Hello, I have to make a decision about a friend of mine, he is a Methodist and I am a Catholic, and I have always respected his beliefs. The only problems is his stance on Catholics, his father is a pastor and always says I am welcome to their church, no matter what, but he thinks that I should not go to his church and also says that Catholics don’t have much faith in God and labels himself as a Christian and labels me as a Catholic like it’s a bad thing. His family has always respected my beliefs and has never gotten me to convert, but he considers me as a different religion and I don’t “believe in God” and that is absurd. What should I do?
There unfortunately is a lot of common misconceptions among Protestants about the Catholic Denomination and visa versa. Some of it may be warranted, but much is a carryover from old wounds that go back centuries. Listed below are some of the few sources of modern and recent past contention.
(1) Protestants see the papacy as conspiratorial and corrupt, with no Scriptural merit (this is not entirely true, however). I would have to agree there has been some very corrupt Popes over the years, but Protestant Churches with Ecclesiastical Forms of Government have and do have their fair share as well. Same is true with Independent Churches and clergy.
(2) Protestants do not understand the Co-Mediatrix, Co-redemptrix roles placed upon Mary. They see this as Mary worship, commonly referred to as Mariolatry. Although I tend to agree Catholics place too much emphasis upon Mary, I do not think Protestants hold her in high enough esteem.
Protestants totally reject Mary's virgin birth and argue that puts her on equal footing with Christ. Of course there is no Biblical evidence of Mary's virgin birth or perpetual virginity (It makes the brothers and sister of Jesus very hard to explain). However to bear the Son of God, certainly places her heads and shoulders above all other women. Mary is pretty much the new Eve in the concept of being the mother of all of the children of God. Without her giving birth to Christ, all of us would be without a Savior. Whereas Catholic bestow almost a mini-god role to Mary, Protestants do not typically regard her with the esteem she rightly deserves.
FYI, many take the appellation of Mary as "Mother of God", to make her even above God. I know that is not what Catholic's mean but that is what many Protestants hear.
(3) Protestants do not see the sacraments as part of salvation. Trurth is most Catholics don't either, but they do see them as essential in being set apart to God. Protestants should re-visit the meaning of the sacraments and how they should be applied, IMHO.
(4) Protestants do not see the Priests as closely aligned as an intercessor between themselves and God as do Catholics. It is more of a misunderstanding here I believe than an open hostility. Protestants usually see their Pastor or Minister as their best intercessors on this earth between themselves and God.
This is especially true in relation to the confessional. I really think this too is mostly misunderstood. The priest is not forgiving sin, he is attempting to make sure the sinner is held responsible and pennant for their sins and seeks to reconcile them to God. This is totally misunderstood by most Protestants.
(5) The celibacy requirement of the Priesthood is another sticking point to Protestants. The Catholic Church is beginning to see this as a grave mistake. The Church is taking in Anglican Priest and they do not require them to become celibate. Paul in his Epistle to Corinthians, did promote celibacy, but did not make it a requirement for service in the Bishopric.
If you both could sit down and discuss openly the differences, perhaps that would help. Catholics are Christians if they have confessed their sins and look to Christ as the one who can forgive their sins and that he alone is their redeemer, same as Protestants. I don't agree with many of the Catholic Dogmas and Theology, but neither do I believe in many of the Protestant Doctrines and dogmas either. That's not unusual. If people would look at the early Christian Church from Acts on, they would see theological disagreements were not uncommon.
Truly hope this helps both of you.
