Yes. Without knowing the rationale behind the question, let me say that the reason many people think Catholics don't is because they have either been told this by people who don't understand how Catholic thought works or seen abuses of Catholicism and think that's the normal way of belief for all Catholics, or because they don't understand why things are done the way they are. I'm making an assumption this question is from an evangelical or fundamentalist Protestant point of view, so let me address it from that. Catholics believe everything that is written in the Bible, just as all Christians should, and so Catholics do accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, it's done in a different manner than many Protestant churches. Instead of it being a defining moment in which the Holy Spirit pulls you aside and convicts you of being a sinner and prompts real change, it's a lifelong process for Catholics of learning and growing and being raised in the Spirit from the beginning and having defined spiritual milestones . Yes, many people fall away and forget the reason behind all the training and become complacent in Catholicism and pretty much forget about Jesus except perhaps for a few minutes on Sundays, but that's a personal thing, not the religion. One more thing I will quickly mention is that many people believe Catholics put Mary at or above Jesus's level. This is not true of how it's supposed to be done, and if anyone actually is putting Mary over Jesus, they are not correctly practicing Catholicism. Mary does have an honored place and everything the Church believes about her is true, and there is pure biblical basis for that. But, that's another question. No one correctly practicing Catholicism will accept anyone else but Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Are Catholics Born Again? Catholics and Protestants agree that to be saved, you have to be born again. Jesus said so: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). When a Catholic says that he has been "born again," he refers to the transformation that God’s grace accomplished in him during baptism. Evangelical Protestants typically mean something quite different when they talk about being "born again." For an Evangelical, becoming "born again" often happens like this: He goes to a crusade or a revival where a minister delivers a sermon telling him of his need to be "born again." "If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe he died for your sins, you’ll be born again!" says the preacher. So the gentleman makes "a decision for Christ" and at the altar call goes forward to be led in "the sinner’s prayer" by the minister. Then the minister tells all who prayed the sinner’s prayer that they have been saved—"born again." But is the minister right? Not according to the Bible. The Names of the New Birth Regeneration (being "born again") is the transformation from death to life that occurs in our souls when we first come to God and are justified. He washes us clean of our sins and gives us a new nature, breaking the power of sin over us so that we will no longer be its slaves, but its enemies, who must fight it as part of the Christian life (cf. Rom. 6:1–22; Eph. 6:11–17). To understand the biblical teaching of being born again, we must understand the terms it uses to refer to this event. The term "born again" may not appear in the Bible. The Greek phrase often translated "born again" (gennatha anothen) occurs twice in the Bible—John 3:3 and 3:7—and there is a question of how it should be translated. The Greek word anothen sometimes can be translated "again," but in the New Testament, it most often means "from above." In the King James Version, the only two times it is translated "again" are in John 3:3 and 3:7; every other time it is given a different rendering. Another term is "regeneration." When referring to something that occurs in the life of an individual believer, it only appears in Titus 3:5. In other passages, the new birth phenomenon is also described as receiving new life (Rom. 6:4), receiving the circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2:29; Col. 2:11–12), and becoming a "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). Regeneration in John 3 These different ways of talking about being "born again" describe effects of baptism, which Christ speaks of in John 3:5 as being "born of water and the Spirit." In Greek, this phrase is, literally, "born of water and Spirit," indicating one birth of water-and-Spirit, rather than "born of water and of the Spirit," as though it meant two different births—one birth of water and one birth of the Spirit. In the water-and-Spirit rebirth that takes place at baptism, the repentant sinner is transformed from a state of sin to the state of grace. Peter mentioned this transformation from sin to grace when he exhorted people to "be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The context of Jesus’ statements in John 3 makes it clear that he was referring to water baptism. Shortly before Jesus teaches Nicodemus about the necessity and regenerating effect of baptism, he himself was baptized by John the Baptist, and the circumstances are striking: Jesus goes down into the water, and as he is baptized, the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove, and the voice of God the Father speaks from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son" (cf. Matt. 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:30–34). This scene gives us a graphic depiction of what happens at baptism: We are baptized with water, symbolizing our dying with Christ (Rom. 6:3) and our rising with Christ to the newness of life (Rom. 6:4–5); we receive the gift of sanctifying grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27); and we are adopted as God’s sons (Rom. 8:15–17). After our Lord’s teaching that it is necessary for salvation to be born from above by water and the Spirit (John 3:1–21), "Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized" (John 3:22). Then we have the witness of the early Church that John 3:5 refers to baptismal regeneration. This was universally recognized by the early Christians. The Church Fathers were unanimous in teaching this: In A.D. 151, Justin Martyr wrote, "As many as are persuaded and believe that what we [Christians] teach and say is true . . . are brought by us where there is water and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God the Father . . . and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit [Matt. 28:19], they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, ‘Unless you are born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:3]" (First Apology 61). Around 190, Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons, wrote, "And [Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan’ [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn babes, even as the Lord has declared: ‘Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]" (Fragment 34). In the year 252, Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, said that when those becoming Christians "receive also the baptism of the Church . . . then finally can they be fully sanctified and be the sons of God . . . since it is written, ‘Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God’ [John 3:5]" (Letters 71[72]:1). Augustine wrote, "From the time he [Jesus] said, ‘Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5], and again, ‘He that loses his life for my sake shall find it’ [Matt. 10:39], no one becomes a member of Christ except it be either by baptism in Christ or death for Christ" (On the Soul and Its Origin 1:10 [A.D. 419]). Augustine also taught, "It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to baptism; and it is through this one Spirit that the infant so presented is reborn. For it is not written, ‘Unless a man be born again by the will of his parents’ or ‘by the faith of those presenting him or ministering to him,’ but, ‘Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit’ [John 3:5]. The water, therefore, manifesting exteriorly the sacrament of grace, and the Spirit effecting interiorly the benefit of grace, both regenerate in one Christ that man who was generated in Adam" (Letters 98:2 [A.D. 408]). Regeneration in the New Testament The truth that regeneration comes through baptism is confirmed elsewhere in the Bible. Paul reminds us in Titus 3:5 that God "saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit." Paul also said, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3–4). This teaching—that baptism unites us with Christ’s death and resurrection so that we might die to sin and receive new life—is a key part of Paul’s theology. In Colossians 2:11–13, he tells us, "In [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision [of] Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ" (NIV). The Effects of Baptism Often people miss the fact that baptism gives us new life/new birth because they have an impoverished view of the grace God gives us through baptism, which they think is a mere symbol. But Scripture is clear that baptism is much more than a mere symbol. In Acts 2:38, Peter tells us, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." When Paul was converted, he was told, "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16). Peter also said, "God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:20–21). Peter says that, as in the time of the flood, when eight people were "saved through water," so for Christians, "[b]aptism . . . now saves you." It does not do so by the water’s physical action, but through the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, through baptism’s spiritual effects and the appeal we make to God to have our consciences cleansed. These verses showing the supernatural grace God bestows through baptism set the context for understanding the New Testament’s statements about receiving new life in the sacrament. Protestants on Regeneration Martin Luther wrote in his Short Catechism that baptism "works the forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternal life to all who believe." His recognition that the Bible teaches baptismal regeneration has been preserved by Lutherans and a few other Protestant denominations. Even some Baptists recognize that the biblical evidence demands the historic Christian teaching of baptismal regeneration. Notable individuals who recognized that Scripture teaches baptismal regeneration include Baptist theologians George R. Beasley-Murray and Dale Moody. Nevertheless, many Protestants have abandoned this biblical teaching, substituting man-made theories on regeneration. There are two main views held by those who deny the scriptural teaching that one is born again through baptism: the "Evangelical" view, common among Baptists, and the "Calvinist" view, common among Presbyterians. Evangelicals claim that one is born again at the first moment of faith in Christ. According to this theory, faith in Christ produces regeneration. The Calvinist position is the reverse: Regeneration precedes and produces faith in Christ. Calvinists (some of whom also call themselves Evangelicals) suppose that God "secretly" regenerates people, without their being aware of it, and this causes them to place their faith in Christ. To defend these theories, Evangelicals and Calvinists attempt to explain away the many unambiguous verses in the Bible that plainly teach baptismal regeneration. One strategy is to say that the water in John 3:5 refers not to baptism but to the amniotic fluid present at childbirth. The absurd implication of this view is that Jesus would have been saying, "You must be born of amniotic fluid and the Spirit." A check of the respected Protestant Greek lexicon, Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, fails to turn up any instances in ancient, Septuagint or New Testament Greek where "water" (Greek: hudor) referred to "amniotic fluid" (VIII:314–333). Evangelicals and Calvinists try to deal with the other verses where new life is attributed to baptism either by ignoring them or by arguing that it is not actually water baptism that is being spoken of. The problem for them is that water is explicitly mentioned or implied in each of these verses. In Acts 2:38, people are exhorted to take an action: "Be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ," which does not refer to an internal baptism that is administered to people by themselves, but the external baptism administered to them by others. We are told that at Paul’s conversion, "he rose and was baptized, and took food and was strengthened. For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus" (Acts 9:18–19). This was a water baptism. In Romans 6 and Colossians 2, Paul reminds his readers of their water baptisms, and he neither says nor implies anything about some sort of "invisible spiritual baptism." In 1 Peter 3, water is mentioned twice, paralleling baptism with the flood, where eight were "saved through water," and noting that "baptism now saves you" by the power of Christ rather than by the physical action of water "removing . . . dirt from the body." The anti-baptismal regeneration position is indefensible. It has no biblical basis whatsoever. So the answer to the question, "Are Catholics born again?" is yes! Since all Catholics have been baptized, all Catholics have been born again. Catholics should ask Protestants, "Are you born again—the way the Bible understands that concept?" If the Evangelical has not been properly water baptized, he has not been born again "the Bible way," regardless of what he may think. NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materials presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors. Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004 IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827 permission to publish this work is hereby granted. +Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004 The Catholic Answers online library

