２０２５年６月１日～約１年間かけ、キリスト教入門・神学コースで学んでいきたいと思います。只毎回集いたいのに集えない学びたいけど１年間を通すとなれば～？？？と思う方朗報です！この度HPから見る・学ぶことが可能になりました。数年後あ！こんな話してたよねって振り返えり誰かの力になることもあると思います。

36.   Catholicism vs. Protestantism

36.   Catholicism vs. Protestantism

1.  Brief History of the Catholic Church        A.D. 300s – Present

A.D. 313 – Edict of Milan      Issued by Emperor Constantine

•      Legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire

•      Previous to this, Christians had been persecuted but now with public approval of the church                   many non-Christians joined the church to gain political power

•      Marked the beginning of idolatry and heathenism infiltrating Christianity. (If you go to a Catholic cathedral you will notice lots of gold, statues and strange symbols. These were some of the things added by non-Christian idol worshipers)

A.D. 431 – Council of Ephesus   Affirmed Mary as “Theotokos” (Mother of God)

•      Mary is now considered Co-redemptrix with Christ

A.D. 590–604 – Pope Gregory I  Expanded influence of the Roman bishop/pope

A.D. 1517 – Protestant Reformation Begins

•      Martin Luther posts 95 Theses

•      Opposed indulgences (money paid = forgiven sin) and church authority abuses

A.D. 1545–1563 – Council of Trent        Catholic Counter-Reformation

Reaffirmed: Authority of tradition,  Seven sacraments, Justification involving faith and works,

            Transubstantiation

A.D. 1870 – First Vatican Council

•      Declared Papal Infallibility (when speaking ex cathedra)

A.D. 1962–1965 – Second Vatican Council (Vatican II)

•      Allowed worship in local languages (not only Latin)

•      Increased lay participation

2. Current Global Membership         Approximately 1.4 billion members worldwide

Roughly 17–18% of the total global population and half of the world's Christians are Catholic.

Very strong in South America, Mexico, Philippines etc.

3. Catholic Worship (The Mass)

1.           Larger churches may have early morning mass everyday.

2.           Formal and liturgical

3.           Repeated prayers and responses

4.           Many times Mass is performed entirely in Latin.

5.           Eucharist (central focus)

•      Transubstantiation  (The bread and wine are believed to become the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ)

•      The “substance” changes, while the “appearance” remains the same

•      The Mass is viewed as a real (though unbloody) sacrifice

•      Christ is believed to be physically present in the elements

•      The believers walk to the front and the priest places the wafer in each person's mouth.

4. The Pope

•      Believed to be in direct succession from the Apostle Peter.

•      Life-long appointment

•      Appointed by group of archbishops called cardinals.

•      Believed to be infallible when speaking “ex cathedra”

５．　The Catholic Priest (compared to the Protestant minister)

6.  Major Catholic Beliefs that Protestants protested as not being biblical

      Purgatory

•      A temporary state after death for believers who are not fully purified. These souls must be cleansed before entering heaven.

•      Protestants believe Christians go immediately to be with Christ.

      Prayers for the dead. Prayers made for the salvation of the dead.

      Indulgences (money paid to get dead relatives out of purgatory)

      Veneration of Mary – Mary is prayed to and thought to be Co-redememer with Jesus.

      Prayer to saints for intercession – Prayer to saints such as St. Peter, St. Paul etc.

7. Key Differences (Protestant vs Catholic)