Only insofar as the actual rituals of worship.
Do you worship Jesus Christ? Then you are Christian.
The Catholic Church was the first organized Christian denomination, but Christian nonetheless.
As to actual practice; yes there are sometimes vast differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, but all follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, and all believe in one true God.
Christians ONLY worship Jesus Christ. Catholics worship Mary, believe that you can only get into heaven with good deeds, and NOT faith alone, and believe that you can only communicate to god through a priest. Christians believe that Jesus died to, of course get rid of all of our sins, but to be the only higher priest there is. So they do not need to communicate to god through another person or atone their sins with multiple prayers, they only need to ask for forgiveness and repent
I do not believe we are immensely different though. We have the same core values but different beliefs and practices which is proves that we are not the same. I love the pope though, he is teaching people that the bibles values are not bad, and is trying to be like Jesus Christ, something Catholics and Christians can look up to
Ok yeah, you have the saints, and believe the Pope, cardinals, priests, etc are God's representatives on earth. As you say, protestants generally believe that no human can speak for God, and that only God can forgive sins and answer prayers. But all worship the Holy Trinity, not only Jesus.
If I were to take a cynical stance I'd say that Catholics believe they can do whatever they want in life and only have to go to confession once a week or so and all is good. Many protestants believe they can do whatever they want in life and only have to show up at church every Sunday and all is good.
Can you tell I'm a bit jaded? Personally I believe that God (whoever, or whatever God may be) judges us by the content of our hearts, not by our actions, and I don't think "He" really gives a rip whether we show up for a meaningless ritual once a week when our hearts really aren't in it.
You're absolutely right, God doesn't care what we do in life to seem like a good person, but he cares whether or not we accepted him, loved him, and tried to live through him. I've met shitty people that bullied me and made my life hell but said I had to forgive them because Jesus forgives everyone and then they went to church and thought everything was ok, and as long as they were giving the appearance of a Christian it didn't matter if their hearts were corrupt. It matters if you love Him and want to be like Him. I've learned to not care what other Christians say I should do, or give the appearance of those Christians that go around saying Jesus loves you. I just try to be kind to people because that's how Jesus was; to be friends with the sinner and help people find their way to Him. I don't give a rats ass about going to church, I just encounter a bunch of phonies there. It matters what's in my heart and that's it
Because he got it right, and the 40 other major branches of Christianity (and 30000 denominations) got it wrong? I hope he's got at least a splinter of evidence to back up his claim.
I live in the Netherlands and work in academia. The number of people I know who believes in magic or gods is zero. People around me not only put up with me, but also can see ridiculous claims for what they are. In northern Europe, if you're going to make assertions about the fundamental nature of the universe, you'd better back up your claims with evidence, otherwise you're just a fanboy.
People around here take claims about gods as seriously as claims about pixies and leprechauns; it's up to the believer to show evidence. That's how it works in a court of law and anywere in life. "I have faith that your girlfriend cheats on you", do you believe me without evidence? I hope not.
For everything in life we require some level of evidence. Why would religious claims be exempt? I'm just being consistent. Loch Ness monsters, gods, same method.
I'm not getting into a debate with you on religion. I love both science and spirituality. They are two sides to the same coin. Eisenstein understood this. The simple fact that you are too closed minded and pretentious to entertain the notion of things beyond your 5 senses is your problem. Science isn't perfect and religion sure as hell isn't either, but denying humanity of either is the definition of a waste of beauty.
Pope Francis pretty much only speaks for Catholics. He calls for peace in the middle east when the Bible states that will never happen. Many if many of the prophesies have come true I fail to see why this one won't. The Bible is not the main resource for God's will in the Catholic church and they rely on a man to tell them what to do. This is the main failing of the Catholic church.
Uh, no. Ken Ham does that, and he's being ridiculous. I am glad that the Pope isn't following the Bible, because otherwise there would be slavery and stonning in every street, and nobody wants that. I just wish the Pope and other religious leaders would ditch the rest of the book since they're already smart and decent enough to ignore the worst crap they contain.
