The difference in denominations

Dear JimBob,

What is the difference between Catholic, Protestant, Non-demonational, Mormon & Jehovah Witness?

Bewildered

Dear Be,

            This is going to be a lame response, but that question is waaaay too broad to be answered in a single blog response. That being said, here’s my abbreviated response: Catholicism, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, is the oldest of all organized and labeled Christian religions (or denominations if that sounds better). The word “catholic” often confuses people because it’s used in some of the major creeds of the protestant denominations. For example, the later portion of the Apostle’s creed states, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” In this instance, “catholic” means the varied and wide-ranging mix of all believers who make up the body of Christ. The “Roman Catholic” church represents those who follow Christ, but base their earthly authority in the person of the pope who resides in Rome.

            Most of the other Christian denominations like the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Church of God, etc. are referred to as “protestant” churches. 500 years ago, a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther stood in protest of the corruption and false teachings in the church at that time. Because of his protest, they tossed him out of the church and the Lutheran church was the result. His protest eventually lead to other groups forming in protest to what the Roman Catholic Church was doing at that time. Because every new movement was formed in protest to the long established church of Rome, they were eventually referred to as Protestant churches.

            Again, it would take many books to cover the differences between all of the different denominations. Many RC churches tend to emphasize the saints and especially Mary, the mother of Jesus. Some RC churches believe that a person has to go through a priest to find forgiveness. There was a time when the RC church didn’t want its members owning or reading the Bible because the clergy wanted to control the flow of information. I’m not picking on the RC church, but emphasizing some aspects that many Protestants like to point out when talking about the differences. It’s somewhat of an irony that Protestants point out some of the above as shortcomings in the RC church, but then never pick up the Bible themselves and rarely take advantage of going into the presence of God solely based on the blood of Christ; but that’s another blog entry unto itself.

            Some churches have few distinctions in their beliefs bur rather differ more in their governing systems, styles of worship, and emphasis on rituals. For example, if you compared what the Baptist and Methodists believed, 95% of it (that’s an estimate on my part) would be the same. The Baptists seem to emphasize salvation and evangelism more than the typical Methodist, while the Methodist seem to emphasize missions and putting one’s faith into action. However, I’ve seen powerfully evangelical Methodist churches, and I’ve seen Baptist churches that have radically impacted their communities because of their social outreach programs. It’s tough, and not all that wise, to make overgeneralizations about any denomination.

            When it comes right down to it, I tend to fall in line with John Wesley, an Anglican priest who inadvertently started the Methodist revolution in the 1700’s, who said (and I’m paraphrasing), “When it comes to the things that are not at the core of the Christian faith, we think and let think. If you believe in Christ and want to walk faithfully in His Spirit, give me your hand.” In other words, I think the world would benefit greatly if more Christian churches emphasized their common call to make disciples of all the world than continued to bicker over inconsequential and non-eternal issues.

Jim

PS: I know I didn’t answer the Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness question, but I don’t feel I have enough information to adequately, much less fairly, speak to either.

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