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What is the Diference?
hey I have a question. What is the diference between a christain or a cathloc? I always thought that they were the same in general. but sence being on this site I have noticed people say they are in fact diferent.
and one more thing can somebody tell me what a pagan is? not to be rude or anything. i know that that is a religion but do magic or something.
so answering my question would really be helpful.
signed
confused Christain
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I can help you with the Catholic Vs. Christian part of your question.
The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is not the only authority. Their teachings include such documentation as Catechisms, and Papal Encyclicals (defined as "authoritative teaching instruments from the Vicar of Christ" (the Pope)) which have been written and added to throughout the years of the history of the Catholic Church.
Because of this, the Catholic Church has many teachings, beliefs, and traditions that are different from a Christian who believes the Holy Bible is the exclusive authority of Christianity.
A Catholic Christian believes in the Catholic doctrines, teachings, and traditions which include, but are *not exclusive to* the Holy Bible.
Most non-Catholic Christians believe the Holy Bible is the *exclusive* authority of Christianity... No other documents.
Much argument comes from this, as quite a few non-Catholic Christians believe the Catholic doctrines to be un-Christian and not corresponding with Biblical scripture. And obviously, Catholics disagree.
For more information about the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity, see the following link:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
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well, from the view of a pagan, cathlocism and christianity are the same, but catholocism is just like a nother sect in christianity, like baptist, lutherns, etc. all the other sects were created when they broke away from the catholic church, and started the protestant reformation, which martin luther, and choice others started, because they felt that the catholic church was either too overbearing, or was corrupted. sorry for the little history lesson, i felt it was important to get my point across*lol*. but catholicism, as i see it, is just another sect of christianity; they have the same core beliefs (i think), but handle mass differntly, and i believe they read a different version of the Bible, not the King James Version. I hope i helped, and if i confused you even more i'm sorry.
Much Love,
Victoria
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According to dictionary.com, a pagan is defined as "one who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion."
I think you can also add Hindus and Buddhists in there as non-pagans.
A pagan might worship the Norse gods or Greek gods, for example. I know more about wicca than paganism (no, they are not the same thing, wiccans have more of a focus on spells) but I hope I helped.
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There are three main branches of Christianity: Roman Catholicism (aka Catholicism), Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism.
A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus Christ was the son of God, and died and then was raised from the dead by God to redeem humanity from its sins.
All three branches adhere to certain interpretations of the Bible and Christianity. Protestantism is actually broken into dozens of different sub-factions, all of which have slightly different opinions and ideas about what Christianity is supposed to be.
So asking the difference between a Christian and a Catholic is like asking the difference between a fruit and an apple ^_^
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well actually there kinda the same but christians pray mostly to god and jesus catholics pray to stones and the virgin mary people say its wrong to pray to the virgin mary because she is the mother of jesus does not mean we have to pray to her my friend said are we supposed to say something like dear virgin mary help my mom find a job no i would pray to jesus there are many more differences though hope i helped.
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To answer your question on paganism first:
Paganism is really an archaic term when you think about it. It was used in medieval times to descibe peoples who were not part of the Christian Church. Because most pagans were in Northern Germanic Tribes (ie: Barbarians) they were viewed as uncivilized and evil. Many were persected by governments and the Church, and led to some of the greatest atrocities carried out by Europeans.
Though I understand why you ask about paganism in this question.
It is the way of many ill-informed, and at times hateful prostestant leaders to note Catholicism as a pagan religion. They point to the "worship" of Mary and the Saints as an extention of the biblical worship of Baal and the Eygptian religions that persecuted the People of God in the Old Testament. Because of this, all sorts of insane theories on what Catholics believe and how it can be attibuted from sacrifice to satanism has been explored by the ignorant and bigotious (Mary is really the Goddess Isis, the letters "IHS" stand for Isis, Horace, and Seth).
However, this is very far from the truth of the matter. Catholics ARE just as much Christians as Methodists, Lutherans, and Baptists. They believe that Jesus was the Son of God who came to earth to die for the sins of the world. The idea that Catholics worship Mary and the Saints is proposterous. They pray to saints so that they may intercede to God on their behalf.
The major difference between Catholics (and the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has many of the same traditions) and Protestants are the way in which they express their faith. Rather than get into the nitty-gritty, it's simple to just say that 1500 years of faith has made the expression of faith very different from Protestant faiths only 500 years old (100 years old if you take into consideration some of the more fundamental and charismatic churches that have been gaining popularity).
Please to not let the opinions of others clout your judgement. Catholics and Protestants are two side of the same coin. Both faith systems should be respected and tolerated.
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Well, about the 'pagan' thing; there are two contexts in which people use 'pagan' --
1) a general term which describes non-Christian religions, as Moop said. Religions like Hinduism and Buddhism (I'm technically Buddhist) are considered to be 'pagan'.
However, I think what most people mean when they use the term now are:
2) to describe the many religions which are 'new age' or have moved away from the traditional religions such as Christianity. Wicca and Druidism are examples. Some pagan religions do magic, some don't.
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Christianity is a very broad term for someone who believes in christ. Catholiscism (sp?) is a branch of Christianity that has specific rules other than those in the bible.
Pagan is a group of religions. They are any "new age" religions or any religions that have nothing to do with specifically Jesus and/or a specific god. Such as wiccan...belives in the god AND goddess and the pwers of the earth...etc.
Hope that helps.
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Christianity is the general religious sect which believes Christ was indeed, the son of God. Catholics make a big deal about his crucifixion and his mother, the virgin Mary. All Catholics are Christian but not all Christians are Catholics.
Pagans are anyone who goes against Christianity. It is not a religion and may or may not have anything to do with magic. It's just someone who chooses not to follow Christianity.
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Catholicism is just a different denomination of Christianity - as long as you believe the core aspects (ie Jesus being the son of God), you are a Christian, but different denominations have slightly different views and beliefs.
Paganism is a group of ancient religions which draw on the powers of the earth and the universe, and the four elements. Some Pagan religions use magick, although not all. Pagans always follow a positive code of ethics, and are in no way related to "Satanic" practices.
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