Christians, Catholics, Protestants, 7th DAY, LDS, Methodists, ….?

Question

Can someone please tell, what is the difference between all these Sects of Christians - definitely with respect to Different Perspectives of one FAITH?

(( No word bashing please )) + Nonsense NOT appreciated & Atheist please keep aloof!

Answer 1

• The Catholics have abandoned the Bible as an Authority, but they try to use it as a tool of manipulation over others.

The Protestants got fed up with this manipulation, and called the Catholics on it 500 years ago. Martin Luther for example offered the non-catholics protection from persecution of they would join him, which many did in 1525.

The non-catholic non-protestant churches have always been very different from Rome. They truly study and follow the teaching of the Bible. They have had respect their neighbors for their lifestyles as compared to the Catholics, but the scorn and persecution of the religious because of the contrast.


Three Eras of Church History

Genuine Church History is a very simple and extremely complex subject at the same time.



Era I


In a nutshell there was one group of churches from A.D. 44 to A.D. 250. Believers began to use adjectives to describe themselves as differences arose. Monatists, Catholic/Universal belief, Christians, Brothers, Church of Christ, Churches of God, etc...



Era II


From 250 to 1179 there was one main division and a development of 2 basic types of local assemblies:

The Lapsii (the compromisers with pagans who later would join the government)
The Cathari (who remained autonomous Bible Believing Churches)


Era III


From 1179 to the Present


The Lapsii of old: Basically the government churches known today as Catholics, Orthodox, and Nestorians.

o Key Tennants:
§ Baptism of Infants, Sprinkling,
§ Mary Worship/Image Worship,
§ Hierarchy over all local assemblies,
§ Father of Ecumenical Movement
§ Absolute Authority of the Church & her leadership.


The Reformed Lapsii: This is a merge between Cathari & Lapsii. Peter Waldo's Waldensians of N. Italy, South Carolina & Argentina, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Mennonites, Amish.

o Key Tennant:
§ Various modes of Baptism, some infants baptized, (sprinklers, baptize babies,
§ women preachers).
§ Heirarchy over local assemblies,
§ Call themselves Protestants, Buy into Ecumenical Movement
§ Combined Authority of Church & Bible.


The Cathari: Welsh Believers, Anabaptists, Valdese, Bogomols, Paulicians, Henricians, Petrobrussians, Culdee, Baptists, Waldensians, and any who hold to historic "Baptist" doctrines & Practices.

o Key Tennant:
§ Baptism by immersion of professors only,
§ Jesus is only authority over the churches autonomy of local church,
§ Believe in individual local churches that answer to God uniquely.
§ Rejection of Ecumenical Ideology
§ absolute authority of Bible.

What can an Orange Tree teach us about Church History?

A skeptic is someone who does not believe a claim but seeks to factually disprove it. In the end a Skeptic is interested in the truth and open to changing his or her mind once the truth is revealed.



A critic on the other hand is someone who is not interested in the facts. A critic already has made up his mind. He will twist, turn, accuse, scoff, ridicule, and forever cast doubt with an unbridled desire to defame.



Thomas Armitage in 1886 wrote a two volume "History of the Baptists". As noted in the forward he was skeptical of the preservation of the churches separate from the Protestants. Sadly, he simply accepts what Catholic and Protestant authors wrote at face value. In doing so her repeats the myth of Baptist Protestantism sows the seeds of destruction in the minds of many Baptists. If you have ever taken the time to read Catholic and Protestant histories then you know that they are CRITICS.



Real Church History



The Baptists of America descended from those who sought out godly baptism in Holland in the 1630's from those who were pure in their faith. Who were the believers in Holland?



They are called the pure or Cathari by those who wrote the Canons against them in the 4th & 12th centuries
Hailing from France these believers were called Albigenses by the Pope who sought to destroy them in the 13th century.
By the Protestants of the 16th century they are called Anabaptists.
Those who associate them with the old faith in Northern Italy call them Waldensians in the past four centuries.


This connection between the churches in London, Holland, and Rhode Island in the 1630's & 40's is a very well documented fact. The Baptism by Immersion that Mr. Richard Blount submitted to and then brought with him to London is rooted very deep in Church History. How deep?



This baptism that Mr. Blount received in Holland was the Baptism given by the Apostles at Jesus' instruction. Then they were labeled Christians. Then they called themselves the pure. "Purity" as a name evolved into Cathari & Paulicians in Catholic documents. The Popes and Inquisitors used many synonyms for them: Cathari, Paulicians, Albigenses and Waldensians. The upstart Protestants gave them the 3rd century title of Anabaptists (it became fashionable again in the 16th century).



So, whatever historical label you choose to use for them, know this: these Bible believers gave Baptism to Richard Blount. Richard Blount baptized what true historians recognize as the first "Baptist" congregation in England that fits the modern day definition of a Baptist Church. Critics always deny this, but in their denial they show open bias and flawed definitions. Skeptics are ultimately convinced by the weight of evidence that Richard Blount's Baptism was the Baptism of the Apostles.