God's Love for You Something is wrong with the human race. We all sense it. Things aren't the way they should be. Not in the world. Not in our neighbors. Not in ourselves. We aren't as kind, as generous, or as loving as we should be. We do things we shouldn't. We are selfish, arrogant, sometimes even cruel. We use other people for our own ends. We fall short even of our own low standards. The Bible has a word for this: sin. WE CAN'T ESCAPE Sin is a constant of the human condition. It's all around us. It's inside us, too. We are all sinners. Sometimes our sins are written large, like adultery or murder. Sometimes they are buried in a cutting glance. But they're always there. We sense that things shouldn't be this way, that there must have been a time when things were right in the world. And there was such a time. When God first made man, he made him perfect, able to live and love as he should, free from sin and sin's worst consequence, which is death. But our first parents turned away from God, and the human race hasn't been right since. Sin is a violation of the way things should be, a violation of a fundamental law. That law was designed by God to make us happy. Think of how it would be if everyone in the world lived up to that law. Unfortunately, we all turn away from God's law. In doing so, we turn away from him. If we don't come back to God, we will be separated from him forever. But we are caught in a cycle of sin. Try as we might, we can't break free. Not on our own. THE LOVE OF GOD God has not abandoned us, because God is love. He loves the world he made, and he loves us, broken though we are. God loves us so much that he sent his only Son to become one of us and to save the human race. His Son was born in the village of Bethlehem two thousand years ago. He grew up to become the most important person in history: Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Christ. In his ministry, Jesus traveled the hills of Galilee and Judea. He taught the word of God, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and even raised the dead. In every way, he demonstrated God's love for us and his desire to heal us spiritually as well as physically. Jesus opened the way for us to have eternal life. THE CROSS For Jesus, the way was a costly one. He traveled the road of sorrows, and it ended with his death on a cross. Jesus was willing to suffer and die for us because his death would enable us to escape from our sins and to live with God forever. Though he was God in the flesh, Jesus let himself be whipped and spat on and crowned with thorns. He let himself be crucified, with nails driven through his hands and feet. He offered his life as an act of love for us--an act so perfect, so pure, and so valuable that it paid for the sins of the whole world. This was something only God could do. No matter what we might do to atone for our sins, we are merely finite creatures and never could pay for our offenses against the infinite holiness of God. But God could pay for them-- and, because he loves us, he did. After the Crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead. The Resurrection serves as a sign of what is waiting for all who turn to God. One day Jesus will return, and those who have loved God will experience their own glorious resurrection, the overthrow of death, and eternal life in the love of God. WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE? God respects our freedom to choose. He gave man free will, and if anyone chooses to spend eternity apart from God, he will let him do so. The question is what each of us will do. What will you choose? Will you choose sin and separation? A life of selfishness, greed, and anger? A life of bitterness, frustration, even despair? Or will you choose to become what you should be? Will you choose to embrace God's love (even through the carrying of your own cross), to receive his forgiveness and healing, and to live as he made you to live--the only way you can be truly happy? If you choose the latter, you must become a follower of Christ, a Christian. To do this, you must repent of your sins, believe in Christ, and be baptized. God will enter your life and fill you with his Holy Spirit. Part of being a Christian is belonging to Christ's Church. Jesus founded a Church to care for and guide us as we make our way through life. It is a Church full of saints and sinners, but it is also the source of grace and true teaching. To help his Church endure, Jesus chose a leader for it: the apostle Peter. He made Peter the rock on which he built his Church, and for two thousand years the Church has been led by the popes, the successors of Peter. Since the early centuries, this original Church has been called the Catholic Church. Catholic means "universal." The Church got this name because it was meant as the spiritual home for all men. Over time there arose many offshoots, but you need to join the one Church that Jesus founded. He founded it for you, to take care of you and your spiritual needs, and it is the one he promised to guide and to preserve against the gates of hell. WHAT TO DO NEXT Once you have resolved to accept God's gift through Jesus Christ, there are several things you should do. Build your relationship with God. Think about how much he loves you and what he would want you to do in different situations. Talk to him every day through prayer. Tell him what is in your heart and how much you appreciate the good things he has given you. Start attending your local Catholic church on Sunday. You can go other days, too, if you wish. Catholic worship is rich and beautiful. If you do not know much about Catholic worship, read Mass Appeal: The ABCs of Worship, a booklet published by Catholic Answers. Join Jesus' Church. If you have been Catholic before, all you need to do is to go to confession. If you haven't yet become Catholic, your local parish will have a program to help you become part of the Church. Call your parish for information on time and place. Learn more about the Catholic faith. Start reading the Bible and a good Catholic catechism. A catechism is a book telling you the basics of the faith, and there are many good ones. The most authoritative is called The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Get your questions answered. Your local Catholic parish can be invaluable for this. So can Catholic Answers, which has a web site that is loaded with information. Tell others how God has blessed your life. Let them know how much he loves them and wants to bless them, too. (From Catholic Answers_

