whats the difference between the christian faiths? I mean like baptist, methodist, catholic, ect.?

Answer 1

Catholics believe that the Church administers God's forgiveness through the sacraments, that the Pope is Christ's personal representative on earth, and that after baptism subsequent sins carry a penalty of time separated from God after death unless sufficient penance is performed.

Eastern Orthodox deny that the Pope has that sort of special position.

Lutherans and Anglicans/Episcopals deny the Pope, plus they also deny that sins committed after baptism carry a special additional penalty.

Most denominations not named above deny the Pope and the additonal penalty for sin after baptism, plus they also deny that forgiveness is administered through the sacraments. Instead, they believe that God administers forgiveness invisibly and that the Church's role is only as a witness. (Yes, that is contradictory--and that's why I'm a Lutheran. lol)

Answer 2

That would be a long long answer. I can start it off though. The two main types of Christianity in the broadest sense is Catholic and Protestant. Protestants have many denominations-Lutheran (the first), methodist, baptist, etc. The difference between Catholics and Protestants, in a very simplistic way, is, Protestants believe that salvation is achieved through faith and not good works. They rely heavilly on Paul. The Anglican denomination was created by a king who wanted to get a divorce, but it was forbidden in Catholicism, so he created his own religion. Anyway, within all the different denominations there are many differences. Some believe you can speak in tongues, some say you can't. Sorry I don't know all the differences but it's a great question.

Answer 3

Well, there's Catholicism and then there's Protestantism (Methodist, Baptist, etc.) There's very little difference in the basic beliefs of most protestants. If you look at the official "Statements of Faith" for each denomination, there are only tiny differences. There is a huge difference between Catholic and Protestant though. Protestants broke away from the Catholic church centuries ago, and while beng very adamant about the things they don't like about Catholics, many of their own beliefs were actually brought with them when they left the Catholic church.

Answer 4

That's a huge loaded question whic could not be covered adequately here.

Roman Catholic is a liturgical system which holds to a lot of traditions that were developed in the middle ages.

Baptists originated out of the middle ages, when the Catholic heirarchy was preventing people from reading Bibles. Baptists believed that only an adult should be baptized, not an infant.

Methodists came later, and were primarily a return to Biblical teaching and "holiness".

But, each one comes from a different time and different focus on following God. Usually, there was a reason that one group was going into apostacy (leaving truth) and some folks broke away to keep with the truth of the Bible.

But, you got a lot of homework to understand all the details.

Answer 5

As others have said, that's a difficult question to answer briefly. I'll give it a shot anyway. I'll focus on origins.

Catholics (both major denominations) belief that Jesus Christ's church is still on the earth from when Christ established it.

Protestants (Baptist, Methodist,...) believe the Catholic church deviated too much from the teachings of Jesus Christ and so they started different denominations based on their views.

I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka Mormon Church). We believe that shortly after the apostles died, the church fell into apostasy as predicted in the New Testament. It was restored to the earth in 1830, complete with fully authorized apostles, prophets, and all the other offices found in the original church. Because of continuing revelation, we understand the answers to key questions such as where we were prior to birth, why we're on the earth, and where we go after death. There are some videos at http://www.mormon.org if you're interested.

Answer 6

Note "David Funai" - one catholic parent, one baptist parent. They obviously get along. Protestants (and baptists tend to be more fundamentalist) are big on being saved by faith alone, even though both Jesus and the Epistles reiterate that "faith without works is DEAD". The catholics have a lot of traditions and consider that those traditions, accumulated over the years, are part of their christian "walk" while protestants do not accept a lot of those traditions. However, read Matthew 22:34-40 and Matthew 25:31-46. If you follow directions, you are "saved" regardless of religion (or lack of it). Jesus "Guarantees" it in the text. So that is all you need to know, all the rest is irrelevant window dressing. Blessings on your Journey!

Answer 7

Not getting into a lot of semantics...

The Catholic and Methodist would probably speak to you in the liquor store but the Baptist would not :)

Answer 8

baptists dip the baby in water, methodists teach the baby methods, catholics make a little silk outfit for the baby presbyterians take the baby into the woods and read the bible
unitarians put all the babies in the same room

Answer 9

"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)

Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.

Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):

By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html

There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.

A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

There are lot of nuanced differences.

The best book I've ever known has been Leo Rosten's book on denominations, "Religions in America." But it was written in the 1960s

Amazon notes the following book (430 pages long) with a 5-star rating:
"Handbook of Denominations in the United States" by Mead, Hill, & Atwood.

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