Qustions for Cathlics.

[TheKingOfImmortality]

What do you need to be beconisder a Saint?

What what are your views on non-christians and what happens to them when they die?

Why is the Pope needed?

Do Cathlics belive in Evolution? Why or why not?

What are your views on sin and why do preist have the power to remove it?

What are the books that can only be found in the Cathlic bible and what do they teach?

Why are they only in the Cathlic bible?

 

[Abbadon]

It's Catholics. And they have a forum in the Christian section, which I believe has a section for questions by non-Christians.

I'm not Catholic, but I've got friends and family that are.

What do you need to be beconisder a Saint?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonization - Basically, you had to be a devout Christian (or before 2000 years ago, an Israelite), had to die, had to have a number of miricles attributed to you. It has to be documented enough for the Catholic Church's standards before folks are allowed to venerate a potential-saint. Sainthood occurs regardless of the documentation, the documentation is just to make sure that the person probably is a saint.

What what are your views on non-christians and what happens to them when they die?

That varies from Catholic to Catholic as it varies among other kinds of Christians, and so I'm really not qualified to answer this question for them.

Why is the Pope needed?

The idea is that the Pope is Christ's representative on earth. The King is currently not sitting on the throne, so a regent has to sit on the throne in His place to keep order.

Do Cathlics belive in Evolution? Why or why not?

The Catholic Church's stance on evolution is that they don't have a problem with it's members accepting evolution. They don't advocate nor dispute it.

What are your views on sin and why do preist have the power to remove it?

Catholic views on sin are Christian views on sin, individuals may have different understandings of it, so it can vary from member to member.

The priests do not have the power to remove sin, they simply proscribe penance for sins that are accounted for.

What are the books that can only be found in the Cathlic bible and what do they teach?

Those would be the Deuterocanonical books. They include Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Ecclesiasticus, the Book of Wisdom, Baruch, and some additions to other books of the Old Testament. I've not studied those (although I've been meaning to), but they were called Deuterocanon ("second canon") because they don't have anything as essential as the other books, but are rather nice to have, if not outright inspired.

Why are they only in the Cathlic bible?

They're not. They're also in Eastern Orthodox Bibles, and many Protestants have them in thiers. The Apocrypha/Deuterocanon was included in the original versions of the King James Bible and the Luther Bible. Even I (a Baptist) had a minister that would quote from the Apocrypha in his sermons.

 

[Tawny]

This is a topic that would be more appropriately placed in Questions by Non Christians.

This thread has now been moved there.

Tawny
Team Faith

 

[ebia]

I'm not a Catholic, but a well informed Anglican who works for the RCC. I'm sure a well informed Catholic will be along shortly, but in the meantime:

What do you need to be beconisder a Saint?

There needs to be significant evidence of a particularly holy life, and evidence of miracles attributable to you after your death, and ultimately a vatican declaration that such evidence indicates that one is a saint. The church recognises that there are any number of other people who were (and are) saints but for whom there isn't evidence available to identifiy them as such. Not being declared a saint does not mean one is not a saint, it just means the church is not in a position to know.

What what are your views on non-christians and what happens to them when they die?

I would imagine there is a considerable variation on that one within 'acceptable' Christian thought.

Why is the Pope needed?

To be representative of God's ultimate delegated authority on earth.

Do Cathlics belive in Evolution? Why or why not?

Catholics are allowed to take a large range of possible views on this. Most Catholics (at least in 1st world countries) believe in evolution.

What are your views on sin

I doubt you could begin to outline the Catholic position on that in less than several pages.

and why do preist have the power to remove it?

The priest doesn't remove it, but pronounces God's forgiveness.

What are the books that can only be found in the Cathlic bible and what do they teach?

There are no books that are found only in Catholic bibles. All the books found in Catholic bibles are also found in Eastern Orthodox bibles and many other non-Catholic bibles. The books that are in Catholic bibles and not in standard protestant bibles are known as the deuterocanonical (Second-canon, recognising their lesser status) books. They were written latter than the rest of the old testament (in some cases perhaps as late as the early first century AD). Several of them are stories (some historical, some not) to do with Israel's conflicts with its neighbours in the couple of centuries immediately BC. Some are additional naratives tagged onto other books (eg Daniel). Some others are wisdom literature. For the most part they are not major sources of theologial teaching, but they are interesting books in their own right and valuable to read and get to grips with (as many non-Catholic denominations acknowledge).

