| Church | Doctrine (Heavenly Adam and Heavenly Eve) |
| Catholics |
No Idea. |
| Lutheran | No Idea. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | No Idea. |
| Baptist | No Idea. |
| Pentecostal | No Idea. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | No Idea. |
| Mormons | No Idea. |
| Adventists | No Idea. |
| Lords' Witnesses | God left his divine body and entered into a male angel whom he had created which we call angeliah (God is an angel). He also created a female angel which was not genetically related to him which we call Matriarch. These two were the angelic Jospeh and Mary in the sense of the angelic version of the pre-adamic parents of Adam. Then had a son which we call Archadam, who became Lucifer when he chose to mediate the first holy spirit covenant and then became Satan when he sinned in Eden. God made a wife for him from his 'rib' which we call Archeve. So Archadam and Archeve procreated the angels just as Adam and Even procreated the humans. Archadam/Lucifer/Satan was therefore the father of all creation until Adam came along who was the second born first generation son of God. Adam was the exact brother of Archadam. There was no incest in either the procreation of Archadam or any other angel. Martirach, was Jehovah's slave girl, as Mary herself pronounced for herself and for her archetype. |
| Church | Doctrine (Heavenly Eden before the Big Bang and God's Ransom of Archadam/Lucifer) |
| Catholics |
No Idea. |
| Lutheran | No Idea. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | No Idea. |
| Baptist | No Idea. |
| Pentecostal | No Idea. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | No Idea. |
| Mormons | No Idea. |
| Adventists | No Idea. |
| Lords' Witnesses |
The pre-universe angels lived in Archeden, a heavenly Eden, under one simple law of obedience as was the case in the antetypical human Garden of Eden. Archadam did not break this law (ne was perfect in all his ways until unrighteousness was found in him - Ezekiel28). But he agreed to give his soul as a ransom when the law was broken by others. This sin was the exact equivalent of an infant being deliberatley naughty for the first time. In that sense it was not a condemnation of the angels, it was rather an indication that the angels were ready to leave the nursery of Archeden and go under a law of righteousness which law was the first holy spirit covenant. The angelic sin in Archeden, before the Big Bang, showed that the angels of Archeden were ready to learn Good and Bad from God's Law, and Adam's sin showed that he and his wife were ready for the same lesson. The tree of knowledge of Good and Bad was merely a trigger which reveaed the time when Adam and Eve were ready to begin to learn about God's righteousness so as to be able to distinguish Good from Bad. Adam's pre-adamic parents were God in a human whom we call Huamiah (God is a human) and Matriarch in a human whom we call Matriarch. After the the big bang, which was a direct result of the original angelic sin in Archeden, God had to give his life in order to ransom his firstborn son, Archadam/Lucifer/Satan. He freely chose to do this, just as Jesus later freely chose to give his life for Adam. The legal basis for this ransom was the first holy spirit covenant, mediated by Archadam with God's angelic soul as the validation sacrifice. The original angelic sin ended Archeden and God then created the universe as a forum to introduce his law to the angels who had left Archeden. The Big Bang followed Archadam's sacrifice immediately. All Law leads to death. And all death requires a ransom in order that death eventually becomes a lesson rather than a sentence. So Law requires a sacrifice. Hence the Law of Moses was full of sacrifices. The first sacrifice was Archadam's, the second was God's ransoming him. |
| Church | Doctrine (The whole Plan) |
| Catholics |
No Idea. |
| Lutheran | No Idea. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | No Idea. |
| Baptist | No Idea. |
| Pentecostal | No Idea. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | No Idea. |
| Mormons | No Idea. |
| Adventists | No Idea. |
| Lords' Witnesses | God views the entire angelic race or the entire human race as one person. So just as the infant has no law other than don't be naughty and just as the child has strict law not open to interpretation by him (such as do not cross the road, eat your sprouts etc.) and just as the adult has a freedom to interpret laws from their principles, so God raised the entire human and angelic races in the same manner that every parent raises his children. The infant corresponds to Eden and Heden, the child corresponds to the Law of Moses and the First Holy Spirit Covenant of Lucifer (1HSC), the adult corresponds to Chirstianity and the Second Holy Spirit Covenant of Michael (2HSC). Archadam became Lucifer when he on behalf of God said let there be light, and being the mediator of the 1HSC broguth the light of righteousness into the post big bang univesr. He then became Satan when he broke the 1HSC when he effectively murdered Adam but not Eve who retained her angelic soul since she only sinned due to her being deceived by Satan. Satan committed a capital sin. This ended his mediation of the 1HSC, which ended the coventant when ended God's marriage to his first wife. Michael (aka Jesus) then volunteered to mediate the second holy spirit covenant, the 2HSC. The first and second holy spirits are God's first and second wives. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe about the Nature of God and The Trinity) |
| Catholics |
"The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life." In this Trinity of Persons the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. This, is the revelation regarding God's nature which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came upon earth to deliver to the world. |
| Lutheran | "We teach that the one true God. is the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, three distinct persons, but of one and the same divine essence, equal in power, equal in eternity, equal in majesty, because each person possesses the one divine essence." |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | "There is only one God, the Creator of the universe, who has three 'persons' or aspects, inseparable yet unique parts of the whole." |
| Baptist | "The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being." |
| Pentecostal | The world's largest Pentecostal denomination, the Assemblies of God, holds to the belief in Trinitarian theology in accordance with mainstream Protestantism. Some Pentecostal churches, however, hold to Oneness theology, which decries the traditional doctrine of the Trinity as biblically inaccurate and likely stemming from pagan influences. Oneness doctrine holds that God is absolutely and indivisibly one and that Jesus was the one God manifested in the flesh |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The true God is not a nameless God. His name is Jehovah. He is God by reason of his creatorship. The true God is real, a person, and not lifeless natural law operating without a living lawgiver, not blind force working through a series of accidents to develop one thing or another. Though scripturally designated by such descriptive titles as “God,” “Sovereign Lord,” “Creator,” “Father,” “the Almighty,” and “the Most High,” his personality and attributes—who and what he is—are fully summed up and expressed only in this personal name. Jehovah is living from time indefinite to time indefinite, forever, he is the King of eternity, incorruptible, invisible, the only true God. A distinct individual being. |
| Mormons | “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” This is a straightforward statement of belief that there are three members in the Godhead. However, Latter-day Saints do reject the doctrines of the Trinity as taught by most Christian churches today. |
| Adventists | There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons. God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. |
| Lords' Witnesses | God is not a trinity. He is an individual spirit being called Jehovah or Yahweh. He created the angels, the universe and mankind. The trinity is a 3rd century logical mind trick. It is a brainwash-o-meter, which uses semantics to argue falsely that 1 = 3 and that a son is not an offspring of a father and that a distinct being is not a distinct being. The trinity is defined in such a way as to break the definition of a son and the definition of a unique being and the concept of the number 2. In pure mathematical terms it therefore is not defined and therefore does not exist. However if you are prepared to accept the abolition of the number 2, and an uncreated son and an individual who is not an individual, then you are ready to be exploited by the church, you are just the type of person they are looking for! |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About the Inspiration of the Scriptures) |
| Catholics | "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself." "The books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures. |
| Lutheran |
The Bible and Apocryphal books can be "useful" reading and can help to increase one's faith. The Bible is inspired and inerrant. Apocrypha are inspired but not inerrant. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and the authentic record of God's revelation of Himself, His saving activity, and moral demands -- a revelation valid for all men and all time. |
| Baptist | The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. No other texts are sacred or reveal the divine will. |
| Pentecostal | "The Scriptures are Inspired by God and declare His design and plan for mankind. It's the infallible Word of God." The Bible is the only God-given authority which man possesses; therefore, all doctrine, faith, hope, and all instruction for the church must be based upon, and harmonize with, the Bible. It is to be read and studied by all men everywhere, and can only be clearly understood by those who are anointed by the Holy Spirit |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | All Scripture is inspired of God. The phrase “inspired of God” translates the compound Greek word the·o´pneu·stos, meaning, literally, “God-breathed” or “breathed by God.” The Holy Scriptures is the inspired Word of Jehovah. The collection is the written expression of a communicating God, the Word of God. Only those books now in the canon have any solid claim for canonicity. |
| Mormons | We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. |
