Christianity Today

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Christianity Today

• 3 main divisions

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Roman Catholicism

• Most prevalent in central and southern Europe,
  Southern Ireland, and Central and South America.
  Makes up more than ½ of the worlds Christians
• Rome - Vatican
• Relies on the Bible and Tradition as a means of
  Gods revelations of Christ.
• Tradition began with the Apostles, who handed it
  down to their successors, the bishops and popes)

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Roman Catholicism

• The Pope, as Peters successor, is the highest
  authority in the church
• Modern Catholicism is greatly influenced by the
  Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)
• Designed to update the church teachings to
  respond to the needs of the modern world and
  promote Christian unity

Pope Benedict XVI
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Roman Catholicism

• Recognizes 7 sacraments.
• Sacrament is an outward, physical sign of an
  inward, spiritual reality
• Baptism
• Confirmation
• The Eucharist / holy communion,
• Marriage
• Ordination (of deacons, priests, and bishops
• Reconciliation / penance
• Anointing of the sick) Through sacrament

• Grace (the transforming presence of God) flows
  forth into the person. The Eucharist (or Mass) is
  the summit of Catholic worship - every Sunday or
  Saturday morning.

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The Great Schism

• 1054 AD

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Eastern Orthodoxy

• 250 million adherents, located mostly in Eastern
  Europe, Russia, and the eastern coast of the
  Mediterranean Sea. (Examples include Russian and
  Greek Orthodox Churches)
• Rather than regard Tradition as the process of
  clarifying the revelation of Christ through the
  ages (as does the R.C. Church) Eastern Orthodoxy
  limits its doctrines to those conclusions reached
  by 7 ecumenical councils held prior to 787.

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Eastern Orthodoxy

• Each branch has its own leader yet they all
  acknowledge the patriarch of Constantinople as
  the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
• The patriarch however has no special doctrinal
  authority like the pope. The authority instead
  is held by the entire church body

• Bartholomew I

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Eastern Orthodoxy

• Observe the same 7 sacraments as Catholicism
• Great emphasis on religious icons - artistic
  representations of the New Testament and early
  Christian saints

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The Reformation

• 1517-1648 the Treaty of Westphalia

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Protestantism

• Predominant form of Christianity in Northern
  Europe, England, N. Ireland, Scotland, Australia,
  the United States, and Canada
• Originated as a protest against any form of
  authority that it perceives as false
• anything that stands in the way between the
  Christians relationship with God through Christ

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Protestantism

• 4 main branches stemming from the days of the
  Reformation
• Lutheran
• Calvinist
• Baptist
• Anglican - from which Methodism emerged
• Today hundreds of denominations exist, many of
  them derived from one of these four

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Protestantism and the Bible

• Focus on the Bible as the primary means of
  knowing Christ
• Fundamentalist believe the Bible is the direct
  word of God, and it must be read and interpreted
  literally
• For most other protestant denominations, the
  bible is viewed as a human product that conveys
  Gods truth, as long as it is interpreted properly

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Protestantism

• Justification by faith as understood by Martin
  Luther. As long as one has faith, good works
  will naturally follow.
• Sacraments are important but only as
  accompaniment to faith.
• Only two sacraments are observed
• Baptism
• Eucharist.

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