Bible Question:
I have some family members on my wifes side that are Catholic. I am trying to witness to them because I do not beleive that they are truley saved. They think they are because of the good people they are. They consider themselfs Catholic for know other reason than they had gone to a Catholic church growing up. They can not tell me really what they beleive and why. They tend to look down at me for asking them about salvation and their beliefs. Any advice on what I can say without getting into an argument? My questions are... 1. Please tell me the basic differences between Catholic and Baptist. 2. Differences of the Catholic Bible. I use the NASB, and I read that the Bible is Inspired by God through men, and that no one should add, subtract or alter it. The Catholic bible clearly has different books. What are they and do they beleive that they are Inspired by God just as my Bible? |
Bible Answer: Richard1, I happen to be a member of a conservative Southern Baptist congregation and would offer the "Baptist Faith and Message" as being representative of the Baptist viewpoints on vital scriptural issues. Of course, it should be a knowledgeable Roman Catholic who expounds on the tenets of that faith. The crucial question, however, is not what Baptists believe or Catholics believe, but what the Scriptures teach. We get nowhere, really, in comparing one faith with another and disputing our differences back and forth. Growth and progress come only when we test what we believe against what the word of God teaches AND BE WILLING TO CONFORM OUR MIND-SET TO THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD wherever necessary. When we find ourselves unprepared and ill-equipped to present an effective apology for our faith, it is time to go back to the drawing board and re-examine our faith in the light of Scripture so that we shall always be ready to make a defense for the hope that is in us, yet with gentleness and reverence. (See 1 Peter 3:15). --Hank |