"those" christians we call catholics

i've been poking around on people's blogs and been reading a lot of stuff about the da vinci code (don't worry, this isn't about that). a couple of posts and responses mention the catholic church, and it reminded me of something that has bothered me for few years now.

background: i am a christian. i was raised catholic, and i grew up in a spritual home. both of my parents are christians (even though my dad has just recently within the last 3 years found Jesus...my mom was the spritual leader of our home until recently). i now attend first baptist church, not because i have a problem with the catholic church and not because i have become baptist (i still attend catholic mass sometimes, as there are some things about it that i truly miss); i think greg matte is an amazing teacher who tells it like it is. i was going to first before greg became pastor, so it's obviously not just about that, but that's why i'm there now.

but there are things that bother me about people in this protestant church (and as it's the only one i've been to, it's the only one i can talk about). understand i am not saying everyone who goes there believes these things or even that the pastor or the church believes these things (greg was actually raised in a catholic home too, and although i have not personally discussed any of this with him (i've never even met him), based on his stories it doesn't sound like his experience was the same as mine). it's just that i've noticed that things are commented on and agreed upon in circles, and most of the time people have their facts askew, perhaps intermingled with enough truth to make them believable (a little like the book/movie that has everyone in an uproar lately).

so many times i hear "christians" talking about "catholics" as if they're mormons or members of some other non-christian religion. newsflash: catholics ARE christians; catholics have the same bible - the only difference is that a few books are added: called the apocrypha, it includes tobit, judith, 1 and 2 maccabees, wisdom, and sirach (most of which have a literary style similar to jonah and contain history of isrealites/hebrews); catholics believe in the same Jesus and the same Trinity; contrary to popular belief, catholics believe the same things regarding salvation as protestants do (that Jesus is the only way); and catholics (collectlively) do NOT worship mary (an idea propogated by the media)...sure there are some crazies out there who claim to be catholic and come close to worshipping mary, seeing her face in pancakes and on sidewalks. HOWEVER this in no way represents the catholic church as a whole. that would be like a non-believer thinking that all christians will take his/her money based on the televangelists they see and hear about in the news.

my point in all of this is that i hear people who claim to be "christians" bashing catholics and their beliefs, when they don't even really know what catholic beliefs are. many catholic "beliefs" that are hyped up are similar to the "baptist beliefs" about how drinking and dancing are of the devil and will send someone straight to hell; these beliefs are extremely antiquated and certainly not held by all baptists.

i will be the first to admit that the catholic church has some major issues that it needs to work through. there are catholic priests who have demons (sins) just like there are protestant preachers and pastors who have demons. we are all sinners, people...that's why Christ came! but let's not fall into the sin of judgement based on ignorance or a lack of understanding. we may not know all the details about someone (or a group), but we should go out and educate ourselves and do our best to share the Truth in a NON-JUDGMENTAL way if we feel that these people are living according to false teaching.

i challenge everyone who has ever wondered about or heard about the differences between catholicism and protestantism to talk to an informed catholic (or even a priest) and also to find out what the catholic church teaches, as opposed to what some catholics believe. (yes, it's true; some christians, no matter what denomination, don't know what their beliefs are or if they're in line with the church.) and if you're ever in a circle of people who start talking about catholics, challenge them to do the same. before you suppose that someone is wrong, make sure you have your facts straight. and if someone is wrong, create a relationship first, and then gently and lovingly teach the Truth.