Stereotypes about Catholics I never understood

   "Catholic beliefs are unbiblical".  Okay, what does that even mean?  Do you like sports?  Soccer, American football, baseball and volleyball didn't exist during biblical times, does that mean there's something wrong with them?  And which Catholic beliefs are unbiblical?  The Mass isn't; it's loaded with Bible quotes, and the liturgy of the Eucharist comes mostly from the Last Supper and Jewish liturgy.  If someone honestly thinks the Mass is "unbiblical", they're going to have a pretty hard time explaining that to someone familiar with 1st century Judaism.

  A related stereotype is that Catholics don't read the Bible.  This may be true for non-practicing Catholics, but the Catholics I know that are weekly Mass-goers, for the Mass part, seem to be more familiar with the Bible than the vast majority of Protestants I know.  (I actually had a Baptist friend ask me if the Bible had a problem with interracial dating and marriage because her sister said it did, and my friend's husband is African American, the idea of "race", the way we use it in the west, didn't really exist in Biblical times, so the Bible said no such thing).  Most Protestants seem to have a few select verses memorised (nothing wrong with that, as it can be useful), the problem is, these are usually taken out of context.  (A good example of this would be Ephesians 2:8-9, great verses, but please read verse 10).

Or that Catholics earn their salvation and are obsessed with rules.  This one always cracks me up, because I know people who believe in once saved, always saved (OSAS), that don't think you should play cards, dance, or drink alcohol (even in moderation).  But it's Catholics that are obsessed with rules.  

   Catholics certainly don't believe we can earn our salvation.  But we do believe there is a right way to live, and a wrong way to live.  If you are not serving God, you can LOSE your salvation.  Just because grace is a gift doesn't mean it can't be lost (and salvation CAN be lost, Matthew 7:21-23).  I can refuse a gift.  Just as I can choose to accept it.  If I no longer want salvation, why could I not refuse it?

    These are just a few things, I have been sick for a while (and still am), so I haven't been able to write for a while.  Hopefully, this clears up a few misunderstandings.