Protestant Or Catholic?

What do you think? Why do you believe what you believe?

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or need some encouragement.

I am not here to tell you what to believe or not to believe; I am simply saying that, through my life experience, I point you to the truth. I have found some truths later on in my life. I was raised Catholic and am very grateful to the nuns, priests, the Catholic Church, and the school I attended. They gave me a good education, love, and the guidance I needed. Yet when I learned about the Protestant Reformation, I realized that the well-meaning Catholic church was adding to the word of God, which overlooked what Jesus did on the cross by directly stating that what Jesus did was not enough to be saved. Still, they insisted we follow their works and traditions, which I have a problem with because the Bible clearly says we are saved by grace through faith, not by anything we can do to save ourselves.

After Gathering The Facts, I Prayed And Made My Decision! Be Sure To Gather The Facts! Reflecting On My Life, I Gratefully Acknowledge That the Catholic Church taught me wonderful things about God, Jesus, and Christianity in my younger days. However, as I became more aware of what the Bible Teaches, I Embraced My Newfound Protestant Faith, which brought a deeper understanding that resonated within me, and I followed!

 

Catholic-vs-Protestant

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Protestant Or Catholic?

 

Catholicism Basics

Catholicism Authority

Catholicism Beliefs

Catholicism Tradition

Catholicism Mary And The Saints

 

 

 

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Is The Bible Your Compass?

It was during a time in my twenties when I felt lost and burdened, caught in the grips of my addiction. The weight of guilt and shame became almost unbearable, and I yearned for something bigger than rituals and traditions. As I sought the truth that could liberate me from this cycle, I found peace within the walls of Elmbrook Church, a non-denominational Protestant church in 1989. It acknowledged our inherent sinfulness while emphasizing the unconditional love and grace God offers through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This realization allowed me to make a decisive choice towards healing.

In the middle of this personal exploration between denominations, my mother remained steadfastly devoted to her Italian Catholic faith for over 90 years, yet fully supported my decision; she blessed me and told me to love God and be good. Mom was thrilled with the faith that Elmbrook church was teaching me. Mom even went to Elmbrook church with me, and she used to be a greeter. I took care of my mom for the last 8 years of her life, and during those years I took her to her Catholic church, St. Gregory the Great, on Saturdays, and to Elmbrook on Sundays with me. ~ Bill Greguska

 

 

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Protestant Or Catholic?

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• ProclaimingTheGospel.org ~ Website

• Gotquestions.org/difference-Catholic-Protestant.html ~ Website

• What Is Christianity?

 

 

 

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Many Catholics Are Going To Heaven, And Many Are Not?

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We Need To All Love One Another ~ Despite Our Upbringing!

Find out what God’s Word says about your situation and what to do;  click here.

 

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The Harsh Truth About Christians!

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Many Catholics Now Know Who Love Jesus and Are Saved!

Some Catholics, like my mom, cousin Joe Bova, and others, have come to understand God’s grace and forgiveness. Even though some of these Catholics remain in their faith, their relationship with God ultimately matters. When I shared with my Italian mom that I was no longer a Catholic because I chose to be Protestant, my mom’s unwavering advice was to continue loving God, to be a good man, and to live a righteous life, which inspires me today. I am concerned that not all Catholics are genuinely saved. I thank God that my mom, dad, and cousin Joe are. Do you doubt your salvation?  Settle it now by getting right with God. Ephesians 2:8: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God.

 

 

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Religion Versus Christianity

The chart below compares what religion stands for versus what Christianity stands for.

Religious Christianity: By Works, One Is Saved…	Or Is It Christianity as a Relationship with Jesus? One Is Saved…
Man’s Way	God’s Way
Work For Man	Work For God
Reward	Gift
Works	Grace
Christ Plus	Christ Alone
Do	Done
Achieve	Accomplished
Try	Trust
Hope So	Know So
You Need Us	You Need Christ
Sin	Son
Fear	Faith
Law	Love
External	Internal
Actions	Attitude
Performance	Personal Relationship

 

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• Websites

• Encouragement Ideas?

• How To Pray?

• Do You Need Grace?

• Find A Good Church?

• Free Christian Counseling?

 

 

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This Catholic Wanted To Debate With Ray Comfort!

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The Catholic Faith Tends To Focus On Works And Related Matters.

The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform movement that swept across Europe in the 1500s. It led to the creation of a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a term used to collectively refer to the many religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church over doctrinal differences.

I was raised in the Catholic Church and baptized. I had godparents, attended Catechism, went to Catholic grade school, and served as an altar boy at Catholic high school. I was thankful to have been raised in the Catholic faith until I learned more about God, Jesus, and the Bible.

 

We All Must Decide For Ourselves Based On The Bible!

Read the Bible for yourself, and you will understand why I say what I say. I do not have anything against Catholics or anyone. Still, when I took a closer look at my Catholic faith, I discovered the Catholic church was adding to the Bible and not accepting that what Jesus Christ did on the cross was enough to save us from our sins!

