Catholicism is the base of Christianity

Thank you for debating with me, I hope this will be a peaceful and loving debate, and who knows maybe we will both learn something from this. The first thing I would like to ask you is this, when was Catholicism established and by who? If you say that Catholicism is different from Christianity when it was first established, you and I are talking about two different religions. Christianity, as you and I both know, was established by Jesus, however denominations, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc. did not form until a lot longer down the road. Christianity's first major split was known as the great schism in the late 900's, early 1000's, just before the crusades. They split into the east and west, west held on to the tradition of the Pope (which the Catholic Church traces it's Popes back to) and the east held on to their tradition of Patriarchs. Their Church's structure, as far as worship and things like that, has not changed since the schism. The west is known today as the Roman Catholic Church, the east known as the Orthodox or Eastern rite Catholic Church. The main difference between us two is that the orthodox is not in union with the Pope, however the Roman Catholic Church can trace her popes all the way back to St. Peter. Non-Catholic Churches were not established until the 1500's when Martin Luther started the Protestant reformation. He was actually a devout Catholic until he undermined the authority of the Church. Non-Catholic Churches actually came from Catholicism. Now your "grace-tank" redemption theory is incorrect. Catholic teaching tells us that sinning damages your relationship with God, just as lying and betrayal can damage a friendship. However God is always there ready to forgive. I am sure you and I have the same idea. But, God can not forgive if we do not want forgiveness, correct? And so we confess to God asking Him forgiveness, and grace to help us not to sin again. Just as the grace from Jesus' cross won for us salvation, so too does grace help us not to sin. Its not the grace that saves us, but helps us. Moving on to the Blessed Mother, Mary, I would be concerned too if Catholics worshiped her, for the first commandment is this, "I Am the Lord your God, you shall not have strange God's before me." Mary is not, in any way,equal to God, nor does she come close. However, Catholics hold her in high respect because she is the Mother of Jesus. The reason we hold her in such high regard is this. Luke 1: 48, Mary says "Behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed." And this is true, because Catholics refer to her as "The Blessed Mother." Why do we call her our mother? Because of what Our Lord said on the cross, "'Woman, behold, your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother.'" John 19:26-27 This, we believe is Jesus giving us His mother, and us to her. The reason we pray to her is this. If I were going to have surgery, I would ask my friend to pray for me so that it all goes well. Now, why on earth wouldn't I ask the Mother of Jesus, Queen of Heaven and Earth, to pray for me as well? And yes, she is queen. "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Revelation 12:1. If this isnt Mary, who is it? Also, the concept of Purgatory has been around since before Jesus. Her from the Old Testament book of Job, "Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them." Job 1:5 He states that praying for the dead will help them. Well, how could it help the dead if they're in heaven or hell? Also in Maccabees Maccabees 12:46: "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." This thought of Purgatory has always been accepted from the beginning, for it is the final purification before Heaven, just as gold is refined in fire, so we too are refined in Purgatory. Baptizing at birth was always a conflict before non-Catholic Churches were even established. That is why some broke off. The reasoning behind it is simple. We take the tradition of baptizing after birth from the Jewish tradition. Remember when Jesus was presented to the Temple to be circumcised? Well, that was the accepting into the Jewish religion, just as Baptism is the same for Christianity. The reason we baptize at infancy is because Jesus said, "Unless a man be born again with water and the Spirit, he shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." So we baptize children as a safety net, however it is not completed until confirmation. Confirmation is the sacrament around the age of 13 where the child chooses whether or not to be Christian, a disciple of Jesus. This is fulfilling the Baptismal promises. And yes there is many differences and disagreements, however all other Christian Churches branch off of the Catholic Church, if you do not believe me, read the history of the Catholic Church.