What is the difference between Catholicism and Christianity

Introduction: Modern society is highly civilized, and one of the greatest civilizations is reflected in the inclusiveness of cultural thinking. Everyone has the right to believe in religion, no one and the system can not interfere. For example, Catholicism and Christianity are both religions practiced by Westerners, and we have all heard of them but don't really understand them. So, what is the difference between Catholicism and Christianity? The following and the editor to understand.

The difference between Catholicism and Christianity

The difference between Catholicism and Christianity lies in the fact that, worldwide, Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism are collectively referred to as Christianity, and all of them use the Bible as the classic. The Catholic Church, with its "universality", calls itself a Catholic Church, and its followers call the God they believe in "God". The Catholic Church takes the Vatican as its organizational center, with the Pope as its supreme leader, and implements the "sacramental system" and the "ecclesiastical system". The Catholic Bible consists of 73 books, including 46 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament.

Catholic churches usually have statues of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and saints. The Catholic clergy are all male. Bishops, priests, religious brothers, and nuns, must be celibate. The Catholic Church does not advocate divorce for believers. The main Catholic festivals are Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and four other major Juneteenth celebrations. Catholics attend mass in churches on Catholic holidays and Sundays. In China, Christianity is referred to as "Protestantism", also known as "Evangelicalism" or "Jesusism". Christianity does not accept the leadership of the pope, has no power center of its own, abolished the Catholic hierarchy, and believes that the faithful do not need a clergyman to have direct communion with God.

Catholicism

The Christian Bible consists of only 66 books, with seven books of the Old Testament not included. There are generally no statues in Christian churches, only a cross. The Christian clergy are bishops, priests, elders, and preachers. There are men and women who can marry, and Christianity does not advocate divorce for believers. The main Christian holidays are Easter and Christmas. On Christian holidays and Sundays believers go to church to worship.

Many people think that there is no difference between Catholicism and Christianity, and even Christians within Christianity have the same view, thinking that the two are very close to each other, and there are many who think that Christianity is a Protestantism separated from Catholicism, and this kind of thinking and view is wrong. They only notice that Martin Luther's proselytizing movement gave birth to Christianity, completely forgetting that Christianity had existed since the birth of Jesus until the time of the apostles. Catholicism is a product of the increasing corruption of Christianity after the Apostles. In fact, there was no such thing as a pope in Christianity until the reign of Constantine in the fourth century.

And it was not until the beginning of the seventh century that the churches agreed on the pope as the visible head of the church. So even if we take the most conservative view, there was no Catholicism before the beginning of the fourth century, because Catholicism is characterized by the pope, and Christianity has existed since the time of Christ.

The Historical Origin of Catholicism

The Christian religion arose originally from Judaism and inherited from Judaism a number of religious concepts and myths derived from the ancient Hebrew civilization and its related civilizations of ancient Babylon, ancient Egypt, ancient Persia, and ancient Greco-Roman. These elements of religious thought and culture have been inherited and developed by the Christian religion, and have been transformed and revolutionized in its historical development, resulting in the formation of basic concepts embodied in its thought and theology, liturgy and religious life. For example, the creation myths, the Paradise of Eden and the legend of the Flood in the Christian tradition were all influenced by the ancient Babylonian religion, and their source material came directly from the ancient Babylonian civilization. In addition, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Virgin Mary also bear some of the imprint of ancient Babylonian lore.

The word "Catholic" is derived from a Greek word meaning "universal" or "universal". The Chinese word "God" was borrowed by Catholic missionaries who entered China at the end of the Ming Dynasty to translate the original Chinese name for the God they believed in, meaning the supreme Lord, to distinguish it from the gods practiced in China, and so called their religion Catholicism.