There are lots of wrong ideas about the Catholic Church out there. Are you guilty of believing any of these 10 very common Catholic stereotypes, myths, or misconceptions?
Two years ago, I read a book that would change my perspective on Christianity forever: Surprised by Truth* by Patrick Madrid.
While it (and all of the research I did afterward) wasn’t enough to fully convert me to Catholicism, it did poke some pretty big holes in everything I was taught growing up as a Protestant, and it exposed lots of stereotypes about Catholics that I’d heard.
Things I was so sure of before — basic tenets of my faith — were suddenly glaringly wrong.
It was a pretty tumultuous time, as I reevaluated everything I’d believed my whole life. It was the start of something big, and it was the start of the series you’re reading now.
(You can read the whole series here, if you’re interested.)
Now, two years later, I’m still not fully convinced that Catholic Christianity has it all right. But I’m not convinced they don’t either.
What I do know is that much of what people believe about Catholics and the Catholic church simply isn’t true. Lots of what people “know” aren’t facts — they are Catholic stereotypes that don’t hold up when we dig just a big deeper.
And today, I’d like to set the record straight.
Are you guilty of believing any of these Catholic stereotypes and myths?
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure statement for additional information.
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A Few Things to Keep in Mind Before We Begin…
1. This post is about official Catholic belief — not what Catholics do in the privacy of their own homes.
What a religion officially teaches and how the people put it into practice are two entirely different things. In this post, I want to replace Catholic stereotypes with accurate information. This post is only meant to talk about what Catholicism actually officially teaches — not what people actually do in the privacy of their own homes or in their local churches.
(There will always be individual people messing things up in every religion)
2. This post is just an introduction to Catholic stereotypes, myths, and misconceptions.
This post is not meant to be an exhaustive guide to everything the Catholic Church teaches and misconceptions about it. That’d be waaaaay too long for a single blog post! It’s simply an overview of 10 of the most common stereotypes about Catholics and their beliefs.
Please see the links below each point to read about each issue more in depth. There are some really great posts in the rest of this series, and they explain these Catholic myths in ways a simple paragraph or two cannot adequately cover.
Want to Explore Catholic Stereotypes in More Depth?
I have a free guide that will help you do just that!
“10 Common Catholic Church Myths that Critics Believe” contains all the Catholic stereotypes from this article so you can print them out, refer back to them, and share them with others.
Plus – it even includes 5 bonus myths not included in this article!
If you are looking for information to help you share with non-Catholic family members OR if you’re thinking about becoming Catholic but you still have some questions about Catholic misconceptions — this is a fantastic resource to have on hand.
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Alright, let’s dive in!
10 Common Catholic Stereotypes, Myths, and Misconceptions
Myth #1: Catholics Aren’t Christians
Actually, Catholics consider themselves to be the original Christians, who are doing their best to hold to the same beliefs and traditions that the church held to in the first century.
According to Catholics, Catholics and Protestants are all Christians, and both Catholics and Protestants can go to Heaven. The Protestant denominations are simply off-shoots of Catholicism (or of other denominations) that branched off over various disagreements about what the Catholic Church was teaching.
Whether Catholics have held fast to the right teachings throughout the ages or whether they veered off and the Protestant denominations got us back on track — that’s something I’m still trying to discover.
This is a big Catholic myth to kick off this post: Even though Catholic stereotype #1 says that Catholics aren’t Christians, the truth is that Catholics are doing their best to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ (and isn’t that one of the things that makes a Christian a Christian?).
Myth #2: The Catholic Church Abandoned the Bible for Man-Made Traditions
While the Catholic Church does have many traditions that aren’t explicitly found in the Bible, so does every church (and so do you, in your home). Traditions themselves aren’t bad. It’s only when we prioritize them over God himself or when they take us farther away from God instead of drawing us near that they cause problems.
One reason that the Catholic Church has so many traditions is that the first century apostles didn’t write down absolutely every single thing they taught. In fact, John 21:25 tells us,
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
Catholics do their best to value and uphold both the written and oral teachings that were passed down from the apostles. Protestants look to the written teachings (the Bible) only.
The Catholic Church still highly prioritizes Scripture. It just isn’t their only source of information (and nowhere in the Scriptures does it tell us it should be).
Catholic stereotype #2 tells us that Catholics abandoned the Bible, but the truth is that Catholics use the Bible along with written and oral traditions.
For more on this topic, I’d highly recommend my post Who Has the Ultimate Authority? A Biblical Look at Sola Scriptura. You can also find the explanations for many common Catholic traditions in Why Do Catholics…? Honest Answers to Your Burning Questions.
Myth #3: Catholics Worship Mary / Saints / Statues
It’s easy to see how some Catholic stereotypes (like this one) got started, but again, it really is just another of many misconceptions about the Catholic Church.
Catholics do not worship Mary or statues; they worship God alone.
Instead, they “venerate” Mary, which, according to Google, is just a fancy word for “regard with great respect.” Similar to how we would show great honor or respect to a King or Queen, without actually worshiping them, Catholics hold Mary and other saints in high esteem as good examples of how to live a faithful life.
Yes, to Protestants, the practices definitely look like worship, and it’s easy to understand why this Catholic myth is still around. But since worship is an attitude of the heart, I don’t think you can “accidentally” worship someone and not know it. If Catholics’ hearts are in the right place — and they only want to show honor — then it’s not worship.
And it’s the same with statues as well. Catholics don’t worship statues. Instead, they are used as decorations to help Catholics remember people who have gone before, similar to how you might put pictures of your friends and family on your wall, or even a baseball card collection you may have had as a kid.
You look at them, you remember them, but you certainly don’t worship them.
They’re just decorations or teaching instruments meant to inspire faith.
Sure, Catholics might have statues and talk about saints who lived a long time ago. But contrary to Catholic stereotype #3, the truth is that Catholics honor Mary and other examples of faith (even with statues!) while saving their worship for God alone.
*For more information on this, don’t miss my post Do Catholics Worship Mary, Saints or Statues?
Myth #4: Catholics Believe People are Saved by Works
The Catholic Church does NOT teach that people are saved by their works. In fact, the catechism of the Catholic Church actually specifically forbids this notion.
Rather, the Catholic Churches basically teaches that, “If you call yourself a Christian, but you don’t act like it, maybe you’re not really a Christian after all.” Or, “Yes, God saves you through faith, but it’s a living faith that naturally produces good works.”
This Catholic teaching is actually 100% Biblical (here are plenty of Bible verses that support it), and is even taught by some highly respected Protestant/non-denominational pastors, including the most Godly man I’ve ever heard speak, Francis Chan.
This widespread Catholic stereotype #4 says that Catholics believe they can get to Heaven by earning it through good works. The truth is that Catholics see good works as the Spirit-inspired fruit of a heart saved by God’s grace alone.
*For a more in-depth look at this topic, please see my other posts Is Faith Alone Enough? and Are You a Christian? Are you Sure?
Myth #5: The Catholic Church Added Books to the Bible
The books that are currently in the Catholic Bible are the same books that the church has recognized as being in the Bible for centuries. It wasn’t until the 16th century that Martin Luther and the Reformers moved them to the appendix, before they were ultimately taken out.
(For the record, Martin Luther wanted to remove James, Hebrew, Jude and Revelations as well, but was unsuccessful. The books that he did remove are called Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, and Baruch.)
Whether or not the additional books should have been left in or taken out — I don’t know. I wasn’t there. Guess you have to ask yourself if the early church could have been wrong for 1700 years and the Reformers knew better than the earlier Christians did.
Either way, I’ve read through all these additional books, and there really isn’t much surprising in them. They read like pretty typical Old Testament books. There are a few verses about praying for the dead, but other than that, I don’t recall reading anything that stuck out as especially “Catholic.”
This Catholic stereotype #5 is a doozy because the truth is actually the opposite — one man decided to take out some books that had been in the Bible for over a thousand years.
*For more information, don’t miss my post on Martin Luther, the history of the Catholic Church, and the Bible books issue.
Myth #6: Catholic Priests Can’t Be Married
(Some) Priests are married! Some even have children and grandchildren. (This happens when a man is already married and a priest in a different denomination and then converts to Catholicism later.)
And of those who become priests the usual way and aren’t allowed to get married–not all of them even want to be. Priests know what they’re signing up for. No one is making them be a priest. They have a choice between God and a wife, and it is their choice to make. No one is forcing them to choose one or the other.
Catholic stereotype #6 is in fact the general rule — but the bigger truth is that the path of some Catholic priests does allow them to marry a woman. And those who don’t often consider themselves to be married to the church, the Bride of Christ.
*For more information, read my post on priests, the Pope and confession.
Myth #7: Catholics Recrucify Jesus at Mass
I haven’t heard this Catholic misconception in real life, but apparently it’s popular. Catholics do not re-crucify Jesus at Mass.
Instead, they believe that Jesus and the crucifixion occur outside the limits of time (because God can do cool stuff like that), and so when they celebrate Mass, they are only making the sacrifice (which has already occurred) “present” on the altar.
