Just Because I Want to Digitize This Note

I wrote this family tree on my sticky note and I wanted to digitize it on my blog. The sticky note is currently in my Lenten Meditations booklet and I will doodle it into my journal Bible when it's delivered to me.

Adam > Seth > Enosh > Noah > Abraham > Isaac > Jacob > Moses > David > Jesus > Everyone through belief

We Need to Talk About This Meme

There's a meme that's been making it's way around some of my Facebook friends, and it goes a little something like this...

Now, I'm not going to sit here and say how offended I am by it. But I will sit here and describe in lengthy detail why I disagree with its subliminal anti-Catholic message.

Why do I say this meme is anti-Catholic? Because most of the things listed in this meme are specifically of Catholic origin. Specifically - Mary, Baptism, and the Pope.

This meme is obviously directed at sects of Christianity who consider themselves Saved because they accepted Jesus into their heart in a conscious decision, like a Born-Again Christian. That's cool and all, I won't degrade another's belief to push my own agenda, but I have a problem with the way it steps on Catholic beliefs to get its message across. (Disclaimer: I only speak from the Catholic perspective. I do not know the details of the beliefs of other Christian sects.)

And finally, let's take a look at the only Bible verse included in the meme. From the NASB translation found on my SheReadsTruth app, John 3:16 states "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

With that in mind, let's take a look at the Catholic perspective of everything on that wall.

Priest - These are the teachers, leaders, and sacrament providers of a church congregation. Catholics do not look to priests to save them, but merely guide their soul toward God. In this scenario, Jesus still does the saving.

Mary - I have been called a "Mary-worshiper." So let me just say - no, we do not worship Mary. We venerate her for making the decision to say Yes to God and bear His son. We revere her as one would revere their own mother. We respect her as one would respect a friend's mother. And we pray to her with the faith that she will be a messenger on our behalf. Even in The Hail Mary prayer, we ask that she "pray for us now, and in the hour of our death." We do not ask that she save us herself - we ask that she pray for us. In this scenario, Jesus still does the saving.

Baptism - Baptism is not only within Catholic doctrine. It spans other sects, as well - because sprinkling or immersing ourselves or our children in water is a way to reenact the one part of the Bible that is completely! dedicated! to! Baptism! Baptism in the Catholic sense is meant as an act that wipes the slate clean, as literally washing away our sins in an act of repenting. This alone does not save; rather, it acts as a type of cleansing to do in this physical realm before we meet with God. In this scenario, Jesus still does the saving.

Good works - Catholics don't believe that good works alone save - they are just things Christians do to act in a Christian way to spread God's love. Acting in a way Jesus would is one way to express our faith. In this scenario, Jesus still does the saving.

Church - The church is literally just a community of like-minded individuals regarding religion. We do not ask ourselves to save each other. In this scenario, Jesus still does the saving.

The Pope - The Pope is the head of the church in the metaphoric way of Peter, who was the rock of the church. Catholics do not look to him to save us - and no, we don't worship him, either. In this scenario, Jesus still does the saving.

Catholics believe that believing in Jesus is what saves. We believe that we are simultaneously saved and being saved, with the hope that we will be saved. [X]

tldr; It seems Christians spend more time in a my-love-for-Jesus-is-bigger contest than actually helping others, and this meme perpetuates the antagonistic attitude toward Catholics.

Why I Use the Term "Catholic-Christian"

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.