Why are they only in the Cathlic bible?

They have been recognised by Catholic and non-Catholic alike as being of a different status from the rest of the canon (as the name deuterocanonical notes) for centuries. Where God, it seems, doesn't always work in clear-cut categories (inspiration is not an all-or-nothing-thing) human institutions love to reduce everything to black and white, and we draw the line in slightly different places. But to focus on the differences (at least in this case) is to completely miss the wood for the trees.

 

[Dominus Fidelis]

What do you need to be beconisder a Saint?

You need to be in Heaven and it needs to be proven through verified miracles through your intercession and an throughly investigated account of your life.

What what are your views on non-christians and what happens to them when they die?

It's up to God if non-Catholics get into Heaven, but that person would be a lot better off being a Catholic than not. God is merciful and judges based on what the person knows and how they reacted to that knowledge in this life.

Why is the Pope needed?

The buck has to stop somewhere and that somewhere has to be protected from error. Humans need a leader by nature, and God knows that, since He created us.

Do Cathlics belive in Evolution? Why or why not?

Yes, some do. Most do, I'd imagine.

What are your views on sin and why do preist have the power to remove it?

Because Jesus gave them that power in the Gospels. Sin is rebellion against God at its core.

What are the books that can only be found in the Cathlic bible and what do they teach?

Why are they only in the Cathlic bible?

This is a loaded question that may cause some fighting among Catholics and non-Catholics. We can discuss this and more in OBOB if you would like.

God Bless

 

[AwedbyTruth]

What are the books that can only be found in the Cathlic bible and what do they teach?

http://www.catholic.com/library/Old_Testament_Canon.asp

Do Cathlics belive in Evolution? Why or why not?

The Church teaches that evolution is acceptable as long as it does not contradict the following.
1. The creation of all by God
2. Special creation of man
3. Formation of the first woman from man
4. Unity of the human race
5. The original happiness of our first parents
6. The Divine command place upon man to prove his obedience
7. His transgressions of that command at the instigation of the devil
8. The fall of our first parents from the state of innocence
9. The promise of a future redeemer

 

[D'Ann]

What do you need to be beconisder a Saint?

DF gave a good answer to this one. I completely agree with him.

What what are your views on non-christians and what happens to them when they die?

It really depends on their knowledge of Jesus and the gift of salvation and how much they heard of the truth.

If someone spent many years of their life in church hearing the Word of God and being taught about the grace and hope of salvation in Christ and then they knowingly and with complete understanding turn against Christ or deny Christ and die, well... it's still hard to say.

See, Catholics cannot say if a person is going to heaven or hell. Only God truly knows what is in another's heart at the very second of their death. Sometimes people can live their whole lives in sin and not believing in Christ and can be atheists... but at the very moment of their death, they could have a change of heart...

God is a merciful and loving Father and it is never His will to send anyone to hell. We have free will and either we accept Christ or deny Him... the choice is ours. That being said, no one can really and truly know what is in another's heart at the moment of death. Only God really knows what is in one's heart at that very moment of death.

Sorry for the long reply. I hope other Catholics will be able to give a better answer. It's a good question.

Why is the Pope needed?

Every church has a pastor and/or leader and most churches will have some kind of a system like a board of directors or elders and deacons, etc.

The Pope is our pastor of our Catholic Church.

Do Cathlics belive in Evolution? Why or why not?

Some Catholics believe in some kind of form of evolution and we are allowed to do so within our Catholic faith.

What we have to believe is this... that all life comes from God.

And evolution or parts of evolution could explain the process of the evolving of the life growth process... but the soul comes from God. I could be explaining this wrong and hopefully if I am, another Catholic will be able to better clarify this one.

What are your views on sin and why do preist have the power to remove it?

All of us are sinners and in great need to repent of our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins... all of us need to do the "work" to make our life more Christ like... to amend our life to Christ.