The great news is that Richard Blount is just one concrete link. It says nothing about the Welsh churches that had been hiding in the hills for 1200 years. They retreated there in the 7th century after 1,000 of their pastors were slaughtered by Catholics in a single meeting. On that day the Gates of Hell were raging against Christ's Body. The Welsh and Baptists of London became aware of each other and eventually joined in fellowship in the 18th century in England when persecution had waned.



Church History is typically taught from the standpoint of some kind of man-made organization. The Creator is a Biologist at heart. He creates living organisms not dead organizations. Therefore, in order to understand the essence of the local church and its preservation, a person must have an elementary understanding of trees, for example. Trees grow, get diseases, die, are cut for wood, produce seeds, and are transplanted. But there is one biological fact that cannot be denied. In order to have an Orange tree, I need to get something from a pre-existing orange tree. It can be a piece of fruit with seeds in it, seeds, a branch or a seedling, but one must have part of an Orange Tree in order to see another one grow.



No one would deny that there is a ‘succession' of Orange Trees on the planet today. But many deny that there is a ‘succession' of pure churches from the time of Christ. The logic and laws of nature make succession an undeniable fact that needs to be reaccepted, just like Creation, by those whose faith has decreased in modern times.



The problem is this, many authors, historians, and preachers today by their teaching of history deny the promise Jesus Christ made about His bride. Just as He preserved the Word, so did He preserve His Body. It is pure and still preparing for the Wedding Feast.



A Skeptic following a Critic is as the blind leading the blind. A simple Orange tree teaches us that Baptist Churches are descended in a long line of faith from the time Jesus Christ.

I know this post was long, but I wanted you to have the chance to read a different viewpoint.

God bless.

Answer 2

Ok, so my opinion is best explained by thinking of a factor tree (like we used to use in math class). There is Christianity at the top of the factor tree with three or four legs: Catholic, Protestant, Non-Trinitarian, Other (just in case there's some that don't fall into the other three)
Under Catholic is Roman Catholic, and all the other forms of Catholicism.
Under Protestant is Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Church of Christ, Episcapalian/Anglican/Church of England, Pentacostal, Church of God, Church of God in Christ, Mennonites, Amish, Non-Denominational, etc.
Under Non-Trinitarian you would most certainly have the Mormons, and any other group who does not believe that God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three in one.
And the Other group for anyone else who claims Christianity, but do not fall into one of the other three categories.

Generally speaking a big difference can be found between those who are Catholic and those who are not. Those who believe in Solo Scriptura, and those who do not. Those who believe Solo Fida, those who not. Then there's what's called fundamentalism here which is that a believer should take the Good News to those who do not believe and teach them the truth. The problem here at R&S is that every fundie as most are called believe that they alone have the truth and that if you aren't a member of their faith you are doomed. Then there are those on the other end of the fundie spectrum, those that believe that if a person is in a good place for them and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior then it doesn't matter what else they do, they will get to heaven.

There are MANY, MANY other differences in points of doctrine between even those who "get along". For example, generally speaking a Protestant will get along with pretty much any other Protestant as they have a more common belief than say a Southern Baptist and a Mormon, or a Universal Unitarian and a Church of Christ. Many who are Catholic or Protestant have a hard time accepting those who are not, like JW's, Mormons, etc.

To learn more about specific doctrines I'd go to wikipedia and start there, then move on to a specific website for a religion. Here's one for those who want to know more about Mormons: http://www.mormon.com


EDIT: James Bond - I must correct you, LDS or Mormons, are NOT Protestants. I think that's a statement that even the Protestants will agree with me about.

EDIT2: I was Methodist before I became LDS. Methodism was founded by the Wesley brothers, John and Charles while in college in England in the early/mid 1800's. They believed that all would be solved if there was a Method to the way the service was set forth. The Methodist church today has changed drastically since it's foundation. It used to be a rather strict church, one where you really had to tow the line. Now, women can be preachers, homosexuality is practically if not literally embraced. While the Wesley brothers spent at least a decade deciding what would go into the Method, once it caught on, one of the brothers began to take it in a new direction. The other brother didn't like this and a family feud began where neither of them spoke to each other for many many years. It was sort of a sad ending to their stories.

EDIT3: Sir Evil... the phrase is "pinch a loaf". If you're going to give an answer that has nothing to do with the question, at least get the phrase right.

Answer 3

As a person who has been several religions, I can tell you some quick differences between these religions.

