What is your thoughts on Catholics calling themselves Christians?

The Catholic Church is the only Church founded by Jesus ans the disciples. Jesus taught that He is the cornerstone of His Church, that the disciples are the foundation stones and that St. Peter and His successors are the prime ministers of Christ's Church. St Ignatius, the third bishop of the bishopric of St. Peter in Antioch defined the Church as those who gather around the Bishops should there be any doubt as to the definition of the Church in the first century. It was also Catholics who were first called Christians at Antioch as there were no other Christians. So, only Catholic Christians have a biblical right to be called Christian but the Catholic Church has defined Christianity as those who believe in the Trinitarian God represented by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as defined in the Nicene Creed of the Catholic Church by the authority of the Church given directly by Christ.

There is no worship of idols in the Catholic Church. Such worship of anything or anyone is strictly forbidden in the official teaching of the Church contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Holy Scriptures are a part of Sacred Tradition so it is impossible that Sacred Tradition is over Scripture.

You say that you do not agree with Catholics but only give us evidence by your straw man claims which are totally false. I would question what you actually disagree with Catholic teaching about that is actually Catholic teaching or practice as you have provided no evidence of such disagreement.

There is no where that Jesus taught for us not to pray for one another. Instead He taught the opposite and our prayer for one another is , in fact taught by our Lord. This may help you from my blog:

http://fiatvolvntastua.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-ok...

If you have any further questions about the Catholic faith or our practices feel free to contact me. I would like to help you avoid further sin of bearing false witness against His Church and His faithful in the future. For now it would be wise to repent of this sin and to ask with a contrite heart for God's forgiveness for committing this sin against others.

In this way, you may understand Catholics in an informed way rather than one from the standpoint of bigotry and ignorance. God bless!

In Christ

Fr. Joseph

Catholics do not worship idols Saints, Mary or the Pope and they do not value tradition over scripture.

Scripture actually tells us to value tradition in Paul's letters to the Thessalonians and at numerous points in the old testament. Are you one of those "Christians" who ignores that part of the Bible because Catholics do not.

Jesus Christ was a Jew and the Jewish religion values tradition. Jesus also told his followers to emulate him as much as they can and since He followed tradition all Christians should.

Catholics are Christians get over the bigoted rant from your minister.

first it would be what ARE your thoughts....

second i laugh at people like yourself who are judging without understanding. you don't have to agree however EVERYTHING within the teachings of the Rcc have stemmed from Scriptures OR Sacred Tradition which was ALL THAT THERE WAS prior to the bible AND dictated to BE followed IN SCRIPTURES.

no catholic worships an idol but we do respect the artistic talents God gave people.... should DaVinci have been shot?! You've obviously never seen the Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel or Pieta in person..... if you did your foolishness over "idol worship" would be matured into understanding.

the pope...what about him?! EVERY ORGANIZATION has a "pope" of sorts... a head pastor, bishop or other leader..... even the SDA have an elected leadership of 7 so..... a house church has a leader too -- he or she is generally called the pastor so..... strike two.

can you show me where in scriptures it says we can't ask Mary or the saints for intercession? I will show you.... the opposite however..... i pray you have the Spirit to discern the truth.....Catholics ask the Saints to intercede in prayer for us, much in the same way that you would ask another Christian to pray for you. Catholics believe that the prayers of a rightous person have much more influence (with Jesus) than that of a non-righteous person. In a sense of calling your father to ask permission to go somewhere, only to have your mother/sister answer the phone. Knowing full well that you would need your father’s permission, they in turn would go ask him for you. Scripturally speaking, the saints are not only not dead, but living in the presence of Jesus and God. 

Mk 12:26-27 ... "not God of the dead, but of the living."
Jn 15:1-8 ... vine and its branches.
1 Cor 12:25-27; Rom 12:4-5 ... body of Christ.
Eph 6:18; Rom 15:30; Col 4:3; 1 Thess 1:11 ... intercessory prayer.
Jos 5:14; Dan 8:17; Tob 12:16 ... veneration of angels united with God (Mt 18:10).
1 Cor 13:12; 1 John 3:2 ... saints also united with God.
Lk 20-34-38 ... those who died are like angels.
2 Mac 15:11-16 ... deceased Onias and Jeremiah interceded for Jews.
Rev 8:3-4; Jer 15:1 ... saints' intercession.



strike three.... you're out!

so your judgment is false and your spirit is weak. i will pray for YOU to one day find the fullness of Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to enter your heart and dispel the ugliness of ignorance.

Catholics can say "We are Christians" or "We were the first" or say we don't worship statues etc. etc. etc.

My question is, do they observe the Sabbath?

The Sabbath is one of the most important commandments in the Bible.

It is, in fact, one of the most important commandments in the Ten Commandments.

It was so important, that to break it meant death.

It is a MORTAL sin.

If Catholics do observe the Sabbath, then they can call themselves Christians and the first church.

But if they think God's commandments can be broken, then what about the Pope's "sacred tradition"?

Can that be broken too?

Everybody:

Following God isn't about following what everybody else is doing.

It isn't continuing in the customs and traditions of your country or family upbringing.

Following God is about following what God commanded.

If God didn't command his people to keep the Sabbath, then who did?

If I posted a question like this, but instead made claims that question Protestants' right to call themselves "Christian" because they don't believe like I do, would that be okay with you? If I claimed that Protestants worship the Bible and idolize more than they follow the actual message, or declared that Protestants value nitpickery over acceptance, how would that make you feel? If I said that we should pray for those awful heathen Protestants so that "they will see the true light", and questioned their right to call themselves "Christians" because they are more interested in rock concerts, Powerpoint slides, and rolling in the aisles at their services than fostering a reverent attitude towards God, would that make it right?

