What do Catholics believe?
Here's the answer:
A long time ago, Christians split into two groups—Catholics and Protestants. At GQKidz, we are Protestants. Catholics have several beliefs that are very different from ours.
Catholics believe differently about the Bible. We believe God’s Holy Spirit enables each believer to understand the message of the Bible. Catholics believe that the Catholic Church and the Pope are the final authority on what the Bible says. We believe the Bible is our only source of truth from God and that no human can know all the thoughts of God. But Catholics believe their traditions and doctrines are just as important as the Bible. For this reason, Catholics believe in purgatory, praying to saints, and treating Jesus’s mother, Mary, as more important than other humans. As Protestants, we reject these teachings because they are not what God teaches through the Bible.
Catholics believe differently about salvation. We see our good works as simply the result of our salvation (faith in Jesus); the good things we do cannot save us. We believe good works happen as God sanctifies us (makes us more holy) after we are saved. Catholics do not see salvation and sanctification as separate processes. They believe faith in Jesus is the beginning of salvation, but that God requires us to do good works to get and keep our salvation. But the Bible clearly says our works cannot save us—only Jesus can!
Catholics believe differently about death. We believe that when Christians die they will go to heaven to be with Jesus. But Catholics believe in a place called purgatory. They think people will go there to finish paying the debt they owe for their sins. But the Bible says Jesus paid the debt for our sins once and for all when He died on the cross; nothing we do on our own can pay for our sins.
Bible Truth
"God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is for training us to do what is right" (2 Timothy 3:16).
"When a person works, their pay is not considered a gift. It is owed to them. But things are different with God. He makes ungodly people right with himself. If people trust in Him, their faith is accepted even though they do not work. Their faith makes them right with God" (Romans 4:4-5).
