Question about Christianity

Not sure about Eastern Orthodoxy, we actually had a few in our Catholic school but with Protestantism and Catholicism, a huge difference is communion, consubstantiation vs transubstantiation. There are other things involving authority and the ways in which we worship and confession but there are also loads of branches of Protestantism so it’s difficult to really pinpoint them.

Oh I see. I heard that Catholics see the pope as authority whilst Protestants do not. I heard Eastern Orthodox christians also do not worship saints and statues as well as not seeing the pope as authority. Eastern Orthodox christian priests can also marry. I’m sure there’s plenty of differences I’ve missed though

It would be blasphemous for any Christian to worship a saint or statue but different denominations have different views on aids for worship. I believe Eastern Orthodoxy have their own Pope but I could be wrong there. And yeah, a lot of priests and faith leaders in other denominations allow them to get married.

Oh I see. How do people decide on which denomination they fall in? The different types of Christianity all follow the same core beliefs right

You’re generally born into it or marry into it or just convert of your own volition but I think most people are pretty relaxed about it (Catholics anyway, sometimes it feels more like a cultural thing than a religion to me). They all believe in the God and Jesus thing, yes, but their teachings differ. Christianity is an umbrella.

Hi Toscana, hope you're doing great,

The great variety in the modern church is largely down to historical factors more than anything else. The division between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy came about due to the split of the Roman Empire in the third century. There was a Pope based in Rome and a Patriach based in Byzantium (which is now Istanbul). They fell out over religious details that we'd now consider fairly insignificant (what kind of bread to use in church, exactly what words to say during certain ceremonies) and the Pope claimed authority over the Patriach, excommunicating him in 1054. The Patriach then started his own denomination, the Orthodox church. From then on the two divided on cultural lines, remaining fairly similar in theology. A good summary can be found here: https://www.euronews.com/2016/11/25/catholic-and-orthodox-christian-churches-compared.

Then in the sixteenth century, once the Roman Catholic church had become an established political power in Western Europe and sadly lost its way, there was a movement for 'Reformation', led by clergymen who took the Bible more literally in some places. There were major theological differences here, but political factors still had a strong impact, as some areas and people-groups of Europe adopted the ideas that protested (hence 'Protestant') against certain Catholic ideas and practises. TSR isn't the best place to find a full list of these, I'd recommend looking at scholarly work, or asking somebody who's spent a good deal of time researching it. As Protestantism doesn’t have a dental leadership structure as such, it developed a great variety within a few basic ideas, and today there are many denominations within Protestantism. It is also worth saying that the Catholic church responded to some of these calls for reformation, and the Catholicism we have today has dealt with many of the problems Protestants in the sixteenth century protested against.

Ultimately, the heart behind the many styles of Christian worship we have today share in common the desire to relate to God. If you find a group that loves and focusses on Jesus, and wants to pursue God's will, stick with them. Many of the differences are cultural, very surface level, and I for one am thankful for God's grace towards us in putting up with our disagreements.

Have an awesome day

Here's a quick overview:

Catholicism: The original Western Church, headquartered in Rome, traces its origins back to the ministry of St. Peter and Paul there. Believes in the apostolic succession, which essentially means that the clergy are seen as having the spiritual authority of the original disciples. Highly hierarchical with rigidly established doctrines.

Protestantism: Broke off from the Catholic Church in the 16th century and typically differs on a few core issues:

- does not recognise the authority of the Pope (some Protestant denominations are vehemently anti-Pope, while others respect him but don't acknowledge him as vicar of Christ)

- does not believe in the use of images in worship (i.e. icons and statues in church)

- does not believe in praying to saints or venerating Mary

- allows priests to marry, and (except for in the case of High Church Anglicanism, which can't be considered truly Protestant anyway) doesn't believe in monasticism

- tends to have a less ornate liturgy

- has a much stronger focus on scripture as a source of authority

- does not believe in unscriptural Church tradition as a source of doctrine

- believes in salvation by faith alone

- does not believe that priests can intervene on God's behalf to forgive sins, and so does not believe in the sacrament of confession

The cornerstones of Protestantism are summed up by the five solae propounded in the Reformation: sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus and soli Deo gloria. There are however so many different branches of Protestantism that you can find some that disagree with basically any aspect of it. Once they had got into the habit of splitting off, there were no limits

You have not which is why I have said it.

You have an idea of God but you don't know him! You can visit my Christian thread on here and read it and it shall guide you back to the Gospel of Truth.

Clearly not if you still think Jesus is God.

But have it your way! I wish you well my friend

Doesn’t it say in the gospels that god appears as the father, the spirit and the son?

Show me where it says that. I'll wait.