Some may but most do not because they are in a false church with a false gospel. I am not saying that none of them are not saved but even in that case God said "come out of her my people" The Catholics are taught herisy. They are taught to worship Mary through idolitary and to work for their salvation. If they understood what Jesus taught about being the"thruth the way and the life" then they would turn to Him alone but they turn to works, the pope, mass, forgiveness from the priest, and other man made traditions and rituals to obtain a false salvation. Jesus said He was the only way to heaven, by putting your trust in Him for salvation, nothing else. ** We are inperfect humans and cannot get to heaven on our own. That is why we need a perfect Savior! I do not hate Catholics . The bible says '' Whosoever believeth in him(christ) shall be saved" not "whosoever believeth in Christ and gets baptized, and pays the priest and goes to church and lives a sinless life ect.. shall be saved" It is a "free gift" all you have to do is recieve it! Its that easy! This Christmas when you recieve a gift will you offer money to the person who GAVE it to you? No you will not you will recieve it because it is being given to you.That is how we recieve eternal live. Free! ***to add to to what the last person commented - Im sorry that you feel that i attacked you. I only wrote what the bible says. It really is not my opinion but the Word of God. I know many catholics and have read much literature about Caholic beliefs and I know it does not match up to the bible. I think many catholics do not realize the errors in their teachings. Watch "messages from heaven " from the internet. This is a movie were many catholics profess what they believe . My whole family is catholic and depend on confession and mass to get to heaven not in the sacrifice Jesus gave on the cross. so are you saying that there is more that we must do? If you do not believe this then what do you believe?

