I am a Catholic, and I am a Christian. An overwhelming amount of articles and op-eds are revealed in a Google search that say things like "Catholics aren't Christians" and "Catholicism is a fake religion."
Um. No.
Christianity is an umbrella term for any sect of Jesus-believing religion. Under the term 'Christianity,' there are the Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, and Restorationists, to name the major categories. Guess what's included? Catholicism.
I have been made fun of in the past for my religion. I have been told that I'm a "Mary-worshiper" and that "I'm going to hell" for my beliefs.
And I'm not going to justify my Catholicism. I am Catholic, and as such, I am a Christian.
I'll put it another way; the three main monotheistic religions are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. And guess which one Catholicism is a part of? Christianity. Since my religion is a part of Christianity, I am a Christian.
People need to get off their high horses. The Bible literally says to seek Jesus, not the Bible: "'You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me...'" (John 5:39). Those who seek and believe in Jesus are Christians. The Catholic, the Lutheran, the Presbyterian, the Baptist. All Christian.
But you know what's not a Christian thing to do? Defining someone else's religion based on your own prejudices. I don't think that's what Jesus would do.
This is why I don't mind reading translations of the Bible that aren't strictly Catholic. I'm currently reading the NAB, the NASB, the NKJV, and the Simplified Living Bible Text (a children's paraphrased Bible that my late father gave me when I was a kid). And I have pre-ordered a Bible that is the New Living Translation. That, to me, is a comfortable mix of Catholic and non-Catholic canon.
Don't mind me, I'll just be making the sign of the cross with my rosary and statues and pretty stained glass windows.
No comments:
Post a Comment