Different Denominations.

[Abdicate]

So you don't attend church? I think it's interesting that a lot of people on this forum are non denominational - I didn't know that.

I don't attend church buildings and not for any reason you can think of... there are none in my language that God wants me to attend. Even if I spoke french belgium has all but gotten rid of their christian heratiage. I've attended the Vinard church, Catholic churches, Methodist, S. Baptists, Ind. Baptists, Pentacostal, Messianic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Episcopalian. Now to some this would indicate I am searching, but they all were at the movement of the Holy Spirit and each served a purpose. My favorite is the home church called by the Holy Spirit when you get the prompting to go to one's home, and within 15 mins 4 other couples show up and NO ONE CALLED ANYONE save the Holy Spirit. Now THAT'S church.

 

[Abdicate]

Non-denominational churches amount to a micro-denomination. There basically is no such thing as non-denominational. With as many denominations as exist, certainly every conceivable interpretation of Scripture is covered. In fact, we probably have way too many denominations. While it is easy to say we should just do away with all denominations, and on some level this is true, how do we resolve some of the most basic differences? If you believe in OSAS, are you willing to then join a newly minted single denomination that rejects OSAS? If you believe in Free Will, would you abandon that belief and embrace Sovereignty? Don't give me the line about relying on Scripture because EVERY denomination relies on Scripture, we all just have a different opinion on how to interpret that. Every non-denominational church does the same exact thing. They HAVE a denomination (in some cases a denomination of exactly one church), they just don't name it or associate with a larger group. That's fine and dandy. I certainly am not bothered by pretty much any denomination that recognizes the core beliefs that we all agree upon (with some notable cultish exceptions). But, we shouldn't be deluded into thinking that non-denominational churches provide unity in any way. They are, if anything, MORE segregated because they have little to no interaction with the core Christian communities. That's their choice, right, wrong, or indifferent, but I fail to see how they are in any way more unified given that they rarely ever associate with any other groups (There is one awesome example in my community that has several non-denomination churches, and a few denominational church doing Bible studies together).

In the end, if a church preaches the Gospel and answers the Great Commission, reaches out to the community and to the world with missions, and displays the love the Jesus shared with the World, then I simply don't care what they call themselves. They are Christians. There will be people in their church that are both going to Heaven, and there will most likely be people who are hypocrites.

So, true, there probably shouldn't be denominations. They have been used for division rather than unity, but I don't think that denominations are the problem. People are the problem. People have used denominations to segregate rather than unify. Denominations allow us to believe what we believe, but to recognize brothers and sisters who don't agree with every detail. Unfortunately, some have allowed their differences to define their relationships. I'm pretty positive that if denominations were done away with and we all rejoined the Catholic Church (which ultimately is what elimination denominations implies), that people would still be just as divided.

The catholics were not the first church from which all others come from. The Jews were the first church. Jesus is a Jew, and not by Paul's definition of a "Christian" Jew.

 

[Major]

I'm curious to hear your thoughts regarding different denominations and it would be helpful (although optional) to come forward with the denomination/sect that you are a part of.

eg. I was raised as a Catholic, both my parents did make me attend church as a boy although our family has since stopped. I attended a public (government) school as a boy for about two years and therein I discovered different denominations/sects via religion class. I had previously thought that God/Christianity/Catholicism was all the same thing.

I have since wondered what the difference between the 'different churches' were and I would be happy to receive input from you, the church-goers.

I am a member of a Southern Baptist Church by choice. I was educated in a Presbyterian Seminary and followed that with undergraduate studies in an Independent Baptist College.

As I grew older and learned more, there were two factors which by observation allowed me to make the choice of joining a Baptist church.

1.
The cooperative giving program. The cooperative sharing program was initially begun by Nelson Rockefeller when he donated 1 million dollars back in the early part of the 20th century.

It is really simple. Every denominational church gives to the cooperative program a designated amount of money. The program's leadership then distributes that income to missionaries all over the world. The money goes to help earthquake survivors, tornado and hurricane victims and just the everyday living needs of men and women in localities all over the world.

I have a nephew right now who is living as a missionary in Haiti trying to find homes for all the children who lived through the earthquake there 3 years ago. It is one of the very best ways for Christians to reach out to the world with love and help those in need.

