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Why is there so much disdain from other Christian's towards Catholics? I truly don't know what the reason/s are. They were even one of the 3 K's in KKK.

Thanks

No disdain here, have not seen that much of late.

Guess I haven't seen much of it?

A few jokes here and there, but that's all I have noticed.

In fairness, I don't look for it either.

Rebellion against authority.Started a long time ago.

A lot of us think Christianity is a "do it yourself" kind of deal.

RC's have a little more complicated idea than that.

I'm surprised that RC is the brand that appeals most [or repels least] to you.

But good luck with whichever you choose.It ain't like there's a LOSER on the whole christian menu.

It's not.

I think it dates back to the protestant reformation. Just a guess really. That break off carried over negative sentiments into the various other Christian religions.

Part of that, is the disagreement that the Pope can speak infallibly on matters of spirituality. Catholics believe it's the Holy Spirit speaking through him, non-Catholics see it as a man making up rules as he goes and getting further away from actual Scripture.

I'm Catholic, and I can understand their arguement. But, it's a faith thing. And I really don't think many Catholics and non-Catholics actually understand where the rift started and where it's at today.

On a personal level, I've not once had a non-Catholic Christian treat me poorly based soley on religious beliefs. We've disagreed on stuff, for sure, but never been the subject of outright disdain or hatred.

How strong we'd be if we could stand together in a basic Christian belief! It'd be nice, and some progress has been made for sure. But I don't see all Christian religions truely uniting. Too many strongly held differences of faith. Even between the different Catholic orthodox faiths, let alone all the different Protestant faiths.

That's just my best guess. Don't know if any one person really knows exactly how or why. Sad really. Not what I think Jesus intended.

it started back a few hundred yrs ago when the church would burn you at the stake for being a heretic.

I guess I've never seen it Scott. I was raised Baptist and my best friends were Catholic. Most still are.

I friend gave me the same reason, which I find rather funny indeed.

IMHO there should be no churches. I"m a Christian, and I believe in what the Bible says.

When you get churches involved it can get a bit confusing and even greedy and misinterpretation. Thats even on a chuch by church situation in the same denomination...

Then you break down further like the Lutheran church that I happen to belong to. MS/used to be also ALC and LCA, now combined basically, but some wanting back out over trivial(again IMHO) things

Luther pointed out his own "IMHO" faults of the Catholic church and I agree with him and to this day the Lutheran church fits my thoughts of belief the best.

Jeff

As a kid I attended a Catholic light church also.

Good question Steelhead but the answer is anything but easy.

As others have intimated the Catholic church historically was at odds with the protestants. And a lot of the things that protestants grew to think of as 'rights'. Things have changed so much in that area that some of the Papal bulls (available online easy enuf with google as your friend) are shocking in their attacks on things such as freedom of religion, speech, etc. I remember reading the one that attacked the Freemasons thinking "Damn, these guys are attacking the very foundations of how America was founded!" It wasn't just an attack on an organization they considered evil, but one that attacked the attitudes and philosophies of it that almost everyone today agrees with.

This was all AFTER America had become a nation. As I said, it was a long time ago and things have changed so much that many of the old animosities are outdated. And probably best forgotten TBH.

Will

That's a good question with a much longer set of answers than we could cover in 100 pgs here, and curdog mentioned one good one having to do w/ authority.

Now keep in mind when I answer that I am a Protestant (part of those who protested and sought to reform the Roman Catholic Church several hundred yrs ago) and in a certain sense militantly so. Having said that, my opposition is to certain formal doctrines held by the Roman establishment and NOT against individual Roman Catholics, many of whom I have found to be vastly more pious and Christ-like than myself.

My chief protest against the Roman Church is that of the Reformers; salvation is by grace ALONE through faith ALONE on account of the work of Christ ALONE. Councils of the Roman Church did not uphold that doctrine (though I recognize that many individuals in the Church do). The Roman establishment around the time of the Reformation held that those "ALONES" (the "Solas") were to be excluded. Even today, much of the attempts at reunification (Evangelicals & Catholics Together, for example) center around a surrender of the ALONES by Protestants who have presumably forgotten what we were protesting and, in all fairness from my point of view, ought to just rejoin with the Roman Church.

