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The legalistic church I belonged to, openly preached the sin of being catholic,muslim, buddhist, baptist, methodist..You name it ..they were all wrong and probably hellbound, because they were not the real church.. but they did give a little leeway by saying that they weren't sure if everyone who belonged to another church was going to hell since it was not their belief to judge
I don't agree with most of the Catholic dotrine, but I think many of them are Christians.
I think this portion of your statement would have brought about less following posts that "scratched their heads" if you had worded it that "they are Christians if they follow the teachings of the New Testament" or something like that. Not criticizing, just pointing out the wording.
Also, suppose they do follow the path of the New Testament but also follow Papal pronouncements and also pray to Mary before they go to bed, are they any less Christian for having done so? I don't think so.
Remember, we (Catholics) do not have quotas on who is saved (we want everybody to be saved and pray for that), we have no other books bolted on beyond the OT and the NT, and you can come into any and all of our churches as you please when the doors are unlocked (except maybe the sacristy where ornate vestments and gilded objects to celebrate the Mass are kept), which, in that regard, makes us function just like Baptists, Methodists, Episcopals, Lutherans, etc. who aren't held out as peculiar.
I don't agree with most of the Catholic dotrine, but I think many of them are Christians. Some r probably better Christians than others, but that can be said of any Christian. In the end "the proof is in the pudding." I read a post where some one said u can say u r a millionaire, but the proof is in your bank account. Well anyone including Catholics can claim to be Christian, but the proof is in WHOM they follow and how they live.
i could be wrong, and i suppose that she will probably clarify next time she is on, but i did not think she was implying that those who actually follow catholic doctrine are not christians. it sounded to me like she (granted i am making a gender assumption by the use of 'queen') was just stating that it depends if they worship Christ or not. i know many 'christians' of many different faiths that have told me point-blank that they don't believe in or worship Christ, though they still claim a christian church for whatever reason (usually out of tradition, in my experience).
ps- and the 'proof is in the pudding' thing cracked me up.
The messiah?
Seems to me too many of you wait to jump on semantics---
when the belief is still the same. Yes?
So what does the spirit teach us?
How are we similar?
why do we come to this place?
To hear the confession of a sinner made one in the love of Christ?
Seriously. I used to sit in a location at work not far from the desk of a Methodist minister's son. He liked to talk about Christianity. He seemed to hold it in a different light and make an off-handed comment about Catholics not being Christian.
I kept it to myself but thought it was so stupid that I couldn't get mad.
To me, any religion whose scriptural works are ONLY and BOTH the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the emphasis that your faith is put in practice largely through the New Testament, is a Christian religion. Period.
I'm not a religious expert, but I don't know what to make of religions that profess to be Christian but have OTHER books. I just don't know.
So, are Catholics Christians in your mind?
I used to do the same thing myself, but then I finally realize(through the grace of God) that that' s not I wasn't being very "Christian" in determining who was/wasn't a follower of the Lord. I will say though that having grown by the grace of God, I am learning that it is important to point out doctrinal flaws with in various religions. If we just accept everything that everone says as coming from Christ, we'll end up with a lot of truth mixed up with error. So it is very important to distinguish between which doctrines represent the Truth of God's Word, and which one's do not.
Last edited by simpleton; 01-28-2008 at 07:18 AM..
Reason: come close isn't good enough...:)
I used to do the same thing myself, but then I finally realize(through the grace of God) that that' s not I wasn't being very "Christian" in determining who was/wasn't a follower of the Lord. I will say though that having grown by the grace of God, I am learning that it is important to point out doctrinal flaws with in various religions. If we just accept everything that everone says as coming from Christ, we'll end up with a lot of truth mixed up with error. So it is very important to distinguish between which doctrines represent the Truth of God's Word, and which one's do not.
Well being Catholic, Protestant, etc, etc - shouldn't hinder one from the pursuit of finding the Truth behind God's Word. Having grown up Protestant myself, I've actually had to throw out some doctrines that I've grown up to believe in, which I've found to be erroneous upon examining God's Word myself, and praying that God reveal the truth to me. We should never pick a particular religious affiliation for the sake of convenience, or get complacent in our pursuit of Truth. If we do, it makes it very easy for the adversary to confuse us - and lead us away from God.
I would like to know in the Scriptures where it talks about Purgatory, Rosary beads, Mary being 'ever virgin', Black Madonnas, Veneration of religious images, Relics, Incense burning....eg... the 5 grains of incense, symbolizing the 5 wounds of Christ, inserted into the Paschal candle on Easter? Palaces for the clergy, the Pope! and many more. There are so many man made traditions in the Catholic Church, its no wonder people think its not Christian.
I think the Bible somewhere says that you should not add to or take away one word of scripture. The Catholics have built up a whole new world of their own beliefs and traditions. And their history, like that of much of Christianity, has been one of bloodshed and compromise, and many of the Popes have been immoral, greedy, cruel individuals.
Doesnt speak to me of truth, or following Christ and his message.
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he did say Christos