While Catholic stereotype #7 imagines Catholics as recrucifying Jesus at Mass, the truth is that Catholics believe they are making the eternal reality present in our non-eternal timeline at Mass.
*For a very interesting and in-depth look at the Eucharist, be sure to check out my post Is the Eucharist Really Just a Symbol? 5 Convincing Proofs that Say that It’s Not.
Myth #8: Catholics Believe Only Catholics Can Go to Heaven
While Catholics do believe their religion is the one true religion and the ordinary (most common) means of bringing people to salvation, it is a common Catholic misconception that they believe this is the only way. Instead, they recognize that God can use any means He wants to to bring people to Himself, including those other than the Catholic church, especially if the person has never had the opportunity or knowledge to join the church.
They believe that Protestants who have no reason to suspect their beliefs are incorrect can go to Heaven, as well as Protestants who were planning to convert before death but hadn’t done so yet.
Furthermore, Catholics do not believe you can say with 100% certainty who will go to Heaven (though you can have a good idea) simply because God is judge and we are not — and who are we to presume to know His thoughts?
Even though Catholic stereotype #8 imagines Catholics as very close-minded about the salvation of others, the truth is that Catholic teaching leaves lots of room for God’s grace to work in every single person’s salvation.
Myth #9: Catholic Priests are Child Molesters
Yes, the Catholic church has had huge and horrible scandals in which some priests were molesting children. This was absolutely awful and shameful, and they will have to stand before Jesus for what they did. That part is not one of the myths about the Catholic Church.
But if you look at the statistics, only a very small minority of priests were involved, and it isn’t really fair to blame the entire Church or dismiss the Church’s core teachings for what a few did. Scandals like this happen in EVERY church and in every city. That doesn’t make everyone guilty of the crimes of a few, and it does NOT mean that innocent Catholic priests deserve negative treatment today because of this stereotype.
It is heartbreaking that Catholic stereotype #9 does have some truth to it — some Catholic priests have molested children. But the truth is that the vast number of priests are men who serve God humbly and who shepherd their flock instead of harming the sheep.
*For more information, be sure to check out my series post on priests, the pope and confession.
Myth #10: The Catholic Church is Anti-Women
The church isn’t anti-anyone. They do believe birth control is morally wrong — the same thing every denomination believed until 1930. But when pretty much every other denomination began to change its mind, the Catholic church held its ground on this teaching. They continue to teach the same thing today, even when this gets interpreted as an “anti-woman” Catholic misconception.
The Catholic church also doesn’t allow women to be priests, which has upset many. But if you look at their rate of women in non-priest leadership positions, it is WAY higher than average. The Catholic church may not do things the “feminist” way, but they do hold women in very high esteem, even referring to them as the “crown of creation.” That’s pretty special if you ask me 🙂
So while Catholic stereotype #10 paints the Catholic church as an “anti-woman” institution, the truth is that many women are in leadership positions in the Catholic church, and the Catholic church holds women in very high regard.
Like I said earlier, the intent of this post is ONLY to dispel a few stereotypes about Catholics so that, going forward, your thoughts and opinions aren’t swayed by misinformation. I’m not trying to convert or persuade, just to present you with some information about Protestant and Catholic beliefs so YOU can make an informed decision of your own. 🙂
Ready for more? You can read through the rest of the posts in this Catholic vs Protestant series here OR see what I ended up deciding in my latest Catholic update post here.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on these Catholic stereotypes and myths, or others you’ve heard! Leave me a note (or a book 🙂 ) in the comments section below!
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Ready for More?
Honestly, these 10 stereotypes are just the start. Download the print version to get a handy guide you can refer to later or share with others AND get 5 bonus Catholic myths that aren’t included in this article!
Brittany Ann is an ECPA bestselling author and founder of Equipping Godly Women and Monetize My Ministry. She’s also a Christian speaker, podcaster, and conference host. Her work has been featured on numerous TV, radio, and online ministries, including CBN, MSN, Christianity Today, Evangelical Alliance, Patheos, Crosswalk, and more.
I am not catholic, but have Catholic friends. Just like you have protestant churches that sway outside of the “norm”. The same is true of Catholic churches. I love the beauty of the Catholic church and the traditions, but do not like the importance placed on Mary and the saints. While not all churches do Mary worship there are many sects of Catholicism that so for example there is a statue of Mary in Monterrey, Mexico that is worshipped so much (kissed) that she has no toes. Many of the Catholics I know believe Mary did not sin, so they revere her even higher. I believe a lot of Catholics are Christians, and I also believe a lot of Christians are not children of God.
Honestly, I’m not a big fan of it either. But knowing that official church teaching does NOT call for worshipping them helps some. I think it is official Catholic teaching that Mary was sinless, but that’s a thing that doesn’t particularly change anything either way, does it? I’m not sure.
This is wonderful! I can’t wait to read more in your blog and see where your journey takes you. As a Catholic who is currently working on a Masters in Theology, I want to briefly make a comment about the importance that the Church places on Mary. A lot of this importance stems from a few places: Genesis 3:15, her symbolism as the new Eve and the new temple of the ark of the covenant, among countless other things! There is so much depth of symbolism between the Old Testament and the New Testament with Mary that it’s somewhat astonishing. My mind was absolutely blown. There is too much for me to try and cover in a small blog comment, but I just want to say simply that the importance placed on both Mary and the saints is not to worship man-made gods, but to turn to them with honor and reverence for saying Yes to God in every single moment of their lives. We can ask them to pray for us and help us learn from their examples. I hope this was helpful and not confusing. Feel free to email me if you ever want to talk more in depth. Will be praying for you in this journey!
I haven’t read this book yet but hold Dr. Sri in high regard and imagine there is a lot of wisdom to be found in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Mary-Biblical-Journey-Nazareth/dp/0385348037/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422026770&sr=1-1&keywords=walking+with+mary
https://aubryrose.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/fearfully-wonderfully-made/
No, that makes sense. Thank you! I just think all of the honor comes across as “weird” to people who haven’t grown up around it and who aren’t used to it. My biggest question is–if God preserved her from sin… well… then she didn’t really have much of a choice but to say yes, did she?
Oh my gosh I know, so crazy and incomprehensible. Even though she was preserved of original sin, she still was given free will by God, just like we all have free will. So yes – she was filled with sanctifying grace, but she still had the choice to say YES or NO – just like Eve, who chose NO. That’s what is so incredible. Mary and Eve were both free from the stain of original sin, yet one chose yes and one chose no. That is why Mary is such an incredible example and Mother to us all. Her whole life, she freely said Yes to God in every single moment.
Hope that helps!
I see what you mean about the rich analogy! I’m still not so sure that a perfect person agreeing to raise a perfect baby is quite an impressive as sinners raising kids in today’s culture, though 🙂 Not saying she’s not a tremendous example of faith; just have yet to fall in love as much as Catholics have, if that makes sense 🙂
Please show me where it says Mary was free of sin in scripture. I have read the gospels and the NT many times and don’t ever recall reading this? I do believe scripture does state she was a virgin but I can not find where it says free of sin?
I don’t know that it does. I *think* I’ve heard people quote a verse or two that they say can imply that, but I wasn’t convinced. I think that it is based more on a widely held belief that has been passed down but wasn’t specifically written down.
Personally, I don’t feel like it makes a difference to my faith either way. God *could* very easily have preserved her from sin if He wanted to. Whether or not He actually did–I don’t know. I would talk to a Priest specifically for clarification on that one.
“Hail, full of grace!” Grace is God’s life within our soul. When our soul is completely free of sin, it is “full of grace”. When we commit sin, some of that grace is lost and must be regained to be wholly pure again. When Mary is addressed as “full of grace”, this is the state of her soul, as she is free of sin, she is full of grace.
Please I don’t remember that chapter and verse in the Bible where I would have read that. Could you cite that for me? I believe the Bible is the complete and accurate word of God. I can say the Bible says she had favor with God in Luke 1:30. He never claimed her sinless but looking at the translation and the word favor, grace can mean the same thing and this is what favor means in the Bible.No where in the definition do I find sinless? You may read for your self in this link. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5485&t=KJV
There is no verse in the Bible that says Mary is sinless, other than the “full of grace” phrase, which Catholics take to mean that. This doesn’t mean it is/isn’t true (there are no verses in the Bible that say Jesus used the bathroom either…), but it is not in the Bible (other than that phrase, if you translate it that way).
As a Catholic believer, I would like touch on that we believe that Mary was holy in God’s eyes we believe that about every saint angel or anyone that said yes to God. We hold them in our hearts with great honor and respect. When we are confirmed we take on a Saints name as our own as a symbolic form of becoming one with the Holy Spirit. St. Elmo was mine. Like most Saints he was martyred. We look to the saints for guidance we act through them to receive blessings and to give thanks for the things they were most known for like Mary and Elizabeth are known to be Saints of pregnant and barren mothers. Saints to me are ordinary people that turned to God and said yes. Some of them were even sinners. Look at St. Matthew and St.Paul. St. Paul is the Patron Saint I believe of non-believers and persecuted believers. St. Matthew before he followed Jesus he was a tax collector. Everyone has a fault. I think in the since of Mary we believe that when the Holy Spirit conceived in St. Ann Mary that she was forgiven on her original sin.