My basis for difference, unlike many American Protestants, is NOT over worship forms. That is to say that I personally hold in extraordinary high regard the place of the Church in the life of the Christian; Christ gave to her the keys to His Kingdom, and He blessed her with oversight of His sacraments, which are also central to the life of the believer. These are things that make me very comfortable with the external ways in which Roman Catholic brothers & sisters conduct worship, at least in the more traditional services. Many protestants today have taken what I call a cowboy-esque approach to worship that centers upon the individual and places him/her, in practice if not in theory, above the collective group. Worship then becomes a group of people trying to individually connect w/ God in their own way, which according to my reading of the OT is a bit off base. In my opinion this tendency has a lot to do with our individualistic culture in America where authority and form is shunned out of hand rather than critically assessed according to God's word, which says that there are forms and observances that were given to the Church for the edification of individuals in the Church.

At any rate, there are a lot more reasons than that and I've used a lot of "insider lingo" in answering the question. I am admittedly ignorant on the point re: the KKK. Perhaps a southern brother can address that.

Just to reiterate... my comments above are not meant to insinuate that I believe people within traditions with whom I differ aren't Christians. I have many friends who come from all across the Christian spectrum (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Old School Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, Wave Your Hands Around Protestant, etc etc etc) and have no doubt there are a great many salt of the earth individuals in those traditions.

I should add two more things.

1. I think a lot of Christians don't care for the claim that we can trace our Popes' lineage back to the Apostle Peter. Not a bllod line, but more of a direct line of a passdown of knowledge and spirituality. Do a little research on that and you'll quickly see that it ruffles a few feathers.

2. There is a huge disdain for some connections of previous Popes and world governments. Along with that came some fairly obvious corruption in the past. Add to that the blatent recent cover ups with sexual abuse by Priests, and it's kinda easy to see how some can view the whole Church as evil. I myself almost left the Church over that. It was difficult for me to say the least. It was shocking to learn it was happening, and even worse to find out it was being covered up at some pretty high levels. Impossible to defend.

While you can have these corruptions in ANY faith, the Catholic Church is so big and old, that it was truely shocking and disheartening for anyone, Catholic or not, to find out about it.

On a side note, I've personally found that although Baptists and Catholics differ so widely, they (for me) seemed to be the least likely to judge me. Some of my best friends are Baptists and we easily find common ground even while discussing our differences.

I love that quote from Luther that suggested that when he sought the downfall of the Pope he didn't realize that it'd just make EVERYONE a Pope... man if he only could have seen what was to come in the American Church...

There will only be 1 Church One day... Christ Himself IS the Church... and we'll all (Popes, Reformers, TV Evangelists, etc) get schooled on what is proper theology. Until then we trudge along on the road to Zion fueled by His appointed means... the word, sacraments, and prayer.

Seems like you posted something to that effect a while back regarding finding a church for you and your Intended to attend.

I might have mis-remembered.

In the south the three K's in the KKK was often heard as 'Kikes, Koons and K(C)atholics'

That is a good point, but I think we need to be honest on that one... our own Original Sin is a point within our own belief system. That doesn't excuse our screw-ups, but it certainly accounts for it... particularly when you consider that Christ "died while we were yet sinners."

Every people group in the history of the world has destroyed and murdered regardless of their belief systems, yet the Christian system is the only one that definatively answers that cognative dissonance through a physical appearance of God Himself in human history acting completely and utterly independently of our own reponse.

Praise God for that...

Scott;
I trust this finds you folks doing well on this St. Patrick's Day. I'm enjoying following your house painting and furniture threads by the way - it's great to see.

Although I'm able to only offer an opinion on your question Scott, I'll say that I've been frustrated by similar issues within the church in general for much of my life.

The short answer to my way of thinking Scott is that many of us who call ourselves Christians are more than a wee bit "unclear on the concept" of what it should or better said can mean in our lives. As humans so often seem to be inclined, many of us find it difficult not to want to feel superior to others around us, including those who share our beliefs.

That said, it must be understood that just because I've chosen to be a servant of Christ doesn't mean that my very human tendencies vanish immediately - though I'm painfully aware there are many I need to work at twitching out.

For me Scott, it was only when the concept of my responsibility for my own conduct and actions eventually penetrated my thick skull that I was able to start to act more charitably towards my fellow humans - Christians included.

Hopefully that was some use to you or to someone on this snowy March morning Scott.

All the best to you folks in the new life you're starting.

Dwayne

Yes but it doesn't mean it's the one that appeals the most. What it means is that given the churches that are available in the area I'll be living that it appears to be the best available option.