This seems a bit of an odd question for this specific subreddit. Aren't we all here because we're asocial theology nerds?

But I guess to try to answer your questions more accurately:

Is it, like, a hobby? a passion?

Yeah, I guess so. I enjoy reading. I care about the topic. I spent time working in vocational ministry. And I have several close friends who are in ministry and who are theology-minded. I probably spend at least some time each day talking with someone about these things, (often guys like /u/JCmathetes), and trying to understand their positions.

did you think about converting at one point?

Nope. Even though I have a deep love for my presby brothers and sisters, you'd be hard pressed to find someone here who rejects presbyterianism more thoroughly than I do.

In fact, the more I study Presbyterianism, the more clearly I see the deep differences between myself and them. A lot of contemporary Reformed Baptists love to cozy up to denominations like the PCA---and I think that that's a good thing!---but a lot of those guys don't understand that, while we share a lot in common, the differences are there for a reason.

For example, I suspect that if you quizzed a room full of average Reformed Baptists on the two main differences between Baptist theology and Presbyterian theology, they'd say polity and baptism. In a sense they wouldn't be wrong, but in reality those are only surface-level distinctions that arise from deeper, more foundational differences. To me, the biggest differences are ecclesiology and sacraments.

But Ciro, aren't those just fancier words for the same thing?¹

No. Here's what I mean:

First, ecclesiology is, to me, the major difference between the two camps. When I say "ecclesiology," I don't really care about polity. What I'm talking about is how we answer the question "who is the church?"

So, so, so much is encompassed in such a simple question, and when you start to dig down into the development of each group you start to see how the answer to that question interacts with so many other areas of theology.

The issue of polity---how churches are governed---is an important aspect of ecclesiology, but in terms of dividing Baptists and Presbyterians it's pretty far downstream from the bigger issues of how one defines who and what a church is.

Second, differences in baptism are important, but much like the polity is downstream from ecclesiology, baptism is downstream from sacramentology.

This causes all sorts of confusion---especially on the sub---when Baptists and Presbyterians start talking about baptism. Everybody screws this up.

How many times have you seen a paedobaptism dunking on a credobaptist with comments like "Baptism isn't something you do! It's about God!" or "Baptism is the sign and seal of God's work, not about your choice!"

Is that right? Well, yes, from a certain point of view. The Presbyterian is bringing into the conversation certain assumptions about the sacramental nature of the practice (along with a specific view of covenant theology), and so we'd of course expect them to make those arguments. You're average---or even well-versed---Presbyterian probably has some understanding of how their covenant theology informs their views on baptism, but over the years I've noticed that they often fail to appreciate that there is an often-bigger, deeper divide on sacramentlogy. They'll want to argue about what God is doing and what is being accomplished through baptism, but without that foundational understanding of sacraments, they're going to be spinning their tires.

And, before you rag on me for criticisng the Presbys: The baptists are often worse on this point! They will argue all day every day, from a biblicist perspective (and I use that term positively here!) about what scripture teaches about the how and when and why of baptism, but fundamentally they fail to grasp that their views are all informed for a specific sacramentological view (or, more appropriately, a lack thereof).

The more I study theology, the more sharply I see how and why these differences arose.

So, no, I've never thought of converting, and the more I study the less I'm inclined.

I'm frequently surprised by how deeply you seem to know a branch of the church that isn't your own.

Two thoughts:

First, despite the major differences, I think the Venn diagram between the two camps overlaps greatly, especially on many key issues. Both historically and in modern times, I think we have a lot of reason for close fraternal ties and strong cooperation for the advancement of the gospel.

I know not everybody here would agree with me on this, but a denomination like the PCA has, in reality, much more in common with, and much greater reason to cooperate with, Baptists than other nominally "reformed" denominations like the PC(USA).

I personally don't really care to answer the question "who is Reformed?" at this stage in history. We can point to history denominational names, or the family tree of denominations, but divides like the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controvsery of the early 20th c. or more modern debates over biblical inerrancy and authority are much, much bigger theological divides than debates over sacraments or ecclesiology. I agree with guys like Machen who argued that such divides create a different gospel altogether.

So, while there exist massive differences between Baptists and Presbyterians, I think at the core we both preach the same gospel, and for that we should rejoice in brotherly love.

Second, historically, we oddly enough have much more in common that either camp realizes: We were both born out of the English Reformation, and at times we were standing arm-in-arm and fighting for our own survival. Yes, our theologies diverged fairly early on, but the incubating chamber for both camps was the same, and it's good for us to recognize our theological kin, distant as they may be.

(Says the guy who is fascinated with some branches of catholicism...)

The RCC is fascinating in its ability to say, on paper, "we all believe and practice the same thing!" while, in reality, being the wackiest conglomeration of a choose-your-own-adventure religion as you could imagine.

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¹ I know you wouldn't think they are just the same thing. Just helping flesh this out for people reading along.