【問答】十四:基督教和天主教有何區別?

ItalyMilanoRCChurchES20062010 (41) (180 x 135)人家時常問我:“基督教和天主教有何區別?”此問題非常複雜,所以以下所說的只是問題的一小部分。

回答此問題,必須按照神的標準,不要用我的標準、別人的標準或天主教的標準測驗天主教。只能用神的標準衡量天主教。

回答此問題,我不懷疑也不批評天主教徒的誠懇和誠實。

權威:天主教的權威是住在梵蒂岡的教皇並且天主教的“傳統”。(梵蒂岡或教廷就是羅馬教天主的教皇的所在地;英語為Vatican 。)教皇也被稱為教宗。基督教的權威是創造宇宙萬物人類的神,耶穌基督和《聖經》。天主教也研讀《聖經》但是實際上《聖經》並不是他們最高的權威。

彼得:天主教以使徒彼得為教會的磐石;天主教徒相信耶穌把教會建造在彼得的身上。基督教相信耶穌把教會建造在自己的身上;基督是教會的頭(請參看以弗所書1:22-23;歌羅西書1:18;馬太福音16:13-20)。

瑪利亞:天主教非常崇拜耶穌的母親瑪利亞。尊敬偉人的母親沒有關係,但是天主教給瑪利亞一個《聖經》並沒有給她的高位和角色。天主教不但把瑪利亞看為“聖母”,他們還向她禱告——求助、求救等。《聖經》裡面沒有任何一次有人向瑪利亞禱告或奉她的名禱告。基督徒只奉耶穌的名向神禱告。

救恩:《聖經》教導我們,成為基督徒的途徑和過程包括以下的幾點:聽道、信道、悔改過犯和罪孽(包括改變內心和行為)、受洗洗去罪孽(參閱使徒行傳第二章)。成為基督徒後,要繼續不斷地學習神的話《聖經》,更新思想和行為。在日常生活上犯罪時,隨時隨地悔改,求神赦免,再次下決心過聖潔的生活(請參看約翰一書第一章)。天主教也勸人閱讀《聖經》,悔改,但是他們認為小嬰孩,因為有“原罪”所以應該受洗。《聖經》裡面沒有“原罪”一詞。《聖經》里的“洗禮”都是全身投入水中的浸禮,但是天主教的洗禮是點水禮。

入教以後呢?如果信徒跌倒犯罪,怎麼辦?天主教教導信徒說天主教神父擁有權柄赦免信徒的罪,但是在《聖經·新約》里只有耶穌才能夠赦免人的罪的。基督徒跌倒犯罪後,要懊悔他的壞行為,認罪悔改,求神赦免他。

原來的教會嗎?天主教自稱它是歷史中最早的教會也是原來耶穌基督所建立的教會。問題是天主教並不是原來的耶穌基督所建立的教會。《聖經》里沒有“天主教”一詞,沒有“教宗”、沒有“教皇”、沒有“梵蒂岡”、沒有“神父”、沒有崇拜瑪利亞之事、沒有“原罪”、沒有嬰孩洗禮等。

聽者(讀者):您不需要聽我的!請您自己拜讀《聖經·新約》然後把您在天主教堂所看到的所聽到的和您在《聖經·新約》所讀到的做個對比。您自己會看到天主教和《聖經》里所描述的教會就是不一樣。

我不否認也不批評天主教徒的誠懇和誠實。但是我肯定《聖經》為唯一的權威,耶穌為唯一能夠赦免人罪的。但願所有相信耶穌的人都要追求神的真理!

What are the Differences between Christianity and Catholicism?

This is a very complex question, so the following is but a small part of the complete answer. To answer this question, we should seek God’s standard and not my standard or the standard of other people or of the Catholic Church. In answering this question I do not criticize the sincerity or honesty of Catholics.

Authority: The authority of the Catholic Church is the Pope who lives in the Vatican and the “traditions” of the Catholic Church. The Vatican is also called the Holy See. The authority of Christianity is God, Jesus Christ and the Bible. Catholics also study the Bible, but it is not their highest authority.

Peter: Catholics see the apostle Peter as the bedrock of the church; Catholics believe that Jesus built the church on Peter. Christians believe that Jesus built the church on himself; Jesus is the head of the church (see Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18; Matthew 16:13-20).

Mary: Catholics revere Mary the mother of Jesus. There is nothing wrong with paying respect to the mother of a great person, but Catholics give Mary an especially high place and a role that the Bible does not give her. Catholics refer to Mary as the Holy Mother, and they pray to her. There is not a single example in the Bible of anyone praying to Mary or praying in the name of Mary. Christians pray to God in the name of Jesus.

Salvation: The Bible teaches us that the pathway to becoming a Christian includes the following: Hear the gospel, believe it, repent of wrongdoing and sin (including a change of both heart and life), and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. After one becomes a Christian, he should study the Bible and renew his thinking and his life (see Acts 2). Whenever one sins in his daily life, he should repent, ask for God’s forgiveness, and once again determine to live a holy life (see 1 John 1). Catholics also encourage people to read the Bible and to repent, but they believe infants should be baptized because of “original sin;” however the term “original sin” is not in the Bible. Baptism in the Bible is total immersion into water; but Catholics practice sprinkling for baptism.

After Becoming a Christian: What happens if a believer falls (sins)? Catholics teach that a priest has the power to forgive sins, however in the New Testament it is only Jesus who can forgive sins. Whenever a Christian sins, he should feel sorry because of his bad action; he should repent and pray to God for forgiveness.

The Original Church? The Catholic Church refers to itself as the earliest church and the original church established by Jesus Christ. The problem however is that the Catholic Church is not the church that Jesus established. Nowhere in the Bible are these terms found: Catholicism, Pope, Vatican, “shen fu” (Chinese Catholic term for priest), veneration of Mary, “original sin,” infant baptism, etc.


【問答】十四:基督教和天主教有何區別?
FAQ’s About Christianity (14): What are the Differences between Christianity and Catholicism?
作者:謝德華 ©By Edward Short

 

Photo taken by ©Edward Short of the Roman Catholic Cathedral (the duomo) in Milan (Milano), Italy, in 2006.

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