A protestant is as much a Christian as a catholic Christian. There is a misconception among the minds of some people that a Protestant is a follower of a religion other than Christianity. Of course, there are both similarities and differences between a catholic and a protestant if one were to treat them as followers of different denominations within the same religion of Christianity, but it is rather foolish to think of Protestants as belonging to any other religion apart from Christianity. Let us take a closer look.
Christianity is an old religion that has been the religion of the western world for the last 2000 years. Today, it is spread throughout the world with more than 2 billion followers worldwide. A person adhering to this monotheistic religion that revolves around the life and sacrifices of Jesus is called a Christian. All Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God who was sent to earth to guide human beings towards salvation. His gospels are contained in the form of messages in Bible which happens to be the most sacred book or the scripture of the Christians. Christians also believe in the doctrine of Trinity where there are three persons in God such as God the father, God the son, and the Holy Spirit. There are 2.2 billion Christians worldwide that comprise nearly a third of the population of the earth.
Key Takeaways
- A protestant is a Christian who does not follow the catholic denomination but rather adheres to Protestantism, a denomination that resulted because of a reform movement initiated in Germany and France in the 16th century.
- Protestants differ from Catholics on a number of points, such as not subscribing to Papal authority, not considering the Bible as the last word, and not treating Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.
- To differentiate between a Christian and a Protestant is like differentiating between a car and a Ford, as Protestants are followers of the denomination of Christianity that was formed because of the reform movement in Germany led by Martin Luther.
