What are the TRUE differences Catholicism / Protestantism

[rockmom]

^I'm going to have to plead ignorance, rural SE Ky is not exactly a Catholic stronghold. I must admit much of what I know of Catholism comes from TV and a few newspaper articles. I have no problem with artwork (there are few Baptist churches that don't have a painting of Jesus standing at the door knocking), but the images we (non-Catholics) see are of people kneeling before statues to pray. Am I being misled?

 

 

In traditional Catholic churches, you may find naves with a statue of the patron saint of the church, or Mary, or Joseph, with kneelers in front of them. You may also find candles to light. The fact there are kneelers there does not mean we are idolizing the statue. The statue stands as a reminder, and we believe in the intercession of saints.

 

I always wonder why people have problems with statues of saints, etc, yet have no problems displaying photographs of their families. It's the same thing really. Just an image to remind us...not an idol.

 

I honestly encourage you to check out Catholic.com, or the Vatican's website. There are many others I can provide if needed. But, I find most questions are answered at both of the above sites.

[Birdsfan]

...but the images we (non-Catholics) see are of people kneeling before statues to pray. Am I being misled?

The statues are only representations or "reminders" and have no magical or spiritual powers in and of themselves.

[PepRock01]

Oh, I know the name for it... my priest uses it every Sunday. "Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith- Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again."

 

Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat.

[5wide]

I apologize for that; but my reference to garbage was directed toward misconceptions that you repeated in your first post, not toward your own religious beliefs. These are the kinds of things that are often parroted by others, who have hate in their heart. They have historically used these ideas to discriminate and persecute Catholics. My defensive reaction was simply a pouring forth of frustration.

 

On the flipside, I've also seen similar attitudes from Catholics toward Protestants, in which they view them as heretics and claim they aren't really Christians. I'm not disputing what you say. I know it's true. But, it does go the other way as well.

[Birdsfan]

On the flipside, I've also seen similar attitudes from Catholics toward Protestants, in which they view them as heretics and claim they aren't really Christians. I'm not disputing what you say. I know it's true. But, it does go the other way as well.

I know. We did have that little inquisition episode there for a while.

[PepRock01]

On the flipside, I've also seen similar attitudes from Catholics toward Protestants, in which they view them as heretics and claim they aren't really Christians. I'm not disputing what you say. I know it's true. But, it does go the other way as well.

 

I will admit having been frustrated with misunderstandings over the years, which has lead to many a misspoken outburst regarding Protestants. Baptists in particular. Having worked down the street from the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville I had many a discussion with students who had never met a Catholic in their lives. I swear half the time I felt like they were trying to find my horns and tail. I met a number of them however who were open and genuinely curious about Catholicism. I even took one to mass with me one Sunday and he spoke with the priest after mass and came away very impressed. Even so this particular individual was in the minority of those I met from there. I pray for patience at times, but having gone through much of this many times over I passed this one off to rockmom. Who, might I add, did a much better job with it than I would have. :thumb:

[rockmom]

One thing...it is my understanding that Catholics are currently encouraged to read the Bible. It is also my understanding that in the past that wasn't always the case. If I'm wrong, please let me know.

 

But, if I'm right, why was this the case and what was it based on? I assume it would have been the result of the church leaders rules. Which brings me to my point....if the church traditions and rules passed on from leaders are equal to scripture, then it seems to that they would be unchanging, rather than being revised by later leaders that say it was a mistake. That has always been a hang-up for me, but again, I may be misunderstanding the Catholic stance on these things.

 

I don't want to come off as attacking anyone's beliefs. I'm just trying to lay out a few questions I have to see if what I've heard and read is correct or not and to find out the truth.

 

I'm sorry I completely missed this post originally.

 

OK...as to reading the Bible. As a young child in grade school, I began learning the Cathechism of the Church from age 6. This continued through my grade school years. Throughout this time, we also read the Bible. We learned how the teachings of the Church and the Bible worked hand in hand. Later, in high school, we studied the Bible in and of itself. In later years, we took all our knowledge and applied them in classes that tied the Bible, the teachings of the Church and social issues together.

[Hasbeen]

The statues are only representations or "reminders" and have no magical or spiritual powers in and of themselves.

 

....which is why I asked. You can see how misconceptions happen.

