Catholics – by a Protestant

It started like this:

I was raised to honor God. Eventually, the Faith became my own in my mid teens. I find Protestant doctrine to be complete and satisfying. I understood that Catholics also believed in Jesus Christ, but that they were somehow less Christian.

And I was bothered by that. I am not bothered that we disagree. But I am really bothered by the contempt I hear from one camp to the other. Are we not all Christians? CONTEMPT between brothers and sisters, no matter how different we are from one another, is a tactic of the Enemy. He loves division. He hates unity and love. (Perhaps it is sometimes fear instead of contempt…)

I often listen to contemporary Christian music. And, confess, fellow Protestants… the same songs are kinda played over and over and OVER. So I looked for another station that honored the Lord but had different songs. I found KVBM, Catholic Broadcasting NW. I listen to it at 88.3 FM. WOW. Such beauty. The respect and honor to God is tangible. The Christians there are masters at seeking purity and beauty and at elevating God. And I have discovered that those prayers that Catholics repeat… they repeat them because they are so GOOD!

Ok, so I don’t agree with MANY doctrines of the Catholic faith. (Pretty much the essential nature of Church Tradition, such as Mass, Confession, etc. I know that this is very important to Catholics! BUT, I don’t believe that it means either of us are less Christian.) I have learned a little more about the Catholic doctrine and found that some things that bothered me were unfounded. Did you know that Mary represents the Church? So honoring Mary, honors the body of Christ. Not nearly as distasteful as raising a young woman to the status of an idol. (I don’t REALLY understand this, so friend Catholics, please feel free to enlighten me!)

Can we agree today to find each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, despite our differences in doctrine? Let’s spit in the Enemy’s eye a little. I guarantee that you will find your heart lighter and with an increased reservoir of love.

Yes, yes, yes. I think we would both insist that we have the more correct, more fulfilling, more spiritual understanding of Christianity. And I bet you that one of us is closer to the truth than the other. But I don’t think that we differ on the most essential parts of Christianity. We BOTH believe that we were created with eternal souls. We BOTH believe that we have sinned and cannot redeem ourselves. We BOTH believe that the only way to be redeemed is through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. How a Christian walks with Christ looks radically different between denominations. But we all, at the Lord’s mercy, will come to the Lord by Faith.

No more contempt! No more division!

And… be strengthened by the strengths of the Catholic Church. Don’t be intimidated by our differences. Maybe we Protestants can also strengthen our fellow brothers and sisters in the Catholic church as well.