Catholic or Protestant?

I believe in the God who inspired the Bible, protestant, catholic, pentecostal, evangelical, it makes no difference. God is God irregardless of what man says.

And I"m sorry, but you say that you "think that the Bible should be as it was written," but so much of what you say does not line up with the Bible you defend.

So do you believe it should "be as written," while we should have the right to disagree with portions of it as you have? So if I disagree with a portion of it, can I rip that page out? But then, isn't that NOT leaving it "as it was written?"

You have contradicted yourself.

Edit: You asked the question! So we weren't supposed to answer? I'm sorry, I thought this was "Yahoo Answers." I must have gotten "Yahoo Ignores" by mistake.

Edit 2: You say you want to know the "right way," and you seem to endorse the Bible, but then you state your beliefs which contradict what the Bible says, so then I say you've contradicted yourself, and then you don't answer for the contradiction, you just infer that you're being judged. In a sense, you are, because you have contradicted yourself! I'm just pointing out a flaw in your argument. So we're "useless" because we perceive? We're useless because we didn't say what you wanted to hear? You claim to be seeking truth, but you want truth to be contained within the parameters that you set! That's not truth my friend, but it's your insisting that truth must fit within the limitations of the box of your perception.

So to get the answer you want, you must drop the term "truth," because truth is infinite, it has no limitations, and it fits in no box.

Edit 3: No, YOU don't get it; I'm trying to help you here. Turn to the Bible and don't water it down with your beliefs or philosophies, or else drop the Bible and remain confused. It's your choice, but you can't have it both ways. You claim to agree with the Bible, but you turn to men for answers.

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him" (1 John 2:27).

Edit 4: YOU ARE SO CLOSE!!! However, you say one or the other is wrong, BOTH COULD BE WRONG! All we know is that both cannot be right. Forget what either says, and just sit at the feet of the Bible like a little child, and let the Bible teach you! And I know you'll get it because you are asking all the right questions! FORGET THE DENOMINATIONS, most of them were derailed a long time ago!

There are a few Bible teachers that have left traditional denominations and now teach from the scriptures with knowledge gained from the early church and their writings.

I have searched for God all my life. Grew up as a Lutheran, became an evangelical, moved on to the penticostal, and then legalistic-fundamental, with a dash of JW and LDS! I've been the gambit, but it wasn't until I forsook all and just let the Bible teach me that I found my home in the Lord. And then I found these others, BRILLIANT men of God that teach with such authority. One is even "inter" denominational, and is comfortable teaching in all denominations. And incredable man.

If you're interested, I will share with you what you need to hear these men teach, and then you can love all Christians, even while disagreeing with most of them.

Edit 4: Man did not write Scripture, God wrote it through man. No man is capable of writing such a phenomenal book. Once you begin, the depth of it will blow you away.

Well, to be honest, I think you'd probably be best off if you went to the Catholic Church and got some help in straightening out some of your thought processes.

Catholics don't worship Mary or any other saint, so that's not an issue. It's really just admiration.

Jesus provides the forgiveness to Catholics. The priest only PRONOUNCES us absolved, because Jesus gave the priesthood this ability in John 20:21-23.

Your statement on the pope is 100% accurate (and Catholic).

Abortions are only allowed to save the life of the mother when other medical procedures (like a c-section) are not available. That's basically tubal pregnancies and that's it. In a tubal pregnancy, the baby is doomed anyway and cannot survive, but if the woman doesn't have surgery to remove the tube, she'll die, too. In all other cases, other medical care and/or a c-section can save BOTH the mother and the child.

In the Catholic Church, homosexual people have every claim to follow the Bible and to fully participate in every aspect of the Catholic faith, so long as they really are following the Bible. Which says that homosexual activity is a sin. Having same-sex attraction is not considered a sin in the Catholic Church. It's only illicit sexual activity that's the problem. And even if a homosexual person has sex with some irresistible person, they can avail themselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and be absolved by Christ and return to full communion with the Church. Plus a life of celibacy is not unusual for Catholics -- it's a normal way of life for many of us -- so there is lots of support for homosexual people to uphold Scripture.

Men and women ARE equal in the Church and receive Sacraments equally. There are as many (if not more) female saints as male saints, and some females have been declared Doctors of the Church (those who have written theological masterpieces that are upheld throughout the Church).

The issue with the priesthood is that it's not about power or prestige. Priests are servants. They are supposed to die to themselves and live 100% for Christ, and they are supposed to act "in persona Christi" -- which basically means they are supposed to serve as Christ's voice and hands on earth because He's in heaven and isn't here to do it Himself.

