What is your opinion of the Catholic Church?

[RccWarrior]

I'd be willing to be that most Protestants who have responded have a more favorable view towards the Roman Catholic Church than you do towards Protestantism -- if your responses to other questions posed on these boards is any indication.

Sorry: I just call 'em like I see 'em.

Oh, I beg to differ, with Protestants making fun of Mary, commenting we Catholics worship her and Saints, saying it's idolatry, there have been many insults that the mods haven't picked up. so don't tell me that my view isn't any different.

 

[Yody]

just going through this thread it seems that Catholic and orthodox beleivers seem to carry an air of-We are the truth the way and the light, you cant get into heaven if not in us


Im sorry if your faith is based on denominations and doctorines
But my faith is based on Jesus Christ

 

[tulc]

Oh, I beg to differ, with Protestants making fun of Mary, commenting we Catholics worship her and Saints, saying it's idolatry, there have been many insults that the mods haven't picked up. so don't tell me that my view isn't any different.

...again you ask our opinion and the poll is running 2-1 in "favorable/mostly favorable" and you STILL feel oppressed?
tulc(seems a little...unlikely)

 

[Splayd]

Alright - RccWarrior, let's turn the tables.

If the poll said "What is your opinion of the Protestant churches?" and the same options applied... what's your response going to be - favourable or just mostly favourable?

 

[Isaiah 53]

I love everything about her....I voted Favorable. This is a wonderful and very revealing thread...

PAX

 

[Ave Maria]

just going through this thread it seems that Catholic and orthodox beleivers seem to carry an air of-We are the truth the way and the light, you cant get into heaven if not in us


Im sorry if your faith is based on denominations and doctorines
But my faith is based on Jesus Christ

So is ours. However, the Catholic Church is the one true Church.

 

[a_ntv]

True but we are no longer in communion with one another. God grant this may change in our lifetime.

Not in Communion?

But the Eucharist that we eat the Sunday morning at the same hour in two different buildings IS the very same Body and Blood !

Look from His persperctive: He does the miracle of the altar in both the buildings, and allow we both to partake of Him.
If the Communion is not direct between us (two different buildings), it is by Him

 

[Celticflower]

...again you ask our opinion and the poll is running 2-1 in "favorable/mostly favorable" and you STILL feel oppressed?
tulc(seems a little...unlikely)

Some people just can't handle not being oppressed. They need to feel like they are suffering.


BTW--I voted mostly favorable. Most of the core tenents of faith are shared with those of us outside the CC and the stuff we disagree on tends to be minor add-on stuff. I don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[RccWarrior]

Alright - RccWarrior, let's turn the tables.

If the poll said "What is your opinion of the Protestant churches?" and the same options applied... what's your response going to be - favourable or just mostly favourable?

I am sorry, and I am not trying to insult anyone, but truth and Scripture and Sacred Tradition point to the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic church is the true Church Jesus started. It is what it is. My answer to your question is that the Protestant church is following false doctrines. It is hard being Catholic. Although people try to avoid the hard doctrinal and moral truths the Catholic church offers them because hard truths demand that lives be changed.

 

[RccWarrior]

...again you ask our opinion and the poll is running 2-1 in "favorable/mostly favorable" and you STILL feel oppressed?
tulc(seems a little...unlikely)

Ummm...I was answering the op's question. Has nothing to do with what your saying.

 

[CaliforniaJosiah]

I voted "favorable" and had you put an option for "highly favorable" I would have voted that.




I hold the CC in high esteem. For more reasons that I possibly have time now to list (perhaps I'll try to come back latter and list some things). And I THANK GOD for my roughly 5 years that I was a guest in the CC and for the ways that richly blessed me.




I consider it to be a valid denomination, I consider her clergy and ministries to be valid, I embrace all Christians within her as my FULL, UNseparted brothers and sisters in Christ, EQUALLY a part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church. I consider nothing she teaches to be heresy. I would be honored (sic) to kneel with my FULL, EQUAL brothers and sisters in Christ to receive His true, literal, real Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. Sadly, none of these things is mutual but that does not detour me in the least.




