Question: "What is Roman Catholicism?"

Answer: The Roman Catholic Church portrays itself as the one legitimate heir to New Testament Christianity, and the Pope as the successor to Peter, the first bishop of Rome. While those details are debatable, there is no question that Roman church history reaches back to ancient times. The apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Romans about AD 55, and addressed a church body that existed prior to his first visit there (but he made no mention of Peter, though he greeted others by name). Despite repeated persecutions by the government, a vibrant Christian community existed in Rome after apostolic times. Those early Roman Christians were just like their brethren in other parts of the world—simple followers of Jesus Christ.

Things changed drastically when the Roman Emperor Constantine professed a conversion to Christianity in AD 312. He began to make changes which ultimately led to the formation of the Roman Catholic Church. He issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which granted freedom of worship throughout the empire. When doctrinal disputes arose, Constantine presided over the first ecumenical church council at Nicaea in AD 325, even though he held no official authority in the churches. By the time of his death, Christianity was the favoured, if not the official, religion of the Roman Empire. The term "Roman Catholic" was defined by Emperor Theodosius on February 27, 380 in the Theodosian Code. In that document, he referred to those who hold to the "religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter" as "Roman Catholic Christians," and gave them the official sanction of the empire.

The fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Catholic Church are really two branches of the same story, as the power was transferred from one entity to the other. From the time of Constantine (AD 312) until the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the emperors of Rome claimed a certain amount of authority within the church, even though it was disputed by many church leaders. During those formative years, there were many disputes over authority, structure, and doctrine. The emperors sought to increase their authority by granting privileges to various bishops, resulting in disputes about primacy within the churches. At the same time, some of the bishops sought to increase their authority and prestige by accusing others of false doctrine and seeking state support of their positions. Many of those disputes resulted in very sinful behaviour, which are a disgrace to the name of Christ.

Just like today, some of those who lived in the leading cities tended to exalt themselves above their contemporaries in the rural areas. The third century saw the rise of an ecclesiastical hierarchy patterned after the Roman government. The bishop of a city was over the presbyters, or priests, of the local congregations, controlling the ministry of the churches, and the Bishop of Rome began to establish himself as supreme over all. Though some historians tell these details as the history of "the church," there were many church leaders in those days which neither stooped to those levels nor acknowledged any ecclesiastical hierarchy. The vast majority of churches in the first four centuries derived their authority and doctrine from the Bible, and traced their lineage directly back to the apostles, not to the church of Rome. In the New Testament, the terms "elder," "pastor," and "bishop" are used interchangeably for the spiritual leaders of any church (see 1 Peter 5:1-3 where the Greek root words are translated "elders," "feed," and "oversight".) By the time Gregory became pope in AD 590, the empire was in a shambles, and he assumed imperial powers along with his ecclesiastical authority. From that time on, the church and state were fully intertwined as the Holy Roman Empire, with the pope exercising authority over kings and emperors.

What are the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church that distinguish it from other Christian churches? Whole books have been written on this subject, but a sampling of the doctrines will be outlined here.

Roman Catholicism

The bishops, with the Pope as their head, rule the universal Church.
God has entrusted revelation to the bishops.
The Pope is infallible in his teaching.

Scripture and Tradition together are the Word of God.

Mary is the co-redeemer, for she participated with Christ in the painful act of redemption.
Mary is the co-mediator, to whom we can entrust all our cares and petitions.

Initial justification is by means of baptism.

Adults must prepare for justification through faith and good works.

Grace is merited by good works.

Salvation is attained by cooperating with grace through faith, good works, and participation in the sacraments.
No one can know if he will attain to eternal life.

The Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation.

Christ's body and blood exist wholly and entirely in every fragment of consecrated bread and wine in every Roman Catholic church around the world.
The sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated in the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Each sacrifice of the Mass appeases God's wrath against sin.

The sacrificial work of redemption is continually carried out through the sacrifice of the Mass.

Biblical Teaching

Christ, the head of the body, rules the universal church (Colossians 1:18.)

God has entrusted revelation to the saints (Jude 3).

God alone is infallible (Numbers 23:19; Acts 17:11).

Scripture alone is the Word of God (John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21; Mark 7:1-13).

Christ alone is the Redeemer, for He alone suffered and died for sin (1 Peter 1:18,19).

Christ Jesus is the one mediator to whom we can entrust all our cares and petitions (1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:13,14; 1 Peter 5:7).

Justification is by faith alone (Romans 3:28).

