Catholicism versus Protestantism down the centuries

As I understand it, Catholics will not say that they know for certain that they are saved, in fact there is some idea that it's presumptuous to think that. And they DO add works to the formula, which completely undermines salvation by Christ alone. Tempe, the Protestant Reformation was no little schism, it was a revolution in understanding and the Reformers ended up recognizing the Pope to be the Antichrist who usurped the place of Christ. Those were Catholic priests who led the Reformation, men who knew Catholicism from the inside, far better than the average Catholic could know it who wasn't even allowed to read a Bible. They got some of the true gospel but so muddied by rituals and superstititons that it was hardly recognizable. Catholics were, still are, taught all kinds of false practices, such as to pray to Mary and Saints, which is idolatry according to the Bible. Catholics I know personally pay to have prayers made for the dead, that's a horrific violation of the gospel. The Mass understood as a re-sacrifice of Christ performed by a Priest is a blasphemy. Martin Luther trembled at the thought that he had such power. Good old Martin Luther. He was an emotional mess but he understood the true implications of what he was asked to do. Ex-Catholic Priest Richard Bennett is one of many who finally left Catholicism after years of struggle. He said he was not taught the Bible, he was taught Aristotle. He has a website where he tells his story and reveals why Catholicism is not Christian. That's kind of like reducing the Holocaust to a misunderstanding that got a couple of Jews killed by mistake. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

But believe WHAT? Belief that God exists won't save you. As scripture says even the demons believe that much. WHAT you believe is what matters.

I believe I made it clear that works are the evidence of faith.That's a whole different thing than resting your salvation ON your works.

So say you.
How does anyone know you are correct?

They will not say that they are saved, because whether their faith in Jesus was enough is not determined by themselves. Similar to other branches of Christianity, that determination about their faith is up to God only.And, as Catholic Scoentist said, the works are you showing your faith in Christ through action. If you believe in Christ and his message to love one another and help one another that naturally leads to acting this love out in the world. But again the main tenets are extremely similar between the two branches of Christianity, correct? If they are not, please provide me some examples.You even state that works are important to the Protestants, just not required for salvation, what is wrong with a group of Christians saying that living your faith through your life is required, still seems kind of similar to me.Another HUGE difference that I can think of the transubstantiation. According to Protestants, the eucharist is simply a metaphor for the body and blood, whereas to Catholics it actually is the body and blood. A major difference, but could be looked at as minor if we realize that the important part is that they believe Christ was God. Plus, what someone believes in their mind does not have any bearing upon how your faith sees it. Ahhhhhh.....The classic Protestant misinformation about the Catholics and their Saints. Catholics do not pray to saints, but rather through Saints. They are asking one who the church states was loved by God to intercede on their behalf to God. They are not expecting the Saint or Mary to actually help (at least in the correct theology), but rather that their word to God will help God to act. Actually, one is not required to pay to have their loved ones names read during the prayer for the departed. Nor are they required to donate for a mass to be dedicated to a loved one's memory. There is an option to donate and many choose to do so, but it is not a requirement. This comes down to a simple difference in interpretation and nothing else. When Protestant hear: "This is my body", they take it to mean, "this represents my body and my sacrifice". However, when a Catholic hears it, they hear, "This IS my Body". If it is blasphemous to have a difference in interpretation on words that could be taken either way, then yes. However, this is still a very minor difference with huge interpretive results....you are both still uttering the same words, again the belief truly resides in the mind where God could see it...no reason to serparate the groups out for this. That is nice, and I left the Catholic Church too, because I could not resolve the concept of a parent deity figure without any evidence to substantiate it. I personally was taught the bible and taught others the bible while I was going through Catholicism. Yes it was interpretation based on Catholic Doctrine, but your interpretation is based on Protestant doctrine.What my statement is is that the reformation was truly slight differences, all that affect only a person's personal faith in their mind. The churches (both of them) should stop trying to control individual thoughts, that has already been proven to not work. Someone already stated earlier in the thread, at least Catholics and Protestants are praying to the same God, shouldn't they be worried about those who are not, such as Muslims and Buddhists?

Right, so you can't just say that you have faith, there's got to be works too. Catholics believe salvation comes from the grace of God.They don't rest their salvation ON their works. They realize that people who don't do works don't actually have faith.We have a sermon directly from Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount. He says that people will say their christians, but if they're not doing anything about it then they're really not.

