Is Catholocism Christianity?

[Guest hubertdorm]

What makes a person Christian? Believing in Jesus as the Son of God? Do Catholics believe is? If so, then they are Christians also. You may disagree with 99% of Catholic practice. I say, "so what?" I probably disagree with 99% of Protestant doctrine. You might disagree with 99% of another denomination's teachings. We both might think "non-denominational" groups are totally new age cult. You might think Pentecostals are demon posessedseesd. I guess nobody's system is Christian because all are flawed.

[eric]

Quote, hubertdorm.

What makes a person Christian? Believing in Jesus as the Son of God? Do Catholics believe is? If so, then they are Christians also

Sorry, mate, believing that Jesus is the Son of God does not necessarily a christian make. Satan and his demons know that. You dont only have to believe, you have to receive Him unto yourself humbly by acknowledging your sin and asking Him into your heart and beg forgiveness of it. Some people just take it for granted,especially some catholics.

cheers,

eric.

[Guest hubertdorm]

Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Christianity is not just "believing" but following. So, can a person follow Christ and still have false beliefs?

[eric]

Silly me, I forgot to add repentance. One has to repent before you are forgiven. As to your question, can a person follow Christ and have false beliefs? Well I can't, but I cant speak for others.

eric.

[Guest hubertdorm]

I guess it just comes down to what we believe opinion is vs what false teaching is. We could say, "Catholics have false teachings." But maybe they just have a different way of interpreting scripture. We do the same thing on the "Protestant" side. Hundreds of different denominations all teaching different things, but we say, "Let's get along because we are all Christians."

Are we?

Can you be a Christian and not believe in a trinity?

Can you be a Christian and believe in a pre-trib rapture?

If so,

Why can't you be a Christian and follow the traditions of the RCC?

[eric]

Christianity is not a tradition, it's a personal relationship with Christ and Him, crucified. The Holy Ghost interprets scripture for me, not man. Besides believing or not believing in the trinity or pre-trib rapture has got nothing to do with one's relationship with the Lord. If you haven'y got faith in Him then you have no relationship with Him, so it make no difference what religion you subscribe to.

cheers,

eric.

Edited December 15, 2004 by eric

[pretzelperson]

Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Christianity is not just "believing" but following. So, can a person follow Christ and still have false beliefs?

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I hope so. There are may areas of disagreement between christians--issues where both sides can't be right. This doesn't mean that if you are wrong about something that you can't follow Jesus and be Christian. Many of the discussions here evidence this. Good christian people believe in eternal security and many good Christian people don't. Or how about election and free will: some agree with TULIP and some don't. Individuals on both sides of this argument seem to be followers of Jesus. I have my beliefs on issues like these but "at the end of the day" I don't think they really matter. All that matters is that I surrender my will daily and make His will my will.

Heck, I am probably wrong about a lot of stuff I believe. I don't have all the answers. That is why I am careful about the doctrine I am dogmatic about. I am not dogmatic about issues were there is room for different understanding or interpretation of the Bible: I may be wrong.

[dwinkjr]

Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Christianity is not just "believing" but following. So, can a person follow Christ and still have false beliefs?

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I hope so. There are may areas of disagreement between christians--issues where both sides can't be right. This doesn't mean that if you are wrong about something that you can't follow Jesus and be Christian. Many of the discussions here evidence this. Good christian people believe in eternal security and many good Christian people don't. Or how about election and free will: some agree with TULIP and some don't. Individuals on both sides of this argument seem to be followers of Jesus. I have my beliefs on issues like these but "at the end of the day" I don't think they really matter. All that matters is that I surrender my will daily and make His will my will.

Heck, I am probably wrong about a lot of stuff I believe. I don't have all the answers. That is why I am careful about the doctrine I am dogmatic about. I am not dogmatic about issues were there is room for different understanding or interpretation of the Bible: I may be wrong.

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The best post of this thread is quoted above. I am in total agreement Pretzel.

God Bless,

Dave

[Guest hubertdorm]

Eric, you didn't really answer my question though. Can a person be a Christian and still follow the traditions of the RCC? If the traditions don't matter, if a personal relationship is all that is important, then we have no reason to even question a Catholic believer's salvation. They are very much Christian as another. Let's listen to the pretzel man! Our doctrines and theories are important to us, but not a way to measure salvation. I'm willing to bet that the dogmatic Catholic bashers have many problems with their own beliefs as well.

[JimR-OCDS]

So if the RCC is the one true church, does that mean we're all going to hell?

While the early Christians (prior to Constantine's conversion) called themselves "universal" which translates into Catholic, this does not mean that the Catholic church of today was the Christian (Catholic) church of yesterday. One of the interesting things is that many of the unbiblical teachings come post-converstion. I mean, I find it amazing that Catholics believe that Catholocism could have been elevated to a state religion overnight by a Pagan government and NOT be corrupted.

I don't want to get into a debate about it, but I do suggest you study the history...that is a plural you. Both sides should. The Catholic church has been around since the time of Christ...but it has also endured a massive change in theology.

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