What is the difference between Christian, Baptist and Pentecostal
religion?
Christianity
is one of the world's primary religions. Others would include Buddhism,
Hinduism, Judaism and Islam. Within the Christian tradition, there
are hundreds of different traditions, some large like Roman Catholic,
Greek Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran, and some relatively small,
as well as several movements that aren't denominations, but rather
approaches to Christian faith. Two of those movements are the Baptist
and Pentecostal traditions.
The
Baptist tradition encompasses several groups. The largest is the
Southern Baptist Convention. These Baptist traditions grew out of
the Protestant Reformation in Europe, but have flourished especially
in the United States. They don't practice infant baptism, but encourage
baptism after the age of 12 or so. Each congregation has certain
autonomy. They have a strong commitment to missionary work.
The
Pentecostal tradition covers a lot of ground, but is marked mainly
by belief in spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues and prophecy.
Pentecostal worship tends to be exuberant.
To
add to the confusion, there are some Protestant denominations that
use the word “Christian” in their congregations' names.
One is the Disciples of Christ. Thus, at one street corner in Indianapolis,
you will find a Roman Catholic church, a Presbyterian church, and
a “Christian” church (Disciples of Christ). All fall
within the Christian religion.
—Tom
Ehrich
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