That is not like that at all, but thanks be to Godwin!My questions are:"Did Jesus say to turn the other cheek?""Did Jesus say to love your enemies?""Did Jesus say that it is our job to condemn one another for differences in opinion?"If he said any of that, then those who refuse those items are strictly refusing to trust in the gospel, correct?If that is the case, then Ian Paisley commanding Northern Irish people to burn Catholic Churches and Catholic homes is not putting his paith in the Gospels, correct? (I will agree that the Catholics torturing Protestants to confess also did not have faith in the Gospels, if those items were said)

She has appointed herself omniscient.I grew up with the understanding that Christians were supposed to be humble. I guess my pastor got that wrong.

I'm explaining what the Protestant Reformation was all about. The Reformation is famous for their "Solas" which are a way of saying that salvation comes ONLY through Christ and not our own works.Sola Scriptura, only the Bible -- that eliminates the Pope and the Catholic Magisterium as equal to the Bible in authority,
Sola Gratia, only grace, it's all done by God as a free gift
Sola Fide, only faith, our part is only to believe, our works accomplish nothing
Solus Christus, it's all done by Christ alone through His death on the cross.Now that is what the Protestant Reformation was all about and it contradicted a great deal that was and is taught by Catholicism.It's certainly not "so say I" but so say all the Reformers and well taught Protestants today.You have to decide for yourself who's correct. There's lots of information available, you don't have to trust me.

If you look at the actual words in the Hail Mary:

quote:

---

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

---

You can see that it is simply praising her and asking her to pray for us. It isn't "worshiping" Mary as the Protestants say.

Guess what, that's a Catholic lie about Ian Paisley. The Protestants have always been on the defensive in Ireland but Catholic propaganda lies about it. That's a start.But of course you reduce the Inquisition that systematically and officially murdered tens of millions to something like a misunderstanding in which a few Bible believers were killed by accident, right?

Addressing Mary at all is idolatry, CS. She can't hear prayers. Only God hears prayers. And even if she could, to address her instead of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom scripture calls our Intercessor, is outright blasphemy.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

How do you know they are correct?

Okay, so, these sourced quotes are just misinformation...:"I say to the Dublin government, Mr Faulkner says it's "hands across the border to Dublin". I say, if they don't behave themselves in the South, it will be shots across the border!"
-Seems to be anti-turning the other cheek.This is a battle that has to be won -- no ifs, no buts!
-Not exactly love thy neighbor."I refuse you as Christ's enemy and Antichrist with all your false doctrine."
-Not exactly loving one's enemy.This one was attributed, but it was shouted by him at a reporter, so seems legit to think it was him:"I will kill all who get in my way"
-Again, not Christian sentiments.Look, I understand that he was in a war, but don't the Gospels tell you that it is important to love at all times? Wasn't that the message that Jesus preached? First, I am still waiting for verification of your stats. Everything I have read states that the population of Europe was around 75 million people during this time period and that less than 1% of the total population was killed during the inquisition, which would mean...less than 750,000 people. Now, I am not saying the Catholic Church should have done this at all, but we will need proof of tens of millions.I also do not think it was accidental and that it was far more politically driven than religiously driven. The Catholic Church had control over the entire Roman Empire. How obligingly did the Romans give up control of that area to the Roman Catholic Church? Or were the Catholics murdered in the hundreds of thousands as they were first founded?Look, I understand the Catholics were f***ed up in the past. So were the protestants, so was everyone!!!! However, to continue this on into the present day and state that the Catholic Church is staging a new Inquisition once they achieve power again is inane. Especially considering that their numbers are dwindling and that with further education we will only see that loss of faith increase with time."If we hold everyone guilty for the sins of their fathers, then there is no one left in this world that is innocent"
-Tempe 12ft Chicken-ABE-Sources for quotes:
http://www.billionquotes.com/index.php/Ian_paisley
Ian Paisley - WikiquoteEdited by Tempe 12ft Chicken, : No reason given.Edited by Tempe 12ft Chicken, : No reason given.

Why is it Blasphemy? Where in Scripture does it say it is Blasphemy? Where does it say that Jesus is the sole intercessor and that God will listen to no others? Where does scripture state that those in Heaven cannot hear prayers?This whole idea that everything you get comes from scripture seems to be unfounded and is far more based upon doctrinal interpretation....hey, just like the Catholics! You guys should tots work together.