Oh, sorry, you're the one who got it right; I hadn't realized. It's just so hard, you know, since this perfect and omnipotent god failed at communicating so badly that there are 40 major branches of Christianity, a number that keeps growing. You guys get your stuff sorted out, then we'll talk. As for misreading the bible, which parts?
Wow, hate much?
There are so many religions because human beings are so different. Perhaps you've noticed? It's nearly impossible to find two people who agree 100% on 100% of topics, and since religion and politics are deeply personal beliefs that number is infinitesimally smaller.
I'd bet your mother and any siblings or cousins she had had different ideas about exactly how to raise their children; does that mean you are not real?
Without actually taking a position, let me say this; the Christian God (and it's important to understand that this is the very same God the Muslims and Jews worship) did not at any time sit down with the first humans and write detailed instructions on how he wanted to be worshiped. When you boil it down he did not "communicate badly" since he did not really communicate.
Religion - all religions - are based upon the interpretations and opinions (and sometimes on wanting personal or political power over the people) of the religious leaders, filtered through millions of leaders and thousands of years.
And, again without taking a position on religion, personal religious beliefs are no different than believing in "gay rights" or that abortion is OK, or that our borders should be erased and anyone that wants to come here for any reason should he permitted. I'd venture to guess you won't find a lot of agreement on those topics either.
Believe whatever you want about whatever you want, but stop hating people with different opinions!
First off: being called a Christian was actually offensive in bible times. They were called Believers.
Second: the holy trinity makes up God. We don't worship 3 things, we worship one.
Third: a true believer shows unconditional love and follows God's commands. And one of those commands is gathering as a church to worship him.
Fourth: church is not a building. Believers are the church and body of Christ. So if we gather in a church building or a walmart we are still worshipping God like he asked.
I know this post was forever ago but I felt compelled to share.
Do you worship Jesus Christ? Then you are Christian.
The Catholic Church was the first organized Christian denomination, but Christian nonetheless.
As to actual practice; yes there are sometimes vast differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, but all follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, and all believe in one true God.
If I were to take a cynical stance I'd say that Catholics believe they can do whatever they want in life and only have to go to confession once a week or so and all is good. Many protestants believe they can do whatever they want in life and only have to show up at church every Sunday and all is good.
Can you tell I'm a bit jaded? Personally I believe that God (whoever, or whatever God may be) judges us by the content of our hearts, not by our actions, and I don't think "He" really gives a rip whether we show up for a meaningless ritual once a week when our hearts really aren't in it.
People around here take claims about gods as seriously as claims about pixies and leprechauns; it's up to the believer to show evidence. That's how it works in a court of law and anywere in life. "I have faith that your girlfriend cheats on you", do you believe me without evidence? I hope not.
For everything in life we require some level of evidence. Why would religious claims be exempt? I'm just being consistent. Loch Ness monsters, gods, same method.
There are so many religions because human beings are so different. Perhaps you've noticed? It's nearly impossible to find two people who agree 100% on 100% of topics, and since religion and politics are deeply personal beliefs that number is infinitesimally smaller.
I'd bet your mother and any siblings or cousins she had had different ideas about exactly how to raise their children; does that mean you are not real?
Without actually taking a position, let me say this; the Christian God (and it's important to understand that this is the very same God the Muslims and Jews worship) did not at any time sit down with the first humans and write detailed instructions on how he wanted to be worshiped. When you boil it down he did not "communicate badly" since he did not really communicate.
And, again without taking a position on religion, personal religious beliefs are no different than believing in "gay rights" or that abortion is OK, or that our borders should be erased and anyone that wants to come here for any reason should he permitted. I'd venture to guess you won't find a lot of agreement on those topics either.
Believe whatever you want about whatever you want, but stop hating people with different opinions!
Second: the holy trinity makes up God. We don't worship 3 things, we worship one.
Third: a true believer shows unconditional love and follows God's commands. And one of those commands is gathering as a church to worship him.
Fourth: church is not a building. Believers are the church and body of Christ. So if we gather in a church building or a walmart we are still worshipping God like he asked.
I know this post was forever ago but I felt compelled to share.