Thank you!
Show me where it says “Holy Trinity”. Show me where it says we are saved by Faith alone. Show me where it says that all revelation comes from Scripture alone.
You won’t find any of them.
Brittany – remember that Eve was also made without the stain of original sin–and she still sinned. So, even though Mary was conceived without original sin, she still could have chosen to be disobedient. However, Mary always remained obedient to God!
That’s a very good point. I’ve also heard that she is the new Eve, so she walked Eve’s path but took the other fork in the road, so to speak. Still not sold on the whole issue, but it’s interesting to think about.
She freely said yes. That’s given me something to think about when you mention Eve’s no. Maybe this is just one of those mysteries I don’t understand-would Mary saying no have been sinful. I just know God didn’t force her to have Jesus. The angel waited for her answer.
If it is so important to acknowledge that Mary is without sin and that we need to pray to her so that she intercedes for us why is it not mentioned by Paul and the other apostles? We need to ask questions and search the scriptures sincerley
We don’t *need* to pray to her for her intercession. But we believe that the Lord wants us to pray for each other. We can of course pray to Him and should, always. The last thing Mary said in Scripture was “do whatever He tells you.” This is the main thing.
Catholic here. I dont know if I would go so far as to call Mary “perfect” per-se, she did leave her son for at least a DAY without realizing he was missing…. she just always made the right choices which is why she is the best human model for the rest of us.
Also, she was the first Christian. That’s cool!!
lol. That’s a good point 🙂
Hi Marc,
Back in Biblical times, from my understanding, males and females used to travel in separate caravans. The children often stayed in the female caravan, but older male children could go to the male caravan. Jesus was around the age where he could have been in either party. It was one of those, “I thought he was with you,” situations when the caravans ended up stopping to mix. Neither parent “forgot” Jesus…they just thought he was with the other party.
I didn’t know that. Good to know! I figured they just had really big families back then and the whole “it takes a village” mentality 🙂
Incorrect. Mary and Joseph were traveling back from Jerusalem in separate groups, as was the custom. Women and children in one group, and men in another. Jesus was 12 years old at the time, which would have made it appropriate for him to be in either group. It would have made sense for both Joseph and Mary to think he was either somewhere in the same group or in their spouses group.
By the way, “perfection” does not mean she didn’t have the same worries and struggles as any other parent. “Perfection” implies completeness. She was conceived without sin and therefore did not suffer from the spiritual wound of concupiscence which causes us to incline towards sin. She was “complete” inasmuch as she had no fault in her holiness.
Just to put what has been said in another context… Mary was not simply “preserved from all sin” (although she was). She was created with a completely free will, but one that was perfectly united to the will of God.
The reason we sin is not because we have free will, it’s because our will is often at odds with the will of God. When we unite ourselves to His will, which is always perfect, we avoid sin.
So when Mary was given the choice to be the mother of Jesus, she COULD have said no. She said “yes” because her will was perfectly united with that of God.
But it is our sin nature that leads us to say no. I know that she COULD have, but given that she didn’t have a sin nature, I don’t think her saying yes is as impressive as the things people say yes to today. Yes, I know it was brave and amazing. But… of course she was going to say yes. It wouldn’t have been as hard for her as it would be for others (who have the sin nature to contend with)
I’m not sure you understand what Mary was committing to by saying yes. She was not married and at the time she would have been stoned to death just for being pregnant. She really did place her life in the hands of God and risked a horrifying death. It was nothing like today where everyone is super supportive whether or not you’re married. She would have known that if she did manage to not be found out and killed, she would have been shunned by family. Also, Giving birth at that time was another good way to risk your life. All in all, not exactly as easy as “sure I’ll be pregnant for 9 months then have this perfect baby and live happily ever after”
How would you know this? It is not biblical, only your opinion. I believe Mary was born just a woman like any other, wholoved God authentically, that’s it.
Someone keeps commenting on the biblical verification of on Mary’s star of being free of sin. First I would like to say that this is, in fact, not found in the Bible. That being said, if like to point out the astonishing knowledge that the gospel writers had about the birth of Christ, when, obviously, they had not witnessed it. The logical conclusion is that they were told of it by someone who did, not just through divine revelation. This “someone” is thought to be Mary (as the other witnesses were probably all dead). We also hold, as Catholics, that (oral) tradition is just as true as scripture — a concept that scripture supports (and more than the idea of sola scriptora, considering that the mention of that is absent from every existing Christian bible). In the Bible, however, Angle Gabriel does say something very profound. He addresses Mary by saying, “Hail, Full of Grace.” This is only a loose translation of what the Greek writing actually said. The literal translation is “Hail, one who is most full of God’s grace in all of time.” This means that no one (with an exception of Jesus, who WAS God and not yet born) had ever, at any brief moment of their lives, been more full of God’s grace. This includes both Adam and Eve, even before they sinned. Therefore May must have been perpetually in a state of grace, free of original sin and its effects as well as personal sin. If we are then being technical, the Bible does in fact say that she is free of sin, but the English bible you have at home could not translate it well enough to explicitly say so.
One other thing I would like to add: Our veneration (honor) of Mary is a very prominent part of our faith in the eyes of an outside viewer. By fully understanding Mary’s roll as the Mother of God, we better understand and appreciate what he did for us. Like all saints, Mary draws us closer to God. If that were not the case, we would not honor them.
A side note: Martin Luther also held May in extremely high esteem for a very long time after leaving the Church. Like many other things, it was his followers interjections that led him to change his standpoint.
If Mary was without sin then why does Mary say this in the Bible… Luke 1:47, “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
She is saying that Jesus is HER savior. If she was without sin, why does she need a savior?
Would love to know your thoughts on this
Absolutely. I will be sure to include some information on this in my March 4th post on Mary and the Saints. I hope you’ll stay tuned!
thank you for clearing the air about Catholicism. am a catholic and i often get tired of people judging and making assumptions about a religion they have no idea about.
You’re very welcome. I’m tired of it too and I’m not even Catholic! lol.
I have an answer that I learned in my Catechism class!
We are saved after having fallen due to original sin, but Mary was saved from falling, so she was preserved from original sin.
The analogy was that we are saved after falling off the cliff, but Mary was saved from going over. You still consider the person who saved you from falling your Saviour! Hope that helps!
Great analogy!
Benny,
You’re walking along a road and fall into a deep hole. Someone comes along and drops down a ladder or rope and gets you out. They’ve saved you, correct? But your clothes are probably dirty and maybe have a few holes.
What if that same person where to shout at you BEFORE falling into the hole? Aren’t they still a savior? And look, your clothes are still clean!
That’s the Catholic view of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. In anticipation of the redemptive work of Christ, Mary was preserved by God in a special way from any stain of Original Sin. He kept her from ever falling into the hole.
That’s a great analogy. Thanks for sharing!
I realize this is a very old thread, but had to add my two cents. Why is it so important for ANYone to believe that Mary was sinless? She is saved by Grace just like the rest of us. I thank her for her willingness to submit to the Lord, but she has gone to be with Him in glory, as we will also, one day. Why is this such a difficult subject to keep wondering about? In all sincerity, I am not being smug or sarcastic here, but it does seem that we can all find blessings to share without inventing new opinions on something that we will surely be given full knowledge of one day. If it is indeed still important at that time.
Hello,
The way it is is this,God is Holy and when he planned his salvation of us(,Planned and worked on the plan from genesis to the birth of Jesus)He cannot be in an unnholy environment,Just cant mix.Remember God giving Noah time to buid the ark and preach the Gospel for people to believe and be saved?He actually took long enough to create her(The new ark)without sin because we had to be saved according to his word which never changes,no cutting corners to be legal.Just as Eve was without original sin so was she,and this because he knew no one else would save us but himself.
Hey, Brittany!
I loved the article! I just wanted to quickly comment on something you said here in the comment section.
“… I’m still not so sure that a perfect person agreeing to raise a perfect baby is quite an impressive as sinners raising kids in today’s culture, though 🙂 ”
If you think of what Mary did in the context of the time period, it might help you see what an incredible choice her “yes” was. She was a young teen– probably 14-16 years-old– when she freely chose to be the Mother of Christ. What’s more, she was an engaged (unmarried!) woman. It must have been a huge scandal back in the day! They used to shun or even stone women who had committed adultery (or crimes/sins of this nature), and surely, this must have been what her situation looked like.
Even as a woman born without sin, this was a choice that she was given to make of her own free will. She would have to face her fiancé, her family, and society as an unwed, teen mother. Wouldn’t it have been easier to say “no” and to preserve her reputation and her relationships? This choice must have taken a huge amount of courage!
That’s a good point…
Aubry mentioned this, but I think it is worth emphasizing: Mary and Eve were both given the same opportunity – they were both created sinless.
Mary NEVER made a decision contrary to God’s will her entire life. Mary lived in a community of people who gave her plenty of examples of making the wrong decisions, but she didn’t go along with the crowd. Think about what happens to people in our society who always seem to make the right decisions. Others often hate them because of the contrast to their own lives. People often pressure the “goody two shoes” to go along with the crowd. It was the same in Mary’s time, but Mary never went along.