| Adventists | The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The original scripture (which is lost presently) was inspired by God and written by men, all of whom were sons of Jacob. It was perfect for the job of teaching mankind sustainable morality, the laws we need which prevent us from destroying ourselves. The copies we have today are good enough for God's purpose at this time. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe about Who was Jesus Christ) |
| Catholics |
"The Son is consubstantial with the Father,
which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God." |
| Lutheran | "True God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, [and] Lord." |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Jesus is the complete revelation of God to us, and as such, Jesus, although fully human with us, is also fully God—fully divine." |
| Baptist | Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord. |
| Pentecostal | "We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is not only a righteous man and a gifted teacher/storyteller/moralist, but also the Son of God." We believe in the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God's son Jesus was both human and divine." |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jesus Christ is therefore preeminently and uniquely “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The person who became known as Jesus Christ did not begin life here on earth. Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation,” “the beginning of the creation by God”, a distinct spirit being. |
| Mormons |
Jesus was a created spirit and "son of God" before being given a physical body, just like all humans. |
| Adventists | God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Through Him all things were created, the character of God is revealed, the salvation of humanity is accomplished, and the world is judged. Forever truly God, He became also truly man, Jesus the Christ. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived and experienced temptation as a human being, but perfectly exemplified the righteousness and love of God. By His miracles He manifested God's power and was attested as God's promised Messiah. He suffered and died voluntarily on the cross for our sins and in our place, was raised from the dead. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Jesus was God's son in the following senses. A human embryo that became the boy called Immanuel and called Jesus was implanted in the Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel. This boy debated with the Pharisees aged 12 and was baptised by John aged 30. At his baptism in the Jordan, the spirit, the character of Immanuel, was transferred into an angel. Immanuel was raptured. And the angel Michael came down and possessed Jesus' human body. This angelic possession was symbolised by the dove coming down and remaining on the head of the body. So Jesus from his baptism to his death was the angel Michael in the human body of the immaculately conceived Immanuel. (Phil. 2:5-8, Acts 13:23,24) |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe about the Indentity of Michael) |
| Catholics | One of four archangels, not understood to be Jesus |
| Lutheran | Lutherans hold Michael as the Archangel or "head of angels", not understood to be Jesus. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | "The archangel Michael is the most venerated of all the angels. He is the powerful agent of God who wards off evil from God’s people and delivers peace to them at the end of this life’s mortal struggle." - Not understood to be Jesus. |
| Baptist | Some Baptist churches have him as the distinct Archangel Michael, some believe instead that Michael is the uncreated, divine Son of God. In this view "archangel" means "head of the angels" rather than "head angel". |
| Pentecostal | One of the archangels, not understood to be Jesus. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The only holy angel other than Gabriel named in the Bible, and the only one called “archangel.” Scriptural evidence indicates that the name Michael applied to God’s Son before he left heaven to become Jesus Christ and also after his return. |
| Mormons | We know that Jehovah and Michael were creator Gods in subjection to Elohim. Later, Michael became Adam and became the father of our fleshly bodies. |
| Adventists | Believe that the Archangel Michael is not an angel but is instead the uncreated, divine Son of God. In this view "archangel" means "head of the angels" rather than "head angel", and is a title similar to "Prince of the host." |
| Lords' Witnesses | Michael was one of many angelic sons of Jehovah. But he was the first one to perfect his love for his God to a point where he was willing to give up everything he had to serve God. He volunteered to save all creation. Michael was later given the name above every name which name is Jehovah, at his resurrection. Having God's name as your surname, is having his status. So Jesus became a God to be worshipped like his father when he was resurrected. Today, the LWs worship the two Gods, Jehovah and Jesus (Michael). We are the only church which recognises the divinity of Jesus without having him as a part of Jehovah or of an illogically defined trinity. So we are the only church that recognises Jesus as an individual God in his own right. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe about Hell/Gehenna) |
| Catholics | 'We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self- exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell." |
| Lutheran | Hell is a place originally designed by God for placement of the Devil and fallen angels (demons). Hell will be the final dwelling place of every soul that did not obey and put their faith in God before the incarnation of Jesus, and those that did not accept the salvation of Jesus. Their punishment, though eternal and irrevocable, is said to be proportional for all who are punished according to the deeds of each soul. On judgment day all the dead judged by their deeds. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Hell is a place originally designed by God for placement of the Devil and fallen angels (demons). Hell will be the final dwelling place of every soul that did not obey and put their faith in God before the incarnation of Jesus, and those that did not accept the salvation of Jesus. Their punishment, though eternal and irrevocable, is said to be proportional for all who are punished according to the deeds of each soul. On judgment day all the dead judged by their deeds. |
| Baptist | Hell is a literal place for the soul of the unrepentant sinner. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. |
| Pentecostal | The devil and his angels, the beast and false prophet, and whosoever is not found written in the book of Life, the fearful and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators and all liars shall be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | It is evident that Jesus used Gehenna as representative of utter destruction resulting from adverse judgment by God, hence with no resurrection to life as a soul being possible. To avoid such destruction, Jesus’ followers were to get rid of anything causing spiritual stumbling, the ‘cutting off of a hand or foot’ and the ‘tearing out of an eye’ figuratively representing their deadening of these body members with reference to sin. Gehenna symbolizes the second death. It is evident that there is no release possible from “the second death.” |
| Mormons | Latter-day revelations speak of hell in at least two ways. First, it is another name for spirit prison, a temporary place in the postmortal world for those who died without a knowledge of the truth or those who were disobedient in mortality. Second, it is the permanent location of Satan and his followers and the sons of perdition, who are not redeemed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. |
| Adventists | The wicked will not suffer eternal torment in hell, but instead will be permanently destroyed. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Gehenna, the second death, Hell, is the loss of one's angelic body (whether one was alive in it as an angel or sleeping in it in the first death as a dead human). Gehenna is a place of torment, but not a place of physical torture. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Salvation) |
| Catholics | The Church firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart 'into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels',
unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock; and that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is so strong that only to those remaining in it are the sacraments of the Church of benefit for salvation,
and do fastings, almsgiving, and other functions of piety and exercises of Christian service produce eternal reward, and that no one, whatever almsgiving he has practiced, even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church." |
| Lutheran |
Christ alone is salvation -- by grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of Scripture alone. To share this message with the world is the mission of the church and the reason for its existence. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven and that all who die without faith in Him are eternally damned. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | We recognize, too, that God loves His children and particularly has shown it forth in the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that man cannot be saved by any effort of his own, but by the Grace of God, through repentance and acceptance of God's forgiveness. |
| Baptist | Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Once saved, God will forgive -- and actually forget -- an individual's past sins. "Salvation is only by grace, a free gift of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Those who are born of the Spirit and receive Christ by faith have their sins forgiven, their hearts cleansed, become children of God, and are made new creatures in Christ. We believe that God has created all of us with an eternal soul that will spend eternity either in heaven with the presence of God or in hell separated from God. The destination of the soul depends on whether or not an individual accepts by faith Christ’s finished work on the cross." |
