Why I Find the Idea that Roman Catholics and Born Again Christians Have the Same Prayer to be False

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It's no secret that the stance of the Vatican (except for some rabid Roman Catholic fanatics) is that those they label Protestants are now "separated brethren". One movement that came out during the 1970s was the popular Evangelicals and Catholics Together or ECT for short. It's so ironic at how some of Rome's amateur "apologists" have used Jim Bakker and Joel Osteen as an example to refute Protestantism or born again Christians. Many of the members of the ECT movement were quack pastors too.

I remembered getting saved and I was told, "Well Roman Catholics are still Christians!" Many times, I get guilt-induced to the point of saying, "Well, it doesn't matter if you're Catholic or Protestant as long as you receive Jesus as your Savior." However, a Catholic said, "If you are still bad, you will still go to Hell." I answered, "If you're still bad, you never had Christ." It nearly became a heated debate. Then I was told that if I wanted to go to worship God - I could still do it in the Roman Catholic institution because it's all "the same prayer". I beg to differ because Protestants have been taught to go back to what the Scriptures say - not what the Pope and councils have to say.

The same prayer? I would agree that the Our Father is found in the Scripture. However, Jesus only taught it as a model of prayer and not something to be said over and over again. They say that the Hail Mary is in the Scriptures yet the first paragraph was a salutation and not an act of worship. The second paragraph of the Hail Mary is no longer in Scripture. Hailing someone doesn't necessarily equal worship. The angel hailed Mary in an act of salutation or calling her attention. To be hailed isn't necessarily to be given only to authorities. Mary was clearly not above the angel Gabriel. Yet, Roman Catholics tend to pray to her a lot when they say the Rosary. The Rosary itself is like a boring tape recorder. A joke was even said that one person who prayed the Angelus and the Rosary finished it fastest by simply saying "the same" to specify that the prayer was already prayed once.

How are Baptist Christians and Protestant Christians different in their prayer? It's because they stick to biblical prayer. Nowhere in the Scriptures did Jesus nor the apostle say that we have to go through Mary. Mary can't hear any of my prayers. I love Mary as a sister-in-Christ but she is not my spiritual mother. Psalm 110:1 has David saying, "The LORD said unto my Lord..." which specified that Jesus was both the former's Lord and descendant. Mary herself shares that unique blessedness that she became Jesus' mother yet He is also her Lord. Mary herself showed the perfect example of obedience when she told people to do whatever Jesus tells them (John 2:5). Yet, Roman Catholics blindly still think that the Wedding Feast in Cana means we should pass through Mary. Did they just read what she said? Sadly they did but insert whatever silly theology they have. Biblical prayer is all about following the model of the Our Father and praying within God's will. They go directly to God because all have equal access to God through Christ our Lord and Savior!

I could remember my prayer life before and after conversion. Before, I admit that I was more devoted to Mary than Jesus. It's sad really how the Roman Catholic Mary has grabbed the attention of the world. Mary pointed people to Jesus yet the Roman Catholic system teaches otherwise. I just couldn't fathom everything like how praying to Mary was indeed idolatry. A sad fact really that some people stayed in the same Baptist school I stayed for years (even during their pre-school years) but never came to know Christ. A sad fact that they were preached the Gospel all over again from childhood to teenagehood yet never came to know Christ. As a former Roman Catholic - I can agree that the Rosary, praying to saints, and to Mary is all idolatry. There's no way that their prayers are the same as biblical prayers!