In contrast, Eve didn’t make a decision contrary to God’s will UNTIL that day in the garden. From what we see in the Bible, until that day Eve had never seen anyone go against God’s will. She didn’t have a crowd pressuring her, only the serpent. (I realize this serpent was the “father of lies”, so he provided the most professional pressure possible, but I’m sure this same serpent was working on Mary as well. After all, the more glorious a work of God is, the more Satan hates it.)
Because of Mary’s decisions, particularly the one she made in response to Gabriel, we have Jesus as our savior. However, it was because of Eve’s decision in the garden that we need Jesus. Look at the difference one decision can make!
I’m laughing at “so he provided the most professional pressure possible” — very true! 🙂 And good food for thought.
How do you arrive a t the conclusion that Mary was sinless? I cannot find this. The Word says all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. According to Mary, God was HER saviour (as well as mine). One must have a reason to be in need of a saviour. It’s pretty simple. I do not believe God has hidden anything from us or made salvation complicated, and if we do have confusion, It is all there to read for ourselves. When Holy scripture warns us NOT to add anything to HIS WORD, I must take that commandment very seriously, and whether I have my own private doubts or new ideas it is absolutely wrong for me to taint another’s life with vain imaginings. I must bring all to the throne of the Father, as Jesus commanded: He said that we would not ask ANYTHING of Him after He ascended. He further said He would not even pray for us, but that we would go directly to the Father, so why would we ignore that and ask Him anything, let alone poor Mary. If her spirit is even aware of our goings-on, I am drawn to feel sorry for her, considering the burden so many place on her. It would be exhausting, no matter how much she cared. She was only human, and it is only angels (commanded by the Father and none else, certainly NOT us BTW) or fallen spirits who dare interfere with the living, so I doubt Mary would get involved with that. What we do know of her, she tried to please God.
That’s part of the beauty of Mary and why she is so important and such an important part of our beliefs. She had every right and choice to say no…it is the freewill that God instilled in each of us. What made her special is that she chose to say yes, she chose to do God’s will. That’s why we give special recognition to both Mary and the Saints that have come before us. Each one of them were human, each one of them were a special creation in God’s eyes, each one of them was asked to do something or live out their life in a certain way that may not have been what they “wanted” to do. They took the hard road. They said yes to God despite their own thoughts and plans for their lives. In some cases they left great riches to follow God, some chose to turn away from loved ones, some chose death, some just went against mainstream society(within whichever time period they lived in), and did “crazy” things…The whole point is they said Yes to God in a way that “normal” people do not. It makes them special, it makes them different, and it should make others want to follow in their footsteps, carry their cross in the way that God has chosen you and to say yes even when you really want to say no and continue on with life. They are not worshiped, they are looked up to as role models to aspire to be like every day.
I guess in a way you can think of them as athletes and stars that so many people look up to, but with a far greater purpose…to encourage you to get to heaven.
I would like to start by saying I am not Catholic and I left liturgical Protestant teaching decades ago. I consider myself non-denominational and currently attend a Southern Baptist church. I would like to bring up the point that Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It does not give any exclusions at all. Christ was and is without sin because he came from the Father and is one with the Father. A believer is made clean by the blood of Christ and the Father see a believer through Christ. I believe that Mary was a sinner, but God saw her as righteous. If one believes her to be without sin they are putting her on an equal footing with Christ, the only person(because Christ was fully God and fully man) to ever be without sin.
Then there is the issue of praying to someone other than Christ. John 14:6 states ” Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'” Praying to anyone except Christ is not Biblical. Prayer is a form of worship and then that follows that our prayers need to be for God alone.
I would also like to say that I do not believe that any of the churches that we read about in the New Testament would be considered a Catholic Church. They are the original churches and that should be our foundation for worship.
As someone who also isn’t Catholic and who grew up in a Baptist church, I know exactly where you are coming from. And yes, those verses do certainly seem to make your points clear. However, the problem with quoting those verses is that–they are just two verses. They don’t take the entire rest of the Bible into account. Once I sat down for myself and started reading through the Bible, I suddenly started finding alllll sorts of new verses I never realized were in there before! (And I’d read my Bible before that too! Just didn’t know what I was looking for, so I missed it all the first time.)
I would like to make a couple of clarifications–*If* Mary was without sin (and I’m not sure I have much of an opinion on the subject either way currently), that doesn’t make her equal to Jesus. We worship because He is God, and because He died on the cross to take away our sins. Neither of those apply to Mary. Catholics think she’s great–a great example to aspire to be more like–but they don’t think she’s Jesus. For more on this subject, I strongly encourage you to read another post in this same series of mine: What do Catholics Really Believe About Mary, Saints and Statues?
And about prayer–Catholics (at least in my understanding) don’t pray to Saints asking THEM to do whatever needs done. They are simply asking the Saints to pray for them. The same way you might ask me to pray for you, or I might as you to pray for me. Neither of us has much power. We would pray to Jesus. It’s the same thing with praying to the Saints (I like the term “praying *through* the Saints” better, personally, because the prayers don’t stop there. They still go to God/Jesus). And again, more on the subject in the same article linked above.
Hope that helps clear things up a bit?
We are commanded by God to honor our father and mother. Why wouldn’t we give special honor, then, to Christ’s mother?
Because Scripture does to say to honor HER, it says to honor OUR PARENTS. See the difference?
Hi, I am Catholic and this post is the best way to explain our love for Mary and all of the saints, including Saint Michael! We simply ask them to pray for us. And while we are on the topic, when we pray the rosery, we are asking for her help. And at the same time we are going through five stages of the prayer and at each stage we are meditating on a certain part of scripture.
Jesus also came from Mary! Why would God place a perfect stainless “Jesus” in a dirty vessel? If that were so, then Jesus would be born with original sin. Pretty easy peasy 8f you ask me ?
She still had free will. She could have declined without sinning.
Very good Aubry!
Well thank you, Kent! 🙂
That’s right. The Catholic teaching is that Mary was without sin–Mary’s is the Immaculate Conception (that many Protestants think refers to Jesus’ conception). That she was without sin to be an appropriate mother for our Lord incarnate to come to earth.
This is a neat post. Thanks!
Well, of course Jesus’s conception was too 🙂 Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ll stick around to check out the rest of the series as well!
Just a comment to add to the dialog and for reflection. Mary is a model of discipleship. It is her “yes” that made the reality of the incarnation present to the world. It is our “yes” that continues that still today. The Church does teach that she was preserved from the stain of original sin but still had free will; think of it as you after baptism, the stain of original sin is gone, you can say “yes” to God in all you do. It is because of her constant “yes” that she is venerated. Saints, likewise, serve as an example of the same “yes”. As a matter of fact, we are all called to be saints in this world and will be in the next (unless the afterlife is one that is absent of God for you). Thanks for the dialog!
Hi Brittany
To say that “Mary is sinless” changes a lot! It changes the TRUTH: GOD said “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. To teach, as the RCC does, that Mary is sinless makes it a lie, because God said all have sinned, so, either God is lying or the RCC is, obviously it’s not God. Also, if a ‘church’ teaches wrong doctrine in one place, how can you be sure they aren’t teaching wrong doctrine in other places?
It does, but not nearly as much as one would think. For a more indepth look on Mary and the Saints, I hope you’ll check back March 4th. We’ll be addressing this exact issue then.
First, I’d like to point out the obvious exception to that rule: babies (the passage is clearly talking about personal rather than original sin). That means that it is possible for there to be other exceptions because this is already one. The use of the word all would seem to mean all, however the bible commonly uses that same word just to describe a very large group of people. This is usually when there were some obvious exceptions. To the early Christians, however, May was an obvious exception because the early Church doctrine taught that she was free of sin.
He didnt lie and neither did the Rcc.
Adam and Eve were without original sin,had free will and sinned.
God is Holy and his word is forever true,Only he could save us and he needed a Human being(free from original sin)but having free will to say yes or no to his plan of salvation for us.Think about it if God Made Adam and Eve with original sin then there would have been no fall and no need to save them and us.God being holy can only be in a holy environment,Unless we do not take Jesus as God ,of who he truly is,(The word that became flesh),That Ark of the new covenant(Mary) had to be free from original sin because God is Holy.
Yes it does matter, as Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 ” for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” ALL means ALL. Mary was Not immuned to sin.
Hi, Carla! I actually went on to discuss this topic further in my post: What Do Catholics REALLY Believe About Mary, Saints and Statues. I’d love for you to read the rest of the argument and let me know what you think! 🙂
Hi Britanny thank you for your article. It’s always good to question what we have been taught and to find out what is true. I believe that the the bible is God breathed and that I should study the bible and shouldn’t look at any institution to decide for me what it says. I find the problem with that is that the establishment whether it be Catholic, Morman, Jehovah’s Witness or whichever can change their way of thinking and redefine what they believe and we as the followers go along with it.
The heavens and earth will pass away but the word of the Lord is forever. We need to seek his way not mans traditions.