| Pentecostal | We believe that Fellowship with God can be restored by accepting Christ’s offer of forgiveness for sin." Every Person Can Have Restored Fellowship with God Through 'Salvation' (accepting Christ's offer of forgiveness for sin).A Christian, to keep saved, must walk with God and keep himself in the love of God and in the grace of God. The word "grace" means "favor." When a person transgresses and sins against God, he loses his favor. If he continues to commit sin and does not repent, he will eventually be lost and cast into the lake of fire.. Jude speaks of the backsliders of his day, and their reward. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Mankind’s need for a ransom came about through the rebellion in Eden. Salvation is provided by Jehovah through Jesus Christ for “all sorts of men.” The ransom sacrifice is the basis for salvation, and as King and everlasting High Priest, Christ Jesus has the authority and power “to save completely those who are approaching God through him.” He is “a savior of this body,” the congregation of his anointed followers, and also of all who exercise faith in him. |
| Mormons | To be cleansed from sin through the Savior's Atonement, an individual must exercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Those who have been baptized and have received the Holy Ghost through the proper priesthood authority have been conditionally saved from sin. In this sense, salvation is conditional, depending on an individual's continuing in faithfulness, or enduring to the end in keeping the commandments of God through the grace of God, all can be saved from their sins as they repent and follow Jesus Christ. |
| Adventists | In infinite love and mercy God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God. Led by the Holy Spirit we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ, as Substitute and Example. This faith which receives salvation comes through the divine power of the Word and is the gift of God's grace. Through Christ we are justified, adopted as God's sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin. |
| Lords' Witnesses | You do not have to be a Lords' Witness to be saved at the end of the world. You merely need to have faith in God and obey your conscience to a reasonable extent and own up to your mistakes. You do not need to be a Christian to be saved. Abraham was given the first promise in Genesis 12, the First Abrahamic Covenant, before he got the circumcision and whilst he was outside of any religion. Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Christians, and all people will be saved if they have faith and hold to their consciences and are honest about their mistakes. God will save everyone eventually, even Satan. He does everything he wants, and if he wants everyone to repent, then we will all repent and therefore be saved. We will all become his born again sons, he will eventually give us all everlasting life once we have learned the rules of sustainable morality without which everlasting life is impossible. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About What the Holy Spirit is) |
| Catholics |
The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. Though really distinct, as a Person, from the Father and the Son, He is consubstantial with Them; being God like Them, He possesses with Them one and the same Divine Essence or Nature. He proceeds, not by way of generation, but by way of spiration, from the Father and the Son together, as from a single principle. |
| Lutheran | "The Holy Spirit - as person - might be said to be one of God's 'three faces'.. In carrying on Jesus' earthly ministry, the Spirit's ongoing work is to reveal truth, give life and strengthen faith." |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | "This is the aspect of God that is at work in the world, that inspires us, that speaks to us and strengthens us to do the often difficult work that our faith demands of us." |
| Baptist | "The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth." He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. |
| Pentecostal | We believe the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, proceeds from the Father and the Son, is of the same substance, equal to power and glory, and is together with the Father and the Son, to be believed in, obeyed, and worshipped. The Holy Ghost is a gift bestowed upon the believer for the purpose of equipping and empowering the believer, making him a more effective witness for service in the world. He teaches and guides one into all truth |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The Scriptures themselves unite to show that God’s holy spirit is not a person. The Holy Spirit is God’s invisible active force by which he accomplishes his divine purpose and will. |
| Mormons | The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter. The Holy Ghost works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles to help us live righteously and receive the blessings of the gospel. |
| Adventists | God the eternal Spirit was active with the Father and the Son in Creation, incarnation, and redemption. He inspired the writers of Scripture. He filled Christ's life with power. He draws and convicts human beings; and those who respond He renews and transforms into the image of God. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The Holy Spirit, is God's heavenly administration, heavenly Jerusalem It is all the holy spirits in the holy spirit covenant. It is his wife, and our mother as Paul would say. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Satan) |
| Catholics |
Satan is a pure spirit, powerful and evil, but limited by God's providence. Demons are fallen angels who can never repent. "Diabolus enim et alii dćmones a Deo quidem naturâ creati sunt boni, sed ipsi per se facti sunt mali." ("the Devil and the other demons were created by God good in their nature but they by themselves have made themselves evil.") |
| Lutheran | There are Lutherans who understand Satan (or the Devil) to be a very real being, author of evil, prompter of sin, destroyer of humankind. Other Lutherans view Satan metaphorically - as the personification of evil forces in this world that oppose and obstruct God’s will in every age, be they human or spiritual. Adherents of both views would agree that sinful, evil forces do exist and oppose God’s will for humankind, that in God’s plan for humankind these forces were defeated on the cross, are under God’s power and authority, and will ultimately be destroyed under God’s judgment. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Anglicans view Satan as a metaphor for the evils in this world. Some however, lean more toward Catholic teachings. |
| Baptist | Satan once was God's favorite angel. But he rebelled in heaven. God, being all that is good, gave him his very own place to rule and called it Hell. And even though God gave Satan free reign to tempt as many people as he wanted |
| Pentecostal | Lucifer (Satan) is a fallen angelic being originally created to lead praise and worship in heaven. When Lucifer "chose" do his own will, he was cast out of heaven and became Satan. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The Scriptures indicate that the creature known as Satan did not always have that name. Rather, this descriptive name was given to him because of his taking a course of opposition and resistance to God. Therefore, the one becoming Satan was, when created, a perfect, righteous creature of God. He is a spirit person, for he appeared in heaven in the presence of God. |
| Mormons | He is a spirit son of God who was once an angel "in authority in the presence of God". But in the premortal Council in Heaven, Lucifer, as Satan was then called, rebelled against God. Since that time, he has sought to destroy the children of God on the earth and to make them miserable. |
| Adventists | A created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in self-exaltation became Satan, God's adversary, and led into rebellion a portion of the angels. He introduced the spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Satan was the first angel that God created, the firstborn angel of God, the firstborn son of Jehovah. He was originally called Lucifer (light carrier, light bearer, light bringer), before he started opposing God. God created all angels and all humans with free will. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Free Will) |
| Catholics | We are all free to do good or evil. "God has endowed us with reason and free-will, and a sense of responsibility." |
| Lutheran | Man has free will to respond or resist: Free will is limited by God's sovereignty, but God sovereignly allows all men the choice to accept the Gospel of Jesus through faith, simultaneously allowing all men to resist |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Man has free will to respond or resist: Free will is limited by God's sovereignty, but God sovereignly allows all men the choice to accept the Gospel of Jesus through faith, simultaneously allowing all men to resist |
| Baptist | "The freedom to respond to the Lordship of Christ in all circumstances is fundamental to the Christian gospel and to human dignity." |
| Pentecostal | Man has free will to respond or resist: Free will is limited by God's sovereignty, but God sovereignly allows all men the choice to accept the Gospel of Jesus through faith, simultaneously allowing all men to resist |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Angels and humans were created as free moral agents. When God created humans, among the many marvellous gifts he gave them was free will. The Bible tells us that God created man in his ‘image and likeness,’ and one of the qualities God has is freedom of choice. Thus, when he created humans, he gave them that same wonderful quality—the gift of free will. |
| Mormons | Each person has the power to choose good over evil, and the Lord has promised to help all who seek Him through sincere prayer and faithfulness. Each individual can defeat Satan and overcome temptation. Each individual has the gift of agency—the power to choose good over evil. Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves. Agency is essential in the plan of salvation. Without it, we would not be able to learn or progress or follow the Savior. With it, we are "free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" |
| Adventists | Man and woman were made in the image of God with individuality, the power and freedom to think and to do. |