I would say no because Catholics don't accept anthing that the Pope doesn't tell them to accept. And since the Pope didn't come around until later, they didn't have a chance to review that part. Instead they sat in a dark room and made up a bunch of rules so that the Priests would get rich and later the Pope could simulate the messiah and everyone could be forgiven if they paid the priests enough. The Pope is a good man I will give you that, and when you devote yourself in your life to do the work of the Lord its a great thing. I think its unfortunate however that these guys are so stinking blind and stubborn that they have to be right all the time. It should just be about Loving Christ with all your heart all your mind, and serving him to your best of your ability. Not getting drunk on Church wine at weddings and smoking out the church with incense.

If they put Christ where HE should be, the pope wouldn't have a place..the pope strips Jesus of HIS DIETY...the theif on the cross, in their text, addresses Jesus as Jesus ,HIS human name, instead of the divine title LORD & CHRIST..The roman catholic do not even claim to represent "the gospel of JESUS CHRIST". they are not to be called christians ,they are catholics.Their VACANCY of Christ is easily filled by Mary and all their other saints..they have a chain of rigid ritualism's that no PRACTICAL person would have time to think about... Rome's True Doctrine:"We Catholics acknowledge readily, without sham- nay with Pride- that Catholicism cannot be identified simply & wholly with "primitive" Christianity nor even with the gospel of Christ. These follow the pope's laws, not God's. Rome has PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS throughout history(William Tyndale, the Waldeneses,) but they managed to keep it(the truth) out of their hands and uncorrupted.

Matt.5:14 "The Church" Catholics believe that the jews were the chosen people by God and the jews knew the old testament with Aberham Isic Jacob and Moses..so when Jesus was with the deciples he said...now this is where Catholics believe the foundation of the chuch starts.."You are Peater and apon this rock I will build MY church" (not churches)"and I give u the KEYS of the kingdom of heaven whatever u bind on earth will be in heaven and what ever u loos on earth will be in heaven" giving authority to Peater...which comes frome Isaiah 22 the old testament, which the deciples knew and had to understand that Jesus was giving him the authority of the chuch. I know I would understand knowing the old testament. As a catholic I understand why none catholics believe what they believe. I realize we are all products of our environment and we choose to believe what we want too. I have a cousine who said to me I believe in the ten commandment and believe In the bible but..I dont believe in some things it says. Its like we pick and choose what we want to believe and dont want to believe. WHO ARE WE AND WHY DONT WE CARE TO KNOW AND BELIEVE THE FULLNESS OF TRUTHE. I spoke my minde and said..so you created your owne bible?..he thought for a while and smiled and said yes. I laughed and he did too. I told him his thinking was like he was wiser than God because Catholics believe the Bible is writen with the holy spirit God. Then he said well i dont know...I siad I do, its hard to follow the commandments of God and u want to be selfish and do what you want to do and feel good about it...we bothe laughed but he was laughing and nodding his head up and down realizing for the first time I think how he was living his life. I said thats how the Catholic church and tradition got brokenup and why their are so many churches man.

Yes. This belief is clearly proclaimed in the Nicene Creed (from the year 325), See LORD and SALVATION (in CAPS) below: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one LORD, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and our SALVATION He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. With love in Christ.

Of course. It's not like it's the church of the flying spaghetti monster.

Yes they do. And let me say right here and now that the Catholic bashers in this thread are a truly disgusting lot. You are a repulsive, un-Christlike, disgusting, insane, mentally-deficient generation of vipers. You are the very epitome of the proverbial whited sepulchres. What part of "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" do you liars not understand?

Yes, we belive he is the head of the chuch and our own guide. He is here for the whole world.

It would be interesting to know how they maintain their catholicism without accepting Jesus Christ!