Religion has played an important role for centuries. It has shaped the lives of many people since the creation of man. There are many religions with similarities and differences among them. The two most influential ones are Roman Catholic and the Protestant. The protestant religion includes the Baptist church. In order to understand these religions, some differences between the Baptists and Catholics are being compared.

The Roman Catholic Church began about A.D. 30, when Jesus Christ instructed the apostles to spread His teachings about the Kingdom of God. (Wells, 2003) The Catholic Church traces its linage back to the original twelve Apostles. (Dimasio, 2000) The Baptist church was established in the year 1607 by John Smyth. It was separated from the Church of England which previously had broken away from the Catholic Church. (Wells, 2003) They are also called the Southern Baptists, whom are a denomination which came about as result of the Protestant split from the church in the 1600s. (Dimasio, 2000)

Both religions use the Holy Book, known as the Bible. Catholics believe that the word of God is transmitted through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and is interpr

Catholics believe in the original sin. It is the sin of disobedience for trying to be equal to God. All Catholics are born with this sin and it is forgiven with baptism. On the contrary, Baptists believe that there is no original sin, but all sin is actual and voluntary; therefore infants are born without it. Adults are baptized by immersion as a sign of their commitment to Christ. (Wells, 2000)

eted by the teaching authority of the church. Baptists believe that the word of God is limited to the Bible. They believe in a theory known as Sola Scriptura, which means the Bible is the sole rule of faith. (Zeolla, 2003) For Catholics the Bible does not teach this doctrine, but it teaches the authority of the Church. The Catholic Bible contains 46 books in the Old Testament. Seven of those books are called “Deuterocanonical”. (“The Bible and You,” 1999) The Baptist Bible contains 39 Books, rejecting the Deuterocanonicals, known to them as the apocrypha. (Zeolla, 2003)

There are many other differences between Catholics and Baptists, but none of them should separate people from one another. As someone said in a conference “Baptists as a rule live exemplary lives. They strive, with great zeal, to preach the gospel as they understand it. Catholics view them as separated brothers with which have many e

Some topics in this essay:
Catholics Baptists, Catholic Church, God Catholics, Hail Mary, Eucharist Supper, Lord’s Supper, Pope Christ’s, Jesus Christ, Baptist Church, Catholics Religion, catholic church, baptist church, catholics believe, dimasio 2000, zeolla 2003, baptists believe, roman catholic, original sin sin, jesus christ, believe original, church religion, roman catholic church, believe original sin, believe word god,