What is the basic theological difference (if there is one) between...?

Question

the Christians
the Catholics
the Lutherans
the Anglicans
the Presbyterians
the Baptists??

Can anyone give me a short & sweet explanation about how these faiths are fundamentally different?

Answer 1

Here's a quick rundown.

Christians: The term "Christian" applies to any person or group that worships Jesus of Nazareth as a divine being. All of the denominations in this list are Christian.

Catholics
Catholicism is the oldest form of Christianity on Earth. There are several sects of Catholicism throughout the world, but Roman Catholics are by far the most common.
They believe:
The Pope (leader of the Church) and the Catechism (official dogma) are the ultimate sources of truth and biblical interpretation.
Humans have original sin.
Salvation and heaven are a free gift to all people, so long as they confess and absolve themselves of their sins.

Lutherans:
The Lutheran churches were established in the 1600's, following Martin Luther's Reformation and secession from the Catholic church.
They believe:
The bible is the only source of spiritual truth.
Humans can only receive salvation through the grace of God, earned through faith, not acts.

Anglicans
The Anglican church is the official state Church of England, established by Henry VIII in the 1500's.
They believe:
Anglican doctrine is virtually identical to Catholic doctrine, with the caveat that the King of England is the nominal Governor of the Church. In practice, the Anglican church is a group of independant churches that work together.

Presbyterians
Presbyterianism was formed in the 1500's around the teachings of John Calvin. There is no centralized Presbyterian church, and the individual teachings of any particular church may differ from the teachings of another. In general, though...
They believe:
Church leaders are "elders" elected from the congregation.
Human fate is predestined by God, and there is nothing we can do to change it. Thus, salvation cannot be earned by acts or by grace, only by the whim of God.

Baptists
The Baptist tradition started in the late 1600's. Like Presbyterians, Baptists have no central leadership, and each church is considered an autonomous body. Particular beliefs often vary greatly between individual churches.
They believe:
Membership in the Church is a choice that only adults can make. It is represented by public Baptism.
All believers are equal within the Church. There is no ordained priesthood.
The bible is the only source of spiritual knowledge, and each churchmember is responsible for reading and interpreting for themselves.

Answer 2

All the groups listed are considered "Christian"

All the groups (excepts the Catholics) are considered to be Protestant.

Protestants splits from the Catholics in the 1500s. Each tends to reject the other as being "real" Christians.

Catholics place a higer important on rituals (such as baptism and communicon) then do the Protestants. They venerate Mary and the saints, allowing prayer to/through them. They believe that you need a priest to confess your sins. Priest are required to be male and unmarried. The believe the Pope is the "vicar of Christ", head of the church, and God's voice on the earth.

Protestants have no "Pope" or other "number one" leader. They look to the Bible alone as the source of their theology.

The Luthers (from Germany) and the Anglicans (from England) were early Protestant churchs. They still have many practices in common with the Catholics. But place a lower importance on sacraments and more importance on personal faith. The believe each person can confess their own sins and be forgiven. They do not allow prayer to Mary or the saints. They allow women priest and marriage. The Presbyterians was the name the Anglican church took in America when the Revolutionary War began. (Anglican means "Enlgand").

The Baptist are a more recent Protestant church. They tend to be independent of each other, and often lack a formal organized hierachcy. There are dozens of different types of Baptist churches. Each tends to preach the Bible as they understand it. They are the ones often referred to as the "fundamentalist" or the "bible thumpers". They preach salvation by faith alone, and baptism after you are an adult and have made your own committment to Christ.

Answer 3

I can't give you a short list, no.

All of them claim to be Christian.

Lutherans were started by Martin Luther who posted his 95 theses. This caused a lot of problems and he was wanted for execution by the Catholic church. Many of the same things are done in the Catholic and Lutheran churches, but there are significant differences. The Lutherans for example, allow their clergy to marry and have children. The Catholics do not.

The Anglicans are not that different from the Catholics at all. A long time ago a King of England wanted to divorce his wife. The pope would not allow it, so he decided to break away. The monarch of England is the head of this church, and their archbishop is in Canterbury, England. It's official name is the Church of England and in America they are called Episcopalians.

I don't know much about the Presbyterians, but they are overseen by a group of elders.

The Baptists try to closely resemble the Bible, and they are probably the largest group in America. Some of them are liberal and some of them are conservative. There is as many Baptists splinter groups as there are separate denominations.

