Catholic vs. Protestant – why is there so much animosity?"

[Major1]

IF you have been on this web site for any length of time you have seen that most of the conversations and debates revolve around the conflict between the Catholic faith and the Protestant faith.

There is constant back and forth banter and in the end the difference is still there.
IT seems that the debates always disintegrate into personal combat and verbal wars with the moderators finally ending the thread and in fact I expect that same thing to happen to this thread.

It seems to me that the conflict comes from our basic human nature in dealing with fundamental disagreements concerning eternal truths. The Protestants understand that the RCC teaches a "work-gospel" that can not save and the Catholic church thinks that Protestants teach a "greasy - grace" gospel that requires nothing more than a simple confession of wrong doing/sin due to the emotional preaching of a man.

However, looking deeper than just that the question must be WHY?
In My Opinion the real rift that ignites the debate is rooted in AUTHORITY!

How anyone answers that question always determines the answers to all the other questions.
I think that every Catholic believer will agree that when it comes down to deciding a theological issue about defined Catholic dogma, there isn’t anything to discuss on the Catholic's side because once Rome speaks, it is settled.

Therefore we have the ROOT of the conflict. Whenever there is a theological discussion when trying to debate a Roman Catholic – reason and Scripture are not the Catholic’s final authority; they can always retreat into the “safe zone” of Roman Catholic Authority.

Because of this, the arguments between a Protestant and a Catholic will revolve around one's “private interpretation” of Scripture as against the "official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

Catholics claim to successfully avoid the legitimate problems of private interpretation by their reliance on their TRADITION. But that never satisfies the difference but instead merely pushes the question back a step. The truth is that both Roman Catholics and Protestants must, in the end, rely upon their reasoning abilities to choose their authority and their interpretive skills to understand what that authority teaches in order to determine what they will believe. IMO, Protestants are simply more willing to admit that this is the case.

 

[truefiction1]

IF you have been on this web site for any length of time you have seen that most of the conversations and debates revolve around the conflict between the Catholic faith and the Protestant faith.

There is constant back and forth banter and in the end the difference is still there.
IT seems that the debates always disintegrate into personal combat and verbal wars with the moderators finally ending the thread and in fact I expect that same thing to happen to this thread.

It seems to me that the conflict comes from our basic human nature in dealing with fundamental disagreements concerning eternal truths. The Protestants understand that the RCC teaches a "work-gospel" that can not save and the Catholic church thinks that Protestants teach a "greasy - grace" gospel that requires nothing more than a simple confession of wrong doing/sin due to the emotional preaching of a man.

However, looking deeper than just that the question must be WHY?
In My Opinion the real rift that ignites the debate is rooted in AUTHORITY!

How anyone answers that question always determines the answers to all the other questions.
I think that every Catholic believer will agree that when it comes down to deciding a theological issue about defined Catholic dogma, there isn’t anything to discuss on the Catholic's side because once Rome speaks, it is settled.

Therefore we have the ROOT of the conflict. Whenever there is a theological discussion when trying to debate a Roman Catholic – reason and Scripture are not the Catholic’s final authority; they can always retreat into the “safe zone” of Roman Catholic Authority.

Because of this, the arguments between a Protestant and a Catholic will revolve around one's “private interpretation” of Scripture as against the "official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

Catholics claim to successfully avoid the legitimate problems of private interpretation by their reliance on their TRADITION. But that never satisfies the difference but instead merely pushes the question back a step. The truth is that both Roman Catholics and Protestants must, in the end, rely upon their reasoning abilities to choose their authority and their interpretive skills to understand what that authority teaches in order to determine what they will believe. IMO, Protestants are simply more willing to admit that this is the case.

Do Roman Catholics rely on TRADITION, or on the authority they vest in the papacy?

If you ask an Orthodox Christian person, they will inform you that it is the latter, and not Tradition. Early Church Tradition did not define papal primacy in the way it has been redefined in the Roman Church, so how can it be said that the RC is in keeping with Church Tradition? The great schism, between the Roman Church and the Orthodox sees, did happen for certain reasons that were more than just political: questions over authority being one of them.

 

[PeaceB]

IF you have been on this web site for any length of time you have seen that most of the conversations and debates revolve around the conflict between the Catholic faith and the Protestant faith.

There is constant back and forth banter and in the end the difference is still there.
IT seems that the debates always disintegrate into personal combat and verbal wars with the moderators finally ending the thread and in fact I expect that same thing to happen to this thread.