| Lords' Witnesses | God created all angels and all humans with free will. And that made it inevitable that all of us would rebel and break his laws at some point early on in our lives as Adam did. [...] We should out of free will choose the path of moral sustainability, understanding that freedom requires sacrifice, happiness is putting love first, and love both demands and requires that we obey the law of God. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About The End Times) |
| Catholics | "At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ ... The universe itself will be renewed: The Church . . . will receive her perfection ... At that time, together with the human race, the universe itself ... will be perfectly re-established in Christ." |
| Lutheran | We reject every type of millennialism, or Chiliasm, the opinions that Christ will return visibly to this earth a thousand years before the end of the world and establish a dominion of the Church over the world; or that before the end of the world the Church is to enjoy a season of special prosperity; or that before a general resurrection on Judgment Day a number of departed Christians or martyrs are to be raised again to reign in glory in this world; or that before the end of the world a universal conversion of the Jewish nation (of Israel according to the flesh) will take place. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | They believe that the Kingdom of God is present in the world today through the presence of the the heavenly reign of Christ, the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Christianity. Both good and evil will continue in the world until the current Church Age ends suddenly as Christ returns to the sky above the earth. The Rapture follows. The Redeemed are transported to heaven where they will adopt spiritual bodies. The majority of humanity will be sent to Hell at this time for eternal punishment. The world will be abandoned. History is no more. |
| Baptist | "God, in His own time will bring the world to its appropriate end ... Jesus Christ will return ... to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men ... The unrighteous will be consigned to ... everlasting punishment. The righteous ... will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven |
| Pentecostal | The signs of His coming are everywhere. The days of peril are here indeed, with forms of godliness void of the power of God; society and politics corrupted; and people's hearts filled with pride, blasphemies, unholiness, love of evil, and love of pleasures. These things, together with multitudes running to and fro, the increase of knowledge, the persecution of the Jews and their return to Palestine, and scores of other things are starting signs that Jesus' coming is drawing near. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, storms, floods, distress of nations, perplexity, and people's hearts failing them for fear are sounding the solemn alarm that Jesus' coming is at hand |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The time of the end began on December 28, 1914. We are already really deep in this important time and keep eagerly expecting the coming of the Lord. The spiritual prosperity of Jehovah’s Witnesses infuriates Satan the Devil, who will soon launch an all-out attack against these seemingly defenseless Christians. Under the Devil’s influence, the nations will march against Jehovah’s peace-loving people gathered out of all nations. Yes, satanic opposition will be manifested by global action against Jehovah’s earthly servants, the visible representatives and proclaimers of God’s Kingdom. |
| Mormons | We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory |
| Adventists | The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Saviour's coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die. The almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy, together with the present condition of the world, indicates that Christ's coming is imminent. The time of that event has not been revealed, and we are therefore exhorted to be ready at all times. |
| Lords' Witnesses | This present system of heavenly and earthly government, comes to an end from a heavenly standpoint on March 21 2008. The Kingdom of God which Jesus preached begins on March 23 2008. This being a change in heavenly government. The Sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven on 5/6 May 2008 and the Jesus comes down to earth on 12/13 May 2008. On October 9/10 2008, 150 days after Jesus comes to collect the faithful, 50% of mankind is raptured into heaven. Then the battle of Armageddon is fought between the UN and Jesus. The UN destroys all the remaining religions but loses the war to Jesus after a further 150 days i.e. by April 1/2, 2009. Then there is an extinction level volcanic event presumably caused by a combination of nuclear detonations and global warming which kills every last human by June 10/11 2009, 70 days later. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About The Kingdom of God) |
| Catholics | "At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul. The universe itself will be renewed." |
| Lutheran | "We reject every type of millennialism, or Chiliasm, the opinions that Christ will return visibly to this earth a thousand years before the end of the world." |
| Anglican/Episcopalian |
"The Episcopal Church is a historic part of the visible Kingdom of God. It is not the whole of the Kingdom, but a part of it. For you must remember that when our Lord established His Kingdom on earth it had a visible organization with its ministry and its disciples. |
| Baptist | The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age. |
| Pentecostal | According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is within people, it is approached through understanding, and entered through acceptance like a child, spiritual rebirth and doing the will of God. It is a kingdom peopled by the righteous and stands in stark contrast to the only other kingdom available to people: the kingdom of Satan. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The expression and exercise of God’s universal sovereignty toward his creatures, or the means or instrumentality used by him for this purpose. The government of God is, in structure and function, a pure theocracy. The government of God is, in structure and function, a pure theocracy |
| Mormons | There are three kingdoms of glory: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom. The glory we inherit will depend on the depth of our conversion, expressed by our obedience to the Lord's commandments. It will depend on the manner in which we have "received the testimony of Jesus" |
| Adventists | The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Half of mankind enter into the Kingdom of God on earth. The Kingdom of God lasts for 1,000 years until 3008. It is an almost unimaginable paradise where everyone lives for love rather than for status. The dead of mankind going back to Adam are resurrected in reverse order (the first will be last) during the first 500 years of the Kingdom of God. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Baptism & Covenants) |
| Catholics | By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin,
nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.
Covenants: n/a |
| Lutheran | "Baptism effects forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternal salvation to all who believe, as the Word and promise of God declare. ... It is not the water that produces these effects, but the Word of God connected with the water, and our faith which relies on the Word of God connected with the water"
Covenants:
n/a |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | "Baptism is a sign of Regeneration or New-Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed.... The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ"
Covenants:
n/a |
| Baptist | Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.
Covenants: n/a |
| Pentecostal | We believe that Water Baptism is necessary as instructed by Christ However,
we do not believe that water baptism alone is a means of salvation, but is an outward demonstration that one has already had a conversion experience and has accepted Christ as his personal Savior. As Pentecostals, we practice immersion in preference to "SPRINKLING" ,
because immersion corresponds more closely to the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. It also symbolizes regeneration and purification more than any other mode. Therefore, we practice immersion as our mode of Baptism. We believe that we should use the Baptismal Formula given us by Christ for all "…IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER , AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST…"
Covenants: n/a |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The Christian baptism was the only water baptism having God’s approval from Pentecost, 33 C.E., forward. This baptism required an understanding of God’s Word and an intelligent decision to present oneself to do the revealed will of God. From the definition of baptism as stated earlier, it is clear that baptism is complete immersion or submersion in water, not a mere pouring or sprinkling.
Covenants: Accept the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant. |
| Mormons | Baptism by immersion in water by one having authority is the first saving ordinance of the gospel and is necessary for an individual to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to receive eternal salvation. All who seek eternal life must follow the example of the Savior by being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Covenants: All the saving ordinances of the priesthood are accompanied by covenants. For example, we make a covenant when we are baptized, and we renew that covenant each time we partake of the sacrament. Those who have received the Melchizedek Priesthood have entered into the oath and covenant of the priesthood. The temple endowment and the sealing (marriage) ordinance also include sacred covenants. |
| Adventists | By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life. Thus we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, become His people, and are received as members by His church. Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit. It is by immersion in water and is contingent on an affirmation of faith in Jesus and evidence of repentance of sin. The church is God's family; adopted by Him as children, its members live on the basis of the new covenant.
Covenants: n/a |
| Lords' Witnesses | A baptism is a cleansing for entrance into a salvation covenant. It is a washing in the blood of the mediator of that covenant. It also marks the start of one of the tree available baptism test for man.
