What exactly do Catholics believe?

manOman

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I am a Catholic by birth. I have not been to church in 10 years because I found video games and got obsessed with it that I couldn't bother doing anything else. So what exactly are the principles of Catholic teachings that go by the Bible.

I basically take on the label Catholic without knowing what the majority of Catholics believe in. Through a little reading and research on Google I believe that we are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, not by our works. Is this what Catholics believe in? Though we do good works because Jesus commanded it "love others as you love yourself" - that means we want to self preserve which is our most powerful instinct (survival), food, water, freedom, happiness, we should love others the same way by making them preserve or survive (give them food water, happiness freedom).

Thanks in advance.
 

grasping the after wind

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The better place to ask this question would be in the Catholic forum. The best place to ask this question would be at a Catholic church.The answer to this question is too long for a proper answer on an internet forum.
 
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Not David

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The better place to ask this question would be in the Catholic forum. The best place to ask this question would be at a Catholic church.The answer to this question is too long for a proper answer on an internet forum.
This.

Talk to your priest.
 
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manOman

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Thanks for the responses and woops I thought Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity? Also I just got a thought in my head, isn't there a prayer that Catholics pray that says everything they believe in?

Also I just googled it. Yes, Catholicism is a sub branch of Christianity.
 
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Jonaitis

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I am a Catholic by birth. I have not been to church in 10 years because I found video games and got obsessed with it that I couldn't bother doing anything else. So what exactly are the principles of Catholic teachings that go by the Bible.

I basically take on the label Catholic without knowing what the majority of Catholics believe in. Through a little reading and research on Google I believe that we are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, not by our works. Is this what Catholics believe in? Though we do good works because Jesus commanded it "love others as you love yourself" - that means we want to self preserve which is our most powerful instinct (survival), food, water, freedom, happiness, we should love others the same way by making them preserve or survive (give them food water, happiness freedom).

Thanks in advance.

They believe that they are the one true church, like most other groups.
 
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grasping the after wind

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Thanks for the responses and woops I thought Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity? Also I just got a thought in my head, isn't there a prayer that Catholics pray that says everything they believe in?

Also I just googled it. Yes, Catholicism is a sub branch of Christianity.

No there is a prayer that says some of the most important things but not everything that Catholics believe in. As that prayer is very generic and used by numerous denominations other than the Catholic church it does not include a vast amount of things that Catholics also believe in, some of which other denominations do not believe in. Catholicism is a denomination not a sub branch. It has a sub forum here in CF . There are people there, some of whom do not frequent the other sub forums who might give you a better idea of Catholic beliefs than Lutherans or Evangelicals or members of other denominations or those that are non denominational. In addition, some from other denominations might try to explain it from a point of less knowledge and get it wrong either purposely or by accident. Either way the best place to get that answer is not on an internet forum.
 
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“Paisios”

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Thank you Gracia, i just posted on there. So in this forums Catholics are not a part of Christianity?
There are many denominational sub-forums to give a safe haven for members of the specific denomination to avoid debate and attack from other denominations. One Bread One Body (OBOB) is that Christian subforum for Roman Catholics.

Roman Catholics ARE definitely considered Christians on this site (as they accept the Nicene Creed).
 
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anna ~ grace

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Thank you Gracia, i just posted on there. So in this forums Catholics are not a part of Christianity?

They are. It's just that every Church / denomination / community also gets its own space to post in, so they can fellowship and talk amongst themselves minus any debate or antagonism or arguing.

On CF, all Christians who affirm the Nicene Creed are Christians.
 
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com7fy8

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This is the "Christian Philosophy & Ethics" forum. So, we can discuss Catholicism, here, in terms of philosophy and ethics . . . in my opinion.

For example . . . how do we see God who is love? Is God distant and impersonal and mainly keeping a record on us?

Or is God personally loving and caring for and even personally sharing with each of His children? Does God just tell us what to do by means of doctrine and teachings and general moral principles, or is God interested in personally guiding each of us who are His children?

Colossians 3:15 says >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

Therefore, do Catholics teach that our Heavenly Father has called us all "in one body" to be personally ruled in His own peace? And does this mean they trust God at all times for how He personally rules us in our thinking and actions and what we say, in His peace? Does God's word mean for us to seek to discover how His peace rules us to see things, in whichever situation we are in?

"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

This is what our Apostle Peter himself says; so is this what Catholics know well and will tell you??

Or, is their personal philosophy more that God watches us, but leaves us pretty much on our own to choose what we will do and decide how we see things?

Do we mainly depend on doctrine and teachings, for our guidance; or do we submit to how God in us personally guides us?
 
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SkyWriting

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I am a Catholic by birth. I have not been to church in 10 years because I found video games and got obsessed with it that I couldn't bother doing anything else. So what exactly are the principles of Catholic teachings that go by the Bible.

I basically take on the label Catholic without knowing what the majority of Catholics believe in. Through a little reading and research on Google I believe that we are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, not by our works. Is this what Catholics believe in?

Yes.
 
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Bob Crowley

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For a basic statement of what Catholics believe in, the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creeds are a good starting point. One of them will invariably be recited during every Mass, although individual parishes seem to have a preference for one or the other.

There's a link here which gives both, the Apostles Creed on the left and the Nicene on the right. The advantage of this particular setting is that it shows they both say the same thing, although the Nicene Creed has more emphasis on Christ's divinity.

You'll also note that in the Catechism, they come under the sub-title "The Profession of the Christian Faith".

Catechism of the Catholic Church - Credo Chart

However that's just the basics. There's a whole range of other subsidiary beliefs including the role of the Pope, Apostolic Succession, Canon Law, Transubstantiation, Reconciliation and Penance, Mary & Marian apparitions, Saints, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, Scripture, Tradition, Church Councils, Particular and Final Judgement etc etc.

There's far too much to discuss in a single OP. We could easily make each topic an OP of it's own.
 
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