It seems to me that the conflict comes from our basic human nature in dealing with fundamental disagreements concerning eternal truths. The Protestants understand that the RCC teaches a "work-gospel" that can not save and the Catholic church thinks that Protestants teach a "greasy - grace" gospel that requires nothing more than a simple confession of wrong doing/sin due to the emotional preaching of a man.

However, looking deeper than just that the question must be WHY?
In My Opinion the real rift that ignites the debate is rooted in AUTHORITY!

How anyone answers that question always determines the answers to all the other questions.
I think that every Catholic believer will agree that when it comes down to deciding a theological issue about defined Catholic dogma, there isn’t anything to discuss on the Catholic's side because once Rome speaks, it is settled.

Therefore we have the ROOT of the conflict. Whenever there is a theological discussion when trying to debate a Roman Catholic – reason and Scripture are not the Catholic’s final authority; they can always retreat into the “safe zone” of Roman Catholic Authority.

Because of this, the arguments between a Protestant and a Catholic will revolve around one's “private interpretation” of Scripture as against the "official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

Catholics claim to successfully avoid the legitimate problems of private interpretation by their reliance on their TRADITION. But that never satisfies the difference but instead merely pushes the question back a step. The truth is that both Roman Catholics and Protestants must, in the end, rely upon their reasoning abilities to choose their authority and their interpretive skills to understand what that authority teaches in order to determine what they will believe. IMO, Protestants are simply more willing to admit that this is the case.

One cannot merely reason his way into the Catholic Church. We are in the Church by the grace of God and the action of the Holy Spirit.

 

[seeking.IAM]

I think animosity stems from many having an, "I'm right and you're wrong perspective" instead of, "We're all brothers and sisters in Christ" perspective. Until we change our focus to what we hold in common rather than how we are different, animosity will persist.

 

[FireDragon76]

One cannot merely reason his way into the Catholic Church. We are in the Church by the grace of God and the action of the Holy Spirit.

I would feel the same way about being Lutheran.

I think our baptist neighbor here is confused that not everybody buys into his notions of religious voluntarism. I could imagine many Catholics feel exactly like I do, that I am grateful for the faith and the church I have and I trust in God to take care of my spiritual needs through the clergy of my church.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

I think animosity stems from many having an, "I'm right and you're wrong perspective" instead of, "We're all brothers and sisters in Christ" perspective. Until we change our focus to what we hold in common rather than how we are different, animosity will persist.

Jesus told us that His ministry was to divide, not to unite. Can two walk together unless they be agreed?

Ecumenism is a tool of the enemy to water down the truth of the Bible for the sake of unity that we no longer are following what Jesus taught but rather our own traditions and ideas.

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

I could imagine many Catholics feel exactly like I do, that I am grateful for the faith and the church I have and I trust in God to take care of my spiritual needs through the clergy of my church.

What became of the Jews who felt that way about the leadership of their church? Their house (church) was left unto them desolate. Jesus was very clear about the rebuke He gave to the Pharisees about teaching the doctrines of man.

Matthew 15:3
But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Mark 7:13
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Colossians 2:8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Do Roman Catholics rely on TRADITION, or on the authority they vest in the papacy?

If you ask an Orthodox Christian person, they will inform you that it is the latter, and not Tradition. Early Church Tradition did not define papal primacy in the way it has been redefined in the Roman Church, so how can it be said that the RC is in keeping with Church Tradition? The great schism, between the Roman Church and the Orthodox sees, did happen for certain reasons that were more than just political: questions over authority being one of them.

Most of the citations given by Catholics for their faith comes pre-schism...the same traditions that you would hold to, the teachings of the church fathers.

In days of old (not that long ago, say before second Vatican counsel) Catholics would cite Papal authority and the encyclicals and bulls of the church, but this has lost favour as most realize the folly of relying on the teachings of corrupt, vile men.

 

[PeaceB]

What became of the Jews who felt that way about the leadership of their church? Their house (church) was left unto them desolate. Jesus was very clear about the rebuke He gave to the Pharisees about teaching the doctrines of man.

Matthew 15:3
But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Mark 7:13
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Colossians 2:8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

We aren’t going back to the Saturday Sabbath. I know how much that must upset you, but you are simply going to have to get over it.

 

[truefiction1]

Most of the citations given by Catholics for their faith comes pre-schism...the same traditions that you would hold to, the teachings of the church fathers.

In days of old (not that long ago, say before second Vatican counsel) Catholics would cite Papal authority and the encyclicals and bulls of the church, but this has lost favour as most realize the folly of relying on the teachings of corrupt, vile men.

