Are You Saved?
According to the World Christian Encyclopedia there are 34,000 seperate Christian denominations, most of them have different views on how a person can be "saved" and what they are being saved from or where they are going to after they are "saved".
Here's the views of just a few of them:
| Denomination | Authority | How You Are "Saved" | Women Preachers? |
| Roman Catholics | Pope, church councils and the Catholic bible. Truth of the scriptures is interpreted by the church. | Gained through God's grace, belief in the sacrifice of Christ. Good works performed under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Must go through baptism. | No |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Literal interpretation of the New World Translation ~ their version of the bible. | Through works and faith, selling copies of the Watchtower; baptism seen as symbolic. Only the "elect" 144,000 will be saved. | No |
| Quakers | The writing of the bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will help you understand it. | Salvation is not through Christ's sacrifice but through spiritual growth and the emulation of Christ. Some "Friends" believe that Christ was divine, some do not. "Friends" do not believe in baptism or sacraments. | Yes |
| Church of England Anglican or Episcopal |
Catholic or Protestant bible as interpreted by the Church and the rule of faith. | Salvation through grace and personal responsibility: belief in Christ's sacrifice and baptism. | Some yes, some no. |
| Seventh Day Adventists | The literal interpretation of Scripture, prophecies and writings of Ellen White, their founder. Saturday observed as the Sabbath. | Baptism via immersion is essential: also works via "investigative judgement". God reviews each persons' works and is judged for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Jesus does not forgive their sins. | Mostly no, some say yes. |
Various views on the after-life.
| Denomination | Stance on Heaven | Stance on Hell |
| Roman Catholic | Viewed as a paradise with God and Christ for all eternity. | Used to be that of eternal torture for sinners or, for lesser sinners, "cleansing" punishment in purgatory before being admitted to Heaven. The Pope decreed in 1999 that hell is: "the pain, frustration and emptiness of life without God". |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Heaven on earth for the 144,000 "elect" after the earth has been cleansed. | Hell is the grave were one waits for resurrection, and will be destroyed after the 1,000 year reign of Christ and true sinners will cease to exist. |
| Quakers | Up to individual interpretation. | Up to individual interpretation. |
| Church of England | Seen as a spiritual state of being in the presence of God. | Hell not seen as eternal torture but as being the final, irrevocable choice made by man that ends in total non-being. |
| Seventh Day Adventists | Heaven on earth with Jesus after the thousand year reign. They believe that Jesus is coming soon because of the prophesized signs apparent in the scripture. |
There will be a 1,000 year reign of Jesus with his saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections, and during this time the wicked dead will be judged, The earth will be utterly desolate and occupied by Satan and his angels. Jesus with His saints and the Holy City will decend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will be resurrected and judged with Satan and his angels. Finally, God's fire will consume them all and the earth will be cleansed. |