| a.k.a. | Assemblies of God | |
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| Number of Members | 280,000,000 | 1,360,000,000[1] |
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| How does one get saved? | Most believe sola fide: Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection alone to save you. Oneness Pentecostals believe you must also be baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. | 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.[2][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.[4] | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy or by committing a mortal sin. |
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| Who gets baptized and why? | Most believe saved people get baptized as a public demonstration of their new lives.[5][6] | 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? | Most believe baptism should be by immersion.[5][6] | Baptism should be by pouring water on the head. |
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| When does one receive the Holy Spirit? | The Holy Spirit is received at the moment of salvation, but being filled with, or baptized in, the Holy Spirit happens later. | The Holy Spirit is received at baptism. |
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| What is the trinity? | Most believe 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. Oneness Pentecostals believe Modalism: that God has no distinct persons and just manifests Himself in different ways. | 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.[7] | Human nature is not totally corrupt but is wounded and inclined to evil.[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. | 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.[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? | Holiness Pentecostals believe that Christians can become perfect and must do so before receiving the Holy Spirit. Other branches of Pentecostalism reject Christian perfection. | "Christian perfection" is attainable in this life, but this does not mean one is sinless, as one will always commit minor "venial sins". |
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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. | Transubstantiation: Yes, the bread and the wine change 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. | Christians who die imperfectly purified must be purified through purgatory.[10] |
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| 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. |
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| What spiritual gifts are available today? | Continuationism: All spiritual gifts are still available to believers. | Most believe that all spiritual gifts are still available to believers. |
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| What framework has God used in dealing with man? | Dispensationalism: God acts differently with humanity in seven different periods of history. | |
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| What is the gift of tongues? | Speaking in tongues is speaking the language of angels, unintelligible without an interpreter. | |
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| What are the requirements for clergy? | | Priests must be unmarried men over 25 ordained by bishops. |
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| How many church ordinances/sacraments are there? | Most believe the church has two ordinances: Baptism and Holy Communion.[11] | The church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.[12] |
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| 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.[13] | Mortal sins must be privately confessed to a priest at least annually.[14][15] |
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| How should a church be structured? | Presbyterian: Churches should be governed by its own deacons, who in turn are governed by a district comprising the pastors and representatives from the region, which is governed by a general council of delegates from all churches.[16] | 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. |
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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. | 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. | There are 73 canonical books of the Bible: 39 protocanonical books, 7 deuterocanonical books, and 27 New Testament books. |
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| Was the Bible written inerrantly? | Yes, the Bible was written without any error.[17] | No, the Bible was written inerrantly on matters of salvation but may contain errors in other matters. |
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| Who can speak with God's authority today? | | The Pope speaks infallibly with God's authority when speaking ex cathedra.[18][19] |
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| How was the earth created? | No established doctrine[20] | The earth was formed by gravity pulling dust together, which ultimately came from the Big Bang. |
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| What is marriage? | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman.[21] | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman.[22] |
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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 permissible for adultery or desertion.[21] | Divorce is never permissible. |
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| May a Christian remarry while his former spouse is still alive? | The innocent party to the adultery may remarry.[21] | Divorce is never permissible. |
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| When does a fetus become human? | Humanity begins at conception.[23] | Humanity begins at conception.[24] |
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| Is contraception permissible? | Yes, contraceptives are permissible.[23] | No, contraceptives are not permissible.[25] |
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| Are blood transfusions permissible? | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. |
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| Should women cover their heads? | No, women's long hair is enough of a covering. | No, head coverings are no longer required due to cultural changes.[26] |
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| Should Christians drink alcohol? | No, alcohol should be totally avoided.[27] | Yes, drinking alcohol is fine as long as one does not get drunk.[28] |
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| Should Christians fight in wars? | Yes, Christians should fight in just wars. | Yes, Christians should fight in just wars.[29][30] |
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| How should Christians musically worship God? | Any style of worship music is acceptable.[31][32] | |
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| Whom does the Holy Spirit come from? | No established doctrine | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.[33] |
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| Who can be demon-possessed? | | Demons can possess anyone.[34] |
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| Do icons glorify God? | | Yes, icons are holy and should be venerated. |
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| Where does a Christian's soul go after death? | Christians immediately go to heaven when they die. | Some Christians first go to purgatory to be purified when they die.[10] |
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