God justifies ungodly sinners who believe (Romans 4:5). Good works are the result of salvation, not the cause (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Grace is a free gift (Romans 11:6).

Salvation is attained by grace through faith apart from works (Ephesians 2:10).

The believer can know that he has eternal life by the Word of God and the testimony of the Holy Spirit who indwells believers(1 John 5:13; Romans 8:16).

There is salvation in no one but the Lord Jesus Christ, "for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

The bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Christ, and He is bodily present in heaven (1 Corinthians 11:23-25; Hebrews 10:12,13).

The sacrifice of the cross is finished (John 19:30).

The once-for-all sacrifice of the cross fully appeased God's wrath against sin (Hebrews 10:12-18).

The sacrificial work of redemption was finished when Christ gave His life for us on the cross (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 1:3).

These doctrines don't date back all the way to Constantine, except for perhaps in seed form, but were slowly adopted over many years as various popes issued decrees. In many cases, the doctrines are not even based on Scripture, but on a document of the church. Most Roman Catholics consider themselves to be Christians and are unaware of the differences between their beliefs and the Bible. Sadly, the Roman Catholic Church has fostered that ignorance by discouraging the personal study of the Bible and making the people reliant on the priests for their understanding of the Bible.

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Roman-Catholicism.html#ixzz3C4GZMxsj

LMAO.
Even as an atheist i can tell this article is full of poo.

Apatheist:

LMAO.
Even as an atheist i can tell this article is full of poo.

Is that not why you ended up being an atheist (unbeliever?)

Apatheist: LMAO.
Even as an atheist i can tell this article is full of poo.

lol... @ola, you see what you have caused for yoursef... If you use half the time you spent in spreading hatred against the church to better your relationship with christ... Walahi, you would have been proud as st paul for having run the race well... Alas, all you do is help the devil in dividing christianity....

OLAADEGBU:

Is that not why you ended up being an atheist (unbeliever?)

am done dicussing with you... Cos i can see that you already have an agenda to fulfill... No need commenting again...

Rich4god:

lol... @ola, you see what you have caused for yoursef... If you use half the time you spent in spreading hatred against the church to better your relationship with christ... Walahi, you would have been proud as st paul for having run the race well... Alas, all you do is help the devil in dividing christianity....

How have I divided Christianity? Do you see yourself as a Christian or a Roman catholic?

OLAADEGBU:

How have I divided Christianity? Do you see yourself as a Christian or a Roman catholic?

I think the question should be... Do you see catholics as christians...

Rich4god:

am done dicussing with you... Cos i can see that you already have an agenda to fulfill... No need commenting again...

Good. My agenda is to make you believe in Christ alone for your salvation.

Rich4god:

I think the question should be... Do you see catholics as christians...

Good question. Let the pictures in the cartoons posted give you answers to that.

Are Roman Catholics Christians?

Catholics trust in their religion and good works for salvation, but neither can save. Only Jesus can!

www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp

OLAADEGBU:

Good. My agenda is to make you believe in Christ alone for your salvation.

By bringing up lies abi...

Initially my first impulse was to ignore this thread since Oladeegbu is obviously trying to create multiple catholic threads and even trying to ressurrect old ones only in a bid to satisty his sadostistic anti-catholic urge.I just thought I should post on the origin of the term "Roman catholic"



Roman Catholic (term)

This article discusses the term "Roman Catholic", its usage and origin
.
The term Roman Catholic appeared in the English language at the beginning of the 17th century, to differentiate specific groups of Christians in communion with the Pope from others; comparable terms in other languages already existed. It has continued to be widely used in the English language ever since, although its usage has changed over the centuries.[1]

The church widely known as the Catholic Church consists of 23 autonomous churches (all of which are subject to the Pope)— one "Western" and 22 "Eastern" — governed by two sets of Codes of Canon Law.[2] To refer to all 23 autonomous Churches together, official Church documents often use the term "Catholic Church" or, less frequently, the term "Roman Catholic Church". The usage that makes the term "Roman Catholic" mean members of the Latin Rite or Western Church to the exclusion of those who belong to the Eastern Catholic Churches does not appear in any recent document of the Holy See, and popes have used the term "Roman Catholic Church" on various occasions throughout the 20th century to mean instead the whole Church without exclusion of any part.[3]

In popular usage, "Catholic Church" is usually understood to mean the same as "Roman Catholic Church". In compound forms such as "Roman Catholic worship" the term is sometimes used to differentiate Western (Latin Church) practices from Eastern. However, in itself the word "catholic" translates into English as "universal" or "pertaining to the whole", as opposed to "particular" or "related to a part". Being "catholic" is one of the Four Marks of the Church set out in the Nicene Creed, a statement of belief accepted by many churches, even if not in communion with the Pope.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_(term)

OLAADEGBU:

Good question. Let the pictures in the cartoons posted give you answers to that.

