I have Catholic friends who are loathe to refer to themselves as Christian. They are adament that they are Catholic, and not Christian. Why? Catholicism is a Christian sect/deneomination, right?
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Jadey - Vive la difference
ANSWERS: 33
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For some Catholics the term Christian is synonomous with Protestant.
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... Sorry. I have seen a similar question already asked, I should have had a quick look first!!
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Right. They are being semantic and/or petty.
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It sounds like they prefer being more specific...sort of like a Texan wanting to be called a Texan. They know they are also American, but they are something a little different -- Texan
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Perhaps you should ask THEM?
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some can be but most are not - the beliefs are very different.
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since i have yet to meet catholics who do not consider themselves christians, then you should ask them why they have no clue that they ARE christians. Sounds like your friends ride the short bus.
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A good reference for those so interested: "Six Blind Men Of Hindustan" (be sure to read the last paragraph)
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You're right- Catholic is a Christian denomination. Perhaps they want specific recognition and don't want to be implicitly associated with some of the other Christian denominations.
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The Roman Catholic Church was the seat of Christianity before the Protestant Reformation. All Protestant churches emanated from the Catholic Church. Your friends don't know what they are talking about.
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any who believe in christ and his divine nature should rightly be considered christians
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That sounds like the reverse of what I normally hear. Most of the time, Catholics insist that they are Christians when Protestants say that they aren't. However, Catholicism is very different from most Protestant religions even though they have similar beliefs. Perhaps your Catholic friends are just too stupid to realize what kind of religion they follow.
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This is interesting. It's been my experience that Protestants usually are the ones which have a problem thinking of Catholics as Christians. I've never run across Catholics who thought this way.
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I've found there are many Christians who associate closer with their denomination in order to avoid the negative connotations applied to the word "Christian" - these include "fundamentalist", "evangelical", "crazy", "bible-thumping", etc.
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I think if you were to ask most Catholics, other than the friends to which you refer, whether or not they were Christians, the vast majority would respond with an absolute yes. And if you were to suggest that they weren't, I likewise think they would take considerable exception to your contention. At least most Catholics I know. I've never known a Catholic who didn't consider him/herself to be a Christian. +5
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Well . . .I was born and raised a "Roman" Catholic. I consider myself to be a Christian.
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I am Catholic and I went to Catholic school all my life. I completely understand what you mean about how we say we're 'Catholics' rather than just 'Christians'. In my case it is because there are so many different 'Christian' denominations today that I cannot distinguish a 7th Day Adventist from a Baptist from a Methodist to a Presbyterian. At the root we are all Christian believers, but Catholicism goes back to the beginnings of Christianity. There are certain rituals and customs that Catholics hold on to that are separate from other Christian beliefs. Some good, some bad, but nonetheless ingrained in the Catholic psyche. My Catholic nephew recently married a Messianic Jew (after he converted). These are Jewish people who believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but keep the Jewish traditions and holy days. Catholics hold The Pope in the highest esteem, but other Christians do not. And the Virgin Mary is a whole other subject that Catholics won't budge on.
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Christianity is a cult and Catholicism is a sect of that club
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I am a Roman Catholic and I do not believe this at all. I am foremost a Christian. Christ is the center of my faith. I associate with the Roman Catholic religion because I feel that the teachings of the Roman Catholic church help me the most in my relationship with Jesus Christ AND YES the Roman Catholic Church is a Christian denomination. Your friends seriously have their priorities confused.
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a Christian is simply one who has ACCEPTED Christ......religious practice has nothing to do with this basically...they accept Christ,but most not what HE taught...or the Apostles taught...which was 1 of their reasons for carrying on.... i am a Christian, i attend church oF Christ....but that is not why I call myself a Christian!!!! baptists are christian..Mehtodists...but all have their own practices ...that is why u may hear the loathing of each other..like the Pharisees and Saducees.....both believed in the Almighty..just not the rituals and laws the same..this divided!...:)justme
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A Christian is ANYONE who has accepted Jesus as their Savior, no matter the denomination.
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just found this website - it tells the differences in detail. http://www.gotquestions.org/Catholic-Christian.html
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they need to let us be able to delete answers...or maybe i'm the only one that answers when i mean to comment & then can only edit it.
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delete answer ah
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I'm Catholic and I definitely consider myself a Christian.
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Raise Catholic, thought I was a christian. Now a Bright.
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We are christians, and we have the simular morals as any other Christans. I had a lot of people say I wasn't Christian and I belived it in till a preist said Protastants are our brothers and sisters. If you are their freind and they loathe being called Christians than it sounds like they might be trying to make themselves stand out for some reason.
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Christianity is any religion (not a religion) centered around the teachings of Jesus. I cannot imagine why a Catholic would deny being Christian.
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Yes, yes...Catholicism is a Christian faith. However, we have to remember that Catholics are taught that they are the original Christian faith and that protestant faiths are not so great, because for the most part, they were born out of folks not agreeing with various tenant of the catholic church. Protestant persons have separated themselves in great part, from Catholics, by distinguishing themselves as being able to have a direct relationship with Jesus and God (This would refer to the Catholic tradition and views on intercession). Over time, the whole "I am a Christian" self identification has become almost a negative in the eyes of Catholics...like it's code for something not as good, or kind of kooky. In general, it's just a mass hang up that some Catholics have (note I say some). To clarify, all Catholics are Christians.
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depends on who you ask...
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Well that they should,cause they are not true followers of Christ.They love their church tradition too much and reject a great majority of Gods word.So no they aren't christian.
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Protestant, which is the largest Christian offshoot of Catholicism, is from the word "protest", as they protested the rigid thinking of the Catholic church and did not recognize the Pope as being any better than any other human. Some Catholics still think Protestants are renegade Catholics, not Christians, at least not like "them".
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If your belief in Jesus as the son of God, you are a Christian. Peroid.
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