Are Catholics 'Born-Again'?

At some point in life, almost all Catholics are confronted with a Bible-thumping, scripture throwing Protestant who dares to ask ‘are you born again?’ Since Catholics do not normally use this term, and many may be unfamiliar with how to answer that question, it is important to understand two vital points regarding this question. You must first understand how the question is interpreted by the individual asking you the question. Second, you must understand how the Church interprets this question.

First, you should understand that generalizing Protestantism into one category is about as unfair and inaccurate as generalizing all Asians or Middle Easterners into one category. Before engaging into a conversation with a Protestant, you must first learn what denomination the Protestant comes from, since Southern Baptist are much different than Pentecostals in their beliefs. Once you know what denomination, specifically what church (since even Baptist churches sometimes teach different things), it will allow you to better interact with the individual.

The term ‘born-again’ comes from the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in the Gospel of John 3.

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit……after this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized.”

Most all Protestants will agree on a common belief that ‘born-again’ means making a ‘profession of faith’. In other words, walking an aisle and saying a prayer. Though some deviate from this belief, the majority of Protestant faiths belief this is the meaning and definition of ‘born-again’. In other words, ‘saved’. However, this is not what is meant by the scripture nor what the Church teaches.

The Greek word for “again” is “anothen”. In translation, ‘again’ can be properly defined and translated as ‘from above.’. If you replace ‘again’ with the original translation of ‘from above’, you get:

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is BORN FROM ABOVE, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (vs 3)

With this proper and adequate adaptation, the verse takes on a different meaning than from which the Protestants would claim. Water and the spirit, when combined together in the scriptures, represents a new beginning.

The first book of the Holy Bible, Genesis, shows us this truth by expressing the spirit moving over the water and the new earth being created. In Jesus’ baptism, we see the Holy Spirit descended as a dove over the waters.

As a result, being born again (or from above) is speaking in terms of baptism, not walking an aisle and saying a prayer, or a ‘profession of faith’. A Catholic’s profession faith begins with baptism and continues through all the sacraments, particularly confirmation.

So, when a Protestant confronts you and asks ‘are you born-again?’, you should answer with a confident and resounding ‘yes, Amen.’