Christianity has many divisions, like Baptists, protestants, Presbyterians, etc. Presbyterians fall under the category of protestants but with slight changes in their culture, tradition, and way of thinking or following.
Protestant Christians are those people who do not believe in catholic churches, and protestants are the second largest group or form of Christians. Presbyterians are also part of the protestants but are reformed, which means they have different thinking and belief with varying types of church rules.
Key Takeaways
- Presbyterianism is a denomination within the broader Protestantism movement that emphasizes church governance by a body of elders. At the same time, Protestantism is a term used to describe the movement that emerged from the Reformation and includes various denominations.
- Presbyterianism strongly emphasizes predestination and God’s sovereignty, while Protestantism emphasizes individual interpretations of the Bible.
- Presbyterianism involves a more formal style of worship, including hymns, prayers, and sacraments, while some Protestant denominations may have a more informal style of worship.
Presbyterian vs Protestant
Protestant Christians are a large group of Christians with reformed thinking. They do not believe in catholic churches and their teachings. Presbyterians are part of a protestant group or subdivision with slightly different traditions and beliefs.
Presbyterians follow the gospel of Jesus. They mostly show their faith through social justice and humanity.
In their churches, they do not read or sing verses of the Bible; instead, they understand it individually and can question the elders about the Bible. They show their faith through the process of assertion.
Protestants are Christians who do not follow the things said by the pope or the father of the Church. They are the second-largest subdivision of Christians, with a population of 800 million.
Protestantism emerged from Germany to other countries during the 16th century. Presbyterians can be termed Protestant Christians because they are their other form.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Presbyterian | Protestant |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Presbyterians believe that children born as Christians should be purified, and they do not believe in redemption. | Protestants believe in redemption but also say there are several other ways of saving. |
| Types | Presbyterians are another form of protestant Christians with a slight change in tradition and belief. This means all the Presbyterians are protestant Christians. | But Protestant Christain is the primary term, so not all protestants need to be Presbyterian. |
| Confession tradition | Presbyterians follow the tradition of assertion or confession in their churches. | In Protestantism, assertion tradition is not necessary. |
| Governing bodies | Presbyterians have their elders, or they elect them to teach in churches. | Protestants are not very fond of church tradition. |
| Highest origin of jurisdiction. | In presbyterianism, the highest origin of command is given to Bible teachings only. | Protestants also believe that the Bible is supreme over all other things. |
What is Presbyterian?
Presbyterians are a different form of Protestant Christians with a different way of thinking and other traditions. Presbyterians believe in churches, and they elect their elders as an adviser. In their culture, assertion or confession is given much importance.
Presbyterians always take advice from their elders or the groups in their churches. They have their origin in Scotland. John Calvin also led the Presbyterian‘s emergence during the 16th century in other countries.
Presbyterians also believe that Bible is the only supreme command given by God and that only bible teachings should be followed. They do not believe in redemption; instead, they believe in predestination, which means that everything is predecided and nothing can be changed.
What is Protestant?
Martin Luther introduced the Protestant term during the 16th century in his book ninety-five-theses. Since then, Protestant Christians are emerging, having the second-highest population as a reformed version of Christianity.
Protestant Christians do not believe in church traditions and are always against the catholic church’s culture. This form of Christianity started early in Germany; then, it spread to other countries worldwide.
Protestants follow their traditions and cultures. And in their culture, the Bible is given the supreme level, and they believe in redemption, but they say that saving can also be achieved in many other ways.
Main Differences Between Presbyterian and Protestant
- Presbyterians believe children born as Christians should be purified and do not believe in redemption. And Protestants believe in redemption, but they also say there are several other ways of saving.
- Presbyterians believe in predestination and do not believe in redemption, but protestants do believe in redemption, and they say there are several other ways of redemption.
- Martin Luther led the protestant reformation in the 16th century, and the term Presbyterian was directed by John Calvin during the 16th century in Scotland.
- Presbyterians have their elders, or they elect them to teach in churches. Protestants do not believe in church traditions; instead, they acknowledge that Bible should be read and assertion should be done privately.
- There are around seventy-five million Presbyterians in the world, and there are eight hundred million Protestants Christians worldwide. Making them second highest after Christianity.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=k3Q8DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP10&dq=presbyterian&ots=PKVAyTomFH&sig=HlK4DPJ5L9qsV68jMqOCrAaCCII
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/3511614
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