What is the difference between Catholic and Protestant?
My family are going to church this christmas, but they wondered if i wanted to go to catholic or Protestant church as my dad is protestant and my mum is catholic.
But (I was too embarrassed to point out) I didn’t know the difference!
Can anyone help me out?
There are several very important differences between Catholics and Protestants. While there have been some attempts over the last several years to find common ground between the two groups, the fact is that the differences remain, and they are just as important today as they were at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Following is brief summary of some of the more important differences.
One of the first major differences between Catholicism and Protestantism is the issue of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the sole source of God’s special revelation to mankind, and as such it teaches us all that is necessary for our salvation from sin. Protestants view the Bible as the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. This belief is commonly referred to as “Sola Scriptura” and is one of the “Five Solas” (sola being Latin for “alone”) that came out of the Protestant Reformation as summaries of some of the important differences between Catholics and Protestants.
While there are many verses in the Bible that establish its authority and its sufficiency for all matters of faith and practice, one of the clearest is 2 Timothy 3:16 where we see that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Catholics on the other hand reject the doctrine of “Sola Scriptura” and do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They believe that both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition are equally binding upon the Christian. Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc. have little or no basis at all in Scripture, but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. Essentially the Roman Catholic Church’s denial of “Sola Scriptura” and their insistence that both the Bible and their “Sacred Tradition” are equal in authority undermines the sufficiency, authority and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many of, if not all, the differences between Catholics and Protestants.
Another major but closely related difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is over the office and authority of the Pope. According to Catholicism the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ” (a vicar is a substitute), and takes the place of Jesus as the visible head of the Church. As such he has the ability to speak “ex cathedra” (with authority on matters of faith and practice), and when he does so his teachings are considered infallible and binding upon all Christians. On the other hand, Protestants believe that no human being is infallible, and that Christ alone is the head of the church. Catholics rely on apostolic succession as a way of trying to establishing the Pope’s authority. But Protestants believe that the church’s authority does not come from apostolic succession, but instead is derived from the Word of God. Spiritual power and authority does not rest in the hands of a mere man, but in the very Word of God recorded in Scripture. While Catholicism teaches that only the Catholic Church can properly and correctly interpret the Bible, Protestants believe that the Bible teaches that God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all born again believers, enabling all believers to understand the message of the Bible.
This is clearly seen in passages such as John 14:16-17: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (See also John 14:26 and 1 John 2:27). While Catholicism teaches that only the Roman Catholic Church has the authority and power to interpret the Bible, Protestantism acknowledges the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, and that individual Christians can trust the Holy Spirit for guidance in reading and interpreting the Bible for themselves.
A third major difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is how one is saved. Another of the “Five Solas” of the reformation was “Sola Fide” (faith alone), which affirms the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-10). However, according to Roman Catholicism, man cannot be saved by faith alone in Christ alone. They teach that the Christian must rely on faith plus “meritorious works” in order to be saved. Essential to the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation are the Seven Sacraments, which are: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, anointing of the sick, Holy Orders, and matrimony.
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October 15 2009 11:45 am | Catholic
Mr.AGGY™ on 15 Oct 2009 at 5:15 pm #
same damn pointless thing
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wreaser2000 on 15 Oct 2009 at 5:35 pm #
spelling
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joe b on 15 Oct 2009 at 5:40 pm #
Until the 16th century the only church was the Catholic church. That is until Martin Luther found 96 errors in the Catholic beliefs and actions as church body and thusly "protested" the Catholic church. There are only 2 Christian churches. Catholic and then everybody else that disagrees with them.
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Christians 4 Jews on 15 Oct 2009 at 5:48 pm #
There are several very important differences between Catholics and Protestants. While there have been some attempts over the last several years to find common ground between the two groups, the fact is that the differences remain, and they are just as important today as they were at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Following is brief summary of some of the more important differences.
One of the first major differences between Catholicism and Protestantism is the issue of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the sole source of God’s special revelation to mankind, and as such it teaches us all that is necessary for our salvation from sin. Protestants view the Bible as the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. This belief is commonly referred to as “Sola Scriptura” and is one of the “Five Solas” (sola being Latin for “alone”) that came out of the Protestant Reformation as summaries of some of the important differences between Catholics and Protestants.
While there are many verses in the Bible that establish its authority and its sufficiency for all matters of faith and practice, one of the clearest is 2 Timothy 3:16 where we see that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Catholics on the other hand reject the doctrine of “Sola Scriptura” and do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They believe that both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition are equally binding upon the Christian. Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc. have little or no basis at all in Scripture, but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. Essentially the Roman Catholic Church’s denial of “Sola Scriptura” and their insistence that both the Bible and their “Sacred Tradition” are equal in authority undermines the sufficiency, authority and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many of, if not all, the differences between Catholics and Protestants.
Another major but closely related difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is over the office and authority of the Pope. According to Catholicism the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ” (a vicar is a substitute), and takes the place of Jesus as the visible head of the Church. As such he has the ability to speak “ex cathedra” (with authority on matters of faith and practice), and when he does so his teachings are considered infallible and binding upon all Christians. On the other hand, Protestants believe that no human being is infallible, and that Christ alone is the head of the church. Catholics rely on apostolic succession as a way of trying to establishing the Pope’s authority. But Protestants believe that the church’s authority does not come from apostolic succession, but instead is derived from the Word of God. Spiritual power and authority does not rest in the hands of a mere man, but in the very Word of God recorded in Scripture. While Catholicism teaches that only the Catholic Church can properly and correctly interpret the Bible, Protestants believe that the Bible teaches that God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all born again believers, enabling all believers to understand the message of the Bible.