"Work" means that we change things in our life, so that our life can glorify Christ. We try and be more loving and forgiving and more giving and helpful to others, not out of trying to save our souls, but out of love for Christ and to serve Christ and thus in the process amending our lives. Also, we need to give up the sins in our lives and that is also work and apart of amending our lives to be more Christlike.

Every Christian faith believes in some kind of confession of sins... repentence and amending their life to please Christ.

In the Catholic Church, the priest is part of the process in that we confess our sins and because he represents Christ as a pastor represents Christ, he "confirms" that our sins have been forgiven. Jesus is the one who forgives our sins and He is the one that we ask forgiveness from for our sins... the priest "confirms" that Christ has forgiven us our sins. I hope this helps.

What are the books that can only be found in the Cathlic bible and what do they teach?

There are 7 of them in the Old Testament. Here are the list of the books and parts in the Old Testament that are missing from the Protestant Bibles:

Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, First and Second Maccabees - and parts of Esther (10:14 to 16:14) and Daniel (3:24- 90; 13; 14).

In the New Testament, I believe that Luther wanted to take out James and Revelation and parts of the Corinthian books, but he didn't (that I know of).

Why are they only in the Cathlic bible?

The above books since the beginning of Christianity have always been in the Bible. When Luther decided to start a new church, he removed the books. Why? I don't know other than perhaps, he felt that they were not inspired of God... but for hundreds of years, the church considered them to be inspired of God and the Catholic Church and I believe the EOC Church still have those books in their bibles.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[SecretOfFatima]

While the answers above are the answers of individuals, as they perceive it from what they have learned, the official church position on a range of issues can be found at the following address.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc/index.htm

The Cathecism link is actual official Church position on a range of matters, which links back to church teachings (bible and tradition, if you don't understand why the church takes a certain position then a Catholic who knows his stuff should be able to explain the reasoning behind such position), and the compendium link is just an easy to understand version of the CCC (Cathecism of the Catholic Church) but sometimes it may still not be clear, once again ask a catholic person to go into the reasoning of such position.

 

[catolic]

1. What do you need to be beconisder a Saint?
First of all - What is a Saint?
A Saint is someone who has lived a holy life of heroic virtue, attention may be come attracted to their holiness, either by what they have accomplished, or in some other way, such as through the working of miracles, during their lives or after their deaths.

To become a Saint, we must imitate Our Lord in all the virtues that he possessed, e.g. patience, humility, chastity, obedience, meekness, temperance etc etc

There are many answers to this question, but I don't think I am allowed to mention some of them on the forum!


What is your view on non-christians and what happens to them when they die...
Well, it is essential that we (as Catholics) believe that there is only one true Church...non-Christians have not come to know Our Lord yet, and it is not our job to judge them...only God knows what will happen to them when they die......there are certain teachings within the Catholic faith but only God can decide the ultimate destination of a soul.

Why is the Pope needed?
When Our Lord was on earth, he had his apostles. He wanted His Church to have a hierarchy. When He said to Peter...."Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.....He was appointing Peter to be the First Pope. Jesus is the Head of the Church, and the Pope is His representative on earth, who is supposed to uphold the true Catholic Morals and Doctrines and govern the Church and keep the Deposit of Faith which was handed to the Apostles by Our Lord.

Do Cathlics belive in Evolution? Why or why not?
A Catholic must believe that the world did not evolve of itself. He/she must believe that the soul is spiritual and created by God - not the result of evolution.

Catholics are free to believe that God created primitive forms and all other beings developed from these, provided that we exclude the evolution of man.

A human being has a soul which is essentially spiritual...a soul of a animal is essentially material - therefore the evolution of a man from the lower animals is therefore impossible.

What are your views on sin and why do preist have the power to remove it?
Sin is any wilfull thought word or deed or omission against the law of God. The Apostles of Our Lord were the first priests, they were given the power to forgive sins. They were given the power by Christ to change bread and wine to Christ's body & blood. Our Lord was the first Priest, at the Last Supper, He made the apostles priests and there is an unbroken line from Christ down to the Pope of this day. Its complicated to answer.