Have you ever heard a non-Catholic tell you, “I’m Christian and you’re Catholic?”
You might be told that since the term, “Christian” is in scripture and “Catholic” isn’t, this is proof that the name Catholic came along centuries later. This just isn’t so. That’s like asking a man whether he is a man or a human. The plain fact is that Catholics were the very first Christians.
Believers were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). It is interesting to note that the bishop of Antioch (St. Ignatius) referred to the “Catholic Church” in a letter to the Smyrnaeans while on the way to his death by martyrdom just a few decades later. Whereas, every single Protestant denomination was started by a fallible human being, the Catholic Church was built by Jesus, the son of God – God himself.
The writings of the Early Church Fathers illustrate that they had the very same beliefs that we Catholics of the 21st century have, including: the Sacraments, Sunday worship, the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mother, etc.
You might also want to remind them that the word “Trinity” is not explicitly named in the Bible but it is implicitly taught. A list of the books that should be in the Bible is not in the bible - for that matter, the word “Bible” isn’t in the Bible.
The word, “Catholic” is derived from the Greek word, katholikos or kath olos, which means, universal or whole. The Greek manuscripts of Acts 9:31 speak of ekklesia (church) kath olos (catholic).
Are we Catholic - or Christian? We’re both.
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