Christ, you will note, is male. He could have come as a female, but He didn't. He came as a male human and His masculinity is an important part of His humanity. If He was neither male nor female, He would not have been fully human. But He was fully human, fully MALE human. This was His doing, not anybody else's.

So the people who are acting in His stead while He's in heaven -- the ones commissioned by Him -- are all to be male. Think about it. Meryl Streep is a wonderful actress, but if you cast her to play Abraham Lincoln, you'd be making a statement about Abe's masculinity, whether you intended to or not. Let's not do that with Jesus' masculinity. His masculinity is good and holy -- there is nothing wrong with upholding it in the priesthood.

Anyway, since priests are servants, complaining that women aren't allowed to be priests is like complaining that the wedding guests can't wait on tables at the reception. The true honor is being the guest at the wedding banquet and RECEIVING the Lord's Supper -- not in waiting on others.

The Bible was canonized by the Catholic Church and does remain unchanged.

So, you see, you are mostly Catholic, and getting some instruction in the Catholic Faith (RCIA class at your local Catholic parish) or reading some good books (_What_Catholics_Really_Believe_ or _The_Compendium_of_the_Catechism _of_the_Catholic_Church_, which is free on line) will clear up all your misconceptions.

You are right about what you believe with Mary and the Saints.

However, you are misinformed when it comes to confession. You only tell your sins to the priest. He then offers it to God and God forgives them.

You are right about the pope and God

I believe in the same as you about Homosexuals, just aside from the intercourse. I believe they should be able to be married though.

The reason we do not allow female priests is in part because they were considered weaker than men, not leaders, and priests are leaders. I don't quite understand that myself, or at least let them be deacons because there is mention of them in the Bible. (I think it might also have something to do with the time of the month when they would be moody and unable to do what they need to do as priests)

You seem to believe more in the Catholic viewpoint, and if you talk to a priest or another good Catholic, you will find what I said about the confession to be true.

EDIT: Not because I am already Catholic, but if I had to pick, I would choose Catholicism, because it was created by Jesus. The other churches were created by men.

I'm in exactly the same situation as you are because I'm torn between being Lutheran or Catholic. I, like you, believe in doctrines from both churches. I guess I can tell you that I'm leaning toward the catholic faith becuase it is the first church. It does say in the bible about Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit on his apostles and allowing them to forgive other peoples sins so I do believe in confessing sins to a priest. What I suggest is that you read the bible, pray, and read about both of the faiths. I suggest you read "Catholicism for Dummies." its a good book and read about the protestant reformation via the internet or any book you can find. Good Luck!

There are other ways of thinking, other options to be explored. ... Look at all beliefs and philosophies before concluding anything and be mindful to question everything along the way. Right now your options are to narrow for becoming the best person you can be. I'd have a good look at Buddhism before deciding anything between any two Christian denominations -- Christianity of any flavor offers only what's written in the Bible and the Bible is a very questionable document of severe limitation.

Give yourself some latitude... have a look at Judaism, Hinduism and don't forget that there is also an option to entirely avoid religion and belief. You can chose to chose nothing for as long as you live.

The priest does not forgive our sins, he asks God to come down and forgive our sins.

You are leaning towards the Cahtolic faith, you said you belive in honoring Mary and the apostles which we follow, the Pope is the leader of the church, and God is the leader of all, the Catholic Bible is the originial Bible, Protestants have changed it to fit their needs

Watch CNN, and watch how beautiful the Papal Mass is, it will touch you

I'm Protestant and I know that as a Protestant I should be telling you to go to a Protestant Church, but in reality in order for you to truly know what you feel more comfortable with you have to make your own ideas by going to both at least once.. so you'll be able to decide which one is right for you But also you most know that what's most important is your personal relationship with God.

I would got to the Catholic Church, based upon the fact that the number one source of converts into the catholic church are protestants.

Thats your choice... Do some more research.. Im a Catholic and I Worship Mary Mother of Jesus and Queen of Catholics everywhere... Abortion will never be accepted by Catholics and all Christians, and rightly so... Mary is everyones Mother and she interceeds for us all to her Son.. If it wasnt for her im sure God would have destroyed the World by now because of the outrageous Sins commited by the Human Race..

Well I think you should go to what ever one is more comfortable for you. Just because you are catholic or protestant you do not have to believe everything to the tee.