Three of the Five Solas say, “By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.” This statement reflects the main difference between Christianity, other religions, and cults. In Christianity there are many different denominations. A denomination is a religious group, usually including many local churches, often larger than a sect (dictionary.com). Every denomination has a different theology. The theology of Christianity separates the two major denominations, contributes to many denominations within the Protestantism belief, and determines the choice of a church. Christianity’s two main groups include Protestantism and Catholicism. Biblical doctrine separates these two denominations. Catholicism teaches that you can only get to Heaven through grace, through works; but as a Christian, I know that it is only grace through faith in the cross that someone can truly be saved. Protestants branched off from Catholicism at the Protestant Reformation with the conviction that only Jesus Christ can pay for sin, and He does it as a gift. Although it came from the same origin, Christian denominations have different views on the Bible. Within the Protestant religion, many denominations have arisen from its roots. These denominations have different views regarding belief on practices, baptism and who …show more content…
Again, it all depends on the theology of the church. Personally, I would not send anyone to a Catholic church, because they add to the Bible. In Revelation 22:18, it says, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.” On the other hand, a church with a true Biblical theology and believes in grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; provides a solid church choice. Theology plays a major role in church history, and even current churches because it deciphers between a trustworthy church that shares the true
Parishioners often ask me if there is really any difference between United Methodist and the Baptists down the road. The answer, “quite a lot,” generally surprises them. When they ask me to explain, I often point them in the direction of our polity and the theology it reflects.
...lvation is achieved differs significantly among the various Christian groups, for example, the Catholic Church believes that salvation is attained through good works such as acts of charity and almsgiving, while the Anglican Church as a deeper focus on personal faith and acceptance of Jesus as the Savior. The concept of salvation is a driving factor in the formation of ethics and morals in the Christian faith, as individual desire to receive eternal life in heaven underpins many actions and choices that they make, such as the choice to attend church or participate in aiding the poor and helpless.
In Walter B. Shurden’s The Baptist Identity, he looks at four of the core elements, or freedoms, that shape and mold Baptist theology and their identity. The four core concepts he explores in his book are Bible freedom, soul freedom, church freedom, and religious freedom. While looking at these four values, he examines how they mold and shape the Baptist identity and how they came to be. The origin to each of these values in the Baptist tradition is addressed as well as their benefits and draw backs. He explains their purpose and necessity in the Baptist denomination and how it effects the denomination as a whole.
When it comes to worldviews Catholics and Protestants have the same beliefs. We all believe God is imminent, transcendent, and personal. He created the heavens, the Earth, and the universe that we live in. We were all placed on this earth to glorify, worship, and honor Him. God created us in His own image so that we can know Him personally and have a joy-filled life. He did not make us to automatically love and obey Him, but He gave us a will and a freedom of choice. Since the beginning of time, we have chosen to disobey God and go our own way. This is a result of separation from God and ends in suffering. Through Jesus Christ and salvation, we are saved from the consequences caused by our separation from God. He is the only One who can bring us back to God; He is our salvation.
Comparison of the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church All Christian denominations celebrate Holy Communion in some form, although how they do this varies. The two I have chosen to compare are the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church. In the Roman Catholic Church the act of worship is called Mass. Catholics are expected to attend Mass. Only those who have been Christened and then later confirmed can receive Holy Communion. The Mass consists of six parts as follows : The Foremass consists of the entrance, procession, and chant, which are then followed by the confession, which includes a litany ( Kyrie eleison) and ends with the Gloria.
Some characteristics may be presbyterians identify themselves from other denominations and religions by teaching, governmental organization and worship; they use what is called the "Book of Order" as another source of religion. Their origins trace back to Calvinism. Many of the different branches are remains of past splits from larger groups. Some of the splits have been due to controversy based on doctrine, while some have been caused by not agreeing with the confession of faith, which historically serves as an important document giving standards of their religion. Presbyterian history is almost the same as Christianity, but the beginning of Presbyterianism is a movement that occurred during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As the Catholic Church resisted the reformers, the Church split and different movements became different denominations. The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry ba...
This paper will address the Protestant doctrine of the invisible church. The invisible church are the people who are not only outwardly religious but have also made a true confession of faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. According to scripture the invisible church will be revealed when Jesus Christ comes to gather His church. In order to fully understand the doctrine of the invisible church one must be able to distinguish between both the invisible and visible church. The visible church is simply defined as the place where people gather to worship, listen to the Gospel, and perform religious sacraments. Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone that says to me, ‘Lord, Lord.’ Will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the ones who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”, indicates that it is possible for some who are members of the visible church to not be members of the invisible church. It is possible for a person to gather in a place with people who outwardly confess belief in Jesus Christ and perform religious sacraments, but have actually made a false confession in their heart. This is also supported in Matthew 15:8 when Jesus says, “These...
