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Baptist is a legitimate, mainstream Protestant demomination. Tends to run toward the fundamentalist end of the spectrum but still within the mainstream of Christian dogma.
AOG is a cult full of hucksters and the lunatics they take advantage of. Speaking in tongues, faith healing, demon possession, snake handling is just some of the crazy stuff that goes on in the AOG churches.
I find this thread interesting as while I currently attend an independent "fundamental" baptist church, while my brother and his wife attend the AOG.
I can't speak for the AOG, but in my experience the Baptist church does believe in spiritual gifts that are of today. They just don't believe "speaking in tongues" or what not is evidence one is Saved. The Scriptures talk about inspecting fruits to "know them" (meaning Christians) not gifts. While the Baptist church I attend does stress Salvation by Faith alone apart from Works (ephesians 2:8-10)(Romans 3,4,5), it also stresses the imporance of living the Christian life producing "fruit". I have grasped that the AOG puts their people in more of a "bondage"/works kind of salvation. I find it kind of ridiculous that one must "speak in tongues" in order to be saved and neither does that have any Scriptural support. Fruit is evidence of salvation not gifts.
We identify Christians by their "fruit"(what they do).
Matthew 7
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
"speaking in tongues" are for a sign to them that "believe not".
1 Corinthians 14
22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
It makes me wonder how these groups miss this when it's clearly stated. And how big is the AOG?
I'm just back from a long absence. I'd like to clarify a couple of things.
First, the last time I checked, the Assembly of God is a denomination. The Assemblies of God are a group of denominations who are similar but not the same.
Second, I think one's experiences in any Pentecostal church are likely to vary widely depending on the specific denomination, what part of the nation its in, and its pastor/congregation.
Third, many of the Assemblies of God don't go in for mega-churches, and many mega-churches are not part of the Assemblies of God. Mega-churches are Protestant, and most of them are fundamentalists, but that doesn't mean they're Pentecostal.
Fourth, just because a church calls itself a such-and-such religion doesn't mean that it is exactly like all of the such-and-such churches. One example that comes to mind is the Westboro Baptist Church. They call themselves Baptist, but that does not mean that other Baptist churches are anything like them.
Regards as always,
-- Nighteyes
The Assemblies of God is ONE denomination that is headquarteed in Springfield, MO. I believe they are about as large as all the other Pentecostal and Holiness churches put together regarding membership.
Generally the Assemblies are different than other Pentecostal/Holiness groups in that they believe in the triune god and not in the "oneness" doctrime.
From waht I can tell, not a whole lot. They both seem to hate the other, and both are very fear based and negative. I am not sure about all the fine details, AOG may be more charismatic and "pentocostal"
Personally, I avoid both like I avoid HIV
I did some photos for an assembly of god youth group, the were nice enough and paid on time but they were also very "isolated" and saw the rest of the world as "evil" and tried to keep within their own social group for the most part.
The Assemblies of God is ONE denomination that is headquarteed in Springfield, MO. I believe they are about as large as all the other Pentecostal and Holiness churches put together regarding membership.
Generally the Assemblies are different than other Pentecostal/Holiness groups in that they believe in the triune god and not in the "oneness" doctrime.
I know this is a pretty old post, but the General Council of the Assemblies of God is the U.S. branch of the worldwide fellowship. It is one of the largest Pentecostal groups, but the Church of God in Christ, headquartered in Memphis, is the largest Pentecostal organization in the U.S. However, the World Assemblies of God Fellowship is by far the largest worldwide.
In terms of pure numbers, most Pentecostal groups are Trinitarian in their doctrine: Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ, Church of God, International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Pentecostal Church of God, Church of God of Prophecy, etc. There are several Oneness Pentecostal bodies out there (e.g., United Pentecostal Church International, Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, etc.) but in totality are in the minority, albeit a sizable one.
We go to any Assembly of God church, and I was reared Southern Baptist.
In the AOG church I have never heard make-up, dancing or movies discussed. All of the women are quite fashionable. Last week they focused on the college grads. 2/3 of the group were masters and Phd's.
I think the biggest difference in the two is that the Southern Baptists, on paper anyway, think the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased.
I briefly attended an urban AOG megachurch in the 1980s and do not recall any proscriptions against makeup and the like. My guess is that this is more of a thing with their rural congregations.
I agree that the biggest difference is their orientation to the charismatic movement. If found it cloying and obnoxious and did not last long at that church.
To clarify- I currently attend an Assemblies of God church. We have nothing against dancing( many dance while worshiping and all the teens go to their school dances or take dance lessons) wearing makeup, and even many of my church members drink, including the pasters son, who is an intern in the children's department. Also we don't believe our religion is the only true way... We believe those who call upon Jesus are saved. For those who need to be "re-saved" as someone put it, are those who stop believing in their heart that Jesus was raised from the dead, is the son of God, and lived a sinless life. (Going off the verse that says "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved").
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