Posted on 02/20/2015 3:22:59 PM PST by NKP_Vet
1.“Catholics worship statues.” This stereotype is painful to hear. Not only is this completely false, but it is ludicrous. Despite the fact that there are 801 millions Protestants world-wide, according to the Pew Research Center, my rant will be geared towards our brothers and sisters in the United States. In this country, approximately 51.5% of people are Protestant Christians. Realistically, most of these families have pictures in their home, which is completely normal, right? Right. They have pictures of their loved ones, both living and deceased. Is it not hypocritical then to say that Catholics are idol worshipers, when these families have portraits of their loved ones on the walls? If these Protestant families can have pictures of Uncle Bernie and Mawmaw hanging on the wall, then most certainly the Church can present pictures of our beloved Jesus, his disciples, and the saints.
2.“Catholics pray to Mary instead of God.” This is a very common misconception throughout the Protestant community, and while I can understand why it is, I am also disheartened that many jump to such a harsh conclusion of the Catholic faith. We don’t pray to Mary, we ask her to pray for us, just as a Protestant asks their deceased grandparent/parent to watch over them.
3. “The saints can’t hear your prayers, because they are dead.” I beg to differ. Since when is anyone who is in Heaven considered dead? We call it the afterLIFE for a reason. In fact, there is biblical proof that the saints can hear our prays: -Revelation 5:8 “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” -Revelation 8:3-4 “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.”
4. “Mother Mary isn’t important; she’s just like anyone else.” If our Blessed Mother isn’t important, then every female would have had an immaculate conception. For this reason, that is why the declarative statement above doesn’t make sense. Of course Mother Mary is important, she gave birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What is so amazing about the Catholic faith is the fact that we recognize the importance of Mary, and we honor her accordingly. She is a role model and saint for all Christians to look up to, because she submitted to God completely. Until the day another woman gives birth to Jesus, no one will ever be just like Mary. She is a very special, holy woman.
5. “Catholics made up all their rules.” Every single tradition we have in the Catholic Church, namely during Mass, has biblical roots. Not to mention the fact that Jesus was the founder of our Church. I don’t know about you, but Jesus doesn’t make mistakes.
6. “God said to confess sins to Him, not a priest.” This one is a personal favorite of mine. Drum roll please. -James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” It is true that we pray directly to God, and ask Him to forgiveness, however for sins (mortal) we do as Jesus commands and confess it to one another (our priests). Jesus said this directly to his disciples, so through Him, they were able to forgive sins. This power passed down to every priest, and so on and so forth. That felt good.
7. “Catholicism is a cult.” Jesus Christ founded this Church more than 2,000 years ago, I would hardly call it a cult.
8. “Catholics aren’t Christians.” The word Christian is associated with anyone who follows Christ’s teachings, and since the Catholic Church does just that then we are to be called Christians. Not to mention Catholics were actually the first Christians.
9. “Catholics added books to the Holy Bible.” This one is so hilarious it hurts. For 300 years there was no Bible, only random writings from the prophets like St.Peter etc, until the Catholic monks compiled and canonized what is now known today as the Holy Bible. (That is until the Protestant Reformation occurred, in which one man *Martin Luther* removed 7 books). Ouch.
10. “Catholics believe you can pay your way into Heaven.” We definitely do not. That is a huge misconception which occurred during the Protestant Reformation.
Despite the many stereotypes that hang over our faith, the important thing to remember is our Church has stood the test of time and remained for more than 2,000 years. Whether you are Catholic or Protestant-- we are all followers of Christ, and He is the ultimate goal.
And I've had Catholics answer the *Are you a Christian?* with *No, I'm a Catholic*.
THEIR call, not mine.
No Catholic has any basis for complaint when that's how THEY identify.
As an Army Vet, I find ‘ridiculous pomp and circumstance’ as something that the military has a lot of. Within my protestant congregation, we do not have the level of a Catholic Mass, but we do have our own bit of pomp and circumstance. And from my studies, the Catholic Mass has similarities to the Jewish Synagogue worship services that our Christian faith originated in. Thus a carrying on of tradition.
Grow up, Madam.
Synagogue? Doesn’t seem that way to me. Jerusalem Temple maybe.
Granted. However, that is simple tradition and rarely related to religion, and much of it deals with discipline, past working strategies, and pride in their forces. It goes back to the earliest days of sea-faring and land warriors. Think Spartans, Athenians, Alexander the Great, and others. While they had their gods, most of their traditions were built on military acceptance of what worked at that time. IMHO.
Thanks for your service.
And ya’ll accuse non-catholics of trying to stir the pot.
Your punchline knocked my socks off!
FOTFLOL!!!!
There’s nothing new under the sun, is there.
That would have been posted yesterday instead of 6 years ago.
>>>>We don’t pray to Mary, we ask her to pray for us, just as a Protestant asks their deceased grandparent/parent to watch over them. <<<<<<
http://www.marypages.com/PrayerstoMary.htm
http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/marprayer.html
http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?s=31
There are hundreds more of these
I would be interested in what Protestant asks deceased parents/grandparent etc to watch over them ??? LOL
The writer is ignorant
First, I've never asked any deceased relative to watch over me. Jesus is doing a fine job on that. No way my folks could improve on what He's doing for me.
Regarding the oft repeated inaccurate statement that catholics don't pray to Mary.
CCC 2679 Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends His Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.
A totally non-Biblical position.
You know, you keep posting these false teachings and you continue to be shown where your own rcc teachings contradict what you try to say.
All I can ask is why do you persist in doing so?
Yes I have pictures of family on the walls of my home,but ive never prayed to those pictures or left offerings to them.
I think your quote best describes the Jehovah’s Witnesses!
Are you converting?
0 Virgin Mary, most powerful Mother of Mercy, Queen of Heaven and earth, in accordance with your wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate myself today to your Immaculate Heart. To you I entrust all that I have, all that I am. Reign over me, dearest Mother, that I may be yours in prosperity, in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death.
LOL!
Interesting how we point out to what their own CCC teaches and are told we’re wrong and *poorly catechized*.
Go figure.....
BTW, Orans has it’s roots in Sumerian culture......
Ever heard of a guardian angel? Or is that just a silly Catholic thing.
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