How is Calvinism different from Roman Catholic?

Answer 1

The tenants of Calvinism fall into the Five Points of Calivinism. They are:

Total Depravity: This is the idea that after the first sin (in the Garden of Eden), mankind has been born inherently evil and self serving, and that it is not in our nature to want to serve God's will. Because of this, people are unable to CHOOSE to follow God because their very nature prevents it. Catholics believe that all men are born inherently good, but with the taint of Original Sin (which is cleansed at Baptism). The church teaches that it is in our nature to want to follow God and that Sin is a temptation that must be averted, not an absolute.

Unconditional Election: This is the idea that from time immemorial, God himself has predetermined who will be saved and who will not, regardless of faith, morals or any personal merit or value in the individual. This is the one that got Calvin excommunicated. Christ himself made it clear that Gods accepts all of us if only we seek him out.

Limited Atonement: Connected to the idea of unconditional election, limited atonement says that Christ's death and atonement for Original Sin was limited only to those people whom God selected, and not for all mankind. This also contradicts the Gospel, in which Christ says that he will be the sacrifice for all men and their salvation.

Irresistible Grace: Also connected to the above, this doctrine states that God's call cannot be ignored by those he's chosen, regardless of their will or intent. Even wicked and deplorable people will work God's will in the end, if they are chosen by him to do so. The Catholic church teaches that mankind is made in God's image in the concept of Free Will, which was sealed by the eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. While God knows the path, he doesn't select it for us, we choose ourselves.

Perseverance of the Saints: This is the idea that God's will cannot be upset by the will of men, and that people who are chosen will do the work of God, and if they fall away from the faith, they were either not truly chosen, or will return in time. This is the genesis of the idea of "once saved, always saved". The Catholic church believes that our works and deeds define our faith, not our words. So if a person falls from the faith, then they have lost faith. If they come back, then it is reclaimed. Nothing more, nothing less.

Calvinism is the basis of the Baptist Church, particularly the Southern Baptists. John Calvin himself was excommunicated from the Catholic Church as a heretic.

Answer 2

Lutheranism and Calvinism are both heresies based on individuals by that name who lived in the sixteenth century and disagreed with Christianity as it had been established by Jesus Christ in His Church over fifteen centuries earlier. Thus Catholicism was established by Our Blessed Lord on the apostle, Peter, and his successors, who have resided in Rome near the tomb of St. Peter since the founding of the Church in Rome in the first century. Catholicism has kept the faith whole and untarnished as guaranteed by Our Blessed Lord, Himself, with the Holy Spirit guiding it. The Lutheran and Calvinist heresies were established by (respectively) Martin Luther, and John Calvin on their personal thoughts about what should constitute Christianity in contradistinction to the faith handed down from the Apostles in the Catholic Church.

Answer 3

Roman Catholic AnswerCatholicism was founded by God through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and is guided by the Holy Spirit. Lutheranism and Calvinism were founded by men fifteen centuries later on Luther and Calvin's beliefs (respectively) with no guarantees from the Almighty.

Answer 4

Catholicism and Judaism were both founded by God directly, and guaranteed by Him. All of the rest were founded by individuals with no guarantees from the Almighty.