Why do so many Christians think that Catholicism is an illegitimate denomination of Christianity?

Question

I'm Catholic and I am constantly getting tons of misguided beliefs about what the Catholic church believes from my non-catholic fellow christians. There are so many false statements that we worship Mary or that we manipulate the Bible and edit it. Honestly I'm just curious to hear what people know (or think they know) about the Catholic faith and why so many Protestant religions tend to discount it as not true christianity. And if anybody would like me to answer any questions about the religion just link me to the question and I'll try my best to answer it or hand you over to somebody who can. :)

Answer 1

Because, that's not the one they follow. It's really that simple. The only legitimate flavor of Christianity is the one they follow. Just ask them, and they will tell you themselves. After all, if they didn't think their denomination was the right one, they wouldn't be following it, would they?



And, you wouldn't be following Catholicism, unless you thought it was the right denomination, would you?



See? No different with them.

Answer 2

@The Doctor --



The pope issued indulgences, but he never SOLD them. That was the act of individual clergy members.

Without any concept of Purgatory, you will not understand the concept of indulgences and how they actually function. If you think indulgences were used to forgive sins, you are very wrong.

So the asker is correct when he says that they do not represent the belief system as a whole.





@euhmerist ---



The book of Matthew was written in Aramaic, a language which makes no distinction in grammatical gender, hence the name 'Peter', and the word 'rock', are both translated with the same word -- Cephas.

In Koine Greek, there is no distinction of the size of a rock in the word 'petra' and 'petros'. That only occurs in Attic Greek (which is not the Greek of the Bible). The word for pebble is 'lithos'. Because Greek has gender while Aramaic does not, Peter's name had to be transliterated in the masculine gender 'Petros', because to have is name in the feminine would be unacceptable. However, Peter is still being referred to as the ROCK. So yes, he can be both. It is just an issue of translation from Aramaic to Greek.



The rest of your argument is largely incoherent rambling.

Answer 3

I was a happy Catholic until I started reading the Bible.

Praying to Mary and saints was something I could not find in scripture. In fact I found that it violated the commandments. Jesus died once and for all. The epistles and the gospels clear the eating of all foods. Yet Catholic dogma is contrary to this. And why would it matter if Jesus died for us if I just do my time in Purgatory (another thing I never found in scripture)?



And now the Catholic church takes the millions of years, and particles-to-people evolution stance. If you are going to water down scripture, why not have fun and be a secular humanist.

Answer 4

Hello,



It seems to be the ones here on YA; never hear this sort of thing on the streets, radio or TV. As for atrocities in the past Protestants are not out of the dog house on that. The witch hunts, persecutions of Catholics in Germany, Cromwell, Calvin's theocracy in Geneva etc.



Cheers,



Michael Kelly

Answer 5

Your using words to deep for them. There illiterate and angry and only look for simple answers to a complicated world. I know from my own personal experiences with the really hard nosed anti Catholics that they are angry illiterates, and usually and i'm serious on this sexually frustrated people who look for a Jesus that does not exist; and can not stand the success and Joy of the Catholic faith. In so many words childish jealousy.

Answer 6

The Concordat made between Hitler and Pope Pius XII... lol... must be a fan of the broadway play "The Deputy" which began that lie... great source you get your Catholicism from. lol.



Also, the Muslims themselves never heard of the crusades until the 1800s because the crusades was nothing different for them. their life style was to take over land. they took over Christian lands and the Christians fought back. and a book by a pro-muslim wrote a book of falsehoods called "The Talisman" that made muslims seem peaceful and Christians as evil. wrong! and this books started this false image.



This type of research by people, as in the people who get their information in life from a broadway play and a horrible book, is a very sad thing and is very dangerous for the soul. seek the truth, it's not that far way. may the Holy Spirit heal your hearts and souls.



and true, the pope did support defending Christianity. luckily the crusades took place when ships were built better and ammunition was better. in a way, God picked a great time for it... not surprisingly that God had good timing, He always does.

Answer 7

As a former Roman Catholic, who became a Christian after reading the Bible and acting on its truth, the main problem with Catholicism is its false plan of salvation. There are other very serious problems too, but their plan of salvation is NOT God's! The Catholic church says the sacraments, Mary and being a Catholic all have a role in salvation. Such is deadly, according to the Bible.



