The focal point of the Baptist Church is the pulpit; this is where the bible is kept. Baptists use the bible to learn lessons and the minister preaches using it. They believe that bible readings and prayers are the most important part of the service. Baptists don’t believe in sacraments they only believe in the power of God through His Word. Roman Catholic churches have a pulpit/lectern it is used for the Word of God, however it isn’t as important as the Priest’s homily. The Baptist church doesn’t have a confessional they don’t believe that the minister has the power to forgive the congregation in God’s place. The congregation usually pray together to ask god for forgiveness, they believe he is the only one who has the power to forgive them. The Baptist church doesn’t have and liturgies like the Roman Catholic Church. If you were to go to one Baptist church and went to another one around the corner the service would be very different; the Baptist church is non- liturgical. However with the Catholic Church they have the same mass in England as they have in America or Argentina; the Catholic Church is liturgical.
Explain why the worship you have described is important for Christians. In your answer you should explain the reasons for the differences between denominations that you have highlighted.
All types of worship are important to Christians because it shows them how important God is in everybody’s lives. Worship also helps the person morally as well, because is they’re in a situation and they’ve seen how other Christians have reacted through worship it is a guidance for them. People can also learn through the Bible.
The Roman Catholic Church has a hierarchy, at the top is the Pope, and he is believed to be the successor from St. Peter the Rock. Catholics believe that when the Pope makes a solemn statement on faith or morals the Holy Spirit protects him from error. Underneath the Pope are the bishops they are successors to the twelve apostles of Jesus. Catholics believe that the Pope, in Vatican City, leads the church form Rome. Vatican City is the world’s smallest independent state and has a seat in the UN.
The Catholic Church has made creeds ‘statements of beliefs’ to help people understand what they have to believe, e.g. ‘The Nicene Creed’ you have to believe in one God; the Father and the Holy Spirit are all God; and the Jesus Christ is completely human and is completely God at the same time. Creeds help Catholics to strengthen their faith as well. There are two creeds in the Catholic Church these are the Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed. These are said during the Liturgy of the Word. The Liturgy of the Word is another important part of mass, as this is when the priest says his homily, he explains the gospel and the other readings. He explains to the congregation about what the readings mean and how to use them in their everyday lives.
During the Eucharist Catholics believe that the bread and wine is turned into the body and blood of Jesus. They believe through the priest the Holy Spirit; the priest transubstantiates the bread and wine. This dates back to the last supper when Jesus said “This is my body…this is my blood…”
Catholics also use icons and images to help them in prayer. For example, if you see a picture of Mary and there is a sword pierced in her heart; you know that the picture is about the pain she felt during Jesus’ crucifixion. Statues are also used in Roman Catholic churches these help the person direct the attention to the person they are praying to.
The Baptist Church was one of the churches that split up from the Catholic Church during the reformation. They believe that mass should be centred around the Bible and not on the Eucharist. Unlike the Catholic Church there isn’t a hierarchy and the congregation elects ministers. The bible is central in the Baptist Church they use the Bible as a guide in their everyday life. They have Bible study classes to help people understand the Bible in their own way. When they do have a communion the minister occasionally leads the service. The communion service is seen as just a meal and they don’t see communion with any spiritual meaning. Baptists believe that baptism should be the persons choice so people usually get baptised when they’re twelve years or above. Baptists are very democratic unlike the Roman Catholic Church where they follow orders from the Bishop or the Pope. The decisions in the Baptist church are up to the congregation only. In a Baptist church is a member was in a bad situation they would probably go to the Priest for help. Two Baptist churches wouldn’t have the same service as they have not liturgy to follow, however, the Catholic church follows a liturgy so if you were to go to a Catholic church in Australia it would be the same mass as Catholic churches in the UK, the church is liturgical.
“It would be better for Christianity if the money spent on building and maintaining special places of worship was spent on alleviating poverty instead” Do you agree? Give reasons for answer, showing you have considered more than one point of view.
Some people may agree with the statement. Jesus did say, “Love they neighbour, as I have loved you” Jesus teaching is “Whatever we do to the least on my brother we do to God.” This is saying that if we care for the poor we care for God as well. The Roman Catholic Church doesn’t need expensive buildings for the congregation to celebrate mass. They could celebrate mass in public halls or community centres. They could also meet in homes. Millions of people are dying across the world due to poverty and the Roman Catholic Church can help by providing equipment for them to grow or make their own food or at least to provide for them in the short term. The Roman Catholic Church could cut down on the amount of expensive ornaments they use for example they could have wooden crosses instead of gold crosses/crucifixes.
However, somebody may disagree with the statement. This is because as church is the House of God it should be decorated with taste and splendour, this is because it is a sign of respect towards God. They may also disagree because a lot of the Roman Catholic Church buildings are very old and may pose a health and safety risk if not maintained. The Church does give to the poor for example CAFOD; it is a Catholic funded charity, which helps the poor throughout the world. A lot of the money the Catholic Church gets is already given to the poor. The church is also a huge organisation with over one billion worshippers and won’t be able to fit a whole congregation in a school, public hall or a community centre. People also need to worship in an environment where they feel they’re in the presence of God and people feel that the most in a church.
There is a lot of poverty in the world and the Roman Catholic Church can give a lot of money to those poor countries, however, the Roman Catholic needs to maintain and decorate the magnificent churches they own. The Church also teaches that God is everywhere so would it make a difference where you worship. In the end they are going to need to decide which is more important, a beautiful building for worship or giving million of poor people a chance to live a good life like the many people in the developed world. The Church also teachers that god is everywhere so it wouldn’t make a difference where you worship.
I think that giving the poor people around the world a chance to live a good life is far more important than decorating and maintaining huge buildings for worship, when we can hire school halls, community centres or public halls to worship in. After all Jesus did say, “Where two gather there shall I be” I think that life is far more important than a beautiful building.