The teachers and nuns cared more than the public school teachers did at the one I attended from kindergarten through 3rd grade. (Discipline in the public school was not sufficient.) Yet at the Catholic school, standards were higher, and there was a general atmosphere of godliness, even though I later realized their doctrine wasn’t quite right. Watch the videos and read more below to learn more about Catholicism.

 

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Catholicism is a works-based, man-made religion.

It is based on a relationship with God, his love, and his grace. Th,e Cathis holic church attempted to point me to God, yet there were many other things I had to do that were not mentioned in the Bible. (added to God’s word, which is all we need)

An analogy would be that someone who likes to be healthy and drinks a protein drink would be healthy, but if someone added something “bad or not good” to the protein hrink, it would no longer be helpful to you. (Just like with the Catholic church, some of the things they practice are not according to the Bible, which pollutes the Bible from being pure and good for you.

 

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Protestant Or Catholic?

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Ninety-five Theses Was The Document That Started The Protestant Reformation

The Ninety-five Theses, or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, is a list of propositions for an academic disputation written in 1517 by Martin Luther, then a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany.

The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation and the European Reformation, was a major theological movement, period, or series of events in 16th-century Northwestern Europe that challenged the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church. Toward the end of the Renaissance, the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism and, in turn, caused a major schism within Western Christianity.

 

Out of love for the truth and a desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and dispute them in that place. Therefore, he asks that those who cannot be present and dispute with him orally shall do so in writing in his absence. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Matthew 4:17), he willed that the entire lives of believers be one of repentance.
2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortifications of the flesh.
4. The penalty of sin remains as long as we hate ourselves (that is, true inner repentance), namely, until we enter the kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope neither desires nor can remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.
6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that God has remitted it; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his judgment. If he disregarded his right to grant remission in these cases, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.
7. God remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.
8. The penitential canons apply only to the living, and, according to the canons themselves, nothing should be imposed on the dying.
9. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, through the pope, is kind to us insofar as the pope, in his decrees, always makes an exception of the article of death and of necessity.
10. Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.
11. Those tares of changing the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept (Matthew 13:25).
12. In former times, canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties, are already dead as far as the canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be released from them.
14. Imperfect piety or love in the dying person necessarily brings great fear; the smaller the love, the greater the fear.
15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.
16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ from despair, fear, and assurance of salvation. In the same way
17. It seems as though for the souls in purgatory, fear should necessarily decrease and love increase.
18. Furthermore, neither reason nor Scripture seems to prove that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit, that is, unable to grow in love.
19. Nor does it seem proved that souls in purgatory, at least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own salvation, even if we ourselves may be entirely sure of it.
20. Therefore, when the pope uses the words “plenary remission of all penalties,” he does not actually mean “all penalties,” but only those he himself imposed.
21. Thus, those indulgence preachers are in error who say that papal indulgences absolve a man of every penalty and save him
22. In fact, the pope remits to souls in purgatory no penalty that, according to canon law, they should have paid in this life.
23. If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be granted to anyone at all, certainly it would be given only to the most perfect, that is, to very few.
24. For this reason, most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty.
25. That power which the pope has in general over purgatory corresponds to the power which any bishop or curate has in a particular way in his own diocese and parish.
26. The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of intercession for them.
27. They preach only human doctrines, who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.
28. It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can increase; but when the church intercedes, the result is in God’s hands alone.
29. Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed, since we have exceptions in the cases of St. Severinus and St. Paschal, as related in a legend.
30. No one is sure of the integrity of his own contrition, much less that he has received plenary remission.
31. The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as he who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.
32. Those who believe that they can be sure of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.
33. Men must especially guard against those who say the pope’s pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to him.
34. The graces of indulgences concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.
35. Those who teach that contrition is unnecessary for those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory, or who use confessional privileges, preach unchristian doctrine.
36. Any truly repentant Christian has a right to complete remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.
37. Any faithful Christian, living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; God grants this even without indulgence letters.
38. Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are by no means to be disregarded, for they, as I have said (Thesis 6), proclaim divine remission.
39. It is tough, even for the most learned theologians, to commend to the people both the bounty of indulgences and the need of true contrition.
40. A truly contrite Christian seeks and loves to pay penalties for his sins; indulgences, however, relax penalties and cause men to hate them, at least by giving them an occasion to hate them.
41. Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, lest people mistakenly believe they are preferable to other good works of love.
42. Christians must be taught that the pope does not intend the purchase of indulgences to be in any way compared with works of mercy.
43. Christians are to be taught that giving to the poor or lending to the needy is a better deed than buying indulgences.
44. Because love grows by works of love, man thereby becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of indulgences but is merely freed from penalties.
45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God’s wrath.
46. Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on indulgences.
47. Christians are to be taught that their buying of indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.
48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting indulgences, needs and thus desires their devout prayer more than their money.
49. Christians are to be taught that papal indulgences are applicable only if they do not put their trust in them, but are very harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.
50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of St. Peter were burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.
51. Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should give of his own money, even if he had to sell the basilica of St. Peter, to many of those hawkers of indulgences who cajole for money.
52. It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.
53. They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid the preaching of the Word of God in some churches altogether so that indulgences may be preached in others.
54. Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.
55. It is certainly the pope’s sentiment that if indulgences, a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, the most significant thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, and a hundred ceremonies.
56. The true treasures of the church, out of which the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known among the people of Christ.
57. It is certainly clear that indulgences are not temporal treasures, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute them freely but only collect them.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.
59. St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were the treasures of the church, but he used the word in the sense it had in his own time.
60. Without question we say that the keys of the church, given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.
61. For it is clear that the pope’s power, by itself, is insufficient for the remission of penalties and cases reserved by himself.
62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of God’s glory and grace 
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Matthew 20:16).
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally the most acceptable, for it makes the last first.
65. Therefore, the treasures of the gospel are nets with which one formerly fished for wealthy men.
66. The treasures of indulgences are nets with which one now fishes for men’s wealth.
67. The indulgences that the demagogues acclaim as the most extraordinary graces are understood as such only insofar as they promote gain.
68. They are, nevertheless, in truth, the most insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the piety of the cross.
69. Bishops and curates must receive the commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.
70. But they are much more likely to strain their eyes and ears lest these men preach their own dreams rather than what the pope has commissioned.
71. Let him who speaks against the truth concerning papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.
72. But let him who guards against the lust and license of the indulgence preachers be blessed.
73. Just as the pope justly thunders against those who by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of indulgences.
74. He intends to thunder even more against those who use indulgences as a pretext to harm holy love and truth.
75. To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.
76. We say, on the contrary, that papal indulgences cannot remit even the least venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.
77. To say that even St. Peter, if he were now pope, could not grant greater graces is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.
78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his disposal, namely the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written. (1 Corinthians 12:28)
79. To say that the cross emblazoned with the papal coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers, is equal in worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.
80. The bishops, curates, and theologians who permit such talk to be spread among the people will have to answer for this.
81. This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult, even for learned men, to preserve the reverence due the pope from slander or the slaity’s shrewd questions 
82. Such as: “Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a church?” The former reason would be the most just; the latter, the most trivial.
83. Again, “Why are funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?”
84. Again, “What is this new piety of God and the pope that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God and do not rather, because of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free it for pure love’s sake?”
85. Again, “Why are the penitential canons, long since abrogated and dead in fact and through disuse, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?”
86. Again, “Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?”
87. Again, “What does the pope remit or grant to those who by perfect contrition already have a right to full remission and blessings?”
88. Again, “What greater blessing could come to the church than if the pope were to bestow these remissions and blessings on every believer a hundred times a day, as he now does but once?”
89. “Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?”
90. To repress these sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, rather than resolve them with reasons, exposes the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies and tmakesChristians unhappy.
91. If, therefore, indulgences were preached in accordance with the pope’s spirit and intention, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, “Peace, peace,” and there is no peace! (Jeremiah 6:14)
93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, “Cross, cross,” and there is no cross!
94. Christians should be exhorted to bfollowChrist, their Head, diligently even unto death and into hell.
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace (Acts 14:22).