Am using phone so I cant see whats on that carton. I ask again... Do you see catholics as christians...? I want a direct answer from you and not any link or explanation. All I want is yes or no...

Rich4god:

By bringing up lies abi...

It only become lies in the eyes of those who have rejected the truth of God's word and replaced it with their traditions.

Rich4god:

Am using phone so I cant see whats on that carton. I ask again... Do you see catholics as christians...? I want a direct answer from you and not any link or explanation. All I want is yes or no...

You couldn't see the pictures because I haven't posted them yet. Go with me on a journey to cartoonese town.

chukwudi44:

Initially my first impulse was to ignore this thread since Oladeegbu is obviously trying to create multiple catholic threads and even trying to ressurrect old ones only in a bid to satisty his sadostistic anti-catholic urge.I just thought I should post on the origin of the term "Roman catholic"



Roman Catholic (term)

This article discusses the term "Roman Catholic", its usage and origin
.
The term Roman Catholic appeared in the English language at the beginning of the 17th century, to differentiate specific groups of Christians in communion with the Pope from others; comparable terms in other languages already existed. It has continued to be widely used in the English language ever since, although its usage has changed over the centuries.[1]

The church widely known as the Catholic Church consists of 23 autonomous churches (all of which are subject to the Pope)— one "Western" and 22 "Eastern" — governed by two sets of Codes of Canon Law.[2] To refer to all 23 autonomous Churches together, official Church documents often use the term "Catholic Church" or, less frequently, the term "Roman Catholic Church". The usage that makes the term "Roman Catholic" mean members of the Latin Rite or Western Church to the exclusion of those who belong to the Eastern Catholic Churches does not appear in any recent document of the Holy See, and popes have used the term "Roman Catholic Church" on various occasions throughout the 20th century to mean instead the whole Church without exclusion of any part.[3]

In popular usage, "Catholic Church" is usually understood to mean the same as "Roman Catholic Church". In compound forms such as "Roman Catholic worship" the term is sometimes used to differentiate Western (Latin Church) practices from Eastern. However, in itself the word "catholic" translates into English as "universal" or "pertaining to the whole", as opposed to "particular" or "related to a part". Being "catholic" is one of the Four Marks of the Church set out in the Nicene Creed, a statement of belief accepted by many churches, even if not in communion with the Pope.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_(term)

Are Roman catholic Christians? (contd.)

OLAADEGBU:

You couldn't see the pictures because I haven't posted them yet. Go with me on a journey to cartoonese town.

All i want is for you to tell me yes or no... Stop acting like you are scared to answer me directly...

Rich4god:

All i want is for you to tell me yes or no... Stop acting like you are scared to answer me directly...

There is no yes or no to your question. The cartoon leads you to the answer.

OLAADEGBU:

There is no yes or no to your question. The cartoon leads you to the answer.

Am saying this again... Am using phone... I can virw the carton but cant read the wordings... I ask for the last time... Do you consider catholics christians... Yes or No... If you are confident in what you are saying, why cant you just answer me...

OLAADEGBU:

Is that not why you ended up being an atheist (unbeliever?)

Olaadegbu, the one true GOD.
You can read minds now?

Rich4god:

Am saying this again... Am using phone... I can virw the carton but cant read the wordings... I ask for the last time... Do you consider catholics christians... Yes or No... If you are confident in what you are saying, why cant you just answer me...

What do you think?

OLAADEGBU:

What do you think?

with this your response, its obvious you are not serious with you argument... Nice chatting with you...

Apatheist:

Olaadegbu, the one true GOD.
You can read minds now?

Are not an unbeliever?

OLAADEGBU:

Are not an unbeliever?

You said:

OLAADEGBU:
Is that not why you ended up being an atheist (unbeliever?)

You can read minds to know the reason I stopped believing in fairy tales?

Apatheist:
You said:

You can read minds to know the reason I stopped believing in fairy tales?

And you cannot resist posting in matters you stopped believing in.

OLAADEGBU:

And you cannot resist posting in matters you stopped believing in.

And you cannot resist posting about matters you don't believe in.

Apatheist:

And you cannot resist posting about matters you don't believe in.

Yes, you?

Rich4god:

I think the question should be... Do you see catholics as christians...

The question should be...Do you see yourself as a Christian?