Christian - well a true Christian simply tries to be obedient and adhere to the teachings of the New Testament without adding to or taking away from it. In other words, there are no creeds to the true Christian - no creed that is but Christ.

Answer 4

the Christians: All of the named denominations are Christians. They are also Trinitarian, believe that Jesus was the son of God, and they ordain clergy that are charged with overseeing parishes. They use the Bible as a source of revealed information from God, and they engage in both social service work and efforts to convert others to their belief systems.

the Catholics: Governmentally hierarchical, with the Pope as the head of the church. Theologically Trinitarian, believe in Eucharistic transubstantiation (bread & wine actually become Jesus body & blood), preach that the church is the ultimate authority over what is theologically sound, although allows for the quiet use of individual conscious when in dispute with church teachings.

the Lutherans: Began as an off-shoot from the Roman Catholics in the 15th century. Believes in the priesthood of all believers, greater primacy of the Bible as the source of theological doctrine. Remain trinitarian, do not believe in transsubstantiation. Allows ministers to marry.

the Anglicans: The church of England that was taken over from the Roman Catholics when Henry VIII declared the pope had not jurisdiction in England. Officially headed by the Monarch on the English Throne, but governed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The liturgy was reconfigured with the Book of Common Prayer, and although they were originally more Catholic, their theology has moved in a more liberal direction. They (like the Catholics) base their theology on the Bible, Tradition, Reason, and Experience.

the Presbyterians: Founded by Jean Calvin in Switzerland and John Knox in Scotland. They remain trinitarian, but like Lutherans place more primacy on themany hold to a Calvinistic interpretation, the hallmark of which is a belief that the all-knowing God has predestined certain people to be saved and others not to be saved. Calvinism held at first to a particularly stark morality, and originally the churches were stripped of anything ornate.

the Baptists: Protestants with, again, an emphasis on the Bible as the revealed word of God. Since Baptists are almost all congregationally governed, there is no single direction for Baptist theology, although most in the USA tend to be fundamentalist in their approach to theological discourses. Their hallmark is the belief that the only valid baptism is after one has become old enough to "accept Jesus into your heart." Therefore, they do not christen babies, as do all of the above denominations.

Answer 5

that is what all of it boils all the way down to: The doctrine of Sola Scriptura, or "Scripture on my own," which alleges that the Bible – as interpreted by making use of the guy believer – is the only source of non secular authority and is the Christian’s sole rule of religion or criterion related to what's to be believed. by making use of this doctrine, that's between the foundational ideals of Protestantism, a Protestant denies that there is the different source of non secular authority or divine Revelation to humanity. The Catholic, on the different hand, holds that the instant or direct rule of religion is the coaching of the Church; the Church in turn takes her coaching from the divine Revelation – the two the written word, pronounced as Sacred Scripture, and the oral or unwritten word, widely used as "custom." The coaching authority or "Magisterium" of the Catholic Church (headed by making use of the Pope), regardless of the undeniable fact that not itself a source of divine Revelation, besides the undeniable fact that has a God-given project to interpret and coach the two Scripture and custom. Scripture and custom are the materials of Christian doctrine, the Christian’s distant or oblique rule of religion for sure those 2 perspectives on what constitutes the Christian’s rule of religion are adversarial to a minimum of one yet another, and all people who truly seeks to stay with Christ must verify that he follows the only that is real.

Answer 6

For one thing the latter 5 are all suppose to be Christians.

The Anglicans in America are called Episcopal.

Short and Sweet - it depends upon how far they want to get away from the Biblical truth.

Answer 7

The best way to find your answer, is to check out each groups doctrinal beliefs.

btw, Catholics are not Christian. Peep all their beliefs, and weigh them and against scripture (not the apocrypha) and you'll see what I'm saying.

Answer 8

I'm Catholic and only Catholics believe in transubstantiation. Which means that when the priest consecrates the host and wine, they become the actual body and blood of christ.

Here's some proof of transubstantiation: http://www.michaeljournal.org/eucharist3.htm

Answer 9

I don't think so. There are some that have their focus right in any of those 'denominations'. But there are others who are traditional in their denomination, their focus being what denomination covers, rather than the focus on Jesus Christ.

Answer 10

I'll never understand why Christian is regarded as a denomination. Catholics etc. are Christians.