholicism, and Protetanism is all Christianity. Still, there are some irreconciable (for now anyway) differences that cannot be ignored.
I would suggest you learn more about Catholicism. I would recommend you start with the book "We Worship" A Guide to the Catholic Mass", by Father Oscar Lukefahr. He has half a dozen other good books about Catholicism.
They are relatively short, easy reads and not at all expensive.
As a matter of fact, you could get them free-of-charge via an online correspondance course:
http://www.amm.org/chss.htm
Anonymous
I am a Lutheran. Choose the church you like best as long as it is a Christian one. The Catholic church is Christian but can be more formal. Do what works best for you.
Anonymous
I went through the same thing. I used to be a Catholic who went to church because I was supposed to.
I was invited to a Christian church by a family member who also used to be Catholic. When I was leaving the Christian church, I was pleasantly surprised because I had actually learned something! So I went again. We read from the Bible and guess what - I learned something new that week as well. That was so refreshing. It wasn't repetitious and stale.
Then I started to feel God - and see Him as a caring God rather than distant and unreachable.
He is speaking directly to you. Yes, it is up to you to choose whether you will follow His gentle prompting or not.
Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
He loves you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. He wants you to be near Him. Your life will be so blessed if you do. Go somewhere that you have peace and quiet then ask Him with a true heart what He would like you to do. Be open to His instruction. And thank Him for being God and for loving you so greatly.
Don't let any person try to sway you away from Him. They certainly do not have your best interest in mind.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. :)
Goodfriend
The difference is the doctrine and the sacraments. True, Protestant preachers are often better at preaching than Catholic priests, but Protestants do not have Jesus in the Eucharist. What you must do is not doubt, but LEARN what the Church teaches. Then, I don't see a problem with visiting another church for the preaching. But you must learn Catholic doctrine, because only in the Catholic Church can the fullness of Christian truth be found. Also pray for and cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus. Once you have that, the deeper meaning of the doctrines and practices will come out.
God bless
Yes then there is the faith and works vs. faith alone bit. Faith alone is unBiblical. James 2:24 says "So you see, by works a man is justified and not by faith alone." Please learn well what your Catholic Church teaches.