Hi Brittany-love what you are doing. I’m a convert to Catholicism and so have done a lot of reading. The doctrine that Mary was given a special grace to be saved from sin at the moment of her conception isn’t so strange when you think that Adam and Eve were also created without sin. Mary is the ark of the new covenant so it makes sense. She’s the prototypical Christian and role model, queen mother of the king of kings. And.. she was saved by Jesus’ blood like we are-only before she was able to sin. The story that helps me is-there are two ways to be saved from a ditch. One-after you’ve fallen in. And two, before you fall in. The second is Mary. Hope that helps!
I would hope all the Catholics you know believe Mary never sinned. You think the person God chose for His mother would be unable to remain sinless?
No Catholics worship Mary. Kissing her statue is not worship. You don’t kiss your mother? If you had a beloved family member that you could not physically see, it’s not possible that you would kiss his/her picture?
Some Catholics really have an exaggerated way of expressing their love and affection for Mary. The real question is:
Are they loving her more the Jesus loves His own mother?
We are called to imitate Him in everything.
One interesting point that is notice and have encountered in dialogues with non-Catholic/Orthodox Christians, is the fear of lifting Mary to her rightful place, which often puts Jesus committing sin (without malice or intent by these Christians that don’t understand the Catholic understanding). Let me explain, and I think this will help a lot.
We need to look at the commandment from the Lord “Honor thy father and mother”. The words (in Hebrew) of this commandment encompass a much greater and deeper meaning than what is perceived from the English. According to scripture scholars with knowledge of the ancient language, it means to “Bestow upon your father and mother ALL of YOUR GLORY.” For Jesus, looking at His Father and Mother, it has tremendous and awesome consequences. This means that for all eternity Jesus is ALWAYS bestowing upon His Father all of His Glory, and since the Virgin Mary is in Heaven He does the same with His Mother. I have been pondering on the complexity of this pouring of love and glory between the Trinity (God) and this “handmaid of the Lord” for over a decade, and I am nowhere closer to the answer than I was in the beginning. It has been a baffling thing.
A similar area that totally baffles me is the Love of God for us, as it has been manifested through Jesus, and understood through the eyes of someone who understands/believes the Mass and the Eucharist. When I meditate and contemplate on His love for us, I always end up in awe. Totally dumbfound!
I think the thing for Protestants is just the AMOUNT of emphasis Catholics seem to put on Mary (for example, the rosary. That’s a LOT of “hail Mary”s!) Yes, Jesus did (and does) love his mother, but is he sitting around saying hail Marys all day? Seems unlikely… Not saying that it is sinful or wrong. Just that it seems “weird” to us outsiders 🙂
Yes, I agree with you.
On the outside, it sure does look wrong. But that is only until you dig in.
A few years ago, after a concert I had a long conversation with a Covenant Church minister; something like 4 hours. At the end, he was completely ok with the rosary, with the exception of the last two mysteries; Assumption and Queenship of Mary. That was a whole other topic we had not covered.
He was very thorough and inquisitive with his questions and listened attentively. He was not only a minister but also had Masters in Mathematics and Philosophy. We met a couple other times, shorter spans of time. Nowadays, every time we cross paths he says: “I miss those long talks we had!”
If he was able to rationalize his way through the rosary, I am certain that you will also be able to, but you will do it slower than one sitting and it will come from the heart as much as from the head.
I will leave this thought. Think of the rosary as a movie on the life of Christ that you are meditating and contemplating on, while your lips are singing a song to His mother. So you are singing a lullaby to Mary while in awe at what God has done for us, and internalizing it. It is like reading Scripture in your heart. Sometimes scripture comes alive in ways I could never imagine possible.
Of course, the words prayed in the Rosary come from Scripture.
I like to think of asking Mary for her intercession in prayer as something pretty special because I don’t think Jesus could deny His momma anything. So I imagine it like asking her to go whisper in Jesus’ ear. I’m not praying to her. I’m not worshiping her. I’m just asking for her help.
Makes sense. I just don’t really understand the point 🙂 If your prayers are in line with what Jesus wants for you anyways… he would WANT to answer them. Perhaps I’ve just always been taught that we should perfect our prayers ourselves?
I Understand your feeling about asking Mary for help/prayers, but don’t you ask the same thing of your family and friends? And the closer their relationship with God, the more powerful we feel their prayers are for us. Well, who has a closer relationship with God than Mary? Just something to think about.
The question isn’t “Can we ask others to pray for us” but “Is it appropriate to ask people who have died to pray for us?” and are Catholics REALLY just asking for prayers or asking the Saints to actually DO things and then giving the Saints the credit? From what I’ve seen-the distinction gets quite blurred sometimes
Since the Resurrection, are our loved ones in Heaven really dead?-their bodies await resurrection yes-but they are alive, as Jesus is alive.
If you want to see just how much emphasis we can put on Mary and why, I suggest you read “True Devotion to Mary” by the sainted Louis Marie Gringon de Montefort. He explains Marian Devotion to the fullest extent possible, and how it isn’t just a bunch of Ave Marias/Hail Maries.
There are four things every Catholic needs to believe about Mary to be Catholic, 1. She is the Mother of God(theotokos, or Godbearer), proclaimed at the council of Ephesus in 431, and re-proclaimed in any Church council dealing with the Heresy of Arianism(which denied the divinity of Christ).
2.She is a perpetual virgin. (The greek that is often translated “brothers” refers to any male relative, like cousins)
3.She is conceived without original sin, like Eve before the Fall. This means her intellect was not darkened, her will was not weakened, and she was not subject to pain in childbirth, or to corruption or death(see #4). She may have been perfect, but she also knew exactly what was going to happen to her Son the whole time. “Your heart a sword shall pierce.” She was still saved by her Son though, for just as His death redeemed everyone else, it preserved her from the stain of sin.
4.She was assumed into Heaven at the end of her life. Since she was without sin, she was not subject to death, so when the course of her life was ended, she was assumed into heaven by the power of God(unlike the Ascension of Jesus, who ascended under His own power).
Certainly though, Marian theology is the hardest part for any non-catholic to accept, but it is so important for us that it can scarcely be imagined. She is perfect, we are not, and Jesus gave her to us(through the Apostle John) to intercede with Him. Technically, you can say we “worship” her, but not with the worship we give to God, called latria. We “worship” her with the worship of dulia, which is the veneration, but since she is the greatest created creature, we esteem her more highly than any other creature, so we call it hyperdulia.
That sounds in line with what I’ve been learning in RCIA. But you’re right, it is difficult for a non-Catholic to accept, just because it’s so “weird” and “different.” 🙂
One thing to know about the Saints and Mary is that we Catholics aren’t supposed to pray to them worshipfully. We are supposed to pray to them for intercession. This is basically the equivalent of asking the person next to you in Church to pray for you.
The basis for this belief is that prayer is good, and more prayer is better and that we can all help bring grace into the world. The practical effect in a simplistic sense is that if your individual prayers aren’t enough, maybe going to God’s mother will help change the Lord’s mind. This is a tradition that goes as far back as Genesis 18. There is a long tradition in the Bible of “bargaining” with God–most of the Judges did it at one point or another. Moses begged and pleaded, Gideon was a downright skeptic, and even Jesus asked for mercy in Gethsemane.
Its not that Catholics do not believe in an individual relationship with God; rather, we believe in using as many tools as you can get to try to improve your relationship with God. The Sacraments, frequent Mass, prayer, the Rosary, and asking for intercession from Mary and the Saints–these are aids without which living a Holy life just becomes more difficult (not impossible).
On a similar note: another prevalent myth is how Catholics treat sin. The Church has a long history of trying to encourage its people to partake in the sacraments, even though there was a tendency to blow off Mass because people felt unworthy and too sinful. These tools are meant to be used and so the emphasis on the Body of Christ in the Church has led to a more community oriented view on the relationship with God.
The problem with sin is isolation from God and the veneration of Mary and the Saints is just one piece in the big puzzle of trying to thrive in an imperfect, world where humans themselves seem seem to have a “negative stability”– tending towards disorder, chaos and isolation absent the positive inputs of grace and community.
Yes, I’ve heard the “toolbox” analogy a few times now! Makes sense.
Sometimes in a human psychology sense I think God gives us the gift of each other; we pray for each other even though we can also boldly approach the throne of grace. Sometimes when we’ve done something truly awful we can be tempted to despair. Yes God is right there ready to forgive, but if we feel his absence sometimes we might feel better going to him through his mom. God isn’t proud-he condescends to do anything to save us.
The Rosary is a meditative prayer in which Mary helps us to know her son Jesus, true God and true man.
I am on that page. Why put so much emphasis on a few words spoken by a messenger, when there are so MANY other things stressed by each of the teachers in God’s Bible. Inventing the necessity for God to have a previously sterilized womb to inhabit is adding superstition to an already awesome, mystic situation. According to the neighbours, the little boy Jesus grew up with their kids, no doubt playing in the dirt with pebbles and that did NOT diminish His Godhood.