Throughout history there has been one common denominator in Christian congregations worldwide. The single most important aspect that is universal of each Christian denomination is the belief that God and Jesus are one. As defined by the Trinity, The father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit make up God. The truth of the unification of Jesus and the Father is manifested in multiple ways. God has the sole power to create in the universe and in the Bible it says that through Jesus all things were created. The union of God and Jesus is also shown in the Forgiveness of Sins. According to the Old Testament forgiveness of sins is a power reserved exclusively for God the Father and in the New Testament it very clearly displays Jesus as one who was sent to forgive us of our sins. The Nicene Creed is right in saying that Jesus and God are one because creation and forgiveness of sins are actions reserved for God that Jesus also carry outs. Since Jesus possesses the ability to do things that God has left for himself, it is apparent that Jesus and God are one.
Lutzer, Erwin W. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Second ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998. 165. Print.
Fundamentalist and Wesleyans both have smiliar and different views on what the Theology of the scripture should be. In other words they both in some cases agree and disagree on the true nature of God and their opinion concerning Him. For example one of the major contrasting opinions between Fundamentalist and Wesleyans is their understanding of faith. To Wesleyans, "faith is being viewed as a personal relation with God based on trust," (65) but to the Fundamentalist," it is seen as belief in or assent to the true statement or proposition about God." (65) Meaning that Fundamentalist have a need to constantly demonstrate all parts of the Bible in a literal sence, otherwise they will lose the favor of God. To the contary Wesleyans, they believe that the personal relationship with God is more important and through that, they will be able to gloryfy God and find salvation. This however does no...
Catholics believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the highest-ranking authority on earth and that God’s word is spoken through the pope. Christians on the other hand have different interpretations of the bible, they are willing to accept and reject individual teachings from the bible. The key to salvation is baptism, Christians can be baptized any time after the belief and faith in Christ is acquired. Catholics are usually baptized after birth. Christians aside from biblical readings also include the readings of the gnostic gospel, which were excluded from the bible during the fourth century. Catholics don’t follow the gnostic gospel, as an alternative they rely on sacred traditions which are believed to be handed down throughout the centuries. The place of worship between Catholics and Christians are different in the sense that Christians are conducted in a church setting or small gatherings can also be conducted in people’s homes, Catholics have a more formal service with the church being the majority part of the Catholic mass. When it comes down to confessing your sins, Catholics confess their sins to a priest where they must sit down and have a face to face conversation with the priest and confess all of the sins that they have committed in order for them to be forgiven by God, Christianity does not require having to confess to a priest instead all they must do is confess to god and all of their sins will be
Catholicism. There are three major differences in the teaching of the two. Christianity teaches by scripture and what the bible says, where Catholicism teaches by tradition. They believe that the church is the judge of the truth. They also believe that salvation comes from doing works and that people can’t be sure of eternal life. Christians believe that salvation comes from admitting your sins, asking for forgiveness, and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. Catholics believe that Mary is the mediator between God and man, whereas Christians believe that Jesus Christ
Catholics and Protestants share a fair amount of fundamental ideas and concepts from the Christian faith, but there are critical differences which continue to make prominent and contrasting differences between their beliefs and practices. Those differences are just as important in defining the religions today as they were during the Protestant Reformation. In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation began and religious leaders such Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and others that protested against some of the practices and abuses of the Catholic Church. The protest is actually what spawned the name of Protestantism; the root of the word is Protestantism is “protest.” The main purpose for the protests was to reform the church from within; they saw a need for reformation to eliminate the blatant corruption and the abusive practices, such as “indulgences.” But as the years passed by, it became abundantly clear that their movement was unable to coexist with the Rome Catholic ideology, so those with Protestant beliefs/views broke away and organized their own church hierarchy and structures, this purge from Catholicism and new
Christianity and Judaism are two religions which share an origin. Abraham is the father of faith of both Christians and Judaists. The two religions are based on the Old Testament; however, Judaism has refused to acknowledge the New Testament. It is said that is a Judaist accepts Christianity, and then become complete. However, if a pagan accepts Christianity, they are converted because they do not have the basis that is provided by Judaism. Both Christianity and Judaism believe in the existence of heaven and hell. Both religion follow the same ethical code and believe that God had the same plan for salving the fallen race. The two religions also preach of the sinfulness of the humankind and, its consequences and the righteous judgment of God (Avery-Peck & Neusner 2009). Nevertheless, despite the fact that Christianity and Judaism have several similarities, they have a wide range of differences in their beliefs, teaching and practices.
Judaism does not accept the thought of original sin, the idea that people are bad from birth and cannot remove sin by themselves. An act of grace provided by the sacrificial death of Jesus as resentment for all of humanity's sins. For Christians, there are no other forms of salvation other than through Jesus.