Baptist vs Pentecostal (With Table)

Before we explain Baptist vs Pentecostal, let’s peek into the history of Christianity.

Christianity is one of the oldest and most widespread religions in the world. Throughout its history which spans several centuries, Christianity went from being a unified religion to having sects within the religion. This is due to disagreements regarding doctrines, beliefs among both churchmen and followers of religion.

It is no news that religion has been used as a tool by states and religion itself has been oppressive on several occasions. With every new age comes new teachers, new saints and they gain followers for their ideals. This happens in every religion. This is how Christianity came to have many different sections or denominations, namely  Anglican / Episcopal, Assembly of God, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman catholic.

The three main denominations of Christianity today are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism.  These denominations again have subdivisions, like Protestantism has about 18 denominations. Pentecostal is one of them. Therefore, Baptist and Pentecostal are two different denominations of  Christianity.

Though both are denominations of Christianity, there are both major and minor differences between the two from the way they pray to their beliefs. Though they both believe in the trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, they disagree about when the baptism of the Holy Spirit took place.

Comparison Table: Baptist vs Pentecostal

Criteria	Baptist	Pentecostal
Origin	Baptists separated from the church of England between the 16th and 18th centuries. The first Baptist church was founded in Amsterdam in 1609.	Pentecostalism has its roots in the 18th century Wesleyan Holiness tradition, the 19th century Holiness movement, and the late-Victorian Keswick Higher Life. The modern Pentecostal movement started in California in 1906. However, both Baptism and Pentecostalism have their origin in the Book of Acts.
Meaning of the term	The word “Baptist” comes from the ritual of “Baptism” or “Believer’s Baptism” as performed by the Baptists.	The Pentecostal faith gets its name from Pentecost, the eventful day when the Holy Spirit descended from heaven to grace the first Christians as noted in Acts 2.
Kind of prayer	There is a major difference in the way the two faiths pray or perform their worship. Baptists sing hymns and pray quietly.	Pentecostals pray and sing loudly, making more noise than the Baptists.
Pastors	Baptists don’t allow for women to be made pastors.	Pentecostal faith, on the other hand, allows for women to be made pastors.

About Baptist

Baptists developed from inside the English Separatist movement, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, when Protestant Christians were isolated from the Church of England. This is the most acknowledged view and the earliest Baptist church is viewed as a 1609 church in Amsterdam.

The second assessment holds that Baptists began from English Separatism and was enormously affected and framed out of Anabaptists, or Dutch Mennonites. The third and fourth historical references say that the Baptist church has existed in some structure since Christ and John the Baptist.

In America, a previous individual from the Church of England, Roger Williams, was isolated from authorities in the Massachusetts Bay Colony over his conviction on chapel capacities. In 1638, he established the main Baptist church in America in uncolonized Rhode Island.

Likewise in Rhode Island, Englishman John Clarke established a Baptist church around a similar time. The two men later got a contract from King Charles II ensuring religious opportunity in Rhode Island.

A few Baptists are of the belief that there are no human originator, no human power, and no human ideology.

Baptists are subscribers to evangelical theology. Their worship is based on believers’ church doctrine. Even then, within baptism, there are two parties -the general. Baptists who follow the Armenian theology and the particular Baptist who follow reformed theology.

However, most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine. The difference in beliefs within Baptists comes fur to the congregational administrative framework that gives autonomy to individual Baptist churches. 

Baptists are known to promote religious freedom and advocate for church, state separation.

About Pentecostal

Pentecostal is an evangelical Protestant Christian faith. Being evangelical, they also believe in the inerrancy of the Bible which means that the original manuscript of the Bible was without error.

Pentecostals believe that through death and then again rebirth or resurrection of Jesus Christ humanity’s son can be forgiven and human beings can attain salvation. Pentecostals believe that is it through rebirth that humans can be saved and can receive the grace of God.

Pentecostals have a unique belief in baptism with the Holy Spirit. In this kind of  Jesus is the agent and Holy Spirit is the medium. This belief calls back to the descent of the Holy Spirit to the first Christians in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost or Shabouth. There are two other baptisms according to the Pentecostal faith and those are water baptism and baptism into the body of Christ.

Pentecostals also believe in miracles, the gift of tongues or “speaking in tongues” and divine healing. These are the other characteristics of this faith. This speaking in tongue means speaking in an unknown language or speaking in a language unknown to the speaker. This is considered a spiritual gift.

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Difference Between Baptist and Pentecostal

Origin

Baptists separated from the church of England between the 16th and 18th centuries. The first Baptist church was founded in Amsterdam in 1609.

Pentecostalism has its roots in the 18th century Wesleyan Holiness tradition, the 19th century Holiness movement, and the late-Victorian Keswick Higher Life. The modern Pentecostal movement started in California in 1906. However, both Baptism and Pentecostalism have their origin in the Book of Acts.

Meaning of the term

The word “Baptist” comes from the ritual of “Baptism” or “Believer’s Baptism” as performed by the Baptists.

The Pentecostal faith gets its name from Pentecost, the eventful day when the Holy Spirit descended from heaven to grace the first Christians as noted in Acts 2.

Type of Prayer

There is a major difference in the way the two faiths pray or perform their worship. Baptists sing hymns and pray quietly, whereas Pentecostals pray and sing loudly, making more noise than Baptists.

Pastors

Baptists don’t allow for women to be made pastors. Pentecostal faith, on the other hand, allows for women to be made pastors.

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