How Do Christians Differ From Catholics?

Most of the Western world is nominally Christian, but many areas are predominantly Catholic. Many outside of Christendom regard the distinction as negligible, though many Catholics and non-Catholic Christians bristle when the terms are conflated.

Christianity

Christians worship a deity they refer to as the "Christ." They believe that the god "Yahweh," the same god worshiped by the Jews and Muslims, took human form in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This man who was this Christ worked as a carpenter until starting his ministry at about age 30. His preaching emphasized not only the adoration and obedience to Yahweh, but also benevolent behavior to all other human beings. Christians hold certain views as absolute. Those not holding to these views are seldom regarded as Christian, by Christians or non-Christian experts on religion.

Central Tenets

Christians believe there is only one god, Yahweh, and that this god created everything in and including the universe. They also hold that this god took the form of a human being and that he was completely without sin. They regard all (other) humans as being intrinsically sinful as a result of the first humans' sin, which was inherited by all successive generations. As Jesus, Yahweh's avatar, at once wholly human and wholly divine, willingly offered himself as a sacrifice to atone for the original sin of all people of all generations. Because he was perfect and willing, his sacrifice allows inherently sinful people to commune with Yahweh in Heaven after they die.

Nature of God

Catholics are a subset of Christians holding to all of the above beliefs. However, Catholics hold specific beliefs that differ from other Christians'. Catholics believe in the Trinity. God exists in three persons in one god. God the Father, Yahweh or the being simply called "God" is one. When Yahweh took human form as Jesus of Nazareth, he represented "the Son." The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third aspect of God. Though most Christians recognize all these manifestations as being real and the same god, Catholics assert that they are also distinct personages. When Jesus (who is God) was baptized, he was honoring Yahweh (who is also God) and the Holy Ghost (who is God) descended upon him. The Catholic Catechism (the official statement of faith for the Roman Catholic Church) describes this as not being a contradiction but a "divine mystery."

Nature of Salvation

Catholics believe that to enter Heaven, they must be baptized and be free of mortal sin. Priests baptize infants by praying over them, sprinkling holy water on them and receiving a commitment from their families to raise them in the Church. Venial (minor) and mortal (gravely serious) sins accumulate a taint upon the soul of a Catholic and must be purged by repentance, prayer and confession to a priest, if available. If sin is not purged before death, purgation takes place in a spiritual realm called Purgatory. If a baby dies unbaptized, it goes to a similar realm called Limbo.

In contrast, most non-Catholic Christians deny the existence of Purgatory and Limbo and claim that baptism is something that must be willingly assented to. Therefore, only people who want to be baptized and understand it (on some level) can be baptized. "Once saved always saved" is the conviction that a Christian who earnestly believes and submits to Christ will go to Heaven after death, even if he "backslides" and sins before death. Calvinism's perspective is that God has predestined (decided beforehand) who will go to Heaven and that there is nothing mortals can do to alter this.

Transubstantiation

The Eucharist, or Holy Communion, represents a re-creation of the Last Supper. In this meal, just before Jesus was arrested and subsequently executed, He broke bread and told His disciples, "This is my body" and gave them wine: "This is my blood". He explained that his death would pay the price for their sins and the sins of all humanity. The (original) Last Supper is symbolic of the Crucifixion, and thus the Eucharist is symbolic of both the Crucifixion and the Last Supper. While most Christians find this symbolism deeply sacred, Catholics regard the bread and wine of the Communion as being the literal body and blood of Christ.Transubstantiation" is the doctrine that the host (bread) and sacramental wine are not merely symbolic, but literally the flesh and blood of God.

Clergy

Most Christian sects require at least some formal education of their clerics, in a seminary or Bible college. A few sects allow anyone who is motivated and/or charismatic to become a minister, though even then knowledge of scripture helps.

The Catholic Church is far more hierarchical than other Christian denominations. Men who decide to dedicate themselves to study, service, education or even intercessory prayer may become monks or priests. Females become nuns. They all usually take three oaths before becoming completely accepted into their monastic order: for obedience to the order and its leadership; for celibacy, abstaining not only from marriage but also from intimacy outside of wedlock; and for poverty. Though all their physical needs are provided by the Church and they receive small stipends for minor purchases, monks and nuns eschew all substantive material wealth. Priests, and priests who have been promoted to higher ranks in the Church--bishops, archbishops, cardinals and even the pope (the cardinal of Rome, the highest-ranking official in the church)--take similar oaths. But, within this structure there is great support for educating the clergy, and ordained Catholics are generally extremely well educated.

References

• Catholic Encyclopedia
• Religion Facts: Comparison Chart--Catholic and Protestant Beliefs