Methodists and Baptists often get twisted because of their similarities, but notable differences exist. First, both have their faith in Jesus Christ and follow its path.
However, baptists have more rules associated with the practice. On the other hand, methodists have a more liberal view of it.
Here is an in-depth study of the difference between baptism and Methodism.
Comparison Of Methodist And Baptist
| Parameters | Methodist | Baptist |
|---|---|---|
| Belief | The Methodist church believes in Jesus Christ considered the savior of humanity. | Baptists are followers of God, i.e., Jesus Christ, and obey his path and teachings. |
| Baptism | Methodists allow baptism for all irrespective of age or maturity | Baptists have restricted baptism to only adults, people who are mature enough to understand the cause and then accept it. |
| Pastors | In the Methodist church Bishops have the responsibility of assigning pastors. Woken can also become a pastor. | The Baptist church congregation decides the pastor; it can only be a male. |
| Process of Baptism | Baptism can be done by immersion, sprinkling, or spilling. | Only complete immersion is accepted as baptism. |
| Fundamentalist | Have liberal thought and broad space for change regarding faith. | Extremely fundamentalist and have strict boundaries. |
Significant Differences Between Methodist And Baptist
What Is Methodist?
Ans- Methodism is a reformed Christian faith through praying and serving society. It believes in the baptism of all ages. The methodist church focuses more on bible reading and preaching.
The process of baptism is also done by sprinkling. Therefore, it has more freedom in a person’s choice if he wants to be saved.
What Is Baptism?
Ans- Baptist believes in the Christian faith and is a protestant member. Baptists only allow adults to be baptized, and the process can only be done by immersion, not sprinkling.
They are also famous for hymn singing. Baptism is more fundamental and has strict rules. It also believes in a saved-for-life policy.
Contrast Between Methodist And Baptist
Origin
- Methodist – The methodist church came into effect as soon as the movement originated in the 18th century in the church of England by John Wesley.
It advocates salvation for all. Missionary work significantly helped in spreading the word about it. There are 100 million adherents of Methodism all over the world.
- Baptist – Baptism started by offsetting the English separatist movement after the protestant movement in 1600.
Baptism does not support baptism for all; it only allows adults who are conscious of the practice and accept it. It is stringent and does not allow the individual to leave the savings, i.e., lose faith or change.
Belief
- Methodist – Methodists have faith in God, Jesus Christ, the savior of humanity, and follow the Bible. They perform hymns in the reverberation of God. They believe in baptism for all.
The Methodist church has bishops who have the right to choose the pastors, including women. Provide freedom to people in the thought of being saved and losing salvation.
- Baptist – Baptists are followers of Christianity and believe in Jesus Christ and his teachings. Baptists are famous for their songs and hymns used for worship.
In baptist churches, the pastors are only male, chosen by the congregation. Baptists believe in the practice of baptism but only for adults. Baptist promotes saints’ perseverance, which means one cannot leave the grace once saved.
Governance
- Methodist – Methodist does not have an autonomous body of governance that is closely connected. Instead, the congregation makes decisions and influences each other in the decision-making.
- Baptist- Baptists have an autonomous governance body, and the churches function independently without interfering.
Pastors
- Methodist – The bishop in the methodist church assigns the pastors. Women, too, can be pastors to congregations.
- Baptist – The right to assign pastors rests with the congregation, and only males are allowed to be the pastors or the teacher of the gospel in a baptist church.
Communion
- Methodist – In the Methodist church, communion is open for all and isn’t essential to attend. In the Methodist church, you have the liberty to proclaim or not, and nobody will question you. They even use grape juice at communion to remove the dangers associated with alcohol and also for children.
- Baptist – Baptists follow closed communion in which only the baptized members of the church are allowed to stand. It is done every Sunday. They believe it to be the last supper of Jesus Christ’s death and do it in honor of him.
Fundamentalism
- Methodist – Methodists are more liberal when it comes to institutionalization. They have a free circuit of belief where one has the liberty to be a fundamentalist or procure faith in their understanding, experience, and reason to person traditional practices.
- Baptist – Baptists are strict fundamentalists. Known to be conservative and have immense belief in the Bible. Their thoughts are not liberal and influence people’s lives and their choices. Anyone who speaks against them is considered a traitor of the church. They do not support movements like LGBTQ and deny its recognition.
Doctrine
- Methodist – Methodists have a non-stringent belief regarding being saved or losing salvation. It believes if a person willingly wants to be kept, it’s his choice. It is accepted if someone wants to fall from grace and not continue to follow the teachings. Choosing or losing salvation is an individual’s choice.
- Baptist – Baptists are strict when it comes to salvation. They believe if someone is chosen to be saved, he cannot lose faith. So it follows ‘the perseverance of saints. If one accepts grace, it is forever.
Hymn
- Methodist – Methodist is famous for its hymns and rich music culture. Charles Wesley wrote many hymns practiced in the Methodist church to date.
- Baptist- Baptists are famous for congregational prayer songs. The well-known hymns created from the books and sung by the baptist have been carried in all worship and theology to spread the word for baptism.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
1) What is the difference in the baptism procedure between a methodist and a baptist?
Methodists believe in baptism for all, including children and adults. The process can be done by sprinkling, immersion, or even pouring, and all are accepted. While on the other hand, Baptists only considered baptism for adults with immersion.
2) What is the doctrine of baptists?
The baptists believe in the perseverance of saints. It means if you’ve chosen to be saved and follow the right path, you must be in it forever. It believes once a soul is saved by grace, it cannot fall out of it.
3) Do Methodists consume alcohol?
Most methodists still do not approve of drinking alcohol and being drunk. However, they have liberal thoughts about it, and moderate drinking in social gatherings is not prohibited.
The attitude regarding this has changed over time. In conclusion, they believe that drunkenness was never allowed.
4) What is baptist fundamentalism?
Baptist fundamentalists believe Jesus to be the God born out of the virgin mary. They also believe in satan. God creates several laws, and if one goes against them, one becomes sinful and will be punished.
They proclaim that the teachings and sayings of Jesus come before law and order, human reasoning, and choice, and they should be considered.
5) When do the methodists and baptists hold their Sabbath?
Baptist usually holds their workshop on Sunday, and a group named seventh-day baptists within it worships on Saturday, the seventh day of the week.
On the other hand, Methodists hold their worship and survive only on Sunday.
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