The Bible tells us that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ Certainly not true of Jesus – but He’s uniquely God and Man. Mary offered up turtledoves for a sin offering, and spoke of her ‘Savior.’ Why make offerings if you’ve never sinned, and why would you need a savior if you’re blameless?
The Catholic Church believes that Jesus’s death, while an actual physical point in history, transcends space and time. So his death saved her the same way it saved Abraham, Moses and all the other Old Testament people–after the fact, working retroactively.
Also, we will discuss Mary more and get into all of the specifics on March 4th. I hope you’ll check back!
I’m not wondering about the time factor, Brittany. I understand and agree that Jesus’ death covers people who lived before Him. My question here is that if Mary is sinless and blameless, why would she need a savior at all?
I love the comment Bryan left. He said:
“You’re walking along a road and fall into a deep hole. Someone comes along and drops down a ladder or rope and gets you out. They’ve saved you, correct? But your clothes are probably dirty and maybe have a few holes.
What if that same person where to shout at you BEFORE falling into the hole? Aren’t they still a savior? And look, your clothes are still clean!
That’s the Catholic view of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. In anticipation of the redemptive work of Christ, Mary was preserved by God in a special way from any stain of Original Sin. He kept her from ever falling into the hole.”
By preserving her from original sin, God didn’t take her out of her sin. He saved her or kept her from it in the first place.
Mary is the perfect disciple of Jesus, and in perfect Communion with Him at all times, having been sinless, and also having born Him in her womb. Catholics ask Mary to love Jesus with the same love and faith she has. It’s to ask for the same virtues that she has: blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Well, Mary’s heart is Immaculate.
Loving Mary and asking her for help never gets in the way of loving Jesus, since she was created FOR the purpose of Jesus– God becoming Man– and to assume as such is to labor under a false dichotomy. To ask Mary for help is to love Jesus in a way that He becomes the very center of our lives.
Hopefully people remember that. I think it’s too easy for people on all sides to get confused/distracted…
I like the way you worded this. Actually, the more I read about Catholicism, the more I get the feeling that I have to shake my head to clear the thoughts. Its like a bunch of rabbit trails leading us away from seeing the clear big picture. When I listen to someone repeating the rosary thing over and over it reminds me of the vain repetitions passage and the commandment to go directly to the Father. The Word also says he is no respecter of persons, and so why would I be encouraged to believe that another’s prayers will be heard better than mine own?
Those are really good questions. And I think the rosary definitely CAN be “vain repetitions” but it’s all in how you say it. For example, I tell my family “I love you” all the time. But no matter how many times I say it, it isn’t vain repetition because I actually mean it. If people are praying the Rosary (or any prayer) just to do them but not really meaning them, that’s completely different than praying with your heart in the right place. Saying things more than once doesn’t make it bad. It’s all in how you say them.
And as for your second question, the Bible DOES say “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” in James 5:16b, which would lead me to believe that some people’s prayers ARE more powerful than others. (And there are other verses that support this too). That’s a good question, but I don’t think that verse quite applies in this case.
(Not that I agree with the Catholic stance, but I don’t know that those specific arguments adequately refute it.)
I have been attending a Roman Catholic service weekly since last November, because I feel that is where God has led me. NOT because I think I have some big calling, but because I have discovered that the way He gets me to be where He can use me is by giving me sheer joy and peace in certain situations where I know I would usually feel very uncomfortable and these folk are loving on me big time. I have explored many denominations down through the years and everyone of them has something new and precious for me to learn. However, in this particular congregation, they do the hail Mary thing just before the service I attend, and it is extremely sing-song and even droning, like when the eastern cults perform’ their mantras. Sometimes it just is so sad to me that all this time gets used when they could be in communal prayer asking the FATHER for His intervention. I love the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much passage, and in fact James is my favorite book – I always wonder how marvelous it would be to grow up with a big brother who never taunted you! HA! And, too, how amazing it would feel to come to the SLOW, believable realization of exactly WHO your brother was!!! WOW! However, I do think that in this passage the Bible is teaching us to be sure we are righteous and also that it suggests our prayers are going to be more effective when we are more fervent. Notice that it immediately follows the passage about confessing to each other, and that act itself suggests repentance, which of course leads to re-affirming our righteousness as covered by Christ’s atonement. It is THEN that the Father is able to look on our pure hearts and THEN when our requests will line up with His Will, so our prayers would be MUCH more effective, of course. I just can’t see how it would mean another person’s prayers are going to be heard before mine, except that if I am praying vainly without having come to the father in humility of repentance, and one of my sisters or brothers is hearing His Spirit urging them to intercede for me. Hopefully, I, myself, may fall into that place to be there for them, as well, until they are able to recover themselves from the snare of the Devil. Be Blessed, Dix
I know this is an old post, but take my word for it, Mary is NOT worshiped by any Catholics. That is not the same as saying we pray to her, which we do. The Catholic Church makes an important distinction between types of prayer. “Latria” is the prayer of adoration that is for God alone. This is a prayer of worship. “Doulia” is a prayer of veneration. It is nothing more than asking the saints in heaven to focus their own prayers to God on our behalf. We ask them to unceasingly petition God to give us the graces that they received during their own earthly lives.
Catholics ONLY worship God. I promise you that.
Thanks for clarifying some important things here. I appreciate the Catholic church for holding steadfast to their beliefs and not wavering in the midst of changes in our world. There are a few beliefs in Catholicism that I don’t agree with, but I believe that those aren’t as important as the real message that Catholics preach…that Jesus is the only way to heaven. I can get on board with that and leave the philosophy to the wayside if it means bringing unity to God’s people.
I’m pretty much in the same boat. There are some things I don’t particularly care for or agree with, but they are minor things for the most part. And there are just too many major issues that they’ve been right on that I can’t just ignore it. Hence this series 🙂
Although Catholic from birth, I sympathize with your comment:
“There are some things I don’t particularly care for or agree with”
and it makes me smile because I felt that way some 30 years ago. The more I read and researched and understood the reasoning, the more I came to realize my rational was not as solid as I had thought, but the Church’s reasons were built on solid foundation.
After all, it only made sense (much later on my journey) since the Church is the Bulwark and Foundation of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Those were the painful pieces, but also the liberating ones I experienced then.
That’s what I’m attempting to discover through this series. Who knows where it will lead!
I have a good idea of where this will lead…. Same place it led me in 1991. Can I be the first to say welcome home?
lol. No promises! But sure, you can be the first!
Very well put. I agree with you. I am so glad of the steadfast tenacity in this organization. The one caveat I must hold is that they have added on to what the original church taught, and these extra diversions can lead to one becoming so entranced by the rituals of mysticism that much of the solid foundation is lost in the oblivion of the overgrowth, and just as an ancient building may need occasional excavation, along came the reformation, which they will refuse to embrace as it was intended..
I had stated before I am really happy about this series. I am really interested in this because my parents have recently gone back to Catholicism after being Protestant for almost 30 years. I do believe that if they had remained Catholic, they would not have gotten the education to understand all of what you are saying. I feel (from experiences and conversations with Catholic friends) that Catholics do not even understand their own “religion” and just go ahead with the traditions and rituals blindly. I know the Protestant church teaches you more the biblical teachings and goes more in depth and that is why I think more protestants will really understand more of what you are learning from the Bible. This series is an educational eye opener for Protestants as well as Catholics. And very well written.
AGREED! It isn’t that Catholics can’t or are encouraged not to read the Bible for themselves, but since they remain so unwaivered in their beliefs… people just kind of don’t question it? It is what it has been for 2,000 years now, and if you don’t like it, you’ve got a whole line of higher ups to take it up with. Whereas, with Protestants, they change their beliefs and plant new churches as they see fit… so they have to be a LOT more knowledgeable, and even defensive of what they believe, especially since they don’t have tradition to rely on. (I don’t mean this in a bad way.) I hope that makes sense.
And on a related note, I know just from going through RCIA and from me asking 10,000 questions about things, my husband (who was born and raised Catholic) has learned some things he had no idea about too. Because it isn’t a culture of questioning.
I think there is some merit to both though. And both sides could really learn from each others’ strengths and weaknesses.
Catholics have this long tradition of ‘listening’ to the Word of God, just as the Jews and the early Christians did. Bibles nowadays are inexpensive (got 15 translations/variations on my shelves) but in the old days it was impossibly expensive.
So Catholics have learned to listen to the Word of God in the Mass. It takes 3 years to read basically the whole bible (with those extra 7 books) in the Mass.
I’ve been Catholic Christian my entire life (29 yrs) and I consider myself to be at least in “decent” understanding of our catechism and traditions. I wavered many times and questioned many things because I had friends that would always question,”Why do you do do this specific tradition and where is it backed up in the Bible.” It pretty much intimidated me into learning more about my own faith. What a blessing in disguise! They would always tell me that in their Christian Bible studies they would “Eat Catholics for breakfast.” I understand this now, but it’s also why this post makes me so excited to know there are Protestants out there that are interested in learning more about Catholicism. Think it is so inspiring, makes me want to learn even more! At the church I attend, in a 98% Catholic Community in the middle of nowhere in Ohio, it is very common to have church events every night of the week including Bible studies, outside speakers, benediction, catechism education, and fellowship hours. We are taught it’s very important to read scripture everyday, although we do not work on memorizing it. I think that’s part of where we get a bad rep. When asked, we generally can’t repeat scripture and this may be a sign to outsiders that we don’t read it in general.
