catholics are more misunderstood than anything else

United States
September 5, 2009 5:13am CST
The most interesting thing I've noticed in my lifetime of being a "Cradle Catholic" (that's a person born and raised a Catholic) is the fact that so many people don't seem to think that Catholicism is Christian. When in fact it's the first Christian religion that ever existed, passed down to Peter from Jesus himself. "You are the rock on which my church will be built." From that moment on, Peter took charge of the apostles and began spreading the word of Christ, setting up small home churches at first, along the way of their travels. So the myth that we're not Christians is busted and on a daily basis. Being Catholic means living a totally Christian life with a Catholic perspective. Catholics are taught to believe that all people are basically good, but sin is a spiritual disease that has wounded humankind and can kill humankind spiritually if left unchecked. Divine grace is the only remedy for sin, and the best wource of divine grace is from the sacraments, which are various rites that Catholics believe have been created by Jesus. And what is the Catholic perspective? 1.It's more than an intellectual assent to an idea, Catholicism involves a daily commitment to embrace the will of God, whatever it is and wherever it leads. 2.It means cooperation with God on the part of the believer. God offers his divine grace, and the Catholic must accept it and then cooperate with it. 3.Free will is sacred. God never forces you against your free will. But doing evil not only hurts you, it also hurts others, because a Catholic is never alone. Catholics believe they are always part of a spiritual family, the Church. 4.It's more than a place to go on the weekend to worship, the Church is a mother who feeds spiritually, shares doctrine, heals and comforts, and disciplines when needed. First and foremost Catholics ARE Christians. Like all other Christians, Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Some other things they believe are this: 1. The Bible is the inspired, error-free, and revealed word of God. (Don't ever think that Catholics don't know their Bible, or read the Bible. The Mass itself is taken directly from the Bible and centers around the Last Supper.) 2.Baptism, the rite of becoming a Christian, is necessary for salvation, whether it occurs by water, blood, or desire. 3.God's Ten Commandments provide us with a moral compass, an ethical stand to live by. 4.The Holy Trinity, one God in three persons, is a huge part of Catholic belief. IN other words, Catholics embrace the belief that God, the one Supreme Being, is made up of three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Catholics are taught to recognize the unity of body and soul for each human being. So the whole religion centers on the truth that humankind stands between the two worlds of matter and spirit. The physical world is considered part of God's creation and is inherently good until an individual misuses it. Catholicism, is a beautiful religion steeped in history and tradition and its roots can be traced all the way back to Jesus. The Catholic Church is fastidious about keeping records of everything. Every Pope can be traced all the way back to Peter. Catholicism shouldn't be feared, it's not the "big bad wolf", nor misunderstood, it's a religion that's worth learning more about.
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