Do protestants and Catholics fight

Answer 1

It's a complex question, though, because it has a very, very long history.

I'm going to take this question on from a historical perspective, drawing from what I've read by prominent historians, theologians, and the actual texts from the Reformation era themselves. This is by no means the definitive answer to this question, though I assure you it will be more informative than talking about Jesus and rockets.... (And I'm 100% certain that Protestants still believe that Mary was virgin mother of Jesus.)

Ideally, Catholic and Protestant sects of Christianity shouldn't really "hate" each other, but there's been a long history of "bad blood" between them--of course, I say that with strong, punning irony, because one of the largest disagreements between Catholic and Protestant doctrine concerns transubstantiation (the believe that, in the Eucharist, the bread and wine offered truly become the blood and body of Christ, not simply a symbol.)

"Catholic" literally translates to mean "universal," so when it was applied during Martin Luther's time 15th century Europe, it meant that there was one universal, undivided Christian religion under which the Pope ruled at the Vatican. Martin Luther, who would later become the leader of the Protestant movement, "protested" against quite a few doctrines and practices of the Catholic church, like the selling of indulgences and pardons, denying priests the rights to marry, transubstantiation, etc. In the beginning, Martin Luther claimed that he wanted to reform the Catholic church, not break away from it. But he focused primarily on the ways in which some Catholic doctrine was not supported by scripture, but rather created by men. That is why Lutherans, and many other Protestant sects of Christianity, still echo Luther's central cant, sola fide sola scriptura. Translating to mean "Faith Alone, Scripture Alone," Luther believed that it was only through following the scripture of the Bible and faith in "the Word," and no other outside doctrine, that one could truly lead a Christian life.

The Catholic church, who received much financial support from the selling of indulgences and employing pardoners and begging friars, etc., sought to quell the uprising that would soon be labeled "Protestant." Luther pointed out--and convincingly so--the greed and corruption of the Catholic church at the time, nailing Ninety-Five Theses to the wall to "call them out on it," as it were.

Eventually, the notion of "Catholic" as universal subsided, and Christianity began to break into sects, or denominations, like we have today. Transubstantiation still remains, to my knowledge, at least, one of the major areas of debate amongst practicing Christians of all denominations. Even some Lutheran sects, as I have observed, believe that the Eucharist literally transforms the bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Christ. Others, however, follow more closely to Luther's texts, which claim that the bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Christ. Many jokes--often derogatory--are aimed at sects of Christians who practice transubstantiation, the most common punch line being that they are "cannibals" who "eat the body of their savor and drink his blood." Myq Kaplan, a Last Comic Standing, for example, uses this joke quite frequently.

Also, a major difference that has been part of the historical conflict between the two sects concerns the issues of saints, confession and repentance. In Catholic tradition, one may pray to the saints to speak on their behalf to God, or one may visit a Priest. It is through these mediums that one speaks to God. In several protestant denominations, this practice is dismissed and, in some more severe sects, even considered idolatrous. Many protestant sects also do not practice confession with Priests, but instead instructed to confess directly to God. I'm not certain if sainthood and confession are still as staunchly practiced in contemporary Catholic churches today or not, but Foucault has some interesting reflections on Confession and the Inquisition in The History of Sexuality.

There's so much more to this answer, and there's a long history in the English-speaking world of feuds between Catholics and Protestants both within the same country and across nations. Lots of blood shed and social injustices on both sides. The English, for example, have a long history of tension between protestant faith and the Catholic church. After Henry VIII split from the Catholic church and created the Church of England (Anglicanism), despite his earlier support of the Catholic church and critiques of Luther, there followed many gruesome conflicts between Anglicans and Catholics within England itself, but also among their neighbors in Scotland and Ireland. Again, so much history here, and much of it violent and done for political gain. There are some great books out on the subject, but I also highly suggest picking up text from the Reformation time period--especially Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and its critical responses from the Vatican. I believe there are even detailed transcripts of Luther's trial available!

Answer 2

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Catholic AnswerI was raised as a protestant, I live in the United States, and I was born in the early 1950's, so I lived in a protestant culture, in a protestant atmosphere and went to secular schools were we had to memorize verses and psalms from the King James Version of The Bible (i.e. the "protestant" Bible). Protestants, at least the many that I know, do not hate Catholics personally, they do, however, hate and fear WHAT THEY THINK IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. I have heard these things all my life, and I can honestly say that, 1) they really have no idea what Catholicism really is, and 2) they do not "hate" individual Catholics that they know.

