You know.. For quite a while now I've been saying that Protestants are heretics which is all good and true, but never did it ever occur to me that because Protestants are heretics, they are not Christian at all.

As we all know, Protestants are deemed to be schismatics and heretics by the most Holy Roman Church. At the same time, we still have some people referring to them as Christians, when St. Robert Bellarmine describes why this is impossible:

"A manifest heretic is not a Christian, as is clearly taught by St. Cyprian, St. Athanasius, St. Augustine, St. Jerome and others."

By this very statement we can conclude that Protestants are not Christian and should not be referred to as such. It doesn't matter what Benedict XVI or any of the other post-Conciliar popes say Protestants and the schismatic "Orthodox" are not Christian.

I'm sure that this is not a big revelation to most people here, but I never realized that I was calling Protestants Christian this whole time. I just thought I'd share for all others who may not realize that they are calling Protestants that which they are not.

I don't think most Protestants are manifest heretics.  They are material heretics, but not formal ones.  Most really don't know any better.  Most Orthodox certainly are not heretics.  Once again, they are material schismatics, but not formal ones.  Luther was a formal heretic.  Most modern Lutherans are not.

A manifest heretic is anyone who openly professes heresy and remains obstinate in it. Most Protestants would not convert to the Catholic faith even if you told them that their beliefs were heretical and proved to them that they are. You need to understand that the vast majority of people are not good-willed and are influenced not by truth, but by emotionalism and convenience. Protestants are manifest heretics and are OPENLY in denial of the Roman Church. You cannot say that these people do not know what they are doing if they have the use of reason. In fact, their very identity is contingent upon their contradistinction with us, the true Church of Christ-- The Holy Roman Church. They ARE heretics. If they were not heretics, their identity would rest upon being in denial with us.

Btw, "material" heretic and formal heretic (as is commonly defined) are both myths. This is an argument that N.O. Catholics use to "refute" any doubt sedes have about whether or not the past few claimants to the papacy have been legitimate (and I'm not a sede btw, I'm just saying). A material heretic is not a heretic at all. Formal heretics are just heretics, plain and simple. Saying "formal" is just redundant, really.

While I don't recommend the Dimond Brothers for most things, they do have very good info among their many bad seeds. See here for refutation of material heretic:

I agree that Protestants (i.e. today's Protestant followers, not the originating heresiarchs themselves) are not Christians and should not be referred to as such. They are best and most charitably described as people who have heard rumors of Christianity; rumors which, given their generally confused and pagan mindsets, they have adopted into their own Pantheon and supplemented with a cultus engineered after their own fashion. They need to be told in no uncertain terms that they are NOT right now Christians, and if they wish truly to become Christians they must convert to Apostolic Christianity. This simple semantic shift would go a long way toward addressing the "ecuмenical" problem.

On the other hand, if the shift is not made (as it is not in the NO Church) nothing can prevent Chrisianity from deteriorating into whatever anybody thinks it ought to be. This is basically the situation that obtains today over both the Novus Ordo and mainstream Protestantism. If you listen to the popular megachurch leaders of the moment (e.g. Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer) it is difficult to detect any trace of Christianity in their program, other than some Whiggish interpretation of the Scriptures and a vague notion that Jesus is Lord. However, if they practice what they know with a sincere heart, they will no doubt merit the grace of a true conversion. The obvious conclusion to be drawn from the dearth of conversions is that very few Protestants are sincere.

You know.. For quite a while now I've been saying that Protestants are heretics which is all good and true, but never did it ever occur to me that because Protestants are heretics, they are not Christian at all.

As we all know, Protestants are deemed to be schismatics and heretics by the most Holy Roman Church. At the same time, we still have some people referring to them as Christians, when St. Robert Bellarmine describes why this is impossible:

"A manifest heretic is not a Christian, as is clearly taught by St. Cyprian, St. Athanasius, St. Augustine, St. Jerome and others."

By this very statement we can conclude that Protestants are not Christian and should not be referred to as such. It doesn't matter what Benedict XVI or any of the other post-Conciliar popes say Protestants and the schismatic "Orthodox" are not Christian.

I'm sure that this is not a big revelation to most people here, but I never realized that I was calling Protestants Christian this whole time. I just thought I'd share for all others who may not realize that they are calling Protestants that which they are not.

The same can be said for the last five Popes their religion isn't Catholicism but a big tent nєω ωσrℓ∂ σr∂єr Religion where all are equal.

Make of this what you will:

It is therefore by force of the right of Our supreme Apostolic ministry, entrusted to us by the same Christ the Lord, which, having to carry out with [supreme] participation all the duties of the good Shepherd and to follow and embrace with paternal love all the men of the world, we send this Letter of Ours to all the Christians from whom We are separated, with which we exhort them warmly and beseech them with insistence to hasten to return to the one fold of Christ; we desire in fact from the depths of the heart their salvation in Christ Jesus, and we fear having to render an account one day to Him, Our Judge, if, through some possibility, we have not pointed out and prepared the way for them to attain eternal salvation.

- Pope Pius IX.

In every age it has been the concern of the Roman Pontiffs, Our predecessors, and likewise it concerns Us greatly, that Christians who have, unfortunately, withdrawn from the Catholic Religion should at length be recalled to us as a forsaken Mother.

- Pope Benedict XV.

This world-wide and solemn testimony of allegiance and piety is especially appropriate to Jesus Christ, who is the Head and Supreme Lord of the race. His empire extends not only over Catholic nations and those who, having been duly washed in the waters of holy baptism, belong of right to the Church, although erroneous opinions keep them astray, or dissent from her teaching cuts them off from her care; it comprises also all those who are deprived of the Christian faith, so that the whole human race is most truly under the power of Jesus Christ.

- Pope Leo XIII.

Notice, the Leo XIII quote distinguishes between baptised persons in error and people deprived of the Christian faith, as though they are two different things.

What makes one a "Christian?" CAFer's say one who is baptized and believes in the Trinity.

Only Catholics are Christians. No one else.

That disqualifies ALL Protestants, ALL Eastern "Orthodox", ALL cults like the Mormons and JWs, and ESPECIALLY the Novus Ordo sectarian religion, which is not Catholic at all.

The Novus Ordo may have valid sacraments and what have you, but the beliefs that follow the N.O. are not Catholic. Plain and simple.

Myrna: Those quotes should be read carefully, lest we take things out of context. None of those Popes would ever say anyone who was obstinate in their denial of the Catholic faith is Christian. It doesn't even look as though they're saying that.

Also, I actually heard someone on CAF saying that Protestants aren't Christians because a Christian is one who follows Christ and His teachings. They said Protestants can't be Christians because they do not accept the teachings of the Catholic Church which are Christ's teachings and because the Catholic Church is Christ's body.

If that person isn't banned already, they will be banned promptly upon the mods discovering of this post. Saying that Protestants aren't Christians isn't "charitable".

:barf:

I may be permanently banned from CAF for circuмventing a suspension (see, the first thing they do is permanently ban me because they're afraid of having me back to expose the VII anti-church again), but that won't change the fact that Protestants (along with the CAF heretical VII sect, infidels and schismatics like the "Orthodox") are going to inevitably be banned from heaven for all eternity if they don't change their ways.