Christian is the main umbrella religion that believes that Jesus was the messiah. Catholicism is a branch of Christianity that follows a certain set of rules from the Bible differentiating it from other branches that follow different rules from the same book. Joshua: Christianity def. = the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/christianity?view=uk Catholicism is the "Largest denomination of Christianity, with more than one billion members." http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9377116?query=Catholicism&ct= Thus Christianity IS the umbrella faith and catholicism IS a faction of that faith!

Well, since a Christian is one as defined by the Bible, and not just one who claims to follow Christ, then there are definite differences between Christians and Catholics. In Matthew 7, Jesus says that few will find the path to life, but many who claim to be His followers will come to Him in the last day only to be told they never knew Him. In other words, many who claims to be Christians will be liars or deceived. There may some who call themselves Catholics but are true Christians because they found Christ outside of Catholocism's teachings. There may even be Christians who found Christ through a "Catholic" seminar that taught differently from Catholocism. But ultimately, Christianity and Catholocism are at opposite ends of the spectrum. NOW, before you break out the rotten fruit to throw at me, let me explain. First of all, there is faith vs. works. Biblically, a person becomes a Christian not through trusting in anything they can do to save themselves, but solely in Jesus' payment on the cross (meaning they also acknowledge they are guilty and need salvation, in other words, repentance). Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Catholics have been deceived or else lie about works saving a person, that it's about how good you are, how good a life you live, how well you obey God's commandments, etc... The reason stems largely from James 2:19-20 where faith without works is said to be dead. James 2:19-20 You believe that there is one God, you do well, the devils also believe, and tremble; but will you not know, o vain man, that faith without works is dead? To see the extended discourse on the topic you can go here: http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/41551 However, I will provide a brief explanation here. The faith spoken of that is dead without works in v. 20 is that spoken of in v. 19, or belief in one God. Even the devils have this faith, as do Muslims, Jews, and Catholics. As the Bible says, without works it falls short, and since works can never justify a person before God, it falls short indeed. Galatians 2:16 For by the law of works will no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin. So one major difference comes in what one needs to do to reach God. Another major difference comes in WHO you need to go to to reach God. According to the Bible, there is only one person who can bring us to God. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. According to the Bible there is only one person who bridges the gap between the two parties that are God and humanity. Such a person is called a mediator, and the Bible says there is only one Mediator, not many: 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Catholocism however, likens Jesus and God to a scary dad that will punish you and priests have before tried to liken the scenario to kids asking their mom because she's easier to talk to. In other words, they try to say Mary is Jesus' mother. I won't go over that here but you can see these topics to see my answers concerning that: http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/42410 http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/42236 They then say one can reach Jesus only through Mary. They also say we need to talk to her or priests or dead saints to get a "better connection" to Him. However, as Romans 8:27,34 say, both Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede for us before the Father, not Mary. We are told to go to God and ask Him for He does not upbraid/rebuke/scorn us, not to Mary. James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. So right there we see huge differences in what we do to reach God and who we go to to reach God. The last huge distinction I'd like to point out is how we serve God. According to Catholocism, wars, torture, etc. are all permissible in certain circumstances. However, Biblically we see pacifism towards others by humans greatly promoted by Jesus and the apostles: Matthew 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Romans 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. As Jesus says in John 13:35, it is by love for others that all will know His true disciples. And as Romans 13:10 says, love fulfils all God's commandments BECAUSE it doesn't harm others. So love doesn't harm others. And as Jesus says, the great commandment is to love God and the 2nd to love others: Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Love fulfils all God's commandments (the fulfilling of the Law-Romans 13:10) because it doesn't harm Him and doesn't harm other people. Catholocism for a long time said their actions with the Inquisition, Crusades, Conquistadors, Witch Trials, etc... were permissible. There is still defense for the witch trials and crusades, and in some circles the Inquisition as well I believe. And most Catholics will deny Catholocism had anything to do with Nazi Germany even though it's a well-documented fact that Catholic churches and schools were used to house Nazi soldiers and that Catholocism carried on business as usual between Nazi countries and the other countries. However, it should also be noted that true Christians were killed by the Nazis for sheltering Jews throughout the war. Well, those are some big distinctions I think, at least some of the more major ones. I tried to make them as sweeping and encompassing as possible since to hit all the minor points and details of them might take up more space then allowed on this topic. ==================================================== EDIT: I have met hundreds if not thousands of Catholics before and not one has ever told me Catholocism teaches faith salvation without works. That's the whole reason for purgatory, the idea is it's about what we do that gets us to heaven rather then what Jesus did, basically that He came for nothing. Here are some Catholic sites clearly stating Catholocism teaches works-based salvation: http://www.scripturecatholic.com/salvation.html http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13407a.htm This site specifically quotes from the Catholic canon that those saying faith only are to be anathema, or thrown from the Catholic church, the old penalty of which was death. http://www.justforcatholics.org/a14.htm

