i have been a christian for a long time now, raised in a baptist church, though i am not a baptist any longer. i have no idea what different denominations believe, such as evangelical, pentecostal, assembly of God, ect. i do know about baptist, catholic, lutheran, non-denominational, but that's about it.
There is no substitute for homework, which means actually going around and worshiping at many different churches, talking with their clergy, and getting out books to read. But I'll give you some general categories.
First, all Churches can be divided into three general groups: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant (accepting the five solas). All Christians are in one of those three subgroups of history.
The five solas are:
- Sola Fide, by faith alone.
- Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone.
- Solus Christus, through Christ alone.
- Sola Gratia, by grace alone.
- Soli Deo Gloria, glory to God alone.
The first two solas are only accepted by Protestants, but the last three are accepted by all Christians.
There are lots of little differences between Catholics and the Orthodox, but the BIG difference is that Catholics have the Pope and the Orthodox do not.
Now for the smaller categories:
The catholic churches, known in CF as the traditional churches. These are the churches that make claims to apostolic succession. Apostolic succession is the idea that the Apostles had teaching authority which they passed on to the bishops via the laying on of hands, and so on until the bishops of today in an unbroken chain of laying on of hands. In this manner the Church has authority in addition to the Bible. These churches also tend to believe in Sacramentality, and put emphasis on Eucharist. They are highly Creedal. They worship with a Liturgical style. Examples of these traditional churches are the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Most include the confessional Lutheran Churches although they are sola scriptura.
The Reform/Calvinist Churches. They believe the five solas (such as faith alone and Bible alone) as well as the five points of Calvinism (acronym TULIP):
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement (Christ died ONLY for the elect)
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved)
An example of a Reform Church would be the Presbyterian Church.
The Wesleyan/Arminian Churches. They accept the solas. These are largely offshoots of the Church of England and so have remnants of Sacramentality. They are known for their beliefs opposite to the five points of Calvinism, such as the possibility that a Christian can lose their salvation. They stress good works and sanctification. Examples include the Methodist church and the Nazarene chruch.
Pentecostals/Charismatics. They accept the solas. These had their start in the Azusa Street revival of the early 20th century. They believe in the miraculous gifts of the New Testament, especially the speaking in tongues. Their worship services tend to be less organized and more spontaneous, emotional, and expressive. Examples include Assembly of God and Four Square Gospel. WARNING: there are heretical Pentecostal Churches such as the United Pentecostal Church who reject the Trinity and are therefore not considered Christians.
Anabaptist Descendants: They accept the solas. What they have in common is that they do not recognize infant baptism. Most are pacifist and emphasize good works. Examples include the Baptists, Quakers, and Amish.
Messianic Judaism -- this is hard to explain, and doesn't have a lot of unity other than that it combines the gospel with obedience to Mosaic Law. You can ask me me and I'll explain it to you if you really have a burning interest.
Miscellaneous: You will also hear the terms Evangelical and non-denominational thrown around.
Evangelical is simply a broad-based term that means an emphasis on evangelization, definition of a christian as someone who has had a personal radical conversion experience, and believing in the inerrancy of the Bible. They are sometimes called "Bible churches." Evangelicals are Protestant, and can be a denomination such as Baptist or a non-denominational church. They are often hybrids that are partially Arminian and partially Calvinist (i.e. free will but once saved always saved).
Non-denominational simply means a church that is independent church which answers only to itself (usually its pastor), rather than to a denominational headquarters. Non denominational churches are Protestant and fit into the broad categories above. Occasionally you will find a non-denominational church that just doesn't take a stand on these important issues and only embraces the solas (is Protestant) and is Evangelical.