[Hearsay]

The many misunderstandings between the denominations are the result of the same thing - ignorance by a great many Catholics over the actual beliefs of their church, and ignorance by a great many Protestants over the actual beliefs of their churches.

 

That is compounded, then, by the fact that there are an awful lot of Catholic churches that don't teach the same things as other Catholic churches, and there are a whole lot of Protestant churches that are not uniform in their teachings, either.

 

In the end, it is the very misunderstandings that allow us to have an "R" in this P&R forum, and to be able to schedule great undercards like Birdsfan v. Alabama Larry in a cage match.

[rockmom]

The many misunderstandings between the denominations are the result of the same thing - ignorance by a great many Catholics over the actual beliefs of their church, and ignorance by a great many Protestants over the actual beliefs of their churches.

I'll address the above later-maybe. :lol:

That is compounded, then, by the fact that there are an awful lot of Catholic churches that don't teach the same things as other Catholic churches, and there are a whole lot of Protestant churches that are not uniform in their teachings, either.

There is but One True Catholic Church. There should not be a Church teaching something different than another. Can you provide some examples? I think you may misunderstand.

 

In the end, it is the very misunderstandings that allow us to have an "R" in this P&R forum, and to be able to schedule great undercards like Birdsfan v. Alabama Larry in a cage match.

[Hasbeen]

On the flipside, I've also seen similar attitudes from Catholics toward Protestants, in which they view them as heretics and claim they aren't really Christians. I'm not disputing what you say. I know it's true. But, it does go the other way as well.

 

 

There are so many different denominations of us that I think in the eyes of a non-protestant it's easy to lump us all together. There are many off-the-wall religions under the protestant banner.

 

For Peprock, I am a Baptist. One of the things we pride ourselves on is the autonomy of individual churches. Although the Southern Baptist convention is huge, it has virtually no control over the churches themselves. It is more a representation, not a controlling entity. This is one reason why a Pope is such a foreign concept to many of us. You will find many different levels of beliefs within even one church. Some are much more tolerant of others, some are not.

[PepRock01]

That is compounded, then, by the fact that there are an awful lot of Catholic churches that don't teach the same things as other Catholic churches, and there are a whole lot of Protestant churches that are not uniform in their teachings, either.

 

The bolded part concerns me more than any other part of that post. There should be no difference between what churches teach. Although it has been my experience that in many cases in the Louisville diocese that there have been things that were ignored or misrepresented by the laity in with an agenda. Sadly these practices were ignored largely by the previous Archbishop. I look forward to seeing what the new one will do.

[PepRock01]

There are so many different denominations of us that I think in the eyes of a non-protestant it's easy to lump us all together. There are many off-the-wall religions under the protestant banner.

 

For Peprock, I am a Baptist. One of the things we pride ourselves on is the autonomy of individual churches. Although the Southern Baptist convention is huge, it has virtually no control over the churches themselves. It is more a representation, not a controlling entity. This is one reason why a Pope is such a foreign concept to many of us. You will find many different levels of beliefs within even one church. Some are much more tolerant of others, some are not.

 

I have definitely noticed this, which is why I stopped being so general about it. I knew many an SBTS student who were borderline infuriating to speak with and at the same time I knew some who were as open and willing to listen and discuss as could possibly be. :thumb:

[Hasbeen]

I have definitely noticed this, which is why I stopped being so general about it. I knew many an SBTS student who were borderline infuriating to speak with and at the same time I knew some who were as open and willing to listen and discuss as could possibly be. :thumb:

 

I think some are concerned that tolerance will be confused with endorsement. I have that problem when I'm around Democrats. :lol:

[5wide]

I'm sorry I completely missed this post originally.

 

OK...as to reading the Bible. As a young child in grade school, I began learning the Cathechism of the Church from age 6. This continued through my grade school years. Throughout this time, we also read the Bible. We learned how the teachings of the Church and the Bible worked hand in hand. Later, in high school, we studied the Bible in and of itself. In later years, we took all our knowledge and applied them in classes that tied the Bible, the teachings of the Church and social issues together.

 

That didn't really address my post. Is it correct that the Catholic Church did not encourage, or even discouraged, reading the Bible in the past? And if so, what brought on the change?