What does being a Protestant mean?
: a member of any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth.
Protestants believe in three essential beliefs. 1) The Bible is the ultimate religious truth and authority. 2) Through a belief in Jesus Christ and the grace of God, human beings can find salvation. 3) All Christians are viewed as priests and can communicate directly with God.
A Protestant is a Christian who belongs to the branch of the Christian church which separated from the Catholic church in the sixteenth century. 2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun] Protestant means relating to Protestants or their churches. Many Protestant churches have women ministers.
noun. any Western Christian who is not an adherent of a Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Church. an adherent of any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them.
Catholicism and Protestantism are two denominations of Christianity, just like Shia and Sunni are sects of Islam. While the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, Protestantism is a general term that refers to Christianity that is not subject to papal authority.
The Roman Catholic Church reveres Mary, the mother of Jesus, as "Queen of Heaven." However, there are few biblical references to support the Catholic Marian dogmas — which include the Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity and her Assumption into heaven. This is why they are rejected by Protestants.
Individual or private worship includes prayer, contemplation, singing and reading or studying the Bible. Some denominations of Protestantism emphasise group Bible study in each other's homes. Some Protestants pray before or after partaking in a meal (sometimes referred to as 'saying grace') as a way to show gratitude.
"Biblical Christianity" focused on a deep study of the Bible is characteristic of most Protestants as opposed to "Church Christianity", focused on performing rituals and good works, represented by Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
Generally speaking, Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers in the 16th century espoused the belief that salvation is attained only through faith in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice on the cross (sola fide), while Catholicism taught that salvation comes through a combination of faith plus good works (e.g., living a ...
A Harris Interactive survey from 2003 found that 90% of self-identified Protestants in the United States believe in God and about 4% of American Protestants believe there is no God.
What are the three types of Protestants?
This section documents the composition of the three major Protestant traditions (evangelical Protestantism, mainline Protestantism and historically black Protestantism) as they have been defined in this report.
- Baptist (33%)
- Nondenominational Protestant (13%)
- Methodist (10%)
- Pentecostal (10%)
- Unspecified Protestant (8%)
- Lutheran (8%)
- Presbyterian (5%)
- Restorationist (4%)
Protestants believe that both good deeds and faith in God are needed to get into heaven. Protestants believe that faith in God alone is needed to get into heaven, a tenet known as sola fide. Catholics believe that both good deeds and faith in God are needed to get into heaven.
Common terms for Protestant leaders include: minister, pastor, priest (Anglican/Episcopal tradition), deacon, elder, bishop. In some traditions, deacons are clergy; in others, it is a temporary elected office. Women may be clergy in some Protestant denominations.
Most Protestants accept the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. This doctrine states that God is triune; one God manifest in three forms. The Holy Trinity consists of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit (the presence of God).
Catholic Christians are permitted to marry validly baptized non-Catholic Christians if they receive permission to do so from a "competent authority" who is usually the Catholic Christian party's local ordinary; if the proper conditions are fulfilled, such a marriage entered into is seen as valid and also, since it is a ...
Karl Barth (1886–1968), a Reformed Protestant, was a leading 20th century theologian. Aware of the common dogmatic tradition of the early Church, Barth fully accepted the dogma of Mary as the Mother of God. In his view, through Mary, Jesus belongs to the human race; through Jesus, Mary is Mother of God.
Following the Protestant Reformation, many of the new denominations, including the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church, continued to celebrate Christmas. In 1629, the Anglican poet John Milton penned On the Morning of Christ's Nativity, a poem that has since been read by many during Christmastide.
The Differences
Catholics and Protestants have the same 27-book New Testament. Thus, the differences between their Bibles concerns the boundaries of the Old Testament canon. In short, Catholics have 46 books, while Protestants have 39.
Most churchgoers say the Bible teaches against drunkenness. But that doesn't stop about 4 in 10 from taking a drink now and then.
What Bible do Protestants believe in?
Protestant Bibles comprise 39 books of the Old Testament (according to the Jewish Hebrew Bible canon, known especially to non-Protestants as the protocanonical books) and the 27 books of the New Testament for a total of 66 books.
The Mormon religion is very unique in many of its doctrine. While technically a Protestant faith, the Mormons generally share more doctrine with the Catholics.
Liberal Protestants believe that the soul lives on eternally after death in a spirit world. They believe that a person's afterlife will depend on how the person lived their life on Earth.
Protestants Most Divided in Interpretation of Bible
Protestants (including those who identify themselves as "Christian" but not Catholic or Mormon) are the most likely religious group to believe the Bible is literally true.
The majority of mainstream Protestantism hold similar views on the theology of the Holy Spirit as the Roman Catholic Church, but there are significant differences in belief between Pentecostalism and the rest of Protestantism.
Most Protestant churches never display a crucifix but often show a plain Latin cross. A Latin cross looks like a lowercase letter "t.” As part of the Reformation, many Protestants purposely stripped their churches of decoration, believing previous practices had become ostentatious and distracted from proper worship.
Protestants are not a single ecclesiastical denomination with common beliefs. Rather, Protestantism is a collective term for all Christian religions that split from the previously Roman Catholic Church in protest. The largest Protestant groups today are Lutherans, Reformed Christians, Anglicans and Baptists.
Communion is one of two rituals practiced by Protestants; the other is baptism. While baptism is generally a one-time event, communion is to be repeated throughout the life of the believer (Gospel Out Reach). Both acts cleanse sins. The relationship between baptism and communion is quite strong.
theist vs. deist
A theist is the opposite of an atheist. Theists believe in the existence of a god or gods. The word deist refers to someone who believes in God. But a deist believes that while God created the universe, natural laws determine how the universe plays out.