The word catholic means universal or varied, although in this context I think you mean Roman Catholic - a member of the Roman Catholic Church. A Christian is a person who belongs to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Christianity is a faith, of which Catholicism is one of many branches. Some other branches are Baptist, Anglican and Methodist. So nobody can really answer your question, it would be like trying to answer, "What is the difference between my arm and me?"

Catholicism is one of the denominations of Christianity. Christian literally means a follower of Christ. The different denominations differ on how you should follow Christ and worship Yahweh.

For me, the first difference I have is the Pope is the head and I know for a fact that in Jesus church, HE is the only head. The second I would say is the idol worship and praying to saints. Third is confessing sins to a priest. He can't forgive you, only God can and all this should be done between you and the Lord. I'll end it here, too much, it just goes against what my Bible teaches me.

Priests, saints, confession, holy water, the apocrypha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_apocrypha

Christianity prays to the holy trinity. Catholosism prays to Mary Christianity focuses more on inward confession Catholosism focuses on confession to someone. etc etc I would go on but my lack of sleep has me brain fried

If I had to sum it up in one Word it would be--- practices!

Being accepted straight up or working at getting up.

Lemme put the main terms in the first answer in order: "apocrypha", holly water, saints, priests, confessions!

Aren't catholics christians? Catholics are one of many denomonations who are christian. Catholics are christians but not all christians are catholic. I hope that's not confusing. How about this? Apples are fruits but not all fruits are apples.

Catholicism is a branch of Christianity, so to compare the two would be kind of weird unless you chose another branch of Christianity to compare it to like protestantism. Catholicism has the apocrypha as part of The Bible, and protestantism does not. There tends to be more rituals in Catholicism and a more strict hierarchy of leadership. There also tends to be more emphasis on saints and Mary. Another difference is that services tend to be more strict (especially at specific times of the year), and there is a lot more memorization involved or so it seems. I went to a Catholic Mass and couldn't figure out what was going on because it was all ritualized and memorized stuff that I've never done before. Just a few of the many differences...

What's catholosism that one comrade fell into mental confusion and happened to tell us about Catholisism? If the question maker don't know proper English we must show the right word!

First of all Catholicism IS a branch of Christianity. It is the largest Christian denomination with around a billion followers. As to how it is different from OTHER Christian denominations, that depends largely on which specific denomination you are asking about. I will limit my answer to differences between them and Protestants in general. However, it should be remembered that even various protestants are going to disagree on many things. Catholics believe in a hierarchical form of leadership with a single person that stands at the head of the church and is guided by God in his leadership. Most other religions do not have this structure. The individual congregations are pretty much autonomous. Catholics believe that it takes a combination of works and faith to gain salvation. Most Protestants believe that salvation is gained merely by having faith. All of the other differences between these branches of Christianity can be traced back to these two basic differences. However, I would like to address a misconception that someone else posted. Another person stated that Christians pray to the holy trinity while Catholics pray to Mary. This is a distortion of Catholic practice. The trinity doctrine originated with Catholicism and they do pray directly to God. However, unlike most protestants, Catholics also pray to saints and ask them to intercede with God on their behalf. Finally, I would just like to state that I am neither a Catholic or a Protestant. So, what I have posted above is my understanding based on discussions that I have had with members of these various faith. If I have gotten something wrong here, then I would welcome correction from someone who actually practices the faith in question. (I don't put much stock in criticism about one religion that come from people who practice a different religion.)

