| Number of Members | 9,240,000[1] | 210,000,000[2] |
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| How does one get saved? | Repent of your sins; believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection; be baptized, participate in communion, and be sealed by an apostle in faith; and don't die with any unconfessed mortal sins. | Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, and be baptized.[3] |
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| Who gets saved? | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved.[4] | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved. |
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| Can one lose his salvation? | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy. | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy. |
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| Who gets baptized and why? | The unsaved, often as infants, get baptized as the first sacrament of Christian initiation, washing away their original sin. | The unsaved, typically as infants, get baptized as the first sacrament of Christian initiation, cleansing them of all sins. |
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| How should baptism be done? | Baptism should be by sprinkling water on the head. | Baptism should be by triple immersion. |
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| When does one receive the Holy Spirit? | The Holy Spirit is received at Holy Sealing. | The Holy Spirit is received at chrismation, generally immediately after baptism. |
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| 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. | 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. |
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| What is the human nature? | Total depravity: Human nature is corrupt, naturally inclined to evil, and incapable of choosing God on his own.[5][4] | Human nature is intrinsically good but is wounded and incapable of choosing God in our fallen environment.[6][7] |
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| 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.[8][5] | No, we are not guilty of Adam's sin, nor did we inherit a sinful nature from him, but we did inherit the consequences.[9] |
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| 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. |
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| Can Christians become sinless in this earthly life? | No, although Christians can and should sin less, they can never become sinless in this life. | Yes, Christian perfection is possible. |
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| Do the elements of communion become the body and blood of Christ? | No, the elements merely symbolically represent the body and blood of Christ. | Metousiosis: Yes, the bread and the wine change in essence into the body and blood of Christ. |
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| Can one be baptized of behalf of someone who has died? | Yes, a living person can be a proxy for the dead to be baptized, who then can accept or reject it in the afterlife. | No, the dead cannot be baptized. |
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| 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. | There is no purgatory, but Christians will continue in theosis after death.[10] |
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| Did Mary ever sin? | Yes, Mary sinned like all other humans except Jesus. | Mary was prone to sin like anyone else, but no, through her own free will she still never did. |
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| What spiritual gifts are available today? | | Continuationism: All spiritual gifts are still available to believers. |
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| What is the gift of tongues? | | Speaking in tongues is sometimes unintelligible and sometimes foreign human languages.[11][12] |
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| What are the requirements for clergy? | | Priests must be men over 30 ordained by bishops. |
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| How many church ordinances/sacraments are there? | The church has three sacraments: Baptism, Holy Communion, and Holy Sealing.[13] | The church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Chrism, Holy Eucharist, Confession, Ordination, Marriage, and Holy Unction.[14] |
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| Who can take communion? | | Only members of the church can participate in Holy Communion.[15] |
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| To whom do Christians need to confess their sins? | No confession is necessary.[16][17] | Confession should be made to God before a priest.[18] |
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| How should a church be structured? | Episcopal: Churches should be governed by the apostle in that church district, who in turn is governed by a district apostle, who is governed by the Chief Apostle.[19] | Episcopal: Churches should be governed by the bishop in that episcopacy, who in turn is governed by a patriarch of an autocephalous church. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is first among equals. |
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| What day of the week should Christians worship? | Christians worship on Sunday. | Christians worship on Sunday. |
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| How does God's revelation come to us today? | Prima scriptura: There are many sources of God's revelation, although none can contradict the Bible.[20][21] | Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition have equal authority and comprise one finished deposit of faith. |
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| How many books are in the Bible? | There are 66 canonical books of the Bible: 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books.[22][23] | There are 76 canonical books of the Bible: 39 protocanonical books, 10 deuterocanonical books, and 27 New Testament books. |
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| Who can speak with God's authority today? | The Chief Apostle proclaims revelations from God as binding doctrine.[24] | The church as a whole speaks with God's authority at ecumenical councils. |
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| How was the earth created? | | No established doctrine |
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| What is marriage? | | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman. |
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| Is sex permissible outside marriage? | | No, sex outside of marriage is not permissible. |
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| When is divorce permissible? | | Divorce is permissible for adultery, abuse, or abandonment.[25][26] |
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| May a Christian remarry while his former spouse is still alive? | | Yes, a Christian may remarry a second or third time for human weakness.[26] |
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| When does a fetus become human? | Humanity begins at fertilization.[27][28] | Humanity begins at conception.[29] |
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| Is contraception permissible? | Yes, contraceptives are permissible as long as they work before fertilization.[30] | Most believe that yes, contraceptives are permissible.[31][32] |
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| Are blood transfusions permissible? | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible.[33] | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. |
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| Should women cover their heads? | | Varies widely |
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| Should Christians drink alcohol? | | Yes, drinking alcohol is fine as long as one does not get drunk. |
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| Should Christians fight in wars? | | Yes, Christians can fight in just wars.[34][35][36] |
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| How should Christians musically worship God? | Any style of worship music is acceptable.[37][38] | |
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| Whom does the Holy Spirit come from? | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.[39] | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone. |
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| Who can be demon-possessed? | The extent to which demons can possess humans is a mystery.[40] | |
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| Do icons glorify God? | No, icons violate the First Commandment against graven images.[41] | Yes, icons are holy and should be venerated.[42] |
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| Where does a Christian's soul go after death? | After death, souls are conscious in the realm of the dead, with the dead in Christ in proximity of God.[43][44] | After death, souls sit conscious in an Intermediate State, with a foretaste of heaven for Christians.[45] |
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| When does the Tribulation happen? | Futurism: The Tribulation will happen at a time in the future which no man knows the time of. | |
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| When will the church be raptured? | Partial pretribulationism rapture: An unknown part of the church known as the "bridal congregation" will be raptured sometime before the Tribulation.[46][47][48] | The church will not be raptured at any point. |
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| When is the millennial reign of Christ happen? | Premillennialism: The millennial reign of Christ will be a long period immediately after the Tribulation.[49] | Amillennialism: The millennial reign of Christ is an indefinite period of time beginning on the day of Pentecost and ending at His Second Coming. |
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