Agnostic theism, agnostotheism, or agnostitheism is the philosophical view that encompasses both theism and agnosticism. An agnostic theist believes in the existence of one or more gods, but regards the basis of this proposition as unknown or inherently unknowable.
What religion was Jesus?
He was born of a Jewish mother, in Galilee, a Jewish part of the world. All of his friends, associates, colleagues, disciples, all of them were Jews. He regularly worshipped in Jewish communal worship, what we call synagogues. He preached from Jewish text, from the Bible.
Baptist, member of a group of Protestant Christians who share the basic beliefs of most Protestants but who insist that only believers should be baptized and that it should be done by immersion rather than by the sprinkling or pouring of water. (This view, however, is shared by others who are not Baptists.)
Along with Anglicanism, the Reformed and Presbyterian (Calvinist) churches, Methodism, and the Baptist churches, Lutheranism is one of the five major branches of Protestantism.
Protestantism is the religious tradition of Western Christianity that rejects the authority of the pope of Rome.
Catholicism is the largest branch of Christianity with 1.345 billion, and the Catholic Church is the largest among churches.
The Church of England, the Church of Christ in Congo, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the Assembleias de Deus and the Evangelical Church in Germany constitute the most numerous national bodies with more than 20 million members each.
| Religion | Followers (billions) | Cultural tradition |
|---|---|---|
| Christianity | 2.4 | Abrahamic religions |
| Islam | 2 | Abrahamic religions |
| Hinduism | 1.2 | Indian religions |
| Buddhism | 0.5 | Indian religions |
Protestant Christianity shares a belief in life after death for everyone. Those who have made peace with God through acceptance and adherence to the teachings of Jesus will live forever in Heaven; those who do not will spend eternity banished from God in a place of punishment.
Often a service will be held at the grave site, usually attended by family and close friends. A brief service will be conducted by the pastor, reading a familiar passage of Scripture, like Psalm 23, and offering a few words and prayer for the final committal. The body may be buried before or after the funeral service.
Prayer is important to Protestants because:
Jesus taught them to pray (the Lord's Prayer). It is following the example of Jesus who is often recorded as praying in the Bible. It encourages Christians to acknowledge the goodness of God and how great He is (prayers of adoration).
Can Protestant priests marry?
Generally speaking, in modern Christianity, Protestant and some independent Catholic churches allow for ordained clergy to marry after ordination. However, in recent times, a few exceptional cases can be found in some Orthodox churches in which ordained clergy have been granted the right to marry after ordination.
- Pentecostalist.
- chapelgoer.
- Anglican.
- Christian.
- Mormon.
- Episcopalian.
- Protestant Church.
- Pentecostal.
Methodists represent the second largest Protestant family, accounting for more than one-in-ten of all Protestants (12.1%) and 6.2% of the overall adult population.
Protestantism. In general, Protestant churches reject the Catholic doctrine of purgatory although some teach the existence of an intermediate state. Many Protestant denominations, though not all, teach the doctrine of sola scriptura ("scripture alone") or prima scriptura ("scripture first").
Protestantism has generally accepted the Virgin Birth but not the notion of perpetual virginity, often citing a literal understanding of the brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in Mark 6:2 and Matthew 13:55.
Today some Protestant churches believe that speaking in tongues is still a gift from the Holy Spirit. However, other Protestant churches reject this idea, believing the gift of tongues was only for the time of the early Church.
Most Protestant churches teach that divorce is not desirable. However, it can be seen as a last resort when all other attempts to save the marriage have failed and care has been taken concerning the interests and future of any children.
Reformation period. Monogamy was the norm among Christians. However, in the context of the sickness of a wife preventing matrimonial intercourse, Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant Reformation, wrote: "I confess that I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict the Scripture.
Most Protestant denominations hold marriage to be ordained by God for the union between a man and a woman. They see the primary purposes of this union as intimate companionship, rearing children and mutual support for both husband and wife to fulfill their life callings.
"Biblical Christianity" focused on a deep study of the Bible is characteristic of most Protestants as opposed to "Church Christianity", focused on performing rituals and good works, represented by Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
What do Protestants believe in God?
Protestants believe that both good deeds and faith in God are needed to get into heaven. Protestants believe that faith in God alone is needed to get into heaven, a tenet known as sola fide.
Baptist, member of a group of Protestant Christians who share the basic beliefs of most Protestants but who insist that only believers should be baptized and that it should be done by immersion rather than by the sprinkling or pouring of water.
Wearing the Crucifix among the Christian community also varies, among each denomination. For example, whilst Catholics display the Crucifix in their churches and often wear Crucifix's or carry them for prayer and protection, people of the Protestant faith wear a plain cross.
Baptist and Protestant churches have far fewer leaders than the Catholic Church. They call their main religious leader any of three names – “pastor” “minister” or “reverend.” This person leads church services, performs religious ceremonies, and gives spiritual or religious guidance to church members.
So, why aren't Baptist Protestants? Because Baptists have never been part of the Roman Catholic Church. Baptists never splintered from Catholicism (such as Lutherans and Episcopalians), nor have we splintered from the splinter groups (such as Methodists).
Among the most sizeable international bodies are the Anglican Communion, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Methodist Council and the Lutheran World Federation – each with more than 70 million members.
