Catholicism
April Dawson
Axia College of the University of Phoenix
Catholicism is a religion steeped in ritual and tradition, and for some, puzzling. There are saints, social reformers, relics, mystics, devotions, duties, art forms, institutional rules and hundreds of moral teachings. The origin of the Catholic Church is said to be from Jesus Christ. Catholicism is a very old religion that has many traditions and rituals that have lasted through the ages. In my quest to understand the Catholic religion, I visited a Catholic church not too far from my home; it is a small church that was built in 1923. After visiting the church and witnessing how Catholics worship, I sat down with a lifelong catholic named Tom. We discussed different beliefs of Catholicism, and why he thought it was the right choice for him. After learning about Catholicism it has occurred to me that though it is a monotheistic religion it is different from other monotheistic religions, such as Judaism. Though these two religions both believe in one God, the birth, and Crucifixion of Jesus, and believe in the Old Testament of the bible, that may be all they have in common.
Catholics believe that Jesus Christ founded the church. It is said that Jesus Appointed Peter the first pope in 33 A.D. Matthew 16:18-19 states "And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shalt be loosed in heaven." (King James). For the next 300 hundred years Christians were severely crucified by Romans. Because of this, followers of Christianity began to meet in secret and worship underground for fear of imprisonment, torture and even death. During this time small changes began to take place within the church. The elders of the Church became known as...