Catholics Are Christians Too!

[KitsuneShoujoAi]

This is by far my favorite topic to debate. Not only does history prove that Catholics are the original Christians, the Bible proves that Catholic do indeed follow Jesus Christ and accept Him as the Savior. You think I'm wrong? Try me.

[orthodox]

I am not Catholic.

But I read the site and yes its true nowhere in the bible does it say to change the Sabbath from Sat to Sun.

EXCEPT... Sunday is the day that the resurrection of Christ is celebrated. The resurrection of Christ is the fundamental act of the Christian faith and we celebrate liturgy, with communion, that day for that reason.

That is why the church fasts on Friday (the day the Lord died) and Wednesday (the day he was betrayed). We do not celebrate the same rituals as the Jews.

The church has a yearly calendar with feast days and fasting periods for different Saints and Holidays. It is not in the Bible though.

There are early saints that have responded to this topic and I can post if you want.

I noticed no response to my earlier post...

[Fr33ly80]

It's a shame that Catholics are as stubborn as they are and that Christianity took the turn that it did in Catholicism but the bottom line is, and of course I'm talking about the catholics that believe the following, I cannot speak for all of them. But, if catholics believe Jesus died for some of their sins and they have to go the rest of the way with good works, then they do not believe that Jesus died for all of their sins and we know that that is the only way to God. Also, Many Catholics are not true believers and go to church only because of the tradition. They often lack a true relationship with their savior.

[kayky]

It's a shame that Catholics are as stubborn as they are and that Christianity took the turn that it did in Catholicism but the bottom line is, and of course I'm talking about the catholics that believe the following, I cannot speak for all of them. But, if catholics believe Jesus died for some of their sins and they have to go the rest of the way with good works, then they do not believe that Jesus died for all of their sins and we know that that is the only way to God. Also, Many Catholics are not true believers and go to church only because of the tradition. They often lack a true relationship with their savior.

This seems pretty judgmental. How do you know why some Catholics go to church or the true nature of their relationship with Christ?

[puddleglum]

This is by far my favorite topic to debate. Not only does history prove that Catholics are the original Christians, the Bible proves that Catholic do indeed follow Jesus Christ and accept Him as the Savior. You think I'm wrong? Try me.

History proves that Catholics were originally Christians, but not that they are the original Christians.

The original Christians were the ones in Jerusalem, and churches were established in many other cities before Paul finally reached Rome to preach the gospel there.

When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire the church began to be filled with people who joined because of its official status and not because the believed what it taught. One result of this was that it began to adopt many of the pagan beliefs of these new members, merely changing them enough to make them seem Christian.

One example of this is the practice of praying to saints and to Mary asking them to intercede instead of going directly to God thru Christ as the Bible commands. This is merely a disguised form of the polytheism the new "Christians" had previously followed.

A Christian is anyone who has sincerely repented of his sins and put his faith in Christ for salvation. I don't doubt that many Catholics have done this and are really Christians. But if they are sincere in following Christ they should turn away from any beliefs and practices that are contrary to what he taught. This was what Martin Luther and the other Reformation leaders tried to do.

[Fr33ly80]

It's a shame that Catholics are as stubborn as they are and that Christianity took the turn that it did in Catholicism but the bottom line is, and of course I'm talking about the catholics that believe the following, I cannot speak for all of them. But, if catholics believe Jesus died for some of their sins and they have to go the rest of the way with good works, then they do not believe that Jesus died for all of their sins and we know that that is the only way to God. Also, Many Catholics are not true believers and go to church only because of the tradition. They often lack a true relationship with their savior.

This seems pretty judgmental. How do you know why some Catholics go to church or the true nature of their relationship with Christ?

I didn't mean to come off judgemental but I did say in general and not all. But it's a fact that this (they have to go the rest of the way with good works to be forgiven of sin because Jesus wasn't enough) is a core tenant of their belief and this conflicts with what we know to be true and what we find in scripture. It's pretty safe to Say that many Catholics believe it since it's a catholic belief. And as far as repition, ritual and a lack of a personal relationship are just a few of the side effects of the faith and the way it is practiced an presented and while they are not true for all Catholics it is certainly true for some. It really isn't judgemental.