[Mindy82]

Please, please don't slam me, I only wish to learn... I know this will floor many of you, but if you could find it in your heart to reply, I would greatly appreciate it...

I believe in God, but am not really religious, nor am I baptized... Can you tell me what is the difference between Catholic and Christian?

Thank you

[mommamarci]

Catholic are Christians. Catholicism is a specific religion. Christinaity emcompasses numerous religions. Catholics have some differing beliefs. They pray to Mary and saints. They have very specific beliefs about birth control. I was raised Catholic so I am more familiar with Catholicism. I am not sure exactly what other Christians believe concerning some subjects. I have always considered myself a Christian because I believe in Christ. I think taht is all you need to be a Christian. Hope this helps clear it up a little and don't be embarrassed!!

[kakuehl]

You will probably get many answers to the question! As a Lutheran pastor I'll give you one take! (I''ll try to make it short!)

1st: Catholic is Christian. Christians are all those who believe that Jesus is Lord; the son of God, savior of the world. There are many different ways of understanding what that means for our lives. Catholic actually means Universal. Many Christians will tell you they are part of the catholic (small c) church. Catholic (with a capital C) usually refers to the Roman Catholic Church.

A history lesson: Christianity began as a kind of Judaism. After Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, his followers believed that he was resurrected to life by God. He appeared to them and sent them out to share the Good News. As they shared the message of God's love and salvation, the church grew to include many non-jews and became separate from Judaism. At first Christan leaders gathered in councils to solve theological questions. The Nicene Creed used by many denominations grew our of two such councils (One at Nicea and a later one at Constaninople). The Church split into two branches - Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic). For Roman Catholics, the head of the church is the Pope. They believe the first pope was Simon Peter, the disciple of Jesus.

In the middle ages a number of people tried to reform the western church; they were either put to death (John Hus) or excommunicated (Martin Luther). Eventually, this developed into the Protestant church. The Protestant "principle" is that we are justified (made right) with God, by Christ alone, through faith alone, apart from the works of the law. Again however, there are many denominations (Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptist, Assembly of God, just to name a few). Trust me - this is a brief explanation!

Different denominations have different understandings of subjects like baptism, communion, the Holy Spirit, etc. Some groups prefer a formal worship service, others like informality (or like the Quakers, silence).

Some protestant Christians believe that their way of worshiping God is the only way, and that people who believe differently aren't Christian. Roman Catholics historically said the same about Protestant Christians. (I can't tell if God is laughing or crying!)

Again - I've left out a LOT. If you have any specific questions, e-mail, pm, or im me and I'll try to help.

I hope this was clearer than mud!
Kathy

[StorkWatcher]

Kathy,

GREAT way to put things!

Signed,
A Christian Roman Catholic! I love that I can relate to all Christians, which gives me a much bigger faith family than just the Catholics that I worship with on Sundays!

[MommyBear]

Oh, Kathy - that was a FABULOUS short form explanation!!! Thank you for sharing that!!

From,

Another Christian Catholic who couldn't find the right words to describe the origins of the Church...

[Maggie Beth]

Kathy --

From one pastor to another -- you obviously paid close attention in Church History class. Way to go! Great explanation...

Alex

[aspenhall]

Christian is quite simply the belief in the divinity of Christ.

Historically you may belive he existed and that he was a preacher, but believing he was Divine, the Son of God is Christianity.

[ManyTimesBlessed]

Actually, there is more to Christianity than some of you have said. To be a Christian according to the New Testament (also called a born-again Christian) means that you believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins. You also believe that you have sinned and that you are separated from God because of that sin. Jesus died to take away that sin so that we could be with God. A Christian is someone who has, at a specific moment, accepted Jesus as their savior and asked him to come into their life, to take away their sin and to be in charge of their life and their future.

[Truthdefenders]

Mindy,

What a great question! So many people go around never thinking about spiritiual things and never get any deeper than the weather and the game on Saturday. I'm so glad you have deeper things on your mind.

Whitemirefamily did a great job of explaining the Christian faith, and I don't know if I can add anything of value, but...here goes...

I used to think that being a Christian meant believing in God, going to church, and trying to be good, so I did those things. But, as I began to study the Bible, I realized it was God's Word - not just a collection of good moral stories, but God's love letter to humanity (and me). It is completely true, accurate, and cohesive. And at the center of Scripture is Jesus Christ. He was totally human and He claimed to be totally God. That's a pretty hard claim to back up, so what did He do? He performed miracles of healing, miracles of provision (feeding 5000 with a coulple loaves of bread and some fish), and miracles of nature (calming the storm). Then, to top it all off, He died (in public, for all to see) and after three days, He rose up from the dead! The resurrection has so much eyewitness testimony, that we can be sure it happened - even 2000 years ago. So, I believed in Jesus, but I still was not a Christian...

Time passed, and I was leading youth at church. A very private sin in my past was exposed during youth group one night. All of a sudden, my "private" sin, that I thought was just between me and God, was public knowledge. And the worst part was...it had affected 50 kids that I loved dearly. My heart was broken as I realized how ugly I was compared with the Beauty of Jesus. That is called repentance. But, still I was not a Christian....

One day, while having quiet time, I felt God pulling me, asking me to make it formal. So I bowed my head, told Jesus how much I loved Him, how sorry I was for messing up, and asked Him to be Lord of my life. At that moment, I gained eternal life! Then I was a Christian, in the full meaning of the word. I would not trade it for anything.

I hope you, too, can come to love Jesus Christ with all your heart. I can tell you that there is no greater joy than to know that He is with me all the time - in the "valleys" and on the "moutaintops" - especially during this wild ride called adoption.

I strongly encourage you to find a church that:

• teaches the Bible as God's Word
• loves you and cares about you.

Thanks for listening. God bless. PM me if you have any questions.