What's the difference - Religion mentioned

CantWait wrote: Ok, so while we lived in Edmonton I started going to an Alliance church because a friend had invited me. I'm originally Roman Catholic, but I find that the views IMO are to strict, and can be very condesending.

Well my problem now is, there's no Alliance church in New Brunswick. So I would like to know what different religions views are.

Anglican
Baptist
Luthern (sp?)
and any others

I know I could probably find out on the web, but I'm looking more on opinions from others and what you like about your church if you go.

TIA.

C&K*s Mommie replied: For me, personally I like best about our church is that it is large, and it is a come as you are place. They often open thier doors to the community, we are diverse, from the homeless to the wealthy. Our pastor breaks down the Bible in lamens terms, and I also like that they are more modern with a choir, and an orchestra and singers. They have two projection areas, so that if you have forgotten your Bible you can still follow along by looking on the wall. Or if you do not know the lyrics to songs, you can still follow along. There is always something for just about everyone to do. From childrens choir (starting at age 3) to something for the older generation to singles, and everyone in between. I appreciate everything about our church.

I seldom break down the fact that I am a Christian into smaller religions. I typically use the umbrella term Christian, unless asked otherwise. I was raised Church of Christ, but became Baptist when we were married.
This is what I found on our church's website:
What We Believe::.

• We believe the whole Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 as the verbally inspired and infallible Word of God.

• We believe Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary and is the Son of God and God the Son.

• We believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.

• We believe that Christ rose from the grave the third day according to the Scriptures.

• We believe that Jesus Christ is our great High Priest, and we need no other to intercede for us.

• We believe that Christ will come again in Person, bodily and visibly, to establish His kingdom on earth.

• We believe that in order to be saved the soul must be born again - “ye must be born again.” John 3:7.

• We believe that every truly born again soul should declare his faith by the act of baptism (immersion in water) showing forth the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection.

• We believe that Christ keeps those who are truly born again (II Timothy 1:12; John 10:28).

• We believe that all Christians are called unto a life of separation from worldly and sinful practices and to a life of usefulness for Christ. (II Corinthians 6:17; II Peter 1:2-9).

• We believe that the local church is a body of baptized believers whose only mission is, not to “reform the world,” but to preach and teach the Gospel of Salvation to the individual soul.

• We believe that at Christ's coming in the air the bodies of the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible and reunited with soul and spirit; the bodies of Christians who are alive shall be changed and glorified and, without dying, shall be caught up to be with the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I Corinthians 15:51-53). The saved will then appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ and be rewarded for their works (II Corinthians 5:10; I Corinthians 3:11-15). After these things, Christ will return bodily and visibly to the earth with His saints, and shall rule the world in righteousness for a thousand years. At the end of this, the unsaved dead will be resurrected, and their judgment and condemnation shall take place (Matthew 24:30-31; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:5-6, 11,15).

kimberley replied: well, i am roman catholic also and that is the only church i have every regularly attended but a friend of mine really loves his Christian church. there is no specific denomination.. it is just for anyone who believes in Christ and it is much more lax than RC. he really needed the "spark" to keep him more faithful to his beliefs and they do it for him. these churches are pretty common here in TO, not sure about NB tho. hope you find something that suits you.

CantWait replied:
The choices here that I've noticed are the ones I've mentioned above, and RC. Although I see a lot more baptist then anything.

Thank you

kimberley replied: well, i have attended an anglican church a few times and was not impressed. no offense to anyone, as i am sure each church is different, but it was so fast i felt i missed the whole purpose. there was nothing "grabbing" or "attention getting". it was just like going through the motions but no realism behind it. i have heard good things about baptist churches tho but i have never attended one.

gr33n3y3z replied: I cant give you advice bc I'm trying to find myself in which way to go also
I'm leaning more to RC only bc thats what the rest of my family is (Ed and Kids)
But for some odd reason I dont think I was ever baptized and my parents are no longer living to find out the truth
So i think after the summer I will go talk to Sister Pat bc which ever I decide to do I want it kept between Sister and I meaning everything will be done in private not as a group.

Jackie012007 replied: I'm not a hardcore practicant of my religion, but I know a little bit. I'm on the phone with my dad, he's helping too because he LOVES talking about our religion :

We are Methodist, which many prefer to as the "laid-back catholics". Our belief system is very similar to catholicism, with a few differing views. We belive that Jesus rose off the cross after he was crucified, therefor all of our crucifixes are bare (without the body on them).