We continue to cite the teachings of the Church fathers.

 

[tadoflamb]

Growing up I didn't know anything about Christianity, much less anything about the differences between Catholic and protestant. I was a bit stunned, when shortly after I was confirmed Catholic how much animus some protestants have towards the Catholic Church and more specifically the anti-Catholic publishing industry. It's enough to make a lesser person upset.

Fortunately, God has placed me in a very Catholic community and IRL I know very few protestants and the ones I do know are smart enough or kind enough not to come after my Catholic faith. That's the rub with protestants, it takes a while to figure out what flavor your dealing with.

Frankly, I pretty much have all of protestantism on ignore. There's nothing there for me, and the Church certainly doesn't need me to protest the protestants. Besides, protestantism is doomed. It's greatest hallmark is division and there is no mechanism, not even the Holy Bible, available to them to patch it back together. Protestantism will continue to fracture and splinter itself out of existence and there is nothing they can do to stop it.

 

[Albion]

Therefore we have the ROOT of the conflict. Whenever there is a theological discussion when trying to debate a Roman Catholic – reason and Scripture are not the Catholic’s final authority; they can always retreat into the “safe zone” of Roman Catholic Authority.

They can, but they mostly rely upon some historical or Scriptural argument that they think meets the Protestant on his own grounds. That's what I think we would find if we could look back through all applicable posts covering a few years here.

Because of this, the arguments between a Protestant and a Catholic will revolve around one's “private interpretation” of Scripture as against the "official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

It ought not be so, since Protestantism absolutely does not champion the idea of "private interpretation." For a Catholic to make such a charge is essentially to resort to a Catholic talking point that's similar to a Protestant claiming that Catholics worship the Pope.

The truth is that both Roman Catholics and Protestants must, in the end, rely upon their reasoning abilities to choose their authority and their interpretive skills to understand what that authority teaches in order to determine what they will believe. IMO, Protestants are simply more willing to admit that this is the case.

It's true that no one can say that they do not let personal judgment govern. If one person champions personal judgment and comes up with his own set of doctrines (as we do read often from people on these forums), it's also true that Catholics (and some non-Catholics) do the same thing since they use their personal judgment to decide to defer to someone else's opinion (the Church leadership). There's little difference between the two.

 

[Brian Mcnamee]

IF you have been on this web site for any length of time you have seen that most of the conversations and debates revolve around the conflict between the Catholic faith and the Protestant faith.

There is constant back and forth banter and in the end the difference is still there.
IT seems that the debates always disintegrate into personal combat and verbal wars with the moderators finally ending the thread and in fact I expect that same thing to happen to this thread.

It seems to me that the conflict comes from our basic human nature in dealing with fundamental disagreements concerning eternal truths. The Protestants understand that the RCC teaches a "work-gospel" that can not save and the Catholic church thinks that Protestants teach a "greasy - grace" gospel that requires nothing more than a simple confession of wrong doing/sin due to the emotional preaching of a man.

However, looking deeper than just that the question must be WHY?
In My Opinion the real rift that ignites the debate is rooted in AUTHORITY!

How anyone answers that question always determines the answers to all the other questions.
I think that every Catholic believer will agree that when it comes down to deciding a theological issue about defined Catholic dogma, there isn’t anything to discuss on the Catholic's side because once Rome speaks, it is settled.

Therefore we have the ROOT of the conflict. Whenever there is a theological discussion when trying to debate a Roman Catholic – reason and Scripture are not the Catholic’s final authority; they can always retreat into the “safe zone” of Roman Catholic Authority.

Because of this, the arguments between a Protestant and a Catholic will revolve around one's “private interpretation” of Scripture as against the "official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

Catholics claim to successfully avoid the legitimate problems of private interpretation by their reliance on their TRADITION. But that never satisfies the difference but instead merely pushes the question back a step. The truth is that both Roman Catholics and Protestants must, in the end, rely upon their reasoning abilities to choose their authority and their interpretive skills to understand what that authority teaches in order to determine what they will believe. IMO, Protestants are simply more willing to admit that this is the case.