Covenants: In simple terms there are 3 main salvation covenants covering the 3 stages of progression for a spiritual person. We start with faith, then we progress to joining a true church and finally we are born again. The 3 covenants cover those with faith, those in a true church and those who are born again. In total, the LW understand the 24 salvation covenants for mankind. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About the Second Presence of Christ) |
| Catholics | "He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there shall be no end" |
| Lutheran | Nicene Creed: "He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there shall be no end" |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Nicene Creed: "He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there shall be no end" |
| Baptist | God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. |
| Pentecostal | That Jesus is coming again the second time in person, just as He went away, is clearly set forth by the Lord Jesus Himself, and was preached and taught in the early Christian church by the apostles; hence, the children of God today are earnestly, hopefully, looking forward to the glorious event. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jesus' "parousia" started invisible in heaven in 1914. He will rule in the midst of his enemies until he comes in kingdom glory in the battle of Armageddon. |
| Mormons | When the Savior comes again, He will come in power and glory to claim the earth as His kingdom. His Second Coming will mark the beginning of the Millennium. The Second Coming will be a fearful, mournful time for the wicked, but it will be a day of peace for the righteous. |
| Adventists | The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Saviour's coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Jesus is present when a water baptised first new covenant saint exists on the earth. For these ones are promised in marriage to Jesus, and so are one flesh with him. There are two presences of the Christ, each lasting 120 years. Both have small gaps within them. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Their Own Church) |
| Catholics | Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it. |
| Lutheran |
The Church consists of baptized people who have received Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world. The Church made of "all those who have despaired of their own righteousness before God and believe that God forgives their sins for Christ's sake." "The invisible communion of all believers" includes visible church communions where, "along with error, so much of the Word of God still remains that men may be brought to the knowledge of their sins and to faith in the forgiveness of sins, which Christ has gained for all men." |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | We gather as people called by God to be faithful and obedient to Him. As the Royal Priestly People of God, the Church is called to be, in fact, the manifestation of Christ in and to the world. True religion is revealed to man by God. We cannot decide what is truth, but rather (in obedience) ought to receive, accept, cherish, defend and teach what God has given us. The Church is created by God, and is beyond the ultimate control of man. The Church is the Body of Christ at work in the world. She is the society of the baptized called out from the world: In it, but not of it. As Christ's faithful Bride, she is different from the world and must not be influenced by it. |
| Baptist | Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. |
| Pentecostal | The Church forms a spiritual unity of which Christ is the divine head. It is animated by one Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. It professes one faith, shares one hope, and serves one King,. It is the citadel of the truth and God's agency for communicating to believers all spiritual blessings. The Church then is the object of our faith rather than of knowledge. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | A remnant of spirit anointed brothers of Christ, is today only to be found in the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. The watchman of Isaiah 21 well foreshadows the wide-awake John class today, as it uses the Watchtower magazine and other theocratic publications to sound abroad the truths of God's Kingdom. |
| Mormons | When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He established His Church among His followers. After His Crucifixion and the deaths of His Apostles, the fullness of the gospel was taken from the earth because of widespread apostasy. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ restored the fullness of the gospel. The true Church of Jesus Christ is on the earth again. Because of the Restoration, the teachings and ordinances necessary for salvation are available to all people. |
| Adventists | The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We are called out from the world; and we join together for worship, for fellowship, for instruction in the Word, for the celebration of the Lord's Supper, for service to all mankind, and for the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. The church derives its authority from Christ, who is the incarnate Word, and from the Scriptures, which are the written Word. The church is the body of Christ, a community of faith of which Christ Himself is the Head. The church is the bride for whom Christ died that He might sanctify and cleanse her. At His return in triumph, He will present her to Himself a glorious church, the faithful of all the ages, the purchase of His blood, not having spot or wrinkle, but holy and without blemish. |
| Lords' Witnesses | We are a protestant Christian church. The Lords' Witnesses are the church of the second new covenant. We constitute the 4th and final true Christian church of this system of things. However, The Lords' Witnesses do not have a monopoly on correct bible interpretation and you do not have to be a Lords' Witness to be saved at the end of the world. It is the purpose of the LW priesthood to empower every member of the congregation to become a one person church. Someone who will serve God faithfully despite the church or in the absence of the church. The hierarchy of loyalty of a true Christian should be God and Jesus, then his conscience, then the law of the church, then the opinion of his church overseer. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Death And Resurrection) |
| Catholics | Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death,
in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately, --
or immediate and everlasting damnation.
Resurrection: The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust,"623 will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man's] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." |
| Lutheran |
While there is much we do not and cannot know about life beyond the grave, Lutherans do believe that life with God persists even after death. Judgment is both a present and future reality, and history moves steadily towards God's ultimate fulfillment. This of course is a great mystery, and no description of what life may be like in any dimension beyond history is possible. Anxiety for the future is not a mark of faith. Christians should go about their daily tasks, trusting in God's grace and living a life of service in his name. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Life with God persists even after death. |
| Baptist | According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord. |
| Pentecostal |
"There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The dead are shown to be “conscious of nothing at all” and the death state to be one of complete inactivity. Those dying are described as going into “the dust of death”, becoming “impotent in death.” In death there is no mention of God or any praising of him. In both the Hebrew and the Greek Scriptures, death is likened to sleep, a fitting comparison not only because of the unconscious condition of the dead but also because of the hope of an awakening through the resurrection. |
| Mormons | Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the mortal body. The Fall of Adam brought physical death into the world When the physical body dies, the spirit continues to live. In the spirit world, the spirits of the righteous "are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow" |
| Adventists | The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Hades, the first death, is the death of the human body. Just before the body dies, the spirit is transferred into a sleeping angel, and is conscious of nothing. This is why Jesus described all the people he resurrected who were in fact dead, as being asleep. All mankind is judicially dead. We are subject to the death sentence passed upon Adam due to his sin. This is why we age and die. We all exist by virtue of the stay of execution that God granted Adam. This type of death, adamic death, is passed on to our children entirely and exclusively through our genes. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About The Lords Evening Meal/Communion) |
| Catholics | The Eucharist is one of the seven sacraments, but is also considered the "the source and summit of the Christian life" The Eucharist is therefore understood to be not simply a representation of Christ's presence, or a remembrance of his Passion and Death, but an actual participation in the Sacrifice of Christ, the manifestation, in the present, of an event that occurred once for all in time. The only minister of the Eucharist, that is, one authorized to celebrate the rite and consecrate the Eucharist, is a validly ordained priest (either bishop or presbyter) acting in the person of Christ (in persona Christi). when the bread and wine are consecrated in the Eucharist, they cease to be bread and wine, and become instead the body and blood of Christ. The empirical appearances are not changed, but the reality is. |
| Lutheran | "In our churches Mass is celebrated every Sunday and on other festivals, when the sacrament is offered to those who wish for it after they have been examined and absolved." The Body and Blood of Christ are "truly and substantially present in, with and under the forms" of the consecrated bread and wine, so that communicants eat and drink both the elements and the true Body and Blood of Christ Himself". |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Anglicans generally and officially believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but the specifics of that belief range from transubstantiation, sometimes with Eucharistic adoration (mainly Anglo-Catholics), to something akin to a belief in a "pneumatic" presence. |
