Presbyterian vs. Baptist question

well, its according to what kind of presbyterian church it is... but traditional PCUSA churches, and PCA churches are most likely Calvinists, they adhere to Covenant Theology and paedobaptism (infant baptism)... Baptists traditionally hold to Calvinism, and many traditional churches still do, but now most of the subdenominations hold to what i would call two point calvinism or three point arminianism, both denominations are primarily Cessationists, (we don't believe that the gifts of tongues, prophecy, etc. continue today)... both denominations have split multiple times, so its hard to tell all of the differences because there are huge differences even within both, but the biggest, and most apparent difference is that Presbyterians, as far as i know, all practice paedobaptism (infant), and Baptists all practice credobaptism (believers)...

 

Baptism is symbolic of a person being born again after they repent in thier heart and place their faith in Christ. They go under the water (we dye to self and are buried with Christ) and are raised from the dead to walk in the new life Christ has given them.

It's rediculous to think that baptising a baby has any effect on the child, other than getting them wet and irritating them. It's just more hollow and meaningless tradition.

[ January 28, 2003, 12:54 AM: Message edited by: AdoptedByGod ]

 

Hello Jason,

You have just espoused one of the core Baptist doctrines: Believer's Baptism. Your Presbyterian Church still practices infant baptism. This is the significant difference between fundamental Presbyterians and Baptists. However, if you choose to stay with the Presbyterian Church be sure to find a solid biblically conservative PCA church as opposed to the liberal PCUSA churches.

Yours in Christ,

Bibleboy

 

There are other conservative Presbyterian groups. Orthodox Presbyterians and Associate Reformed PResbyterian immediately come to mind.

Another point to make is that neither Baptists nor Presbyterians believe that baptism is anything other than an outward and visible sign. It has no salvation attached to the act.

 

The Presbyterians practice infant baptism because their theology is extremely covenantal, and they recognize how baptism is a covenantal sign of the New Covenant. Considering that the covenant is the golden thread that runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, the Presbyterians have, in my estimation, a better theology than Baptists, though I find it flawed in several key areas.

One of my professors, Dr. Scott Hahn, was a seminary professor for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and he has a very high estimation for the OPC due to their conservative taste. The liberal PCUSA Churches are horrendous when it comes to moral issues, esp. abortion.

 

It is important to note that there are conservative forces within the PCUSA which are striving to bring the denomination back into a more realistic view of these kinds of issues.

Presbyterian worship will also be more familiar to Catholics because of the design of the sanctuary and treatment of the Lord's Table. We don't believe (neccessarily) in transubstantiation, but we believe that the bread and cup are something more than the Baptist's view of simply a memorial. Thus the pulpit is not centerstage, meaning that the preaching of the Word is most important to the worship experience; rather the communion table is centerstage, maintaining thr traditional significance of communion as the central reason to gather and worship.

 

There is another branch of the Presbyterian Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which I grew up in. They go back to the frontier days of the early 1800s and they are more arminian than calvinist. They withdrew from the main branch of Presbyterian Church over that issue.