Religious Studies
What model of church do you connect with most personally? Why?
The model of church I personally connect with most is catholic. This is because it is the only church I was brought up under and have lived to know. I have been molded by my parents to form a mentality that the Catholic Church is superior of all the churches. Equally, when a person is brought up knowing a particular denomination, the person realizes all reasons for the appreciation of that church.
What is similar and different about the Church as understood by Protestants versus Catholics?
The church as seen by the Catholics and the Protestants there is a difference in emphasis, as the Protestants are more individualistic as compared to the Catholics. The protestants believe that an individual first get saved before joining the saved group, while the Catholics believe that salvation is to be put in the ark. “Most of the fathers have used Noah’s symbolic ark to represent the congregations as the creatures in the ark are pertinent”. (Albl 335)
The adequacy and power of Scripture attributes to the difference between the Catholics and the Protestants on the view of the church. Protestants believe that the Bible only is the sole resource of God’s revelation to man, and teaches us all which is necessary for deliverance from sin (Albl 368). Protestants observe the Bible as the customary by which every Christian actions must be considered a belief referred to as “Sola Scriptura” (Alone) and there are many biblical verses in support of this: one is 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is enthused by God and useful for teaching, for reprimand, for rectification, for training in virtue that the man of divinity may be adequate, set for excellent work.” whilst Catholics reject the doctrine of “Sola Scriptura” and do not believe that the Bible unaided is sufficient (Albl 353). They deem that the Bible plus sanctified Roman Catholic practice are equally obligatory in Christian.
Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, have basis on Scripture, but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. In effect the Roman Catholic Church’s refutation of “Sola Scriptura.” Most of the catholic doctrines are equally given attention as bible (Imperato 79).
The similarity between the Catholics is accredited to by the fact that they base their beliefs in the scriptures (Imperato 132). According to Pope John XXIII, “The church is our mother and teacher but it is our mother before it becomes our teacher”. This is because we are spiritually born and confirmed by the baptism (According to Imperato’s R no.7). This notion brings about the concurrence between the Catholics and the Protestants because all these are found in the scriptures in which both the Catholics and the Protestants believe in. In catholic and the Protestantism, God is considered a Trinity and the highest respect is granted to him. The churches consider the human soul to be immortal. Their teachings also emphasize that the wicked are entitled to hell and the righteous will enjoy the everlasting life in heaven (Albl 341).
4. If non-Christians can be saved, what might be the mission of Christian missionaries?
If non-Christians can be saved the work of the missionaries can not change much but only the focus may shift. Instead of spending much wherewithal on the conversion of people, they will resort to mobilization and training of more people in different categories as catechists or priests. The increase in the number of preachers will cater for the increase in the need to spread the word of God (Albl 356). The missionaries can also lobby for more funds for the construction of more churches to accommodate the increased number of the congregations
Works cited
Albl M, Reason, Faith and Tradition: Explorations in Catholic Theology. New York: Saint Mary’s, 2009
Imperato. Christian Footings: Creation, World Religions, Personalisms, Revelation, and Jesus New York: University Press of America 2009