Protestant meaning: I am a male Catholic and was raised Baptist. I seek only the truth, not opinions from man. I refuse to be part of a cult as I align myself with Jesus, how could you go wrong? I see a problem with the word Protestant as it causes alot of hatred and conflict among Christians. Protestant doesn't really mean anything, it was simply a label given by the Catholic church leaders. In reality, what is wrong with protesting the wrong doings of your leaders? I guess that you can be a Catholic Protestant like myself if you disagree with Papal teachings and demands that you disagree with because the Pope prohibits you to disagree with him. I am considered to be Anathema. I have studies alot of works from Catholic and non-catholic scholars. Is it wrong or me to say that my church has continued to invent different ways to worship Christ? The popes can not even agree on whether Mary remained a Virgin. Mat. 1:24-25 says that Joseph did not know Mary UNTIL she had Jesus. Really, who expects me to not be able to understand this scripture and others when I can recite it in any language? I am amazed when I see someone try to explain this scripture away and state that Mary remained a Virgin. A child could understand this. St. Thomas Aquinas said that a male child "ensouls" upon conception while a female does not have a soul until it is 3 moths old in the womb. Am I just evil because I know that is nonsense and written from a male ego? Everyone is a sinner and makes mistakes but alot of Chistians ignore many simple to understand errors on the part of the Protestant and the Catholic. The Vatican excommunicated its Church historian when he pointed out that the Pope was not actually infallible. It is true, all one has to do is research prior teachings of the Popes and compare them. Pope Clement also mentioned that there was no evidence of Peter ever being in Rome in regard to the institution of the Papacy. Am I a protestant for not wanting to participate in some ceremonies and understanding that about 75% of Catholic rituals are pagan as admitted by Cardinals and others? I have always had questions about how others get to heaven when they are not Catholic because I am told that if you are not Catholic, you go to hell. Well, Vatican 2 changed that and said that all Christians are under the Catholic wing. Who is right, Pre-Vatican 2 or Vatican 2? What about the Native Americans before America was discovered? Did they ALL go to Hell? No. The Catholic church threatened to kill Galileo for making a comment about scripture and stating that the Sun was the center of the Universe. In 1600, a man named Giordano Bruno was convicted of being a heretic for believing that the earth moved about the Sun, and that there were many planets throughout the universe where life living creations of God existed. Bruno was burnt to death. What I have written sofar would have caused me to be burnt to death in the 1500's! You CAN be Catholic and understand that the church will not save your soul and that you do not have to have the priest mediate for you. I can read a scripture and understand it when it says that there is no mediator. I can attend Mass and understand that I am doing it in rememberance of Christ at Passover. Catholics who condem other Christians and call them names are judging others. Protestants who do the same are just as bad. Christ knows who you are, what is inside of you and does not make salvation a complex game. The Jehova's Witness should see that you can not predict the end of the world 8 times, something is wrong there! The gate is narrow because so many do not know Jesus. This des not mean that people who have never heard of Jesus will go to hell, this is an arrogant statement. Man makes it complex, not God. You can be Catholic and get to heaven if you do not agree with all of the Papal teachings. The last Pope will be the False Prophet in The Apocrypha/Revelation. No big deal as long as you know what not to do and see that it is coming sooner than you may think. The mark of the beast has been in the works and will be forced upon us soon. It's really amazing to see the scriptures unfold and I actually hope that I am there when the tribulation begins. What would one have to fear? Lose your head? So what,it seems that it would be a sure ticket to heaven to be killed for proclaiming Christ as your savior. Catholics and protestants should come together. My Catholic friends should stop kneeling in front of statues for any reason. It is a GRAVEN--hand carved image and should be avoided because of what scripture teaches you. EVERYONE should stop being biased and attacking each other. Jesus never killed anyone for not believing the manner in which he taught. Jesus had love for all outsiders. The hate that the Catholics have for a protestant will send them to hell as will a protestant go to hell for the hate of a Catholic. Satan is the enemy, not your brother. Believe in Jesus, do good works because you are a new creature, and be baptised for good measure! The only PROTESTANTS are those who oppose Jesus Christ. That should be the true definition of the word.