Hi that was a very well written piece and it does serve well to point out the source of where division takes place. The animosity I hope is never personal but against the specific doctrines that offends weather you are Catholic or protestant. I have more animosity than ever as I see a specific move by both Catholics and many protestants to unite again. IMO this is the one world church forming before our eyes that will be there for the 7 year tribulation. Here is a link to the Rosecrucian website who also go by the knights of Solomon. This is a scary page and takes some time to break it down but it unites Catholics. Pagans, Protestants with a more new age religion or gnostic church. This is very much like masonic teaching and has a specific agenda. When I see the Ken Copelands and others embracing the Pope and other faiths calling for world peace and unity it reads right out of the order of Solomon pages. Has the spirit on antichrist infiltrated many churches today?
Introduction « The Knights Templar – Order of the Temple of Solomon

 

[Major1]

Growing up I didn't know anything about Christianity, much less anything about the differences between Catholic and protestant. I was a bit stunned, when shortly after I was confirmed Catholic how much animus some protestants have towards the Catholic Church and more specifically the anti-Catholic publishing industry. It's enough to make a lesser person upset.

Fortunately, God has placed me in a very Catholic community and IRL I know very few protestants and the ones I do know are smart enough or kind enough not to come after my Catholic faith. That's the rub with protestants, it takes a while to figure out what flavor your dealing with.

Frankly, I pretty much have all of protestantism on ignore. There's nothing there for me, and the Church certainly doesn't need me to protest the protestants. Besides, protestantism is doomed. It's greatest hallmark is division and there is no mechanism, not even the Holy Bible, available to them to patch it back together. Protestantism will continue to fracture and splinter itself out of existence and there is nothing they can do to stop it.

I don't know about that my friend. From what I am seeing and hearing, it is the RCC which is coming apart and losing people hand over fist.

 

[PeaceB]

Besides, protestantism is doomed. It's greatest hallmark is division and there is no mechanism, not even the Holy Bible, available to them to patch it back together. Protestantism will continue to fracture and splinter itself out of existence and there is nothing they can do to stop it.

I doubt that. I think it may continue to spread and mutate in various forms, until most of the rest of the world ends up falling into a gross descent into atheism, as we have seen in Western Europe, the birthplace of the Reformation. Hopefully it will not come to that, but the jury remains out I think.

 

[Albion]

Brian, it's a good idea not to waste time on scary websites that deal in fictional conspiracies. As I mentioned awhile ago, there is one such that speaks of the dark doings of the "Illuminati"...and then invites you to send them your dues money, for which "they" will mail you your Illuminati membership card, and you, too, can be underway, secretly (?) taking over the world.

 

[Major1]

Hi that was a very well written piece and it does serve well to point out the source of where division takes place. The animosity I hope is never personal but against the specific doctrines that offends weather you are Catholic or protestant. I have more animosity than ever as I see a specific move by both Catholics and many protestants to unite again. IMO this is the one world church forming before our eyes that will be there for the 7 year tribulation. Here is a link to the Rosecrucian website who also go by the knights of Solomon. This is a scary page and takes some time to break it down but it unites Catholics. Pagans, Protestants with a more new age religion or gnostic church. This is very much like masonic teaching and has a specific agenda. When I see the Ken Copelands and others embracing the Pope and other faiths calling for world peace and unity it reads right out of the order of Solomon pages. Has the spirit on antichrist infiltrated many churches today?
Introduction « The Knights Templar – Order of the Temple of Solomon

That is a well thought out response. It does make perfect sense to me.

I realize that a great number of people do not accept the Bible teaching on the Rapture but it seems clear to me that after that event takes place, there is going to be a lot of "Religious Protestants, Catholics, JW'S, Mormons, Buddests and so on looking for answers to what just happened and in fact IMO ALL churches will be packed the Sunday after the Rapture to hear the A/C explain what is going on

Daniel 12:4........
"But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."

 

[Major1]

Brian, it's a good idea not to waste time on scary websites that deal in fictional conspiracies. As I mentioned awhile ago, there is one such that speaks of the dark doings of the "Illuminati"...and then invites you to send them your dues money, for which "they" will mail you your Illuminati membership card, and you, too, can be underway, secretly (?) taking over the world.

Also......if you will go to my website and pledge a love offering of $10.00, I will send you a newly moistened prayer cloth with a fresh candle included at not charge!

 

[Major1]

One cannot merely reason his way into the Catholic Church. We are in the Church by the grace of God and the action of the Holy Spirit.

You are a Christian by faith my friend and you are in the Catholic church by your choice.

 

[AGTG]

It's a simple matter of truth and sincerity. The Bible is God's truth, and should be delivered with sincerity because hypocrites will always violate God's truth with the lies of men and hypocrisy invites demons to assist such a damnable scheme (1 Tim. 4:1-2).

The Catholic church fails on both points, and should be regarded by born again, Bible-believing Christians as a threat to Biblical Christianity. What fellowship does light (truth) have with darkness (lies)?

www.becarefulhowyouhear.com