What do Catholics Believe?

[toddlermom]

I have read a thread here that is asking us to poll on weather or not we think that Catholic beliefs are Chrstian. I really can't comment because i am not sure what they really believe...One person said that the reason the Catholics are bashed so much is due to misunderstandings. Please clear these up for me.(I dont want comments about why Catholic beliefs are wrong....i just want to know what they beleive.thanks

Do you pray to Mary?

do you look for a preist to forgive you of your sins?

do you believe that is is ok to get drunk?

why do you have mass so much?

What is the difference between mass and a regular...say Baptist service?

just a few questions...thanks for any comments.

[Leonard]

Sister:

You're going to get a lot of responses here of two kinds: Some will describe what THEY as Protestants THINK the Catholic church teaches. Others may describe what THEY as Catholics DO. Both can be quite wrong if you are looking for information as to what the Roman Catholic Church teaches.

Many things written by Romans--even by Roman Priests or Bishops--are riddled with errors about what Rome really teaches. Lots of Roman Catholics practice various forms of devotion and religiosity that Rome allows but does not specifically teach.

I am NOT a Roman Catholic, however my Master's Degree is in Roman Catholic Theology. So I don't have a dog in this fight; I just want people to know the facts. If I thought Rome was the most doctrinally correct church around, I WOULD be Roman, but like I say, I'm not. The reason why is because there are REALLY areas where Rome has their theology mixed up. But most of the anti-catholic stuff you'll read is nonsense.

Given the above statement, I'll try to give you authentic ANSWERS to the questions you've asked.

1). Some Roman Catholics do pray to Mary, in the Protestant sense of the word 'pray.' This is NOT Roman Catholic teaching however. When Rome speaks of 'praying' to any Saint, it actually means asking that Christian in heaven to pray for us, just as we might ask any Christian friend on earth to pray for us. To me this is just sillyness, as nothing in the Scripture tells us those who go to heaven become omniscient as God is, so unless they are in 'earshot' of our request, how do we know they have heard us ask them to pray for us? Still, it seems pretty harmless to me. If I thought I could get Jesus' gramma' praying for me; MAN WOULD I BE ASKING HER TO!!!

2). Many Catholics look for a Priest to forgive their sins. This is a misunderstanding of what the Roman Catholic Church teaches about Confession. A correct understanding of Roman doctrine is that the person makes confession to God, in order to be forgiven by God. The Confession before the Priest is to be reconciled to community of believers (the Body of Christ), which has been hurt by our sinful activity (as Paul says, when one member of the Body hurts, we all hurt). On behalf of the Community, and on the fact of the Believer's confession before God, the Priest simply assures the Believer of God's forgiveness. The Priest does NOT 'forgive the persons sins' he 'pronounces the absolution.' Even so, did not Jesus say to the Disciples: "Whosoever's sins you forgive, they are forgiven"? Something we all need to think about....

3). The Roman Catholic Church considers drunkeness a sin, because the Bible instructs us not to get drunk.

4). The average Catholic parish has one Priest per 600 families! Some places many times that many families per Priest. That means in order for EVERYBODY to get to partake of a service, there must be multiple services on Sunday, and in many Parishes they offer a Mass every day. Just as in a Protestant church, you may attend any of the services.

5). Theology dictates what sort of service a church has. In most Protestant services the sermon is the paramount event of the religious service. Not so in liturgical churches. The sermon is merely part of the service, and neither more, or less important than the other parts. My own opinion is that this is because we Protestants have pretty much enthroned the intellect, and we feel if we haven't said 'words' the people can 'understand' then we haven't done our mission for God. In the liturgical understanding, the purpose of coming together is primarily for the worship of God, from the moment the service begins, until it concludes. It is a time of Community worship. Liturgical churches feel the 'spirit' of the Believer is fed by all parts of the service, and God is honored by all parts of our worship. I suppose the way to sum it up best is to say that in a Baptist service, the sermon is primary, whereas in a Roman Catholic Mass the Eucharist is primary.

Hope that helps.

Every blessing to you,

Leonard

[EricH]

The main areas of disagreement between Chatholics and evangelicals are:

1. How salvific grace is bestowed. Both catholics and evangelicals believe that salvation is through Christ alone. However, they differ in how that salvific grace is appropriated by the individual. Evangelicals hold that it is through personal faith in Christ alone. Catholics hold that this grace is not just through personal faith but through certain ordinances that are received from the church.

2. Communion (Eucharist) - Evangelicals hold to a symbolic presence in the elements, Catholics hold to a real presence in the elements

3. Most evangelicals believe Mary only remained a virgin until she gave birth to Jesus. Catholics hold to a perpetual state of virginity for Mary

4. The sacraments - Evangelicals hold that the sacraments (marriage, baptism, communion etc.) impart grace to the believer, but not salvific grace. Catholics hold that the sacraments themselves bestow salvific grace to the participant.