2.
This one will certainly get a lot of responses because the fact is, everyone thinks that they are right!
The truth is, IMHO........when everything is considered, the Southern Baptist denomination comes closer to understanding and teaching the Word of God than do the others.

No need to jump up and down and get excited over that comment. That is my OPINION.

 

[Panda]

2.
This one will certainly get a lot of responses because the fact is, everyone thinks that they are right!
The truth is, IMHO........when everything is considered, the Southern Baptist denomination comes closer to understanding and teaching the Word of God than do the others.

No need to jump up and down and get excited over that comment. That is my OPINION.

No jumping here. You believe that, and so you should. I believe differently, and we both know it is something we will pretty much never come together on, which is one of the reasons I believe that denominations actually serve unity better than combining them all. We can recognize our different understanding and still be brothers in Christ. Certainly, I would like things to be clearer. I wish we could have stayed to a unified religion, but people are always the problem. We have short memories. After a few generations, we stop agreeing on what the original intents were. Just look at the US as an example. We've barely been around for 200 years, 1/10th the amount of time since Christ, and our leaders are constantly debating over what the "original" intent of the founders were, and what the Constitution represents. They debate over the idea of separation of church and state, which isn't in any way written in any founding documents. The truth is, we each believe that we have the closest and most accurate understanding and teaching of the Word of God.

My only real point in this topic is to attack denominations for the sake of promoting non-denominatinalism is simply a matter of creating a new denomination that is far less unifying. Denominations are only a problem in the way that all Institutions are a problem. While the strength of denominations allows us to reach people who simply can't understand or accept some of the less important details of Scripture while still recognizing each others as brothers and sisters in Christ, it can also lead to some things becoming far more important than Christ ever intended. The reason I tend to support denominations is simply because I'm able to walk into a church and understand what they are about. I'm actually quite comfortable in Presbyterian, Reformed, and Baptist churches because I understand what they believe and why they believe it even though I don't share their views on all points. If the same things were taught in my own church, it is something that is out of place. It's just something that doesnt' mix and match very well. In practice though, there really just isn't very many critical differences. Salvation still comes through Christ's work on the cross. God is still God, and Jesus is still the Son of God. I don't know any denominations outside the obvious ones that we reject that question those facts.

 

[Major]

No jumping here. You believe that, and so you should. I believe differently, and we both know it is something we will pretty much never come together on, which is one of the reasons I believe that denominations actually serve unity better than combining them all. We can recognize our different understanding and still be brothers in Christ. Certainly, I would like things to be clearer. I wish we could have stayed to a unified religion, but people are always the problem. We have short memories. After a few generations, we stop agreeing on what the original intents were. Just look at the US as an example. We've barely been around for 200 years, 1/10th the amount of time since Christ, and our leaders are constantly debating over what the "original" intent of the founders were, and what the Constitution represents. They debate over the idea of separation of church and state, which isn't in any way written in any founding documents. The truth is, we each believe that we have the closest and most accurate understanding and teaching of the Word of God.

My only real point in this topic is to attack denominations for the sake of promoting non-denominatinalism is simply a matter of creating a new denomination that is far less unifying. Denominations are only a problem in the way that all Institutions are a problem. While the strength of denominations allows us to reach people who simply can't understand or accept some of the less important details of Scripture while still recognizing each others as brothers and sisters in Christ, it can also lead to some things becoming far more important than Christ ever intended. The reason I tend to support denominations is simply because I'm able to walk into a church and understand what they are about. I'm actually quite comfortable in Presbyterian, Reformed, and Baptist churches because I understand what they believe and why they believe it even though I don't share their views on all points. If the same things were taught in my own church, it is something that is out of place. It's just something that doesnt' mix and match very well. In practice though, there really just isn't very many critical differences. Salvation still comes through Christ's work on the cross. God is still God, and Jesus is still the Son of God. I don't know any denominations outside the obvious ones that we reject that question those facts.

Well thought out and said. I agree with you.

 

[Mitspa]

So you don't attend church? I think it's interesting that a lot of people on this forum are non denominational - I didn't know that.

I think a lot of Christians are drawn to "Christian" forums in general because they have seen many errors in traditional systems and are often frustrated that the scriptures are sometimes (often) placed below tradition. The old saying that there is no perfect church, as an excuse for error, does not fly with me....Christ is returning for a Church without spot or wrinkle, its time that we start washing and ironing these fasle traditions away in my view.