Both Catholicism and Protestantism (as well as Orthodoxy etc) are all part of Christianity. Where they begin to differ is in their statement of "From where do we get our authority to teach what we teach". Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians and PRotestants all agree that the Bible is the primary source of authority, but RC's and Orthodox's will also add that Church tradition is a secondary but very important source of authority. It is there that they differ with Protestants, who say, as Jesus taught, that traditions are ok, as long as they agree with Biblical teachings. Both Orthodox and Protestants will say that the RC's incorporated a lot of tradition out of their Roman background, and that this tradition has moved them out of alignment with the Bible on some important issues eg the position of Mary, the veneration of the saints (orthodoxy does not hold the same position as RC on either of these) However, all branches of Christianity acknowledge the basic truths as spelled out in the three major creeds: The Apostles' The Nicene and the Athanasian Even Roman Catholic scholars have said that if only the RC church would agree to abide by the summary of faith put forward by these three bodies of work, there could be unity amongst Christendom, with an acknowledgment of some freedom in non essential areas. The Nicene Creed is thus: We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father(and the Son)*, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. * The Orthodox do not say these words, which were actually added after Nicea, but do mesh with Biblical teaching.

Catholics are the original Christians...everything else is watered down feel good Christianity. Catholics have the Eucharist and all the Sacrements handed down from Christ to Peter ( the first Pope) to the Church today.

of course it is

Yes it is

Yes, dear. It is a Christian faith :)

The word Christian is derived from the word Christ. Catholics believe in Jesus Christ, therefore they are Christians. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is a Christian.

Catholics are one of the many Christian cults

No. You have to be the anti-christ to call yourself "Holy Father", and pray to Mary. To believe in the rapture is the straw that proves it.

All Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholic. Confused? because all Catholics believe in Christ...people who believe in Christ are Christians...and there are many different faiths including Catholicism that believe in Christ. Hope that helps!

Catholic were the first Christians. The first Pope, St. Peter was a Disciple and Apostle of Jesus. The first Protestants were a group of rebellious Catholic not agreeing with the interpretation of the Bible.

Anyone who follows Christ is Christian... Catholic is a subset of the Christian faith.

Catholicism is the original Christian Faith. Protestants did not exist until the 15/16th Century. From there all other Protestant denominations are based.

Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity. It has it's own religious doctrine (kind of like the politics of the faith) with it's own traditions and methods of practicing the religion. There is an extreme branch of Christianity based on evangelistic principles that claim Christian denominations are not valid Christian faiths. These "Christian" extremists will argue that they are not religious themselves and also claim that they are based directly on the bible and Christ's teachings, and therefore are known to the layman as bible bashers and are recognised by accussing anyone who is a religious leader outside of their church as the anti-christ. The main difference between this type of Christianity and traditional denominations of Christianity such as Catholicism is that the evangelical leaders (they call themselves "charismatics") are not accountable to anyone (catholics priests are accountable to the pope for example) and can make things up as they go along, utilising a range of psychological tactics to draw people in. In other words they have far too much power over their congregation and become far too closely linked with political parties and big businesses who fund their flashy modern auditorium style "churches".

Yes, it is. A belief in Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Catholic faith. Then we turn to the question of what a belief in Jesus Christ actually means and, not surprisingly, this is where Christians develop differences of opinion. Whenever a particular denomination makes a definitive statement on what being a Christian means, there will be at least some people who disagree. This issue then becomes, for those two sides in that argument, a definitional point of what it means to be a Christian. And so, not surprisingly, people on both sides may describe their counterparts in the debate as un-Christian. Now, I'm a Methodist, but I would never describe the Catholic Church as not Christian. I figure I'll do my best, and they'll do their best, and one day we'll find out who was right. I'm hoping the stakes turn out to be just who picks up the check for dinner.

Yes, we are Christans, founded by the followers of Jesus. We honor saints, we don't pray to them. We respect Jesus's mother for her courage. We broke from Judism setting up our own High Prest. We belive Jesus is God in human form. We don't belive in condiming people. So yes we are Christans, their is just a few lies spread by people who are too lazy to talk to Catholics and get things strighten out. Thanks for asking before judging.