| Baptist | The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. |
| Pentecostal | On the night of our Lord's betrayal, He ate the Passover supper with His Apostles, after which He instituted the sacrament. " Paul instructed the church how to observe it. Thus was instituted the use of literal bread and the fruit of the vine, which are partaken of literally, as emblems of His broken body and shed blood. There is also a spiritual significance and blessing in partaking of the sacrament. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | A literal meal, commemorative of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ; hence, a memorial of his death. It is the only event scripturally commanded to be memorialized by Christians. According to Luke and Paul, when instituting the Memorial of his death Jesus said: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” (Lu 22:19; 1Co 11:24) From this it is reasonable to understand that Jesus meant that his followers should celebrate the Lord’s Evening Meal annually, not more often. |
| Mormons | Today the sacrament is an ordinance in which Church members partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice. This ordinance is an essential part of worship and spiritual development. Through this ordinance, Church members renew the covenants they made with God when they were baptized. In preparation for the sacrament each week, Church members take time to examine their lives and repent of sins. They do not need to be perfect in order to partake of the sacrament, but they should have a spirit of humility and repentance in their hearts. |
| Adventists | The Lord's Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, our Lord and Saviour. In this experience of communion Christ is present to meet and strengthen His people. As we partake, we joyfully proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again. Preparation for the Supper includes self-examination, repentance, and confession. |
| Lords' Witnesses | This is the greater Passover celebration of the Jews. Jesus upgraded it at the last supper. The Jews drink 4 cups and eat 3 loaves one of which is cut in two at this meal. This meal should be eaten once a year not twice a day! There are 4 cups that should be drunk each of which represents a salvation covenant. The first cup is the FRC, the second is the ARC, the third, drunk with the meal, is the 1AC and the 4th, drunk after the meal is the 1NC. The LWs are the only church to have fully Christianized the 4 cups of the Jewish Passover, as Jesus did on the night of the last supper. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About The Sabbath) |
| Catholics | Sunday is expressly distinguished from the Sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ: "Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death." The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people. |
| Lutheran | The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. |
| Baptist | No observing of Sabbath. The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord's Day should be commensurate with the Christian's conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. |
| Pentecostal | No observing of Sabbath. The first day of the week, Sunday, is the Lord's Day. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | They do not recognize or observe any kind of Sabbath. |
| Mormons |
The Sabbath is the Lord's day, set apart each week for rest and worship. After the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which occurred on the first day of the week, the Lord's disciples began observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week, Sunday Because the Sabbath is a holy day, it should be reserved for worthy and holy activities. Abstaining from work and recreation is not enough. In fact, those who merely lounge about doing nothing on the Sabbath fail to keep the day holy. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1831, the Lord commanded: "That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; for verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High" |
| Adventists | The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The LWs celebrate the weekly Sabbath of the law of Moses on the same day that the Jews celebrate it. That is from Friday evening to Saturday evening. This is both a sacred and a secular Sabbath. It is a God given rest from secular work and spiritual work. However we do not enforce this as a burden, since Jesus taught that God made the Sabbath for man not man for the Sabbath. It is supposed to be a holiday, a rest, not a further burden. It just means you can chill out physically financially and spiritually without feeling guilty at all! |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About The Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments) |
| Catholics |
The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them; The Second Vatican Council confirms: "The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord . . . the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments." |
| Lutheran | They express God's love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | They express God's love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships |
| Baptist | So far from the Law being abolished by the coming of Christ into this world, He Himself emphatically stated, "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets (the enforcers thereof): I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled". True, the Christian is not under the Law as a Covenant of Works nor as a ministration of condemnation, but he is under it as a rule of life and a means of sanctification. |
| Pentecostal |
These "10 words" (literally translated) were spoken by God to equip His people for their destiny. God’s 10 words provide the best possible opportunity to live the life He has planned for us. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The real purpose of the Law was, as stated by the apostle Paul, “to make transgressions manifest, until the seed should arrive.” It was a “tutor leading to Christ.” It pointed to Christ as the objective aimed at (“Christ is the end of the Law”). The Law covenant was terminated at Pentecost, 33 C.E., still the Ten Commandments still apply. |
| Mormons | The Ten Commandments are eternal gospel principles that are necessary for our exaltation. The Lord revealed them to Moses in ancient times, and they are also referenced in whole or in part in other books of scripture The Ten Commandments are a vital part of the gospel. Obedience to these commandments paves the way for obedience to other gospel principles. |
| Adventists | The great principles of God's law are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God's love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships and are binding upon all people in every age. These precepts are the basis of God's covenant with His people and the standard in God's judgment. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Today we are under the 10 commandments of Moses and 2 more added by Jesus. But we are not under the law of Moses. Jesus died to end the physical restrictions of the law, to end the sacrificial obligations of the law and to end the brutal penalties of the law. But his death did not end or change the perfect judicial principles of God that the law made manifest to mankind through Moses, neither did he end the spiritual restrictions of the law or the sexual restrictions. These things even today give us accurate knowledge of sin. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About How to Handle Disfellowshipping/Excommunication) |
| Catholics | Excommunication is the most serious ecclesiastical penalty levied against a member of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a seldom used punishment to discipline unrelenting defiance or other serious violations of church rules, especially by those who are accused of "spreading division and confusion among the faithful" -- meaning, in practice, that the option of excommunication is more likely to be enforced when the disobedient Catholic is a visible and presumably influential public figure (such as a politician), but only rarely in the cases of non-public figures. Excommunicated persons are barredfrom receiving the eucharist or the other sacraments, but is normally not barred from attending these. |
| Lutheran | Although Lutheranism technically has an excommunication process, some denominations and congregations do not use it. Many Lutheran denominations operate under the premise that the entire congregation (as opposed to the pastor alone) must take appropriate steps for excommunication, and there are not always precise rules, to the point where individual congregations often set out rules for excommunicating laymen (as opposed to clergy). |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | The Anglican Church does not have any specific canons regarding how or why a member can be excommunicated, though there are canons regarding how those who have been excommunicated are to be treated by the church. Excommunication is seen as an extreme measure and very rarely used. For example, a clergyman was excommunicated in 1909 for having murdered four parishioners. |
| Baptist | Disfellowshipping is done very rarely in Baptist churches. |
| Pentecostal | There are times when, in spite of every effort to nurture and restore a member, no alternative but excommunication can be found. When a member refuses to heed the loving admonitions of the church to follow a Christian lifestyle, he or she must be excommunicated from the fellowship of the church. However, excommunication is a last resort, and is administered only in flagrant cases of heresy, divisiveness, or immorality |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Some of the offenses that could merit disfellowshipping from the Christian congregation are fornication, adultery, homosexuality, greed, extortion, thievery, lying, drunkenness, reviling, spiritism, murder, idolatry, apostasy, and the causing of divisions in the congregation. Mercifully, one promoting a sect is warned a first and a second time before such disfellowshipping action is taken against him. In the Christian congregation, the principle enunciated in the Law applies, namely, that two or three witnesses must establish evidence against the accused one. The Christian congregation is also admonished by Scripture to stop socializing with those expelled from the congregation. |
