Are Catholics Really Christians?

I don't understand why they pray to Mary, an image.

Well they say it is no different than asking you or I to pray. But when people ask me to pray they don't make a statue of me. Nor pictures. They don't light candles in front of statues or pictures of me. They don't kneel in front of me to ask me to pray on their behalf either.

You are not in Heaven.

Also, the Catholic Church mixed Aristotlean Philosophy with Christianity under Thomas Aquinas, distorting the Christian message. Also, the Catholic practice of calling Priests father is forbidden in scripture. all the best urban

Please don't think that I am replying to start an arguement, because I am not. The bible instructs us to BELIEVE and be baptised. The belief has to come first. Not the other way around. Catholics baptise and then they are taught and either they believe or not. (obviously no one can force someone to believe)

No you can't force someone to believe. Faith is a free gift from God. Just something to think about... Based on your response, and knowing that you have young children, I would assume that you have not had your children baptized. If they die tomorrow, where would their souls go? I don't mean this judgementally, I just don't understand why infants shouldn't be baptized.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with Catholic school. Why do you think Catholics don't ask Jesus to be their personal savior? Catholics most certainly do recognize salvation as a free gift from God. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church(www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm): #169 - "Salvation comes from God alone..." #620 - "Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us..." #621 - "Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation..." #1811 - "...Christ's gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues..." We believe that we are saved solely by the grace of God. Our response to His free gift is one of faith and works. We are born again in Christ through Baptism. Once we are In Christ, our good works are not our own, they are His. And only He can merit eternal life.

barehugs my church is out there working wht thw hurricans. We were there to help recovery from Katrina. We were ther for the tusaumie in Indonesia. We are there almost as fast as the Red Cross but you don't hear about us.We are out there feeding the hungry. we are out hther teaching about healthy living. I know of other church organizations that do thesame thing. When you speak abobut the church you should be sure you know which church you are speaking of you should identify that church. Please don't lump all church together. We are all different.

My church isn't rich. But I'm not Catholic. I've never seen a poor Catholic church.

Yes, dee, last night Dateline NBC told the story of a Catholic priest in New Orleans who was instrumental in helping his Vietnamese community in recovering from Katrina.

Yes, to one another, in the manner of the early Celtic Church not in private to a Priest. all the best urban

James 5:16 says "confess your sins to one another". John 20:21-23 gives men the authority to grant forgiveness. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, forgiveness is not given by the priest. It is given by God through the priest. A Catholic who lives as you describe is abusing the Sacrament. Without true repentence sins confessed to the priest are not forgiven. Interesting that you mention that though. Most of the Protestants I know live as they please because they believe that their actions have no bearing on their salvation, that their faith alone has saved them.

Yes one another. So if I goof up I can confess to my husband or whoever I choose. It does not absolve us of our sin. That person can not grant forgiveness nor can a priest. Beyond that it does not say confess your sins to a priest.

You are very wrong to generalize like that. I am a former Catholic and am now a born again Christian. I am not over zealous. I don't try to convert anyone. I respect other religions. Have studied a few as well. I would visit any temple or whatever during a tour/trip. I love seeing different things and learning about different things. My mother in law is Catholic. She kinda liked me until she found out that I was not Catholic nor would I raise my children Catholic. She has never treated me the same since. She used to act like she loved my sister in law's husband but at Easter she revealed that she hated him and wished he never married her daughter because he is not Catholic. Sounds very tolerant and accepting to me.

I meant to tell you that I am sorry your MIL treats you poorly. I don't know if I should be comforted by the fact that people are people regardless of their beliefs.

I had a similar situation with my mother-in-law. When my husband and I married, neither of us were practicing Christians. As I reverted to Catholicism, my in-laws became more and more bitter. They are passive and have not explicitly condemned me, but they have made negative remarks about my Catholic beliefs. They are non-practicing Lutherans. They blew up at my husband on Christmas Eve a few years ago, and basically expressed their disdain for me and my relatives. They also have a children's book about Martin Luther for my kids.

You imply, tacitly though not directly, that His Church is the Catholic Church, is this your intention? all the best urban

The Catholic Church wasn't started until the 11th Century when the then Bishop of Rome split from the Orthodox church. Until then it had been accepted that authority lay in the combined council of the Bishops in Rome, Constantinople, etc. The newly self-declared Pope declared this a heresy, despite having accepted it himself previously and therefore declared himself a heretic! The Pope's claim to authority rests on apostolic succession from Peter, presuming that Jesus made Peter the head of the Church. In fact Jesus say that Peter is the Rock on which the Church is built and that he, and he alone is the head of the Church. Expressly forbidding Christians to call anyone Father or Rabbi, that is to say, it is clear he means his Church to be a Church of brethren under him. When asked of whom people should take guidance it is to his own brother James the Just that he refers. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to him, "No matter where you come [from] it is to James the Just that you shall go, for whose sake heaven and earth have come to exist." Again, both Paul and Peter yield authority to James when in doubt. It is clear from scripture that the Catholic Claim is entirely bogus and merely spin used to justify the Pope's hubris. Tim 3:15 is not the words of Jesus and is therefore of lesser authority Matthew 18:17 referes to the Church but which Church does it refer. Certainly the Orthodox Church pre-dates Catholicism by many centuries, that rules out Catholicism. There is some evidence that the Celtic Church, founded in Galicia by those alive at the time of Jesus is the oldest Church. Again there are so many Catholic teachings that run contrary to the teachings of the head of the Church, Jesus all the best urban

Of course that's my intention. I should have made it more clear. Do you not believe that Jesus established a church? That His Church contains all that He taught? That His Church, because He is the head, must also be infallible? That does not mean that all "Catholics" will be saved and that "non-Catholics" will not be. The Body of Christ is comprised of people professing many faiths. I am speaking specifically of the teaching authority that Jesus gave to His Church, the church that Paul calls the pillar and foundation of truth 1Tim 3:15. And the Church that Matthew 18:17 refers to in settling disputes.