can anyone tell me the differences between Christian denominations?

[CouncilofTrent]

Then why was Luther constipated?

[Esther Ruth]

What must a person DO to be saved? I think is one of THE main differences between the Christian denominations. Most Christian Churches believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that one must JUST BELIEVE in Him to be saved.

Act 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Some of the denominations ADD works to salvation and believe that Belief is not enough but that good works are REQUIRED for salvation. Then the other denomination believe the good works are a RESULT of the salvation.

So they believe if ANYTHING is added to salvation that some how what Jesus did on the cross was not enough... but it was enough... and HE paid it all.

[CouncilofTrent]

The "corrupt" Popes (not the anti-popes) hardly did anything against church doctrine.

[mikrofon]

Then why was Luther constipated?

What happens when you have to deal with a Diet of Worms...

[CouncilofTrent]

Well if there is a big difference, I cant see it very well. I prefer the Tridentine Mass.

[CouncilofTrent]

:)

[x]

A lot of the differences have to do with church organization. Thus Episcopalians had bishops. Presbyterians had elders, and no bishops. The Independents and Separatists who later became Congregationalists tended to oppose overarching hierarchies and church organizations and rely on the judgement of the individual congregations, hence the name they adopted. Theology was affected by the dispute, though, since the weaker the church hierarchy the more likely a denomination was to accept the more radical Calvinist views of the day (16th and 17th century).

Nationality or ethnicity was also important: Lutherans and Episcopalians are historically not so very different. The Lutherans were the Continental (Germany, Scandinavia) equivalent of the Anglicans (who became Episcopalians in America), in so far as they both stood between Catholicism on one side and the radical Protestantism of the Calvinists (Presbyterians and Congregationalists in Scotland and England). The Presbyterians (Scots and Scots-Irish) shared much theologically with the French Huguenots, and the Dutch, German, and Swiss Reformed, their fellow Calvinists.

Social class was also important. Methodists were an evangelical outgrowth of Anglicanism/Episcopalianism at first. They were yeoman and tradesmen who had little patience with the rites and rituals of their upper class co-religionists, and eventually the two churches grew apart. As Americans move up the social ladder they tend to move from Baptist to Methodist to Presbyterian to Episcopalian, though there are plenty of exceptions.

A once very strict faith like Congregationalism, tended to become far more liberal as its members grew wealthier. The most liberal and least orthodox became Unitarians and Universalists, and the same process continued to take many Unitarians entirely out of the Christian or Theist camp. By contrast, the Baptists, once the theological "left-wing" of Christianity, have become quite conservative over time. Individual reading of the Bible was regarded as a radical and unsettling idea half a millennium ago. It still is, but today the sources of radicalism are secular, and denominations that attach the most importance to the wording of the Bible are reckoned old fashioned or "reactionary" by the secular media.

None of this is intended to minimize the real credal differences that separate various denominations or the real faith that they share. It's just to suggest that sometimes differences are more apparent than real.

If you're interested in where you might fit in, there are plenty of quizzes on the Internet (like this one) that can give you a clue. It's best to try to find out as much as you can first, rather than just choose the answers you like, though.

[mercy]

RCs are like Muslims. They don't study their own religion as opposed to other religions nor do they explore the honest scholarship done outside their tradition regarding their own church's history. I am alway astounded at the obtuse ignorance of most RCs regarding Catholicism and religion in general.

Nearly everything about Roman Catholicism is Pagan but for some the words you speak regarding Jesus of Nazareth being indeed The Christ and worshiping Him. Every other symbol and practice is more Pagan than
Christian.

That you leave Christ nailed to the cross while those who left your tradition in an effort to return to the faith of the Disciples have an empty cross.

That you practice Maryolatry.

That you have a Pope.

That you pervert the remembrance of Christ through the ritual of Communion into the magic rite of transubstantiation.

That your priests are celibate when Paul, Peter and James clearly state it should be otherwise. That you even have priests at all when Christ Himself said "Call no man father."

Christ has always emphasized the danger of false religion. He tells us in Revelations that it would persist unto the Last Day. If I were an RC I would take Christ's own words more seriously and perhaps question my own stupid blind faith in my Church's traditions which plainly violate the Bible and the faith they purport to enshrine.

[Oztrich Boy]

The "corrupt" Popes (not the anti-popes) hardly did anything against church doctrine.

Liberius: Arian

Honorius: Monothelite

[Mr. Lucky]

May I guess that you, personally, are neither CP
nor EF?

[ArmedNReady]

"RCs are like Muslims."

There is no Christian denomination that is in the least way like Islam.

You certainly are a greatly learned person to know everything about what every Catholic believes and studies about religion....Are you God?

[mercy]

Great answer. You are a true schollar.

I always make light of the myriad of denominations and the schisms within. Not even the members of any one church can get along. But this is who we are. " In the end the love of most shall grow cold. .... Shall the Son of Man even find faith on the earth when He returns.?"

I used to think that us good Christians would get to skip this part.

[MarMema]

You forgot the Orthodox. Our version is something like "Change? Why would you want to change anything?"

[CouncilofTrent]

I was refering to Alexander VI, Pius II, and Leo X. Protestants refer to those more commonly.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

First, avoid any church that belongs to the National Council of Churches. They really aren't churches. They're left-wing propaganda machines.

[mercy]

atari,

What is it that makes you 'Catholic'? If you weren't raised in a religious household then perhaps your parents were not really Catholic. Maybe they were .... nothings. So how are you a 'Catholic'. Did you sign some sort of document?

We are not Christian by dint of our rearing or heritage. And thus we cannot be Catholic this way either as Catholic is really just another name for Christian. One is Christian by accepting the sacrifice of The Christ, on The Cross for our sins and believing upon Him unto our rebirth. You MUST be born again atari.

[CouncilofTrent]

What are you talking about? The Church Doctors wrote tomes on the Catholic faith and many have studied them. Children read rather long Catechisms (Baltimore 3). When I was a protestant, I learned very little about my faith. It was Catholicism that changed me. And you still havent answered the following question: What about RC is pagan?

[mercy]

Are you a fool? You sound like one. You sound like a person who knows nothing of the history of their church. Just like a Muslim.

[CouncilofTrent]

He was probably baptized.

[MarMema]

Here's your tutorial on the Orthodox church.

Understanding Orthodox Christianity

An Introduction to the Eastern Christian mind

If you have any questions please feel free to email me or any other of the Orthodox here on FR.