Nothing you've stated about Catholics is true. Whether you like it or not, Catholics ARE Christians, and have been Christians for over 2,000 years.

Catholics do not "worship idols". For us Scripture is paramount over tradition. The Prayer to Mary comes from Luke 1:28. A careful examination of the First 5 books of the old Testament will show God commanded the Israelites to make images and statues (The Ark of the covenant, The Bronze Serpent the curtain in the Holy of Holies) even with the prohibition of idols. What make an Idol is how it is used.If it was the making of an image why did Jesus not condemn the person that asked about the coin with the image of Ceaser on it? The Israelites did not worship them but used them in worship just like Catholics do. The Book of Revelation tells us that the Holy dead offer their prayers for us to God.

Catholic Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches all go back to the beginning. The Oriental Orthodox Church split off from the other two early in the 5th century over the union of Christ's two natures (human and divine). The argument was on over nuances of the nature of that union. The Catholic and Orthodox mutually split over weather the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father or the Father and the Son. All of these churches are comparable with the earliest writings of the Church and the earliest councils of the Church. They were one Church at the time it was decided what books would and would not be included in the Bible.

All of these Churches believe in Apostolic succession of the faith. Just as after the crucifixion the Apostles had other followers draw lots to take Judas office. This process continued so the there is a direct line of succession all the way back to Jesus the Christ with all of these Churches. The doctrines and practices that concern you were already being practiced by these Churches were one Church and before it as decided what would and would not being the Bible. You trust one choice but not the other.

In suggesting that any of them are not Christians you place your self in a quandary. Since you let them set the day of worship on Sunday from Saturday. You accept some of the books of their Bible and choose to reject others. You accept some of the teaching of the Apostles on one had and at the same time set yourself as an authority over them. The transmission of faith cannot survive successive generations of arbitrary rewriting of what should be believed. It is why there are so many Protestant sects.

The most important doctrines of Protestant Christianity and Christian Fundamentalism vary from 450 to as little as 50 years ago.

As Paul said Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. New sects have beliefs that cannot be found before their time in history. Jesus once complained that he had things that backed up his claims, but that people seem to prefer those that had nothing to back up their message.

Time changes people don't.

My thoughts are that Catholics are Christians, so they have every right to call themselves that.

We don't worship idols, the pope or value tradition over scripture! You'll be happy to know you've been misinformed and have nothing to worry about.

We do pray to Mary, but this is hardly against Christ teachings. Where does Jesus tell us not to pray to Mary? When we pray to Mary it is to ask for her intercession. Since intercessory prayer is pleasing to God, I hardly think he'll be upset if Mary prays for us. Prayer is not worship.

We love Christ, follow him, and know that our salvation only comes through the grace and mercy of his sacrifice.

Catholics don't worship idols or the pope. We worship God alone.

Catholics don't value tradition *over* Scripture, but equal to Scripture, because Scripture says to (2 Thess 2:10).

Catholics DO see the true light: Jesus.

"Pray" does not mean "worship" it means "ask". And nothing in the Bible forbids us from asking saints who live in heaven with Jesus to pray with us and for us. It is NOT against Christ's teachings, and I note you provide no verse to support your claim.

The truth will set you free, and the truth about Catholicism will set you free from all these lies you've been told about us. We are your brothers and sisters in Christ.

I call myself a Christian because Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. He died on the Cross and shed His Precious Blood as the perfect sacrifice for my sins.

I call myself a Christian because I don't worship idols, I don't put the Pope above Jesus, and I know that Sacred Tradition is supported entirely by Scripture. I know that lies and slander are evil and that those who attack their brothers and sisters in Christ are considered no better than murderers according to the Bible.

I call myself a Christian when I ask my brothers and sisters in the Lord to pray for me, including those who are in Heaven as part of the great Communion of Saints. Jesus Himself said that all live unto God, so Mary and the Saints are alive and well in Heaven.

But most of all, I call myself a Christian because I love my Savior above all else. I know that only He can judge His own and that my job is to love and care for His people here on earth.

Those are my "credentials" as a Christian. I have been a believer in Christ Jesus since I was 13. This summer will mark the 45th anniversary of my life in Christ.

Oh, and BTW: I'm a member of the Catholic Church. Try, just try, to wrap your mind around that concept.

The shock might do you good.

First of all Catholics do not worship idols and they don't worship Mary or the Saints. Prayer and worship are two entirely different things. To call Catholics anything other than Christians is senseless because Catholics are the first Christians and their church was founded by Christ,

You are making false statements in regards to what the Catholic Church does and does not do.

I have never prayed to Mary or to a Saint nor have I ever worshiped an idol. I am a Catholic but was not raised as one and as a matter of fact it took me 44 years to learn the truth.

I have no idea of what your religious beliefs are but would assume that you are a Christian and as such you have to believe that Jesus is the truth and that Jesus is perfect as well as sinless.

If Jesus is perfect and Jesus is the truth then how can the Church that he started after his resurrection be wrong? Especially when Jesus said that his Church would never fail.

I will not tell you that your Church is wrong or is bad but I will tell you that your conception of what the Catholic Church is, is totally wrong. The only proof I need is to trace the history of all of the Christian Churches throughout the world and there is but one that can trace it back to Jesus Christ, all others trace back to a mere man.