5. Mary - The Catholics hold that Mary is an intercessor between mankind and Jesus. Evangelicals see no position for Mary

There are more, but these are the ones that stick out to me.

If I have mistated anything, please let me know.

I am an evangelical, but I sometimes watch Father John Corapi on EWTN. He clearly articulates Catholic doctrine. I feel that it is important for me to understand something before I evaluate it or make statements about it

[Leonard]

It appears Why So Blind and I were both replying to your questions at the same time. Unfortunately almost everything Why So Blind said is misleading. You'll probably get a lot of this nonsense......

[Leonard]

Pastor Eric: Rome goes beyond just believing in 'Real Presence' in the Eucharist! Luther and Calvin both believed in Real Presence.

Rome goes back to Greek philosophical a prioris and lifts out the pagan catagories of 'substance' and 'appearance' insisting that the 'substance' of the bread and wine are 'transformed' (hence 'transubstantiation') into the ontological body and blood of Jesus, while maintaining only the 'appearance' of the bread and wine. To me, it is harmful to bring Greek catagories of reasoning to try to evaluate a Semitic ritual. I am with Luther and Calvin on this one. The Real Presence of Jesus Christ can be in the substance of bread and wine, just as His Real Presence is in the heart of the Believer!

This error of Transubstantiation leads to a host of other incongruities: Adoration of the wafer in the Monstrance, objectifying the host, etc. etc. etc.

Also, Protestants DO believe Grace is given to the Believer in different rites. They usually just say it was a 'blessing.' When the Catholic says he received 'Grace' I think both are really referring to the same thing. "Boy I was really 'blessed' in the service today!" is equal to "I was truly 'graced' by the Eucharist today!"

The Roman church holds anyone in heaven can intercede for you, just as any believer on earth can intercede for you. I guess they figure Jesus' mama has got a natural 'in' with her boy! Unfortunately for many Romans, Mariology has morphed into Mariolatry......

By the way, I like Caropi OK, then there's that old, bald Priest with the white beard.....Father Groeschel! I usually enjoy him a lot!

[Leonard]

Lots of Roman Catholics practice various forms of devotion and religiosity that Rome allows but does not specifically teach.

Ok, from the perspective of a church leader/clergyman, what is the difference between "Allow" and "teach"? Since we are told in scripture to expose false doctrine and to rebuke and expose those who are headed in a wrong direction? If a preacher doesn't preach against a sin or wrong doctrine, he is in effect preaching in favor of it. God said to choose life or choose death, to be hot or to be cold. Taking the position of silence is in effect being lukewarm, and Jesus said he would spew out lukewarm people out of his mouth.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm with you there, Why So Blind! Rome is in the habit of keeping silent, where it really ought to be teaching! John Paul II did some work in that area, but not near as much as should have been done. Hopefully Benedict the XVI will be more theological than philosophical.

[nebula]

If I thought I could get Jesus' gramma' praying for me; MAN WOULD I BE ASKING HER TO!!!

So would I, but scripture doesn' support such, therefor I don't do it. See?

Can't you even appreciate a joke!

[toddlermom]

Pastor Eric:

Edited April 25, 2005 by toddlermom

[Leonard]

im not trying to ugly, but i didnt understand one word you said.... maybe im just ignorant but all of this is foriegn to me...sorry

 

i just wanted some simple answers, but maybe there are no simple answers to these questions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry, I'm used to teaching Theology students! We Theologians are a boring lot.

I'm assuming the transubstantiation thing was what you were saying was confusing, so here's a little more on that.

In ancient Greek thinking, all objects were believed to have two aspects: Their 'substance' (what they ARE), and 'appearance' (how they appear). A big argument for the Greeks was if the Appearance of an object always agreed with its Substance. In the Roman Mass they believe that the 'substance' of the bread and wine change into the Body and Blood of Christ, but the 'appearance' remains just bread and wine.

[jc49]

I have read a thread here that is asking us to poll on weather or not we think that Catholic beliefs are Chrstian. I really can't comment because i am not sure what they really believe...One person said that the reason the Catholics are bashed so much is due to misunderstandings. Please clear these up for me.(I dont want comments about why Catholic beliefs are wrong....i just want to know what they beleive.thanks

Do you pray to Mary?

do you look for a preist to forgive you of your sins?

do you believe that is is ok to get drunk?

why do you have mass so much?

What is the difference between mass and a regular...say Baptist service?

just a few questions...thanks for any comments.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi sis

here a website that will help you to understand what the Rcc believe:

http://www.carm.org/

Look there it is really good .

Blessings