I DO disagree with a FEW things that Catholics teach, and I don't embrace (but don't reject) a few other things. And I can be passionate about that, LOL. My blessed journey into Catholicism powerfully changed me in many ways, but I came out of that voyage firmly embracing conservative, traditional, reformation Protestantism. I am increasingly firmly, a conservative Lutheran ("Catholics in exile" "Evangelical Catholics" LOL). So, while I'm very pro-protestant (at least the "first wave" conservative forms of that), I'm BY NOT MEANS "anti-catholic." I lement what happened in 1520 (as I do what happened in 1054) but I can't personally undo it or the reasons on both sides for it, as much as I wish I could.




I pray daily for the CC - her members and minsiter and Holy Father - that God will continue to richly bless her and all she does to advance the Great Commandment and Great Commission.



BTW, I once told my priest that I agree with the CC at least 95% of the time. He laughed and commented that that's a lot better than most Catholics (he's right about that, LOL) and replied that he agreed with my denomination at least 95% of the time. Sad we tend to forget that.



.

I am sorry, and I am not trying to insult anyone, but truth and Scripture and Sacred Tradition point to the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic church is the true Church Jesus started. It is what it is. My answer to your question is that the Protestant church is following false doctrines.

1. I'm still trying to figure out why it's insulting and offensive when a Protestant says the RCC teaches false doctrine but it's not insulting when a Catholic says the Protestants are.


2. As I stated in my post quoted above, IMHO, the "protest" part is more on the RCC side. I stated that nothing the RCC teaches is false, you stated that Protestants follow false teachings. Other examples abound.


3. Of course, you may embrace as an article of faith that God established your denomination and is the "true church." I would never challenge such as an article of faith. But, of course, if you insist that HISTORY or SCRIPTURE so declares, then it's reasonable to ask, "where?" It's a reasonable and logical question, not an attack. That's largely what the Protestants have been doing, asking "where" and for substantiation. It's often labeled as "anti-catholic" "attacking" "insulting." And, can you understand, the Protestant might not be impressed with the reponse "but my denomination says so!!" especially when the Protestant is rebuked by the Catholic if he/she does the same thing.


4. The purpose of CF is not to defend what we believe, the purpose is to advance unity among the world's 2,000,000,000 Christians via respectful conversation, especially regarding issues in which consensus and unity does not exist. Therefore, it's reasonable that we address those issues. It doesn't mean anyone is picking on you nor you on me, it means we're doing what we came to CF to do.


5. Of course the RCC teaches that Scripture and Catholic Tradition affirm what the RCC treaches. Nearly all teachers so self-claim, the self-claim, per se, doesn't seem too compelling - especially since the millions that so self-claim don't agree. And, as is common, the RCC insists that it's the RCC that chooses what is and is not Catholic Tradition. And the RCC insists that it's the RCC that interprets what that Catholic Tradition teaches. And the RCC insists that it's the RCC that alone is the sole interpreter of Scripture and does so via the "lens" of the teachings of the self-same RCC so that any interpretation (no matter how textually valid) that does not support the teachings of the RCC must be rejected. And the RCC insists that it is the RCC alone is the sole arbiter for whether the RCC's interpretation of it's own Tradition and the Holy Scirptures does indeed affirm the teachings of the self-same RCC. I realize that and most Protestants do and it's not considered to be too compelling or helpful. In our interdenominational discussions, it would really help if we could break free of that "I'm right so when I say I'm right I am so therefore I am" rubric. IMHO, if a point is made "this is taught in God's Holy Word" then we need to talk about the words in God's Holy Word. If we are going to talk about history, then we need to talk about objective, verifiable history rather than claims. Otherwise, little to nothing will be accomplished here.




I stand by my post quoted above.