Also, our honor to Mary was always told to me in this way. She was on of the first fully human figures we saw give up her life and body to obey the Lord. It seems an easy task but if God would ask me now to have this most perfect baby, out of wedlock, watch him get teased and tormented a lot of his life and be under constant scrutiny for saying he’s the Savior, and then watch as he is scourged, humiliated and crucified I don’t believe this would be an easy yes. We are grateful she said yes and find an amazing example in her devotion to our Lord.
Hi, Shana! I’m glad you found this series are are so excited about it. I’m excited to hear that there is so much going on at your church. Maybe our church has a lot more going on than I know… Not being Catholic (and being completely intimidated every time I set foot in the church), I haven’t been in a huge hurry to get involved and find out!
Hey Brittany! Have you by any chance had the opportunity to attend a Catholic Mass? One of my friends (she was Southern Baptist, confirmed a Catholic in 2012) used to tell me about how Catholics didn’t emphasize scripture enough. So, I invited her to Mass. She was shocked! Every word in every prayer, from the readings to the Eucharistic Prayer to the Lord’s Prayer is taken directly from scripture. I am a practicing Catholic, and I cannot tell you how many times after confession the priest recommended that I read specific chapters from the Bible to meditate upon (such as the Prodigal Son, or Psalm 51). There are currently both men’s, women’s, and co-Ed bible studies happening at my church right now. Many Catholics from the 1960s and 1970s had poor catechesis education and may not be able to fully explain why they believe the things they believe. For instance, Mary is the New Testament fulfillment of Eve, and she was the new Arc of the Covenant. The Arc was assumed into a heaven, so why wouldn’t Mary? I think the problem is that people don’t realize how deep the faith truly is, so from the surface many questions are raised. Hope this helps, I really enjoyed your article. Thank you for doing such a good job clearing up the myths about my religion. I hope this helps people better understand us!
We go every week! And RCIA too 🙂
What happened is that after the Second Vatican Council, catechisis in the Church took a nosedive for a few decades. It is only now beginning to recover, so most Catholics aren’t that knowledgeable about their faith.
I’ll say. My kids were in Catholic school in the 70s and 80s. I was shocked at how little they learned beyond: be nice, Jesus loves you and go to Mass on Sunday. No church history, no bible stories beyond the bare bones.
Among other things I see no discussion of the Catholic concept of the Communion of Saints that is too complicated to explain here, but would clear up a lot. Most Catholics under 60 probably couldn’t tell a thing about it. It’s a lot like the “cloud of witnesses” which most Protestants understand.
The Protestant maternal side of my family were all horrified when my mom married my father. A cousin’s daughter is a Presbyterian missionary trying to save the souls of Mexican Catholics. I read their blog and see that they are horrified at the Day of the Dead, but they pretend they like Our Lady of Guadalupe to get the Mexicans to come to their mission churches. I asked them if they also have missionaries in Canada and their jaws almost hit the floor.
So I hope you can get some civil conversations going that are honest.
I find the people on this page refreshingly honest. I, too, am a Protestant who loves Catholics. I have been attending Catholic Mass every week for 6 months. I believe God has a direction for me in helping to break the division called denomination, which actually means a fracturing of the body. I am loved ON by the Catholics and have developed a new found camaraderie there. I honestly do not believe I could ever agree with a lot of their stuff, but it is an eye-opener to learn where they come from. I see all groups believing in some misleading doctrines, and none are exempt. It is only when we rise above all that strife of pride that we reach the heart of our Father. It is wonderful to pray together with those who are willing to lay down their personal catechisms and other holy cows to grow closer to Him, in Whom we ALL LIVE, and breathe, and have our being.
I live in a country that is 85% Roman Catholic – and considers itself a Roman Catholic country (so much so that they identify Catholic as their heritage interchangeably with their nationality). My husband was raised Roman Catholic and converted to the Protestant faith in his late teen years. That said, probably many of these things differ depending on where you live, but many of these things are true for this country – and when a Catholic asks a converted Protestant what the difference between our faith and their faith is, the common ones they list are: we don’t worship Mary, we don’t worship the Saints or statues. These are people who have been raised Roman Catholic all their lives and have lived and experienced these parts of the faith from birth. That said, Protestants here are considered a sect and have only just in 2014 been granted the same religious rights as the RCC (such as legal church weddings, jail/hospital visitation, or alternate catechism classes in school). These differences that do exist here cause major rifts in families with converted Protestant members – my husband’s included. His differing faith is the ever-present elephant in the room that no one wishes to accept or talk about. I do believe that in America Catholicism looks remarkably different than it does in European and Latin nations.
Would the Catholics there also agree that they worship Mary, Saints and Statues? Or is that just the impression that Protestants get? (Although, I’m sure there it is a LOT easier for Protestants to get the right impression, since they are surrounded by Catholics!) I can’t comment on how every Catholic behaves in real life (obviously!) and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that things are different here and there. Just speaking of official church teaching, not actual practice.
But that sounds really rough for your husband. I know you are missionaries. If 85% of the country is Catholic, are you reaching out to save the Catholics or to the unchurched altogether? (Or people who claim to be Catholics but aren’t really)
I don’t know that Catholics would necessarily use the word “worship” – but those who have converted to protestantism, after having been raised Catholic all their life, consider it to be that. I don’t think anyone here has ever been raised protestant – except a handful of teenagers – but the protestant church, for the most part, is 1st generation. In our church, my sister and I are the only 2nd generation Christian adults. I will say that where I live Mary is elevated above Jesus. There are many statues of Mary to pray to in various places throughout the city, but not one statue of Jesus, and in the main Cathedral there is a painting of Mary ascending into heaven. So the worship of Mary here is very prominent.
I would say that we are reaching out to save unsaved people who call themselves Catholics – very much like how in the south people claim to be Christian by virtue of being born into a Christian culture. While 85 % of the population claims to be Catholic, and most of them probably attend mass on a fairly regular basis, there is nothing in their life that indicates any dedication to to any religion at all. Immorality is rampant, swearing here makes the worst swear word in English sound innocent (I am surprised that even nice little grannies say the “f” word pretty much in every sentence. That word is pretty much acceptable in conversation…and from there it gets much, much worse. Alcoholism is off the charts and pretty much present in most every family…there is not one functional family that I have met outside of those homes where there are truly followers of Jesus Christ. I wish I could say that I am exaggerating – but the war has left a deep wound – PTSD has literally touched every life – directly or indirectly – and they deal with it in very unhealthy ways.
In this part of the world, religion and heritage are one and the same: Croatians are Catholics, Serbians are Orthodox and then there are Muslim Bosnians (to clarify – not all Bosnians are Muslim, though – those with Croatian heritage are Catholic, like my husband’s family). And you can accurately use either description…because to them, to be Croatian is to be Catholic and some – if not most – have never considered that it could be any other way.
Sounds like a very different world than what we have here, and sounds like you are needed there badly. Still, I would encourage you to make sure you recognize the difference between official church teaching and what the people are doing. Plenty of Protestants do horrible things too; it doesn’t mean that Protestantism as a whole would support it…
Hello, Rosilind
I can see how all those images and statues in honor of Mary would make it appear not only as worshiping Mary, but worse, being idol worshipers. It is a very common perception. Like I said it is perception. I was born and raised in Europe and things were pretty backwards in those days. The people were simple with strong but simple devotions. The Rosary was critical for them, especially since all the prayers in Mass were done in Latin. These were people with simple faiths. The type that Jesus asks of us. The ‘faith of a child’.
Regarding the worship, like I said, I was born in an environment that was similar, without the rampant profanity that you describe, and the lack of Muslims. I can assure you that their devotion to the Virgin Mary is not in error. If you go to ANY of them, and without trying to tripping or manipulating them you ask any of those people this simple question: Who is God? Their answer will be Jesus, or the Trinity, or God, but they will not say Mary.
Since you live in Eastern Europe, the Catholic Rite should be the Byzantine, or a variation of it. Their Divine Mysteries (Mass) are beautiful and lifts the spirit to Heaven. It is in the Mass that Catholics give God the HIGHEST form of worship. ‘Latria’ which is Latin to describe the “worship that is due to God alone”. On the other hand, ‘Dulia’ is the type of “veneration” that Catholics give the Saints.
Dulia is like having a tremendous respect for an elder in the village. I remember when I was a kid, the kids used to gather around the some of the older men on the village and they would tell stories. We had a tremendous respect and were at awe with them. With the Mary and the saints it is similar, but the Virgin Mary takes preeminence BECAUSE she was the Mother of Jesus, and Jesus is God.
Let me explain what is happening with them, because I was there 50 years ago. Per example, when they are kneeling in front of an image of Mary or a saint, they are not kneeling, as your eyes tell you, because of the image in and of itself. They go before Mary to pray for her intercession. Then they kneel because it is a pious practice that they have always done. And when they are praying the rosary they say: “Holy Mary, Mother of God (Jesus), pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death”.
