Welcome to Gaia! ::

I understand your concern. It is not right to bash other religions in any circumstance, but you have to be patient with us who do not understand where you come from. There have been some that have been wronged by certain churches and they are just voicing their dissatisfaction. Not all churches follow God's word closely or hold it close to their hearts and this dissatisfaction is a product of that. No one can say that only Catholic churches are like this, I know for a fact that there are worse churches of other denominations (which I care not to mention). The best that we can ask of you is to clear up our misconceptions and tell us when we have wronged you so that we may have a chance to apologize. I hope that we can come to better understand each other.

I realize this, and I apologize for my actions. I'm working on it. I just have some bad habits that are hard to shake, thank you both for catching me on this. I hope to avoid this in the future.

Ok, I have final exams but I will attempt to reply to as many questions as I can, as soon as I can.

IMPORTANT: I have no grudge against other Christians. I will answer these ASAP to the best of my ability and clear things up as well. All I ask in return is respect, kindness, and understanding. There have been bad apples in the past- Popes who did things wrong, and people who killed others- but each Church is not without sins. Because we are people- and we mess up. The important thing is that we all love Christ, and we should focus on love, rather than point out each others faults. As in the example I gave with the germans, anything can be applied: the slaughter in Rwanda, etc. we can't judge people by a group who did something wrong. It's unfair, and not what Christ would have wanted.

* The Catholic church don't view non-Catholics as 'evil', but then how does the Catholic church view them?

(We view you as our brothers and sisters in the union of Christ. Just yesterday in Mass the Priest refered to Protestants as 'our brothers and sisters in faith'. I have no clue what kind of people you encounter, but many who claim to be 'Catholics' aren't even strong in faith! We believe you are misguided from the path that Peter, the first Pope and founder of the Church (As Christ wanted). Think of it in a simpler way: I give you an essay. I state rules. You go do the essay, but you believe that you have a better idea, and some of the rules aren't fair. So you do your own thing and look back to me to see if you did that essay right. Sure, you've done the OVERALL point of the essay, but you've directly broken the rules for the essay and have directly ignored what I wanted you to do. That's the same thing. We don't hate you. We simply think that as is with the essay, you strayed from important rules God set (such as divorce). So don't think we look down on you. I don't know how you view Roman Catholics, but we certainly don't hate on you, or anyone.)


* Also, what is it required for one to be with God, and not go to hell, according to Catholisicm?
(First off, a lot of people seem to say : "CATHOLICS WILLT TELL YOU TO BURN IN HELL!"
That's wrong. We, I speak for Roman Catholics, see hell not as fire and brimstone- that is symbolism, just as there is symbolism in the Bible. Hell is a place without God, where people suffer in their own misery where they know they turned away from God. That destroys them from within. The fact they know God extended a hand and they turned away from him. At least, that's a major teaching I have kept with me.
Simply follow the Ten Commandments and have faith in God- then you won't go to hell. That and going to Church each Sunday sets a stronger faith in you- think about it. Is setting aside an hour a week that hard for you, and all this for the God you love? That's how strong Catholics feel. Of course, by trusting in god is the way, and loving him. The Final Judgement is not for us to decide, so in the end we don't play God and state 'so-and-so will burn in hell'. Nope. We depend on Gods will.)

* As for confession, what are the scriptures that state specifically that we are required to have a priest to intercede our prayers?
(The Scriptures and the passages are right in front of. Look at Baptism. It doesn't repeat over and over: "BAPTISM! DO IT!" It is an example of Chirst. John the Baptist was the first to do this, and so we do it in Church. Same for sins. The message in the Bible is to go to Christ and ask for forgiveness; Jesus gave Peter the command of His Church to help and heal people. He forgave sins in the name of Jesus Christ. And so do his followers to this day. Priests are called upon by God to serve Him- and form a marriage of faith only to Him (which is why Priests don't get married). So, thus, as long ago, we speak to God through Priests, rather than just talking to them. When I go to confession I hear the voice of God in my heart, not through my ears.)

* On the same token, what are the scriptures that support asking saints to intercede for us?
I feel that people put too much emphasis by following the Bible word for word. That shouldn't be the case, as I have been taught in school and in life. Follow the Bible, but the words do NOT mean things literally in many cases. I could go and hunt down many passages regarding saints and prayer, but this has been maily linked to Church. We pray that they look OVER us, and pray in our name. Just like Mary. We pray that Mary will stand on our name and help us to live a better life, closer to God.

* How do you feel about the horrible actions of the catholic church over the past 1000 years or so?
This question amuses me. Everyone who is Christian should ask themselves that, especially since we were ALL one group during 1000 years. So my actions are your actions, and they are past actions. I hope you realize that the Church is not something that is a separate place. It is a body of people. We are the Church. Past actions were justified by people. So we are all sinners. Now, if you ask for my PERSONAL opinion, I feel bad. But Pope John Paul II adressed this issue and fought for forgiveness and a better world. We can't do anything else but ask for forgiveness, learn from our mistakes, and thus lead a better life TODAY.