Protestant Answer

Some do- as some Catholics hate Protestants. In my case, I was raised as a Baptist, but while serving in the Army was as likely to attend Mass as Protestant services. A few years ago, a new Catholic church congregation was forming in our area, and did not have a church building. We shared our building with them for 2 years. Mass at 9, Protestant services at 10. Now and again their priest comes in to our church as a guest minister, and our minister goes over there. These are our neighbors and co-workers- why would we hate them?

Answer 3

they disagree with the ways of teaching about God. Catholic follows the pope while the people that protest follow the bible.

Answer from a CatholicPersonally, I was raised in a protestant family, and have a lot of friends and neighbors who are protestant, and I mostly feel great sadness that they are without the sacraments and grace that God offers. I offer prayers every day for them as I realize how incredibly difficult it must be to be saved without the help offered by God through His Church. I respect them for living up to their beliefs that they were taught, but pray to God that I can show them the truth. I agree with the above answer in that Catholics follow the Pope whom Our Blessed Lord appointed His Vicar on earth, but disagree that protestants follow the Bible, as the Catholic Church wrote, approved, and preserved the New Testament for fifteen centuries when the protestant protesters came along and threw out the books that they did not agree with.

Answer 4

We don't hate them we just believe that what they preach is distorted Christianity, not the same message that we teach. Answer Not sure which is the most misleading the question or the acceptance of it in the answer above which if it came from a Christian is astonishing. Catholics are Christians which is a generic name for all monotheistic faiths based on the belief and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The earliest use of the term outside the Bible was by the Romans in AD64. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Christian as "one who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or lives the lifestyle based on the life and teachings of Jesus; one who lives according to the teachings of Jesus." The basic beliefs of all Christians are generally regarded as:- # That Jesus Christ was the Son of God # That Jesus gave his life on the Cross and was raised from the dead. # That Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament # That Jesus sent his son to earth to save it from it's sins. One classification of Christianity divides it up into * Catholic * Protestant (Anglican, Evangelical, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Presbyterian etc) * Eastern (Orthodox) * Non Trinitarian (Jehovah's Witness, Later Day Saint etc) . FYI Judaism does not accept that Jesus is Christ and Islam accepts him as a prophet.

Answer 5

Although the struggles in Ireland have been occurring for hundreds of years, I believe you are referring to a period of time known as "The Troubles" which initially occurred in Northern Ireland beginning in the 1960's and generally ending with The Belfast Agreement in 1998. (Occasional violence sometimes still occurs). The direct answer to your question is yes, Catholics have killed Protestants, and Protestants have killed Catholics. I believe you will find that there is no mainstream religion that doesn't contain some people who have killed others. Elaborating on this topic can be very controversial, so stating things simply, Northern Ireland is 'occupied' by Great Britain which consists of England, Scotland and Wales. Many of the Irish, especially Irish Catholics, hold the idea that Ireland belongs to the Irish and Britain should withdraw permanently from Northern Ireland. They have also claimed severe duress and abuse at the hands of police forces apparently comprised mostly of Protestant Irish or English who are loyal to the British crown, mostly of the now defunct police force known as the 'Black and Tans', so named for the color of their uniforms. The conflict also gave rise to a paramilitary group known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), that carried out attacks aimed at the perceived proponents of British rule. The violence that has occurred in these conflicts on both sides is legendary, hotly debated and controversial. For more information about "The Troubles", I suggest starting with the Wikipedia link below. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

Answer 6

In short, Catholics know that we have the fullness of faith and our protestant brothers have but some of the faith.

This is evidenced by the 33,000 plus denominations of Protestants who rely Only on the Bible, claiming to be the "real" church that reads and properly interprets God's Holy Word and have a million different answers and interpretations of what this or that verse means...which is correct?

The Catholic Church has the answer that is correct and in line with what Christ taught; and which has been carried down to us through Tradition and clarified through The Magisterium.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, following historic Christian theology since the time of the early Church Fathers, refers to the Catholic Church as "the universal sacrament of salvation" (CCC 774-776), and states: "The Church in this world is the sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men" (CCC 780).

Read the paragraphs on the Church in the Catechism of the Catholic Church at the link below:

Answer 7

To the best of my knowledge, protestants and Catholics, as a rule, do not fight - as protestants and Catholics, although there have been individual exceptions. Normally, as in Northern Ireland, a fight that has been labeled "protestant vs. Catholic", as in the case of Northern Ireland, is actually between hereditary Irish and hereditary British who are fighting over their land. The native Irish all happen (for the most part) to be Catholic, and the descendants of the British all happen to be protestant (for the most part).