If Mary was God, they would never ask her over and over again to PRAY for then now and the hour of death.
So when you see a Catholic or Orthodox kneeling before the Consecrated Bread Then you can be CERTAIN that they are worshiping Jesus, Almighty God, the Second Person of the Trinity. And the vast majority of the Mass is almost exclusively a continuous prayer to the Father. I hope that this will bring a bit of understanding. I have been in dialogue with Protestants for almost 29 years. The longest marathon was a 12 hour stretch in one day with an Assemblies of God minister some 14 years ago, so I understand the differences in the language, thought, and gestures.
Although both sides profess the Jesus Christ is the ONE Mediator before the Father for us, after that there are differences in language (saying the same or almost the same thing but differently), and the integration of the body and thought-process also is quite different.
I hope this helps some more.
We may erect statues of Mary in the same way that people hang pictures of beloved relatives, friends, or civic leaders, but this doesn’t mean that we are paying her more attention than we are to Jesus. In fact, the Mass is centered around the Eucharist in which Catholics believe Christ becomes physically present in our midst and we are united to Him. So perhaps one way to approach this is that the Catholics in your community have so many statues and paintings of Mary because we can only commemorate her, while we can actually become physically united to Christ in the Eucharist. You can rest assured that Catholic worship is centered around God and the saving mission of Christ and that Mary is venerated because of her role in fulfilling that saving mission, not as some separate entity.
Or at least–it’s supposed to be! If people mess it up, there’s nothing we can do about that. As long as the official church teachings are correct and everyone is doing their best to follow them!
I’ve been looking into Catholicism too & have been to the local Catholic Church quite often. There is a statue of Jesus & opposite a statue of Mary. The candle racks or whatever they are called are rarely used in front of the Jesus statue whereas the candle rack in front of the Mary statue is always filled with many burning candles. People can say they don’t elevate Mary above Jesus but sometimes their practices give a different impression.
I’ve always believed that if you don’t want people to come to the wrong conclusions then don’t do things that give them reason to.
I know exactly what you mean. That’s why I’ve been super careful throughout this series to talk just about official Catholic *belief* – not necessarily Catholic practice. Because people will always misunderstand and mess things up – Catholic or not. Yes, we should be careful to avoid giving the wrong impression always, but at the end of the day, we cannot control what other people think or do. As long as we do our best, sometimes I think we have to just leave it at that.
VERY good post. This is definitely a good way for people to sift through the common misconceptions around Catholicism, swiftly and concisely. Although I am not Catholic, I did go to Catholic school for more than 10 years growing up. I learned a lot of good things about the faith, but I also realized that practices differ somewhat depending on what part of the world you are in .. which further make the claims against Catholicism even more confusing.
This is really true for all faiths however. Of course, the goal is to unify people under a common belief, but this is very difficult (nearly impossible) when human error, emotions, and culture are involved. This is why I don’t easily write off an entire religion without talking to the individual holding these beliefs first and approach it case by case. Too often are minds shut down when trigger words or names are mentioned (e.g. “Catholicism” when you’re not Catholic). We are given wonderful minds by God, so we must use it to communicate with others but also discern what is beneficial for us.
Rachel
Thanks, Rachel 🙂 And that’s exactly my hope with this series. That minds wouldn’t just automatically shut down to the word Catholic, and that people would be inspired to actually know what they believe and why. I don’t care if people are Catholic or Protestant after reading this series–but I want people praying, reading the Word, and making an informed decision for themselves. Hopefully I can do that. Thanks for the encouragement 🙂
It looks like you are doing a lot of research on these issues. However, I am not sure that I understand the Bible one and that Martin Luther took books out of the Bible. The books in the Bible were chosen by the Council of Trent, and that’s what we use today. However, the books of the Bible were really chosen and accepted gradually over time. The Council of Trent was more like making those books “official”.
I’m trying to! lol. And yes, agreed that they were formed over time. This is something that I am still researching (I’m going as fast as I can! lol) and will discuss more in a further post 🙂 (Thinking Feb 18th)
I can help a bit here.
If you grab any honest biblical commentary, you will find that the New Testament (NT) quotes or references roughly 360 times the Old Testament (OT). Of these 360 quotations or references, 300 of them come or ONLY make sense out of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT done around 260 BC). This means that the early Christians were using the Septuagint 5 times, for every one the Hebrew originals.
Furthermore, it seems that the Jews who were persecuting Christianity and rejected Jesus (the Way) had issues with some of the books that Christians were using to defend Jesus as the Messiah. One very important fact to keep in mind is that there was NOT Bible in those days. The Samaritans had one, and the Pharisees another, the Sadducees another, the Essenes, etc.
After Pentecost the old Jewish system had been superseded by the New Covenant in Jesus’ Blood. The Church was the new authority. After the destruction of the temple (~70 AD) all sacrifices seized and the Jews over time created a Reformed Judaism and decided on a cannon (list of books). By this time, the high priest was no longer the ecclesiastical authority, but the Church. As the Christians were using the Septuagint, the practice continued with minor exceptions.
In the later half of the 4th century, the Church (Catholic bishops and the pope) were trying to sort out what could or could not be read in the Mass (Liturgy). With the exception of lone-voice St Jerome, all other bishops accepted the cannon of the Septuagint (similar to today’s Catholic cannon). The problem was the New Testament. There were a ton of letters being read in the Liturgy that were claimed to come from the apostles or those near the apostles. After a lot of debate and some politics, it became what we have today and was sealed by the pope around 400 AD.
The irony of this is that when Luther adopted the cannon of the OT from the European Jews (got rid of Maccabees because of Purgatory) in essence, he accepted the authority of those that rejected Jesus and were no longer no longer in authority, but were also persecuting the early Christians. The flip side is that he rejected what the early Christians had accepted; remember that the apostles quote/reference the Septuagint 5/6 of the times.
A great link is to see the Gutenberg Bible (the Catholic Vulgate, Latin) (University of Texas) and see the list of books that were contained in the Bible 70 years before Luther both translated and removed the seven he had issues with.
Here is a good link. Go to TURN THE PAGES and see the list of books in the VOLUMES.
The books of the Bible were chosen by councils long before Trent which only confirmed the Canon in response to what Luther was claiming.
Very interesting post, and I can tell that it is written in sincerity. I suggest reading Pagan Christianity. It is good to seek the truth and how to live as God wants us to. I don’t think the answers are necessarily found in any denomination, but in God alone. God bless! 🙂
I’m not looking for a specific denomination, just trying to sort through all the issues to figure out where the actual truth lies. It’s just easier sometimes to refer to Catholic and Protestant belief because that gives people a frame of reference instead of just saying whatever. I consider myself “Christian” without any specific denomination currently, and always have.
What is Pagan Christianity about?
It seems to be a very biased book. Go to the worst comments where it is sold to read the ‘not so glamorous’ facts about the contents. Seems to be a new reinvention of the same wheel.
Here is a link to it:
http://www.christianbook.com/pagan-christianity-exploring-roots-church-practices/frank-viola/9781414314853/product-reviews/314853?rpp=5&sort=overall_rating&event=PRREV&page=25
Angel, you are so right. However, in scripture Paul makes it clear that we are parts of one body. Which means that we rely on one another to continue to carry out Jesus’ mission. Although a personal relationship with Jesus is absolutely necessary, so is one with a faith community and one of charity to the world. Just as Jesus came to save me, he came to save you and the whole world; this has consequences for the way in which we practice our faith and worship. For the way in which we support one another, challenge one another and lift each other up.
PS. I love the respectful dialog it gives me hope that we may be united as One Body!
Me too!! I will not hesitate to delete mean, malicious or hateful comments if needed, but so far, there’s been no need!
I wish I could hug you! Growing Catholic in the Baptist belt, I have heard all of these myths and many, many more! THANK YOU for sharing your findings on the truth of my beloved Church. 🙂 Just made my weekend!
lol. I’d take a hug! You’re very welcome. And now, next time you meet people who simply don’t know, you’ll have a good article/series to show them for reference 🙂
Hello! I love this post. I don’t know if anyone has already shared this with you, but in regards to Myth #4, the Catholic Church and some Lutheran churches released a joint declaration several years ago that acknowledged that both churches teach fundamentally the same thing when it comes to the relationship between faith and works.
Keep up the good work!
I did NOT know that! Good to know! Thank you so much for sharing–and for the encouragement 🙂 I hope you’ll check back for the next post next week!
As a Catholic (www.equippingCatholicfamilies.com…our blogs are related!! =) I’m impressed with your diligence dispelling these myths as you try to reconcile the Faith you grew up with and the Faith you married into! Your article gives me hope and I look forward to your upcoming articles in the series!
Hi, Monica! I know your Facebook page–it comes up every time I try to tag my own page in a comment! lol. Nice to finally “meet” you! And thanks so much for sharing on your Facebook page. I really appreciate it! Hopefully you’ll love the upcoming articles just as much. (Things are going to get crazy–I can already tell! lol)