The Catholic church teaches Mary is co-redeemer with Jesus, that she is our refuge and "the way" that will lead us to God (Fatima), that Mary is "our life, sweetness and hope" (rosary), etc. Pope John Paul II was an outspoken Catholic for Mary, who consecrated himself to her! He also taught Mary was "sovereign." ( http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/pope-john-paul-II.htm ) All such teachings have hindered precious souls from finding true salvation. My advise to all is read the New Testament and change accordingly. It is your soul and your eternity, so you better find out first-hand the message of the Lord Jesus and his Apostles. Don't just trust another. Read it for yourself.



As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." (Luke 11:27,28)

Answer 8

I was raised Catholic but I told my father when I was in third grade that I had seen enough of his religion to know it was not for me. He still made me go to church for a while after that but my spiritual journey began. I rubbed the belly of the Buddha, would seek wisdom from Confucius and chased my spiritual nirvana. It was a long journey and I am now 51 and after being baptized in a Holy Ghost Baptist Church am now serving as a minister of prayer while wrestling with prophesy. I believe God plants us where he wants us. None of our denominational names are mentioned in the Bible so all whose serve God, bring people to know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and allows the Holy Spirit to guide their life and teach them how to rightly divide the Word of God are working the fields for the Lord. I don't bad mouth Catholics if God put you there and you know it then Amen. I don't feel the need to defend my church there is just so much work to be done.

Answer 9

People think that way because of ignorance and prejudice. Protestantism emerged from Catholicism. Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't know the history of their own religion.



And as for human rights abuses - Protestantism has a history of it as well. Witch hunts, persecution of Catholics, etc.

Answer 10

You may claim that you don't worship Mary but what you don't call worship seems to cross the line. Almost like it feels wrong deep inside.



We also believe that Jesus is the way to God, not the Pastor, then Jesus, then God.



I dont' think that you manipulate the bible at all. I think you Catholics mostly don't read the bible because they can't understand it on their own and have to have their Pastor(i'm sorry I don't think I'm using the right word) explain it to them in order not to misinterpret it. Your pastors go to school to learn the bible and so do ours. Our pastors teach us how to interpret the bible for ourselves.



I do think that at the very least the Ultra traditionalist Catholics do hold on to some of the right stuff (and actually teach it also) and many themselves do have salvation but it is confused with many wrong things that started from the days in which the church was corrupt.

Answer 11

It is true that bigots receive cover for their sins on Y!A because it is anonymous. So the perception doesn't reflect reality. In reality, the CIA World Factbook shows that 20 percent of this entire Earth is in the Catholic Church. Only Muslims, which claim 22 percent of earth, is a larger group. Protestants are 5.73 percent of the planet. So you see, there are not so many Christians who think that Catholicism is an illegitimate denomination of Christianity. Most of the 5.73 percent of the Protestant world realizes it came from the Catholic Church, and most Protestants stay Protestant because of family traditions or a fear of losing personal control over God by subjugating themselves to the will of the larger Church.



In the USA, there are more Protestants than Catholics in general, but the Catholic Church is the largest single church in this nation, with more than 68 million members who claim to be Catholic. Even more Catholics who don't practice regularly. The largest Protestant deonomination is the Southern Baptist Convention with 16 million members, and the next largest is half that size. So again, there aren't so many Christians who think poorly of Catholics.



Mostly, bigots and the small sects of non-Trinitarian Christians are the source of anti-Catholic speech. The Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama is a legal group that traces the trends of these groups as well as monitoring the ultra-conservative right-wing Catholic sects (that are out of step with the Church by the way). In the 20th Century, Pope John Paul II the Great rose above all of this garbage and truly bore witness of God's power. He and the other 20th Century popes restored the papal chair to respect worldwide. There are more than 130 apostolic nunciates (embassies) around the world representing the Holy See in places as diverse as England, Iraq, Russia, Haiti, Monaco, Australia or Indonesia. The world is filled with good people who respect the Catholic Church. But there is scattered trash, too. Rise above the trash, surround yourself with decent folk, and you'll come to compassion for those who harbor anachronistic, outdated bigotry.



