Wanting to learn about Catholic beliefs

[Anonymous]

I am wondering your thoughts on Catholicism and very early teachings or history. Big subject I know, but have huge tug in my faith to learn more. Part of that comes from hearing so many cliché s in some churches or people that really seem clueless as to why they are of the faith they are. One thing I never knew is just why I am Baptist. I search and try to keep learning. Honestly I never saw or heard baptists trying to convert catholics but it is obvious that catholic beliefs feel they are the way for REAL understandings through history. An example is my lack of complete understanding of the context of scripture. Not just a simple phrase that I see used over and over. My soul is hungry to learn now that humility has knocked that shell of pride off of me. Pray for me please as I search.

[Mike Miller]

These are obviously such very large subjects--Catholicism and church history--that I will not be able to cover them exhaustively here. If you want to read a good book on the history of Christianity, I recommend Bruce Shelley's Church History in Plain Language. However, let me just give a quick summary of some of the core differences between Protestants (including Baptists and other Evangelicals) and Catholics.

Before I do that, however, I want to state that I am not anti-Catholic in the sense that I don't like Catholics. I do like them. However, even though we share some of the same beliefs, we also differ greatly on some very significant issues. I am not telling you anything a Catholic who knows Catholic doctrine would not tell you. The reason I use the phrase "Catholic who knows Catholic doctrine" is that I know lots of Catholics who self-identify as Catholics but cannot articulate Catholic doctrine (just as I know Baptists who don't know Baptist doctrine). I have read the Catholic catechism as well as numerous books and articles by Catholics. I have seen debates between Evangelicals and Catholics, and I have been to numerous Catholic apologetic blogs (blogs devoted to defending Catholicism). I am also aware that the Catholic church tries to win people out of Protestant churches and into the Catholic church. I say all of this to say that I have no animosity toward Catholics. I'm just trying to state the facts as I know them.

Briefly, Evangelicals (I'm being more narrow with this term because some of the mainline Protestant denominations tend to blur the lines) and Catholics define the Gospel differently. We agree on many core doctrines--One God, the Trinity, the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection, etc. However, while Evangelicals believe that a person is saved by grace through faith alone, the Catholic church does not. Now, they talk about grace and faith, but what they mean is that you have to have faith in Jesus, and then you receive grace through the sacraments administered by the Catholic church. In other words, they do believe faith is essential, but saving grace comes through baptism, communion, and confession (and other things). You also have to continue in those things, receiving enough sustaining grace to have enough faith to do good works. Then, while Evangelicals believe that Jesus did everything necessary to secure our salvation and that all our sins were atoned for on the cross, Catholics believe that Jesus only made salvation possible. They believe he made it possible to get grace through the church, but you can lose your salvation if you are not good enough, and even at the end of a good Catholic's life, he has to spend time in purgatory--a fiery place where he then atones for his own sins. Catholics have absolutely no confidence that they will be saved eternally.

Catholics also do not believe that the Bible is the sole authority or the sole source of perfect divine revelation. They believe that the Bible, the magisterium (the bishops, including the pope), and tradition are equal in authority and inspiration. Not only that, but priests are the only ones with the ability to read, interpret, and understand the Bible. Catholics are discouraged from reading the Bible, because only the priests have right understanding.

There are numerous other differences, such as the veneration of Mary, praying to certain dead people (not saints, because the Bible calls all Christians "saints"), transubstantiation (Catholic doctrine of communion), confession/absolution, priesthood, etc. However, what I've discussed above is most crucial. You are free to ask follow-up questions.