* What is the view on Marriage?
You can check the Bible since Catholics follow that. Specifics? A man and a woman. I'm sure we can all find the passage against homosexuality.

Do you pray to angels or Mary?
Mary we pray to for protection and a link to Jesus Christ. We ask Mary to guide us and become better people. I personally oly pray to my Guardian Angels to watch over me.


Do you believe water baptism is essential to salvation?
Yes. this is the guideline that we follow to become pure and able to accept Christ. This is what we are asked to do. I can't say what God has in store for those who don't do it. It is a symbol of love for God. Christ did this, and so we do it as well.

Do you believe the pope is infallible?
Any specifics? The Pope is human and is able to make mistakes. God knows there have been Popes that have not acted in a Catholic way. But the Pope is human, just like Peter was, but he guides us. I take great pride in Pope John Paul II as he was able to adress issues that have been ignored.

Do you beleive that water can be holy?
If blessed in Church by a Priest, yes. God works through the Priest.


*How important would you say "works" are for salvation?
Very important. Remember that God said to multiply our gifts and use them to enrich our lives as well as others. God has asked us to be kind, and we shall be rewarded. Of course, I can't say that sinners can't be forgiven. There have been people who returned to Church heavy with sin and God has forgiven them.

For many of these issues it's best to read the Bible. Catholics follow the Bible. If you have any other personal questions, please PM me. Be aware that I am very busy at university and it may take some time for me to answer.

I will reply to all of this (as I stated, I have exams now). I have this to say:

YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK CRAP ABOUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

That aside, don't forget that every side of faith has had bad things happen. Because we are HUMAN. HUMANS SIN. So don't go spouting as if the Catholic faith is evil. You wouldn't have the faith of Christ if it weren't for the Rock of the Church Roman Catholics built.

I have no idea where you're coming from. people can't just break rules. That seems to be the reason people dislike Catholics. We follow the guidelines of the Church- not break them. Marriage is sacred. You can't just break a bond God made eteranl because you feel like it. That's part of the problem- people want to play God and decide what they want to do, and what they don't want to do.

Wow I have so much to say I don't even know where to start. I do want you to know that I mean NONE of what I say here personally! I'll just say this: I am Lutheran.

I am very proud of the background of the Lutheran denomination. Luther literally defied the heart of the corruption in Europe during his time. I'm not saying that I hate the Catholics (I know several Catholics that I consider wonderful people), but I am saying that they were corrupt and he did what nobody else could even dream or dare to do. Face it Dark Regrets, the Catholic Church did some pretty horrible things: oppressing the people, taxing them unfairly for things that weren't nessessary like extravagant temples (a God's house should punish ANYBODY with starvation and poverty), and the biggest one: selling indulgances.

You probably haven't seen the movie Luther, but I think it explains very well what went on in Europe through the Catholic Church. Luther simply decided something that many people thought was sacreligious: the Catholics were not doing God's will.

By the way, would you please explain exactly what rules have we (the Protestants) broken in regards to your essay example thing?

i'm not attacking anyone. I'm mentioning flaws the chruch would rather keep covered up. i have more too, i'm just saving them. here's a question though why is it that i cannot dis the catholic church because it is still part of the body of christ and yet they can diss on other christians?

Wow I have so much to say I don't even know where to start. I do want you to know that I mean NONE of what I say here personally! I'll just say this: I am Lutheran.

I am very proud of the background of the Lutheran denomination. Luther literally defied the heart of the corruption in Europe during his time. I'm not saying that I hate the Catholics (I know several Catholics that I consider wonderful people), but I am saying that they were corrupt and he did what nobody else could even dream or dare to do. Face it Dark Regrets, the Catholic Church did some pretty horrible things: oppressing the people, taxing them unfairly for things that weren't nessessary like extravagant temples (a God's house should punish ANYBODY with starvation and poverty), and the biggest one: selling indulgances.

You probably haven't seen the movie Luther, but I think it explains very well what went on in Europe through the Catholic Church. Luther simply decided something that many people thought was sacreligious: the Catholics were not doing God's will.

By the way, would you please explain exactly what rules have we (the Protestants) broken in regards to your essay example thing?

Very nice, but why don't you settle on looking at the dark side of your church? And maybe realizing that your Christian faith came from the Roman Catholic faith.

Stop preaching at me, this is a board for me to understand and reply to questions.

And niether are you by spouting hate, mmmkay? Why don't I dig up some dirt on you, because I'm sure you haven't sinned, and niether have your people. Because believe me, I can pull things out on the Lutherans, but I won't because that would be horrible, stereo-typical, judgemental,and disrepectful. So why don't you take that into account and to the Christian thing. There isn't one of you who isn't at fault.

Some Christian group this guild has become. I don't know about you, but my faith has taught me to forgive and love. We all make mistakes and sins, we're people. And hating others isn't what Christ would want. See, so many views that don't understand. I don't get other views, so I don't think it's fair for me to attack them...wouldn't I be proving I don't understand the teachings of Christ? Catholics are good people, and just becausein the past parts of faith filled people did things wrong doesn't mean we do now.