I was getting ready to write an essay, but then I deleted it for the sake of all our sanity. Let's spark-notes this bitch.

[quote]BUT, A VERY VERY IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE is that they have a different thing of how people should be accepted into Heaven and such. See, evangelicals believe that anyone who has true faith in Jesus "if they trust him with their lives and follow him - then they are made totally acceptable to God because of Jesus’ death (Romans 3:23-26)" also, "it doesn’t depend on how good a life we live but only on our trust in Jesus. If we follow Jesus, we are guaranteed a place in Heaven when we die (Luke 23:43)." Catholics, though, believe that a spot in Heaven determines the life they have lived. So, if they have lived a good life (in their terms) then they should be in Heaven.[/quote]

Not.... really. What you're describing here is 'pre-determination' or 'pre-destination' -- put as simply as I dare, that means that God already knows who's going to choose to become a good ol' christian man or woman, and helps them become that good person. That's a fairly common doctrine in both protestant/evangelical circles and in catholicism -- sometimes attributed to something called 'Calvinism,' which you couldn't possibly need to know anything about. Point being -- you're sort of slipping a bit at the end there, because (to the best of my knowledge) Catholics don't teach that good people 'should be in Heaven.' Well -- they would, if there were such a thing as 'good people,' but Catholicism incorporates (well, originated, actually) the idea of 'original sin.' In other words, there's no such thing as 'living a good life' without first accepting the unrequited merciful forgiveness of God. Us christians are all pretty much on the same page there -- salvation is a gift, not something you earn by doing good stuff (ephesians 2:8-9). 

Where evangelical christianity and catholicism differ is in the delivery of that grace, and to understand that you have to look at ancient Judaism, where atonement for sins was carried out by (among other things, which you can read in detail in Leviticus, if you're feeling morbid) animal sacrifice. It's pretty much what you expect. Now if you were a Hebrew person who wanted to be forgiven for your sins in the eyes of god, you had to take your sacrifice to the priest (high priest? High priests got involved at some point, I forget), who would then conduct a religious rite, which would absolve you of your sins. Why does that matter? Well, because Catholicism continues that notion of priesthood, where evangelical/protestant christianity does not. Here's what I mean. When a Catholic person wants to be forgiven for his sins, he or she goes to the local church and confesses to a real actual priest. The act of confession is akin to the Hebrew person bringing in a lamb for sacrifice (although it's much, much better for the sheep). The priest then conducts a religious rite, which absolves you of your sins in the eyes of god (the confess-ee, once forgiven, must then atone, which is a whole other things, but let's ignore that for now). When a protestant wants to be forgiven for his sins, he closes his eyes, folds his hands, and says "Hey, J-man, hook a brother up, I done messed up on my parole." That role of priest (High priest? I still forget) is being filled by none other than Jesus Christ, trans-dimensional metagod (That's in the book of Hebrews, but I think I paraphrased).

To simplify further -- for a Catholic, church is where you go to be forgiven. For a protestant, church is where you go when you are forgiven. Catholic services are ceremony; protestants are sermon. Liturgy, vs. academic. Structural vs. personal. There's no such thing as a baptist bishop. [i]These[/i] are the differences between catholicism and evangelicals (I always call us Protestants, and I'm not sure I've typed the word 'Evangelical' this many times in a day, like, ever). In all scripture-based teaching, it is explicitly spelt out that no amount of being a good person who does good things 'gets you into heaven;' so far as I know, we're all on the same page of that hymnal. I said spark-notes, didn't I? That's the scary part. This is shorter.