In the US, we have a capitalistic system that allows any Tom Dick and Harry to set up a shingle as a minister, take the written word of God, the Bible, and turn it into all manner of salable goods to support corporate religion. Now, Joel Osteen is a wonderful preacher, truly a great one considering what he has to work with. He brings many people into the presence of God, and I pray he never follows the fate of evangelicals like Jim Baker or Jimmy Swaggert, the road toward sexual scandal and hypocricy. But even Osteen is securing his personal power and wealth using his father's Lakewood Church ministry as the lever, and he lives more lavishly than any pope ever did. And he has a wife. An airline (which I understand is for sale). All the trapping of corporate success. He is exceptional, but there are many wannabes who use his example to sell Christianity as a personal self-help tool, a personal empowerment scheme.



When these folks are exposed to Biblical writings and Catholicism, they may get the inkling that there's something to the Catholic Church and a sacramental life where you aren't in personal control of your salvation, where the Church is the authority, not you personally. And that is threatening. So some of them lash out or remain silent when bigots lash out. This probablly heightens the perception that Christians think badly of Catholicism. But don't sweat it. 94 percent of the world at bare minimum isn't like that. And of the 5.78 percent of this planet that is Protestant, almost all of them respect and admire the Catholic Church.



If you search your TV listings for the word "Bible", you'll see there is an enormous amount of programming over the air and on cable that captures a curious audience of leaderless American Christians. These viewers are grasping everywhere for leadership, for something to believe in. They are led away from the Catholic Church because in Catholicism, there is no corporate power, no revenue stream that doesn't end up in the poor's hands.



Men want power and wealth in their own hands. That's the secular world we live in, and people assuage their guilt by dwelling on the Bible. TV is a great example of how the Bible is being used to sell everything from phone service to erectile dysfunction pills. Advertising. It makes the world go round. Many ministries are just advertising vehicles to sell books, DVDs, lecture seminars.... all in the name of religion.

.

Answer 12

Jesus Christ is the living head of His church

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH: and he is the saviour of the body.

The Catholic church uses Matthew 16:18 as it's claim to being Christ's church:

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This verse was originally written in Greek. The Greek word for Peter is "petros" and means a "small stone" , a pebble. The Greek word for "rock" is "petra" and means a massive stone, a boulder.

Peter could not be both! Jesus said YOU are petros a small stone. He Himself was the "rock" upon which He was building His church.

1Co 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

1Co 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

1Co 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST.

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

MYSTERY: 7 glorious "mysteries", 7 jotful "mysteries", 7 sorrowful "mysteries", Luminous "mysteries", the "mystery" of the trinity, the "mystery" of transubstantiation, etc., etc., etc..

It IS a mother ....it produced other churches as its offspring! ALL Orthodox churches, Greek, Russian, ALL Protestant churches.

Those daughter churches brought false doctrines to America.

There is NO such thing as an immortal soul!!!

Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall DIE.

the penalty for sin is eternal DEATH, .....NOT eternal life in some burning torture.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

These are only 2 of the false doctrines. There are MANY more!

Answer 13

I always wonder if they think christianity didn't exist before Martin Luther.

Answer 14

Inquisition...



Crusades...



Sale of indulgences...



The genocide in America by the Spanish and the Catholic Church...



The Concordat made between Hitler and Pope Pius XII...



The scandal of the Banco Ambrosiano... (people were killed)



They have chaplains and parishioners in all fields of war worldwide...



Sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders... and so on.

Answer 15

All the denominations are retarded.



Ha HA.....You can't burn me at the stake any more!!!...Church and State are separated now!!



And I will never send any child of mine anywhere NEAR any of your sick pedophile priests!!!



When you put Galileo under house arrest for the rest of his life, you held back the advancement of science, technology, learning and progress for the whole human race!!!....Religion makes me wanna throw-up, it's so sickening and disgusting and destructive!!!!!

Answer 16

I'm with you. I'm Reformed but if you love Jesus, you love Jesus.

Answer 17

You guys were the terrorists of the world a few centuries back.





YES THEY DID REPRESENT THE CHURCH AS A WHOLE. It was the frigging pope's issuing this crap.

Answer 18

take a world history course