| a.k.a. | | |
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| Number of Members | 52,000,000[1] | 210,000,000[1] |
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| How does one get saved? | Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, and be baptized.[2][3][4] | Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, and be baptized.[5] |
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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. | 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 believing but unsaved get baptized as part of their salvation. | 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 triple immersion. | Baptism should be by triple immersion. |
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| When does one receive the Holy Spirit? | The Holy Spirit is received at baptism. | 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? | Human nature is corrupt and naturally inclined to evil.[6] | Human nature is intrinsically good but is wounded and incapable of choosing God in our fallen environment.[7][8] |
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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.[6][9] | No, we are not guilty of Adam's sin, nor did we inherit a sinful nature from him, but we did inherit the consequences.[10] |
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| Are Christians required to keep the Old Testament ceremonial laws? | Yes, all Old Testament laws are binding on Christians. | 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? | Yes, Christian perfection is possible. | Yes, Christian perfection is possible. |
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| Do the elements of communion become the body and blood of Christ? | Yes, the bread and the wine change into the body and blood of Christ in an unknown way.[11][12] | 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? | No, the dead cannot be baptized. | 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.[13] | There is no purgatory, but Christians will continue in theosis after death.[14] |
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| Did Mary ever sin? | Mary was prone to sin like anyone else, but no, through her own free will she still never did. | 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.[15][16] |
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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 seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Eucharist, Unction of the Sick, Matrimony, and Priesthood.[17][18][19] | The church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Chrism, Holy Eucharist, Confession, Ordination, Marriage, and Holy Unction.[20] |
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| To whom do Christians need to confess their sins? | Sins must be privately confessed to a priest within 40 days.[21][22][23][24] | Confession should be made to God before a priest.[25] |
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| How should a church be structured? | Episcopal: Churches should be governed by the bishop in that eparchy, who in turn is governed by a patriarch of an autocephalous church. | 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, although the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday. | Christians worship on Sunday. |
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| How does God's revelation come to us today? | Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition have equal authority and comprise one finished deposit of faith.[26] | 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? | Varies widely | 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 church as a whole speaks with God's authority at ecumenical councils. |
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| What is marriage? | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman.[27][28][29] | 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. | No, sex outside of marriage is not permissible. |
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| When is divorce permissible? | Divorce is seldomly permissible upon investigation by a clergical committee, usually instigated by infidelity.[30] | Divorce is permissible for adultery, abuse, or abandonment.[31][32] |
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| May a Christian remarry while his former spouse is still alive? | The innocent party to the adultery may remarry.[33] | Yes, a Christian may remarry a second or third time for human weakness.[32] |
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| When does a fetus become human? | Ranges from humanity beginning at fertilization to 40 days after conception[34][35][36][37] | Humanity begins at conception.[38] |
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| Is contraception permissible? | Varies widely[36][39][40][41] | Most believe that yes, contraceptives are permissible.[42][43] |
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| Should women cover their heads? | | Varies widely |
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| Should Christians drink alcohol? | No, alcohol should be totally avoided aside from Eucharist.[44] | 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.[45] | Yes, Christians can fight in just wars.[46][47][48] |
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| Whom does the Holy Spirit come from? | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone.[49] | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone. |
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| Do icons glorify God? | | Yes, icons are holy and should be venerated.[50] |
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| Where does a Christian's soul go after death? | After death, souls sit conscious in an Intermediate State, with Christians being with Christ.[51] | After death, souls sit conscious in an Intermediate State, with a foretaste of heaven for Christians.[52] |
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