| Mormons | Bishops and branch presidents and stake, mission, and district presidents have a responsibility to help members overcome transgression through repentance. The most serious transgressions, such as serious violations of civil law, spouse abuse, child abuse, adultery, fornication, rape, and incest, often require formal Church discipline. Formal Church discipline may include restriction of Church membership privileges or loss of Church membership. |
| Adventists | Neither the "Church Manual" nor the official believes contain any guidelines for excommunication. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Regrettably, a true church does have to throw out people who sin in such a way that under law they would have been stoned. The LWs give warnings for non capital sins and give instant disfellowshipping for capital sins such as murder and idolatry and adultery etc. But we do not shun people who have been thrown out. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Adam and Eve & Pre-Adamics) |
| Catholics | "The world and all things which are contained in it, both spiritual and material, as regards their whole substance, have been produced by God from nothing". Concerning human evolution, the Church has a more definite teaching. It allows for the possibility that man’s body developed from previous biological forms, under God’s guidance, but it insists on the special creation of his soul. Pope Pius XII declared that "the teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions . . . take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter—[but] the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God" |
| Lutheran | We believe and teach that the account of Adam and Eve is in fact true in the deepest sense, meaning it reveals God's will, purpose and power for all of creation. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Almighty God, Creator and Redeemer of all that is, source and foundation of time and space, matter and energy, life and consciousness. “Image and likeness” refers to those divine gifts of unconditional love and compassion, our reason and imagination, our moral and ethical capacities, our freedom, or our creativity. To think that these gifts may have been bestowed through the evolutionary process does not conflict with biblical and theological notions that God acts in creation. "We affirm our belief in the glorious ability of God to create in any manner, and our support of the scientists, educators, and theologians in the search for truth in this creation that God has given and entrusted to us.” |
| Baptist | Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. |
| Pentecostal | In the beginning God created man innocent, pure and holy; but through the sin of disobedience, Adam and Eve, the first of the human race, fell from their holy state, and God banished them from Eden. Hence by one man's disobedience, sin entered into the world. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Adam and Eve were real human beings, created directly by Jehovah in his own image. |
| Mormons | Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth. From scripture revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we know that in the work of the Creation, the Lord organized elements that had already existed The scriptures also teach that Adam was "the first man of all men". God created Adam and Eve in His own image and in the image of His Only Begotten |
| Adventists | The first member of the human family, created by God from the dust of the earth. His wife, Eve, was formed out of a rib from his side. Adam was given authority over the earth and all living creatures; and was commanded to populate the world. He and his wife were placed in a "garden eastward in Eden," and were given the task of caring for it. The product of plant and tree was to be their food. Adam and Eve were created perfect, and thus sinless. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Adam and Eve were real human beings a man and a woman. They were the first human beings who were able to reproduce sexually. But they were not the first human beings. The fossil record shows the existence of pre-adamic man, this is undeniable. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About Spirit Baptism / Being Born Again) |
| Catholics | According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with Christ's death, is buried with him, and rises with him The baptized have "put on Christ". Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies, and sanctifies. |
| Lutheran | In Holy Baptism, God liberates us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Born children of a fallen humanity, in the baptismal waters we become God’s reborn children and inherit eternal life. By water and the Holy Spirit we are made members of the Church, which is Christ’s body. As we live with him and with his people, we grow in faith, love and obedience to God’s will. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | We believe in, promote and profess holiness as a way of life, and also promote Spirit Baptism for the empowerment of the believer. |
| Baptist | Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. |
| Pentecostal | It is scriptural to expect all who receive the gift, filling, or baptism of the Holy Spirit to receive the same physical, initial sign of speaking with other tongues. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jesus was anointed directly by Jehovah, and his congregation of spiritual brothers receive their anointing as a body of people through Jesus Christ. They have thereby received an appointment from God to be kings and priests with Jesus Christ in the heavens. There are 144.000 humans who are born again to become joint heirs with Jesus. |
| Mormons | We are sanctified as we repent, receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, and remain true to our covenants. The principle of spiritual rebirth appears frequently in the scriptures. This teaching is affirmed in the Book of Mormon. This rebirth occurs as individuals are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It comes as a result of a willingness "to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days" |
| Adventists | Through the Spirit we are born again and sanctified; the Spirit renews our minds, writes God's law of love in our hearts, and we are given the power to live a holy life. Abiding in Him we become partakers of the divine nature and have the assurance of salvation now and in the judgment. |
| Lords' Witnesses | A human being is born again when he is given an angelic body. This can occur without him realising it and whilst he is still in his human body. Or it can occur when he is resurrected from physical death. When a human is baptised in holy spirit, spirit sanctified, becomes a saint, he gains an angelic body. Being born from water is a water baptism. Being from spirit is a spirit baptism, a baptism in holy spirit, which is being born again. We are born again from the womb of our heavenly mother, God’s wife, the holy spirit. Born as an angel. The spirit woman, gives birth to angels. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Believe About The End Times / The Millenium) |
| Catholics | "At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul. The universe itself will be renewed." |
| Lutheran | "We reject every type of millennialism, or Chiliasm, the opinions that Christ will return visibly to this earth a thousand years before the end of the world." |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | "We reject every type of millennialism, or Chiliasm, the opinions that Christ will return visibly to this earth a thousand years before the end of the world." |
| Baptist | God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised |
| Pentecostal | Moreover, we believe that the distress upon the earth is the "beginning of sorrows" and will become more intense until there "shall be a time of trouble such as there never was since there was a nation even to that same time", and that period of "tribulation" will be followed by the dawn of a better day on earth and that for a thousand years there shall be "peace on earth and good will toward men." When the thousand years are finished, there shall be a resurrection of all the dead, who will be summoned before the great white throne for their final judgment, and all whose names are not found written in the Book of Life shall be cast into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone which God bath prepared for the Devil and his angels, Satan himself being cast in first. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Jesus Christ must reign for a thousand years over mankind. This Millennium will bring righteousness and peace to mankind. |
| Mormons | The Millennium will be a time of righteousness and peace on the earth. The Lord has revealed that "in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease". Satan will be "bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men". During the Millennium, all people on the earth will be good and just, but many will not have received the fulness of the gospel. Consequently, members of the Church will participate in missionary work. Members of the Church will also participate in temple work during the Millennium. The Saints will continue to build temples and receive ordinances in behalf of their kindred dead. Guided by revelation, they will prepare records of their ancestors all the way back to Adam and Eve. Complete righteousness and peace will continue until the end of the 1,000 years, when Satan "shall be loosed for a little season, that he may gather together his armies." |
| Adventists | The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The Millennium is the 1000 year reign of Christ and his 144.000 co-rulers. It begins in heaven on March 23, 2008. The Kingdom of God lasts for 1,000 years until 3008. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Teach About the Women's Role in the Church) |
| Catholics | "Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." Insofar as priestly and episcopal ordination are concerned, the Church teaches that this requirement is a matter of divine law, and thus doctrinal. First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) stated that deaconesses: "do not receive any imposition of hands, so that they are in all respects to be numbered among the laity." |
| Lutheran | A key theological doctrine for most Protestants is the priesthood of all believers. The notion of a priesthood reserved to a select few is seen as an Old Testament concept, inappropriate for Christians. Prayer belongs equally to all believing women and men. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | The majority of Anglican provinces ordain women as both deacons and priests;
however, only a few provinces have consecrated women as bishops. U.S.
Episcopal churches ordain women as both priests and bishops.