And I note in the poll that the overall evaluation here at CF is fairly positive of the RCC (as many similar polls and threads in GT have affirmed - several of those threads were started by me, LOL). At this point, it's 53% positive, 25% negative. Frankly, I think the Catholics here should realize that. CF is 2:1 positive toward the CC.


My perspective...


Pax!


- Josiah



.

 

[Yody]

So is ours. However, the Catholic Church is the one true Church.

When will people understand that a church is not pews and steeples

Its not the miniscule differences that tear us apart

The church is a faith in a God that was willing to lay down his own son so we wouldnt have to die.

And that dont have nothing to do with denomination

 

[IamAdopted]

I believe that this statement that the Roman Catholic church is the true church to be false.. Because of the History of the church. So therefore when you state that it is the only true chruch you need to back it up with evidence.. Where is this evidence with the claims.

 

[tulc]

So is ours. However, the Catholic Church is the one true Church.

I agree. I just don't think the ROMAN Catholic Church is.
tulc(see? we agree!)

 

[JimfromOhio]

To me, I don't care which "organization" claim the "rights" to be connected as part of "true Church". We are to focus on spiritual matters in the invisible church rather than temporal matters of the visible Church. We who love Jesus Christ constitute the true church. We belong to the collective Body of Christ whether we're alive or in glory. The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which means "an assembly of called-out ones. " The church is made up of people called by God to be His children. We have become united with all other believers by faith in Christ, who said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). Jesus meant He would gather together a body of believers. He wasn't talking about organizations; He was talking about people. We who know and love Him are the living church that has been born into the family of God by the Holy Spirit. As members of "the general assembly and church of the first-born, who are written in heaven" (Heb. 12:23), we have been declared righteous because our sin has been washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5). Only Pride will say "We are the true Church". While Humility will say "I am a member of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church" by looking at unity, holiness, universality, and apostolicity.

One thing that irritates me that those focus on the superficial and temporal church more than spiritual church. The Holy Spirit gave me assurance of my faith and doctrines I follow. No Church, No Denomination, No pastors or anyone can do this for me. Holy Spirit is the ONLY person who can do this. 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." Truth is, the Holy Spirit that can grasp our inner being only when we submit completely which will allow the Holy Spirit teach us, lead us mysterious and divine where we ought to go. "Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." — Psalm 86:11. The Holy Spirit that leads my thoughts and shapes my character. Our true moral and spiritual state is revealed by the Spirit through prayer and studying the Word. Eternally, we are "eternal (spiritual) members" in the universal church of Jesus Christ, based solely on His merit and grace. If we are a Christ-follower, then we are already a member. This is eternal and unchanging (I Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:13-22; 4:3-6; Colossians 1:13-22). Everyone who is saved is a member of God's Kingdom.

 

[WarriorAngel]

NO matter my struggles, I submit humbly to the doctrines of Christ, to the Church He built upon Peter.

I am not my own thinker, but a servant for the Lord.

Yes, Highly favorable.

God Bless all of you.

 

[vrunca]

I believe that this statement that the Roman Catholic church is the true church to be false..

Yeah, that's probably why you are not Catholic.

So therefore when you state that it is the only true chruch you need to back it up with evidence.. Where is this evidence with the claims.

It's already been explained over and over again that it was started by Jesus and guieded by the Holy Spirit for over 2,000 years now.

Now what gets me is this...I can and often do say that the Catholic church is the true church. Can you not say that about your own church? ...and if not, why would you even belong to that church?

 

[E.C.]

just going through this thread it seems that Catholic and orthodox beleivers seem to carry an air of-We are the truth the way and the light, you cant get into heaven if not in us

For the sake of defending Orthodoxy: we pretty much say that it is God who judges, not us and that it is not our place to judge because only God knows what is in your heart.

but truth and Scripture and Sacred Tradition point to the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic church is the true Church Jesus started.

I disagree with that part.