Since everyone is already discussing mormons (LDS), I will begin there, I was LDS the longest 16 years. Mormons only believe the Bible is true as long as it is translated correctly.
Which basically ALL religions believe basically BUT, the mormons of course carry it several steps forward, it is only translated correctly as it confirms or agrees with their other doctrines and books. The LDS church is an evolving religion and stay politically correct. Example...the LDS church would not allow blacks to hold the priesthood because they supposedly had the mark of Cain. God supposed revealed that the curse was lifted. Ask any LDS why they do not drink coffee or tea and they will say the caffeine yet ever watched them drink coke, mountain dew or etc. Mormons also believe that we are ALL Gods and will someday if we live worthy enough will be creating our own worlds like earth.
In Romans it speaks of a church where it says I bear them record that they have a certain zeal for God but not according to His will, etc if you keep reading Chapter 9 into Chapter 10 you will see the correlation. There is an excellent site called Mormons in Transition that has alot of sources.
The 7th Day Adventist are christians who observe Saturday as the Sabbath as that is scriptural and also are vegetarians and have alot of Revelation Seminars that are very informative on the end times.
Protestants are non catholics.
Catholics claim to descend from Peter because Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, historically Catholics created the belief in the Trinity during the Council of Nicea, prior to the that people were one God believers having descended from Judaism.
Methodists are a breakoff from the Catholic church.
There are differences between religions and their doctrines which I do not believe is God intended but man's unwillingness to just take the Bible for what it says and live it.
We want to take the parts we like and discard the parts we don't rather than surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.

Answer 4

Christians - Followers of Jesus Christ (Includes all of the following faiths)

Catholic - believe in the apostolic succession of Peter to Linus, to Cletus (I think). The Pope is the head. They believe that Mary and the saints can intercede with Jesus on their behalf. Priests, nuns, and monks, are not married.

Protestants - this group includes many different sub-groups (Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, etc.). Mainly, they believe that the Catholic Church either lost the authority or never had it to begin with.

7th Day Adventists - They also have different sub-groups. What they have in common is that they believe that Saturday is still the holy day, not Sunday.

LDS - (This is the Church I belong to) We believe that the authority was lost with the deaths of the apostles. This was restored to Joseph Smith in the early ninteenth century.

Methodists - I really don't know how or why they were founded. One of the regulars on here, Fireball, is a Methodist. You could ask her about it.


All of these are very short, and incomplete answers. I certainly am not an expert in any, even my own, religion. I would recommend doing more research on "real" websites. For the LDS religion you can go to www.lds.org or www.mormon.org. I'm sure the other religions have their own sites as well.

Answer 5

As far as I understand it...

Catholic is the original Christian church.

Martin Luther claimed that they were adding traditions and ceremonies not in the Bible and tried to reform the Catholic church. Examples are that clergy should be able to marry and stuff like that.

After Martin Luther died, a group split off from the Catholic church and they are called protestants. Protestants include many denominations, for example Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist etc. Each are following what they believe to be the best interpretation of scripture.

All of these believe in the same MAJOR things about God. The trinity, the Bible is the word of God and how to be saved for example. They disagree on MINOR things, like methods of baptism, ceremonies and stuff.

LDS was started by Joseph Smith. He claimed to have been visited by an angel stating that all churches are wrong and an abomination. They believe differently from mainstream Christianity about several things including the nature of God, the trinity and who Jesus is. They believe that Jesus came to the Americas and Joseph Smith restored the truth.

I honestly don't know much about 7th Day Adventists, so I won't comment.

Edit: If I answered poorly, I'm fine with a thumbs down. If I offended anyone, however, please know that wasn't my intent. Just trying to say the history of it the best I can remember.

Answer 6

As a very active Methodist I can only speak for us in that we are protestants and we are a liberal version of christianity. A vey democratic version of the catholic church as in our lay leadership acctaully gets to vote on our position on issues. Also the head office of the United Methodist Church in the US is next door to the Supreme Court and across the street from the Capitol.

Answer 7

Christians = all those who follow Christ
Catholics = Christians who are subject to the authority of Pope in the Vatican
Protestant = Christians who are not subject to the authority of Pope in the Vatican
7th Day = don't know a whole lot about so I can't talk about them
LDS= Christians who are subject to the authority of the LDS president, who is considered a prophet of God, the first Prophet being Josesph Smith.
Methodist= I don't know much about that particulare denomination

There are many more out there...

Answer 8

We are all Christian religions that believe slightly different things. The main thing though is that all these religions teach us how to be better people. If we all lived by what we are taught in Church, this world would be a better place!

For example, Catholics believe that their line of authority hasn't been broken since the original Apostles. LDS people believe that the authority was lost when the apostles were killed so the authority had to be restored. No comment on the others since I don't know.

Answer 9

The list is too long. There is a single truth but people understand the same truth in different ways. When a group of people understand the same truth in the same manner they unite and give themselfs a name so others may know how they understand that complex truth, by using that name as we use ID cards.

Answer 10

I cannot tell you the difference between all of these religions. I can only tell you what I believe

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES believe in Almighty God, Jehovah, Creator of the heavens and the earth. The very existence of the intricately designed wonders in the universe surrounding us reasonably argues that a supremely intelligent and powerful Creator produced it all. Just as the works of men and women reflect their qualities, so do those of Jehovah God. The Bible tells us that "his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world's creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made." Also, without voice or words, "the heavens are declaring the glory of God."—Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1-4.

Answer 11

That is a huge question but one could start to answer it by considering where they look in order to find authority. Is it within the church hierarchy, is in writings they revere and if so, which ones and in some cases, which translations. The Anglican communion to which I subscribe and which claims to be both catholic and protestant has three sources of authority - the bible, tradition and reason