Episcopalian churches mostly hold this view: "The Holy Orders of bishops, priests and deacons as the perpetuation of Christ's gift of apostolic ministry to His Church, asserting the necessity of a bishop of apostolic succession (or priest ordained by such) as the celebrant of the Eucharist -- these Orders consisting exclusively of men in accordance with Christ's Will and institution (as evidenced by the Scriptures), and the universal practice of the Catholic Church. The ancient office and ministry of Deaconesses as a lay vocation for women, affirming the need for proper encouragement of that office." |
| Baptist | The Baptist Churches in Germany and Switzerland ordain women. The Southern Baptist Convention does not ordain women. Baptist groups in the United States that do ordain women include American Baptist Churches USA, North American Baptist Conference, Alliance of Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) and Progressive National Baptist Convention. |
| Pentecostal | The Pentecostal Churches generally do not ordinate women as priests. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Women are not allowed to teach in the congregation. However, they play an important role in proclaiming the truth of the kingdom and the do a lot to build up fellow Christians. |
| Mormons | In weekly worship services and classes, women preach sermons, offer prayers in behalf of the congregation, and teach adults and children. They may also serve as missionaries and as presidents of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary organizations. Women participate in councils that oversee congregational activities throughout the world. They also perform a vital work in nurturing and teaching in the home. The priesthood—the authority of God to perform ordinances and act in His name—is conferred only on worthy male members of the Church. Men who hold the priesthood have no advantage over women in qualifying for salvation or eternal life through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. |
| Adventists | The Seventh-day Adventist Church officially does not ordain women. Recent votes at the worldwide General Conference Sessions turned down a proposal to allow ordination of women. There was a strong polarization between nations, with Western countries generally voting in support and other countries generally voting against. A further proposal to allow local choice was also turned down. In practice, there are numerous women working as ministers and in leadership positions. The most influential co-founder of the church, Ellen G. White, was a woman. |
| Lords' Witnesses | Women cannot be priests and give birth spiritually by baptism. Nonetheless, women should have authority in a church just as the wife has authority in the family over the children but not over the husband. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Teach About Who Can Understand The Bible) |
| Catholics | The Pope is the "vicarius christi" on earth and only he has authority to add or remove to the catechism. |
| Lutheran | The layman can benefit immensely from reading the Bible for personal instruction. However, interpretation of doctrines belong to the synod. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | The layman can benefit immensely from reading the Bible for personal instruction. However, interpretation of doctrines belong to the synod. |
| Baptist | The layman can benefit immensely from reading the Bible for personal instruction. However, interpretation of doctrines belong to the synod. |
| Pentecostal | The layman can benefit immensely from reading the Bible for personal instruction. However, interpretation of doctrines belong to the synod. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The only channel for correct biblical interpretations today is through the class of the "faithful and discreet slave" led by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. |
| Mormons | The Bible is the word of God. It is a witness for God and Jesus Christ. Members of the Church are encouraged to study it and follow its teachings. It is read and revered by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they study it regularly. However, the Lord guides His covenant people today through the President of the Church, whom we sustain as prophet, seer, and revelator. We sustain the President of the Church as prophet, seer, and revelator—the only person on the earth who receives revelation to guide the entire Church. |
| Adventists | We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we share the same faith and hope, and reach out in one witness to all. This unity has its source in the oneness of the triune God, who has adopted us as His children. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The Lords' Witnesses do not have a monopoly on correct bible interpretation. No religion, whether true or false, ever has. The holy spirit can give a true interpretation to anyone with faith who can read. Being a true religion does not mean that you get everything right. The LWs believe passionately in doctrinal repentance. We are the church of 1,000 corrected mistakes, and that is why our interpretations are so good. We do not believe in a church doctrine laid down in stone by founding fathers, and not changed for eons thereafter. Churches who follow the so called apostles creed today are fossilized and deadEvery Lords' witness is a potential founding father of the church, today and tomorrow, with the opportunity to lay a doctrinal foundation stone or to remove one that should not be there. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Teach About a Bibelcode or the Hidden Manna) |
| Catholics | No understanding as regards a hidden meaning of the Bible. |
| Lutheran | The Bible is "the manger in which the Word of God is laid." While Lutherans recognize differences in the way the Bible should be studied and interpreted, it is accepted as the primary and authoritative witness to the church's faith. The New Testament is the first-hand proclamation of those who lived through the events of Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection. As such, it is the authority for Christian faith and practice. The Bible is thus not a definitive record of history or science. Rather, it is the record of the drama of God's saving care for creation throughout the course of history. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | No understanding as regards a hidden meaning of the Bible. |
| Baptist | No understanding as regards a hidden meaning of the Bible. |
| Pentecostal | No understanding as regards a hidden meaning of the Bible. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | No understanding as regards a hidden meaning of the Bible. |
| Mormons | They don't believe in any Bible Code but in latter-day revelations of sacred texts in addition to the Bible. |
| Adventists | No understanding as regards a hidden meaning of the Bible. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The LWs have discovered that the bible is written in a symbolic grammatical code. The nouns acting as nouns in every individual bible story obey two simple counting rules. This code is the key to understanding the greater meanings of bible account. Even literal stories of Abraham or Jacob or David etc. have greater meanings which apply today. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Teach About Tithing/Contributions) |
| Catholics | There is no official tithing in the Roman Catholic Church. However, there are countries where an official church tax has to be paid by the citizens (e.g. Italy, Germany, Austria). |
| Lutheran | Every Christian should contribute to the work of the Lord with his valuable things. Christ recognizes every contribution given to his cause. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | Very few denominations "require" tithing. Many biblically-minded ministers however, would now preach tithing, but the general "expected" level of giving is five per cent of disposable income (i.e. after tax and housing costs). |
| Baptist | Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth. |
| Pentecostal | We believe tithing is God's financial plan to provide for His work, and has been since the days of Abraham. Tithing came with faith under Abraham, Moses' law enjoined it, and Israel practiced it when she was right with God; Jesus indorsed it; and Paul said to lay by in store as God has prospered you. Do not rob God of His portion, viz., tithes and offerings |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | The true Christian congregation does no collection. However, the cheerful support of the preaching work with the valuable things of a person is most appreciated. |
| Mormons | The Bible indicates that God’s people followed the law of tithing anciently; through modern prophets, God restored this law once again to bless His children. One of the blessings of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the privilege of paying tithing. This privilege is a big blessing. By paying tithing, Church members show their gratitude to God for their blessings and their resolve to trust in the Lord rather than in material things. |
| Adventists | Certainly, tithe is not a necessity for membership. Nonetheless, paying tithe is another important aspect of the Adventist faith. According to the Bible, Christians should donate 10% of their wages to the Church. Of course, due to tax deductions, there is some disagreement among Adventists as to whether tithe should be 10% of their gross or net pay, but the general consensus is that it's the individual's choice. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The Lords' Witnesses do not solicit contributions. Tithes under law were paid by 11 tribes to the priestly tribe of Levi. In the Christian church therefore the correct application would be the women who cannot be priests, should pay men, all of whom are priests, since they can all baptise. Well that is a not going to happen is it. The tithes of the law are ended. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek out of those whom he saved from the wicked kings. But these stand for 10% of mankind being priests under Melchizedek in the Kingdom of God. There is therefore no scriptural basis for any Christian church to solicit any money from anyone. In fact those who do constitute the church into a cave of robbers. However the first century Christians sold some or all of their assets and deposited the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. This was a voluntary matter. |
| Church | Doctrine (What They Teach About Being in the Armed Forces) |
| Catholics | Serving the armed forces is up to the conscience of the individual member of the church. |
| Lutheran | There are no official statements available. Serving the armed forces is up to the conscience of the individual member of the church. |
| Anglican/Episcopalian | There are no official statements available. Serving the armed forces is up to the conscience of the individual member of the church. |
| Baptist | It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war. The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love. Christian people throughout the world should pray for the reign of the Prince of Peace. |
| Pentecostal | We believe that Christians shall not shed blood nor take human life. Therefore, we propose to fulfill all the obligations of loyal citizens, but are constrained to declare against participating in combatant service in war, armed insurrection, property destruction, aiding or abetting in or the actual destruction of human life. Furthermore, we cannot conscientiously affiliate with any union, boycott, or organization which will force or bind any of its members to belong to any organization, perform any duties contrary to our conscience, or receive any mark, without our right to affirm or reject same. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | A true Christian can not serve in the armed forces. Carrying an arm is up to the conscience of the individual but everyone doing so would not qualify as an elder or ministerial servant. |
| Mormons | Latter-day Saints in the military do not need to feel torn between their country and their God. In the Church, “we believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Articles of Faith 1:12). Military service shows dedication to this principle. If Latter-day Saints are called upon to go into battle, they can look to the example of Captain Moroni, the great military leader in the Book of Mormon. Although he was a mighty warrior, he “did not delight in bloodshed” (Alma 48:11). He was “firm in the faith of Christ,” and his only reason for fighting was to “defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion” (Alma 48:13). If Latter-day Saints must go to war, they should go in a spirit of truth and righteousness, with a desire to do good. They should go with love in their hearts for all God’s children, including those on the opposing side. Then, if they are required to shed another’s blood, their action will not be counted as a sin. |
| Adventists | "The Seventh-day Adventist Church strongly counsels its members to consider the possible conflicts over Sabbath and other issues before they enter military service voluntarily. This especially is true if they have conscientious beliefs that they either cannot bear arms or be available for routine military training or duty during Sabbath hours. Joining the armed forces thus is up to the conscience of each individual member of the church."
Interestingly though, there is a special service by the Adventist Church for soldiers in the US Military, the Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries. |
| Lords' Witnesses | The Roman Soldier Cornelius was given a baptism and the gifts of the spirit whilst he was a Roman Soldier. And the soldier who asked John the Baptist what to do, was not told to leave the army. Therefore the LWs have no objection to Christians serving in the armed forces. However, if you defile your conscience or break God's laws, then being in the army is no excuse before God or before the law of the church. It may be therefore impossible for sincere Christians to continue in certain forms of armed service. |