Thread:The Bibliomaniac/@comment-142.165.218.38-20190527231203/@comment-32247874-20190530230808

Yeah, so the Protestants broke away from the Church in the 1500's because they thought it was doing some things wrong and corrected them as they saw fit. Some key differences between Catholics and Protestants:

Miracles are actually a very very important part of the Catholic Church. One way they are is canonization. (I'd be happy to talk more about this if you're interested!)
 * The Sacraments are a key difference—Protestants only have three of our sacraments. They have Baptism/Confirmation and Matrimony, whereas we also have the Eucharist, Reconciliation, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick.
 * The Eucharist means that we believe Christ meant it literally that it was His body. We believe Jesus gave himself in a special way to us; through Transubstantiation, He comes down to us again in the Eucharist for us to receive and grow closer to Him through. Transubstantiation means that while it mantains the appearance of bread/wine, it truly is His Body and Blood.
 * Another key difference is the Bible; Protestants have seven less books in their Bible because Martin Luther removed books that disagreed with his corrected teachings.
 * Catholics believe that you don't have to have been exposed to the Truth to be saved. We believe that if you live the best life you can where you are, you can go to heaven. We also believe that Christians aren't promised heaven; they also must live the best lives they can to go to heaven. Most Protestants believe in faith alone, that if you believe, you will go to heaven, and if you don't believe, you won't.
 * Catholics also believe in Purgatory. Purgatory is a place where those who are saved but die in a state of sin are purified so that they may meet God completely cleansed of their sins. Purgatory is a state of temporary suffering.

Anyway, that's some of the main stuff. I'd be happy to share more about it. I hope this doesn't come across hostile in any way; I'm glad you all believe in Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection, God, and the Holy Spirit.