| Number of Members | 300,000 | 1,360,000,000[1] |
|---|
| How does one get saved? | Sola fide: Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection alone to save you.[2][3] | Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection to save you, be baptized, participate in the Eucharist, and don't die with any unconfessed mortal sins.[4][5] |
|---|
| Who gets saved? | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved.[6][7] | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved. |
|---|
| Can one lose his salvation? | Eternal security: No, once a Christian is saved, he is always saved.[8] | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy or by committing a mortal sin. |
|---|
| Who gets baptized and why? | Saved people get baptized as a public demonstration of their new lives.[9] | The unsaved, typically as infants, get baptized as the first sacrament of Christian initiation, cleansing them of all sins. |
|---|
| How should baptism be done? | Baptism should be by immersion.[9] | Baptism should be by pouring water on the head. |
|---|
| When does one receive the Holy Spirit? | The Holy Spirit is received at the moment of salvation.[2][3] | The Holy Spirit is received at baptism. |
|---|
| What is the trinity? | The Trinity is God existing as one god in three equal, eternal, cosubstantial persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.[2][3] | The Trinity is God existing as one god in three equal, eternal, cosubstantial persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. |
|---|
| What is the human nature? | Total depravity: Human nature is corrupt, naturally inclined to evil, and incapable of choosing God on his own.[10] | Human nature is not totally corrupt but is wounded and inclined to evil.[11] |
|---|
| Are we guilty of Adam's original sin? | | No, we are not guilty of Adam's sin, but we did inherit the consequences and a corrupt human nature from him, causing us all to sin.[12] |
|---|
| Are Christians required to keep the Old Testament ceremonial laws? | No, the ceremonial laws of Judaism were fulfilled and done away with by Jesus. | No, the ceremonial laws of Judaism were fulfilled and done away with by Jesus. |
|---|
| Can Christians become sinless in this earthly life? | No, although Christians can and should sin less, they can never become sinless in this life.[13] | "Christian perfection" is attainable in this life, but this does not mean one is sinless, as one will always commit minor "venial sins". |
|---|
| Do the elements of communion become the body and blood of Christ? | No, the elements merely symbolically represent the body and blood of Christ. | Transubstantiation: Yes, the bread and the wine change into the body and blood of Christ. |
|---|
| Can one be baptized of behalf of someone who has died? | No, the dead cannot be baptized. | No, the dead cannot be baptized. |
|---|
| What happens if a saved person dies without being perfect? | Once Christians leave their sinful bodies, nothing else is needed to receive glorified, sinless bodies.[14][15] | Christians who die imperfectly purified must be purified through purgatory.[16] |
|---|
| Did Mary ever sin? | Yes, Mary sinned like all other humans except Jesus. | Immaculate conception: No, Mary was free of original sin and remained sinless throughout her life. |
|---|
| What spiritual gifts are available today? | Continuationism: All spiritual gifts are still available to believers.[17] | Most believe that all spiritual gifts are still available to believers. |
|---|
| What framework has God used in dealing with man? | Dispensationalism: God acts differently with humanity in seven different periods of history. | |
|---|
| What is the gift of tongues? | Speaking in tongues is sometimes unintelligible and sometimes foreign human languages.[18] | |
|---|
| What are the requirements for clergy? | | Priests must be unmarried men over 25 ordained by bishops. |
|---|
| How many church ordinances/sacraments are there? | The church has two ordinances: Baptism and Holy Communion. | The church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.[19] |
|---|
| To whom do Christians need to confess their sins? | Confession should be made directly to God, but confession to another believer is beneficial for some sins.[20] | Mortal sins must be privately confessed to a priest at least annually.[21][22] |
|---|
| How should a church be structured? | | Episcopal: Churches should be governed by the bishop in that diocese, who in turn is governed by an archbishop, who is governed by the Pope. |
|---|
| What day of the week should Christians worship? | Christians worship on Sunday. | Christians worship on Sunday. |
|---|
| How does God's revelation come to us today? | Sola scriptura: The Bible is the only infallible source of God's revelation, sufficient for all faith and practice.[23] | Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition have equal authority and comprise one finished deposit of faith. |
|---|
| How was the Bible written? | Verbal plenary inspiration: The Bible was written by men who had every word supernaturaly inspired by God.[24][25][2][3] | |
|---|
| How many books are in the Bible? | There are 66 canonical books of the Bible: 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. | There are 73 canonical books of the Bible: 39 protocanonical books, 7 deuterocanonical books, and 27 New Testament books. |
|---|
| Was the Bible written inerrantly? | Yes, the Bible was written without any error.[24][25][2][3] | No, the Bible was written inerrantly on matters of salvation but may contain errors in other matters. |
|---|
| Who can speak with God's authority today? | Nobody today can speak for God. | The Pope speaks infallibly with God's authority when speaking ex cathedra.[26][27] |
|---|
| How was the earth created? | Creationism: The earth was spoken into existence by God. | The earth was formed by gravity pulling dust together, which ultimately came from the Big Bang. |
|---|
| What is marriage? | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman.[28][29] | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman.[30] |
|---|
| Is sex permissible outside marriage? | No, sex outside of marriage is not permissible.[31] | No, sex outside of marriage is not permissible. |
|---|
| When is divorce permissible? | Divorce is permissible for adultery or desertion.[32][29] | Divorce is never permissible. |
|---|
| May a Christian remarry while his former spouse is still alive? | Yes, a Christian may freely remarry after divorce.[29] | Divorce is never permissible. |
|---|
| When does a fetus become human? | Humanity begins at conception.[33] | Humanity begins at conception.[34] |
|---|
| Is contraception permissible? | Yes, contraceptives are permissible.[35] | No, contraceptives are not permissible.[36] |
|---|
| Are blood transfusions permissible? | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. |
|---|
| Should women cover their heads? | No, head coverings are no longer required due to cultural changes.[37][38] | No, head coverings are no longer required due to cultural changes.[39] |
|---|
| Should Christians drink alcohol? | Yes, drinking alcohol is fine as long as one does not get drunk.[40][41] | Yes, drinking alcohol is fine as long as one does not get drunk.[42] |
|---|
| Should Christians fight in wars? | Yes, Christians can fight in just wars. | Yes, Christians should fight in just wars.[43][44] |
|---|
| How should Christians musically worship God? | Any style of worship music is acceptable. | |
|---|
| Whom does the Holy Spirit come from? | | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.[45] |
|---|
| Who can be demon-possessed? | Demons can possess unbelievers but not Christians. | Demons can possess anyone.[46] |
|---|
| Do icons glorify God? | No, icons violate the Second Commandment against graven images. | Yes, icons are holy and should be venerated. |
|---|
| Where does a Christian's soul go after death? | Christians immediately go to heaven when they die.[47] | Some Christians first go to purgatory to be purified when they die.[16] |
|---|
| When does the Tribulation happen? | Futurism: The Tribulation will happen at a time in the future which no man knows the time of.[48] | |
|---|
| When will the church be raptured? | Pretribulationism rapture: The church will be raptured sometime before the Tribulation.[48] | |
|---|
| When is the millennial reign of Christ happen? | Premillennialism: The millennial reign of Christ will be the 1,000 years immediately after the Tribulation.[49] | |
|---|