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Christians are followers of Christ who use the bible as the primary religious book for conducting services and personal spiritual nourishment. They believe in life after death, reconciliation to God through Christ and Trinity. However, within this religious group, there are many denominations that can broadly be categorized as Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. Catholic emanated from Western Europe with its headquarters in Rome and is the first church. Orthodox originated in Eastern Europe and follow most of Catholic doctrines but are distinct in regards to priesthood by women and transubstantiation. Protestants were established after the reformation and grew into the most diverse sect.
Theological Differences within the Major Christian Traditions
Christians derive their name from Jesus Christ, believed to be the incarnate God who died on the cross to reconcile the fallen man back to their creator. Their faith teaches that God is triune, all people are sinners and only get justified by faith ( Building your theology: Exploring Christian theology, 2012). Despite the similarities, there are various denominations that differ regarding church organization, polity, and other beliefs. Although Christians profess the same faith in in Jesus Christ, there are distinct doctrines, politics, and rituals for the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Charismatic Protestants.
Roman Catholic
The Roman Catholic is arguably the first theological school before the split between the West and East. Its name means universal, and Roman is used about the headquarters primacy of the pope. The key figures that have been influential in leading the Catholic theology include Augustine Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Anselm of Canterbury, and Francis of Assisi (Wax, 2022). The critical doctrinal teaching is on the expression of Christcenteredness through humanitarian works such as giving to the poor, sick, and orphans, among others.
The primary similarity with other Christian theologies is that they believe in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Catholics also believe in God and humanity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit in all of the Trinitys relations with human creatures against the backdrop of creation (Grace Theological Seminary 2021). They believe in the ascension and the second coming of Jesus Christ to take the saints to heaven. Moreover, the Catholics practice Christian rituals such as praising and singing using instruments, teaching, holy communion, fellowship, and water baptism.
However, several issues are considered controversial by other denominations. Notably, Protestants contest the baptism by sprinkling and of young children. Moreover, prayer to Mary, mother of Jesus, Purgatory (a place where souls can be perfected after death before going to heaven), Eucharistic transubstantiation, and confession to the priest is not universal to Christians. The other point of contention is in the liturgical conducting of services and the addition of the canonical books in the bible. Furthermore, the Catholics differ from Protestants and Orthodox in that their office of bishop and the priest can only be occupied by an unmarried male to represent the figure of Jesus.
The Eastern Orthodox
The Orthodox Church is sometimes described based on nationalities, such as the Greek Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, and Russian Orthodox. It was the first division to break out from the Western churches (mainly Catholic) in 1054. The believers who followed Orthodox Christianity were primarily based in Eastern Europe, with key pioneers including Patriarch Photius, Kallistos Ware, and Hank Hanegraaff (Wax, 2022). Their main emphasis is on the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and ultimate salvation is evident in the identification or union with God.
Like the rest of Christians, the centrality of Jesus Christ is apparent in the Orthodox. They have standard practices such as parting the Lords table, baptism, ordination of leaders, and fellowship. The point of distinction with the Catholic Church is the magisterium which holds priests and bishops as the foremost interpreters and teachers of the bible (Stanley, 2019). Orthodox Christians have additional Bible books that are not present with Protestantism. Although they believe in the Holy Spirit, they do not have baptism by fire evident through speaking in tongues.
The Protestant
The Protestant is the most recent branch, having broken out from the Catholic church due to their corruption and extra-biblical concepts. During the reformation era which occurred during the1500s, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli preached that Catholic had departed from the scriptures and the teachings of Augustine (Wax, 2022). The reformationist believed in using the scripture alone, justification by Jesus, pardon of sin by faith, salvation by grace, and to the glory of God. Moreover, they believe the Holy Spirit power, as was evident during the Pentecost when fire descended on the heads of the apostles
Protestants differ from Catholics and Orthodox in allowing women to take even some high-rank leadership positions, such as bishop. In addition, they only have the 66 books of the bible and do not refer to the additional scriptures. They differ with Catholics on the matter of Purgatory as they believe that after death, judgment is made. Moreover, on the issue of works, Protestants believe that even though it is crucial to give, none of the human acts of righteousness can help in salvation. With some divisions, such as the charismatics, the order of service is not methodological, and there is no use of prayer books.
In summary, Christianity remains one of the most prominent religious groups with one of the most diverse population. The three primary traditions are the Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians. The uniting factor is that Christians across all the denominations believe in Jesus Christ, his death through crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to reconcile humanity to the creator. The Catholics were the first church and were mainly based in West Europe, while the Orthodox were in the East. Protestants broke during the reformation era as they felt Catholics were departing from scriptures apart from corruption.
References
Building your theology: Exploring Christian theology. (2012). Birmingham Theological Seminary. Web.
Grace Theological Seminary. (2021). What are the four types of theology? Answers from a theology school. Grace Theological Seminary. Web.
Stanley, B. (2019). Christianity in the twentieth century: A world history. Princeton University Press.
Wax, T. (2022). Quick guide to Christian denominations. The Gospel Coalition. Web.
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