Yes, it most assuredly is. The first and oldest of the recognized Christian churches, in fact. Anyone who says it is not is: 1. Ignorant, if he or she is not a Christian. 2. Bearing false witness, if he or she *is* a Christian. 3. Or flat out telling lies.

It is. Jesus said,"If they are not against us, they are with us."

There are no real Christians anymore, only pretenders.

Catholicism is just an offshoot of Judaism. Founded by Jesus, a Jew, he was thrown out by the Rabbis when he got too big for his boots. So he started his own church. You could argue Catholicism is a Jewish sect.

Well the one thing I question is why they call the Pope Holy Father. I know Only God is to be called the Holy Father....and why they are so fancy in all they do, with gold, and pearls, and gems...Why the pope is held up on a pedistool...and his hand is kissed by the people, and bowed down to by the people...for those 2 things are an act of worship (in the dictionary) I dont understand why there communion cup is a golden cup...Jesus would have drank from a wooden cup. I dont understand why there is that "wafer" thing...it looks like a sungod to me.... and I dont understand where they got purgatory. Jesus said when one dies they go to sleep...only to awaken on the day of judgement...not to be in some..."limbo"...which pagens believed in. I also know the church of God wouldnt be a gigantic building full of Gold...and expensive lavish things...but a humble house...the house of God is inside each person. I dont understand hail marys, and holy fathers...rosarys?...pagens did such things. Christians are to walk in the ways of Christ. I dont know...but...Christ?...allowing pagen holidays, and christian holidays to mix?...plus catholics have the blood of many on their hands...

They are both, Christian and Pagan. They recognize the sovereign power of God and the divinity of Jesus, which makes them Christian. On the other hand they have man-made rituals and beliefs that supersede the Bible, like necromancy (praying to the dead), and idol worship which makes them Pagan.

No the catholic faith is not christian because there are a lor of men and women who are catholics that are pedophiles.

Considering Jesus never founded a christian church, they have just as much right as anyone to the term.

Catholicism was founded on the original church. The Catholic church has as much right to the name "Christian" as any other church which chooses to call itself that, and MORE right than most of the so-called "Christian churches" which preach hatred toward their Catholic brethren. My personal belief is that the true church of God is made not of stone but of flesh, and lies in the heart of everyone who believes, regardless of what they choose to call themselves. Religion is an invention of man, not something given from God.

churches have no confidence in each other. Why? Because they are acquainted with each other. -- Robert Green Ingersoll, quoted from the book Ingersoll the Magnificent, edited by Joseph Lewis, which does not cite references

In religious circles, if you're not a pretender you're getting fleeced by one.

Hmmm. The protestant religions are called "protestant" because they protested against what was happening in the Roman Catholic Church. So, if the Catholic church isn't Christian, I guess none of the others are, either, since they sprung from that source and did not come independently from the original source. Personally, I do not see much Christianity in any of them, anyhow. If they were truly Christian, the whole world would probably be Christian by now. At least, that's what Ghandi said, and I would have to agree.

Here is the answer for everyone. Catholics are christians. All christiam churches are christian. I think this is really a silly question.

I have heard a small number of very conservative Catholics argue that Protestants are not real Christians and that in reality they worship the Devil without knowing it. But this is just bigotry and not the position of the vast majority of Catholics or the Roman Catholic Church. Likewise, there are a small number of bigoted Protestants who say that the Roman Catholic Church is not really Christian.

Thanks for all your input Uncle Bob & Randoley. It has been quite interesting reading it all. It is alot of info. I didn't know about.

following Jesus began when HE walked...HIS Followers kept Following....they were there before Catholic,Protestant,Baptist,Pentecost,etc....the sect is not what makes anyone a True Christian.... the early meetings had no name...just disciples of Christ, who became called Christians....think, did Jesus call the 7 churches in Revelations by a sect other than the place of location? no, anyone who believes is Christ is Christian ,that includes Catholic, Baptist,non denominational,etc. the members are Christian...their FOLLOWING is what Jesus/God may have the problem with....as ALL the sects who claim they are of Christ do not do what HE says....so, thats HIS JUDGEMENT... so yes, they believe in Christ just like all the rest who call themselves Christian.....:)justme