 

[JimfromOhio]

Yeah, that's probably why you are not Catholic.



It's already been explained over and over again that it was started by Jesus and guieded by the Holy Spirit for over 2,000 years now.

Now what gets me is this...I can and often do say that the Catholic church is the true church. Can you not say that about your own church? ...and if not, why would you even belong to that church?

I don't care how long "superficial" or "physical organizations" been around. I only care how spiritual Christians are more than how "connected" they are to their physical Churches. When we look in the mirror, we are the part of the spiritual Church that we are in harmony with other believers in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

We are the temple. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

The church of Jesus Christ is one body with many members, ordered in such a way that, through the one Spirit, believers may be built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. Christians are called to a committed fellowship of believers.

We all are different. People are different and people have different needs. There are many Christian cultures because there are Christians who will follow their conscience, feelings, beliefs and personal worship preferences. This is between God and each individual believer(s). It is important to remember that we ALL are different and in each of our Christian experience, there is no pattern or formula for identical Christian experiences. God has a plan for EACH of US when we are serving Him. We cannot and should not try to be exactly like each other in their Christian faith and life.

I said in my previous post in this thread:

To me, I don't care which "organization" claim the "rights" to be connected as part of "true Church". We are to focus on spiritual matters in the invisible church rather than temporal matters of the visible Church. We who love Jesus Christ constitute the true church. We belong to the collective Body of Christ whether we're alive or in glory. The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which means "an assembly of called-out ones. " The church is made up of people called by God to be His children. We have become united with all other believers by faith in Christ, who said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). Jesus meant He would gather together a body of believers. He wasn't talking about organizations; He was talking about people. We who know and love Him are the living church that has been born into the family of God by the Holy Spirit. As members of "the general assembly and church of the first-born, who are written in heaven" (Heb. 12:23), we have been declared righteous because our sin has been washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5). Only Pride will say "We are the true Church". While Humility will say "I am a member of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church" by looking at unity, holiness, universality, and apostolicity.

One thing that irritates me that those focus on the superficial and temporal church more than spiritual church. The Holy Spirit gave me assurance of my faith and doctrines I follow. No Church, No Denomination, No pastors or anyone can do this for me. Holy Spirit is the ONLY person who can do this. 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." Truth is, the Holy Spirit that can grasp our inner being only when we submit completely which will allow the Holy Spirit teach us, lead us mysterious and divine where we ought to go. "Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." — Psalm 86:11. The Holy Spirit that leads my thoughts and shapes my character. Our true moral and spiritual state is revealed by the Spirit through prayer and studying the Word. Eternally, we are "eternal (spiritual) members" in the universal church of Jesus Christ, based solely on His merit and grace. If we are a Christ-follower, then we are already a member. This is eternal and unchanging (I Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:13-22; 4:3-6; Colossians 1:13-22). Everyone who is saved is a member of God's Kingdom.

 

[vrunca]

I don't care how long "superficial" or "physical organizations" been around. I only care how spiritual Christians are more than how "connected" they are to their physical Churches. When we look in the mirror, we are the part of the spiritual Church that we are in harmony with other believers in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

We are the temple. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

The church of Jesus Christ is one body with many members, ordered in such a way that, through the one Spirit, believers may be built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. Christians are called to a committed fellowship of believers.

We all are different. People are different and people have different needs. There are many Christian cultures because there are Christians who will follow their conscience, feelings, beliefs and personal worship preferences. This is between God and each individual believer(s). It is important to remember that we ALL are different and in each of our Christian experience, there is no pattern or formula for identical Christian experiences. God has a plan for EACH of US when we are serving Him. We cannot and should not try to be exactly like each other in their Christian faith and life.

I said in my previous post in this thread:

I guess I really don't see what this has to do with my post. Are you saying that this is what you believe to be the one true church...and you belong to it? If so...well then awesome!! Again I will say, why would anyone belong to a church that they do not believe to be the one true church?