This is clearly seen in passages such as John 14:16-17: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (See also John 14:26 and 1 John 2:27). While Catholicism teaches that only the Roman Catholic Church has the authority and power to interpret the Bible, Protestantism acknowledges the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, and that individual Christians can trust the Holy Spirit for guidance in reading and interpreting the Bible for themselves.
A third major difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is how one is saved. Another of the “Five Solas” of the reformation was “Sola Fide” (faith alone), which affirms the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-10). However, according to Roman Catholicism, man cannot be saved by faith alone in Christ alone. They teach that the Christian must rely on faith plus “meritorious works” in order to be saved. Essential to the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation are the Seven Sacraments, which are: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, anointing of the sick, Holy Orders, and matrimony.
click on link for more!
References :
http://www.gotquestions.org/difference-Catholic-Protestant.html
Pngwn on 15 Oct 2009 at 6:34 pm #
Many many differences. One is that Catholics follow the pope and believe that you get to heaven by good works. Protestants don’t follow the pope but believe in salvation by faith.
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powderfuzz 178 on 15 Oct 2009 at 7:21 pm #
This is all i know. Catholic people(Roman) thought that the pope(leader of the church) could only talk to God and ask for forgiveness and stuff like that. The Protestants thought that they had to follow the Bible not what the pope or the leader of the church says. The protestants also believe in the Trinity.
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cmhelp1 on 15 Oct 2009 at 7:45 pm #
There is a very slight difference when it comes to Christmas for both churches.
Because since the Roman church introduced Christmas to Christianity and most of mainstream Christian churches (Protestant) accept this ancient pagan sun god’s birthday celebration in honor of Yeshua’s birth as well.
So it won’t much matter which you choose to go to.
Be Blessed:-)
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C on 15 Oct 2009 at 7:52 pm #
Doesn’t your Mom go to church every week?
That is a requirement of being Catholic.
Honestly the differences are much less than most people on here will have you think.
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Former Protestant, now Catholic.
Liliya829 on 15 Oct 2009 at 8:35 pm #
There’s lots of different kinds of Protestant churches, so it’s hard to say!
The big theorhetical differences–Catholics believe in "one catholic (universal) apostolic Church"–meaning that they believe that Jesus made Peter the first Pope, and that if you trace back who ordained each priest, it goes back to one of the Apostles. Catholics also believe that the wine and bread literally turn into Jesus during communion, and they believe that you can’t be filled with the Holy Spirit and not do good works. Catholics also ask Mary and the saints for intercessions (that is, to pray for them). Protestants don’t believe any of this.
As far as the actual church service, Catholic ones are more regimented–things are done in the same order every time, and certain prayers are said by everyone at the same time throughout mass. At Protestant services, typically you watch and listen, instead of standing, kneeling, sitting, reciting prayers and responses.
The Catholic services are more complicated, but, personally, I find them more fulfilling. Other people don’t, and that’s fine, too. Go to both and see what’s right for you
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former Methodist who converted to Catholicism.
Padua on 15 Oct 2009 at 9:24 pm #
Protestants are decedents of rogue Catholics. Their ancestors let loose the cry of Lucifer "I will not serve" and left to be there own masters. Today protestantism is mostly superstition. They have a book that so happens to have been handed down to them which they can loosely determine is banging on about some guy called God and eternal happiness and they try and interpret it on their own (even though it actually says within it not to do that).
Catholics wrote that book and understand it in the context of an unbroken, full, Tradition, protected by the Holy Spirit. Catholics are members of the Church founded by a person called Jesus who professed to be God and provided some pretty good evidence for it. He promised the Catholic Church that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. (Something protestants say did happen – there are many other accounts also upon which they apparently believe this person Jesus, lied.)
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David on 15 Oct 2009 at 9:34 pm #
Catholicism is not Christian. Catholicism leads to eternal torment in hell, because catholicism teaches works for salvation, and that is a false gospel of works (Galatians 1:6-9).
It’s clear from the Book of Acts in the Bible that catholics didn’t even exist during the days of Acts. Catholicism didn’t exist for over 300 years after Jesus. Those in the Book of Acts are the first Christians, and they believed what would be called fundamentalist doctrine today. ANYONE can read the Book of Acts for themselves and see. Had catholicism existed during the time of Acts, the first Christians would have rejected catholicism completely.
Also there’s Christians who also completely rejected catholicism, long before Martin Luther was even born.
So not only is it wrong for anyone to say that "catholics were the first Christians", but this list blows away the catholic claim that "no churches existed other than the catholic church, until Martin Luther".
And there is no "pope" in the Bible. Every "pope" is a false prophet.
There were ALWAYS saved believers outside the catholic cult, who knew catholicism cannot save anyone.
Catholicism cannot save. Only believing in Jesus alone for salvation, is what saves.
The truth is that Jesus is God, and Jesus loves you so very much!
The truth about Jesus is that the only way to be saved and to get into heaven and avoid being sent to eternal hell, is by believing in faith alone that Jesus, who is God, died for our sins on the cross as FULL PAYMENT for all our sins, and then Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believe this and you will be in heaven, no matter what! Salvation is a FREE GIFT that happens in a split second when you believe in Jesus alone to save you! It is impossible to lose or "leave" salvation (John 6:39-40, 1 John 5:13).
Please pray now: "Jesus, please forgive me of my sins. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and You rose from the dead. Thank You for eternal life!" You will be in heaven with Him forever when you die.
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I’m not a "protestant". I’m a saved believer in Jesus