 

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Protestant, Catholic, or any other Protestant?

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Many Good Christians Who Are Both Protestant Or Catholic!

Many wonderful Catholic people in the world do loving things for others, but they do not realize that Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid for our sins; the debt was sufficient. We only need to do what Romans 10:9 says: declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved.

Protestantism is more a description of the group of churches that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church during the sixteenth century than a religion in and of itself. All Protestant churches can trace their roots back to the Protestant Reformation, initiated by Martin Luther, who wrote his 95 Theses and nailed them to the door of the Wittenberg Church. FAfter he questionedthe Holy Roman Empire, others began to question titsauthority and beliefs. The more notable figures were John Calvin, Zwingli, Thomas Cranmer, and John Knox.

 

 

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The Bible Makes It Simple!

The term “protestant” was initially meant to denote someone who was “a witness” rather than someone “against” something. Most early Protestant figures saw themselves as seeking to correct problems within the Roman Catholic Church rather than rebel against it.

Today, the term Protestant describes any sect or religion that originated in the Catholic Church but broke away to form its own organization. These protestant families include religious denominations such as Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Episcopal, Baptist, and Calvinist. There would be many splinter groups from these early protestant religions, such as Methodists and Evangelicals. In later centuries, there would be many splinter groups from these early Protestant religions, such as Methodists, Evangelical Churches, and Pentecostals. movement. Keep in mind that there are also false religions to be concerned about.

 

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All Christian Denominations Explained In 12 Minutes!

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Five Solas

The fundamental beliefs that emerged during the Protestant Reformation were eventually summarized in the Five Solas, or Latin phrases. These five phrases in English translate to grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone, and Glory to God alone. They were meant to show how Catholic Scripture had distorted the message of justification and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Today, there are about 590 million Protestants worldwide, covering all continents and nations. Nearly 27% of all Christians today are Protestants.

 

 

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