In my church, we don't do communion except on religious holidays and then you have the option at weddings/special occasions. People of other religions do not have to convert to get married in our church but there is a small amout of pre-marital counseling with the reverend, mostly pertaining to the relationship and what role god plays (DF and I are going through that now!). We read the Bible and see it as spoken word that we as Methodists must use as a guide, but must interpret the teachings ourselves through out experiences and apply them to our daily lives... that means we do not take the Bible as completely literal and do not follow it completely to a T without question. Methodists are also encouraged to get involved with social justice causes, such as treatment of women, prisoners in jail, etc.

"As United Methodists, we have an obligation to bear a faithful Christian witness to Jesus Christ, the living reality at the center of the Church’s life and witness. To fulfill this obligation, we reflect critically on our biblical and theological inheritance, striving to express faithfully the witness we make in our own time. Two considerations are central to this endeavor: the sources from which we derive our theological affirmations and the criteria by which we assess the adequacy of our understanding and witness." -from the United Methodist web page

http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=519 (United Methodist page)

http://www.gbgm-umc.org/oneida/staff.htm (my church)

YuMe-n-GavMakes3 replied: I was Also raised Roman catholic and then converted to a number of other christian followings hoping to find one that seemed to suit me.

The biggest problem I seemed to find in looking, was how many other christian churches are out there that openly bash the other religions. ESPECIALLY Catholics! (they worship/pray to Mary!........They try to buy their way into heaven!.....They Baptize babies!.....So on)

Being a former Catholic I really felt that thorn in my side each time some church would try telling me HAD I stayed in the church I was raised in I would have gone to hell for their teachings! I always read in the good book you were to Teach Gods word and bring people to him! Not anyplace did I ever read you were to earn bragging rights to how you (and ONLY you!) had found the ONLY way through those pearly gates!

With that always in mind I only ever found the 'Community Bible' sect to not sit and downtalk all the other religions. The sermons had good teachings and meanings and are quite attention grabbing most times.

And yes by complaining about the churches complaining about the churches............I see the irony of my own complaint





Groan.........now my head hurts.

mammag replied: I am also Baptist.....Southern Baptist. I was baptized at a non-denomination Christian church, which I've posted about before but for the most part I really believe much of the Southern Baptist faith statement.

The only things I wanted to add to what was already posted.....

We don't recognize an infant baptism. When dh converted from Cathlocism he had to be baptised in our Baptist church. That is because we believe that you have to be of a believer accepting christ as your savior and so have to be of an age of understanding and accepting on your own.

The office of Pastor is limited to men unlike some churches where there are women pastors.

We are strongly opposed to sexual immorality (adultery, homosexuality) and would not have an openly homosexual pastor.

The biggest difference to me personally between the Catholic services I went to and the Baptist or non-denominational services was the spiritual feeling I got. The Catholic service felt empty to me. At the baptist church I went away in tears more days than not.

Interesting topic Marie! This is really making me want to get back to church and reading my bible.

boyohboyohboy replied: we currently belong to an alliance church, but have considered going to a baptist church that is close to ours, since our son will be attending preschool there. I think I have always felt comfortable in a church, that cares more about community out reach, preaching directly from the bible, and quoting it, has a large following for children, and cares more about the people, then if they are dressed in their sunday best...
I think its just finding a church that fits your feelings, and has the proper instruction.
Good luck, its not easy finding a christian family, but its worth it.....

CantWait replied:

Glad you got something out of it. So far this is really going to the way I wanted and I'm getting some good insight. I'm glad that people are being mature about this topic and it isn't going in a different direction as I was scared it might have.

Thank you everyone for your comments so far.

luvbug00 replied: I just wanted to wish you luck on finding the right spritual path for you!

PrairieMom replied:
I am Methodist too. This is my favorite part about it. Noone tells me exactly what to believe, or how to live.

Jackie012007 replied: yes! I like that as well!

I forgot to mention (since someone else did in this post) that usually Methodists are christened (baptized) as infants. DF is also Methodist so little Baby Gerhardt shall be christened as one too.. sharing the same religion makes the decisions really easy!

PrairieMom replied:
DH came from a non-demoninational church where they do baptisims when you are old enough to make the decision to accept Jesus as your savior, so we didn't get The boy baptized, but we just joined the methodist church, and are now going to get both the kids baptized together in november.

luvmykids replied: I'm not an expert on any denomination but I can tell you a huge difference between Baptist and Catholicism is the belief that you don't have to pray to saints, that you can directly pray to God instead through Jesus who made that possible, and that you don't do confession because for the same reasons, you can directly confess your sins to God. There are different types of Baptists too, some believe you can "lose" your salvation, others believe once saved always saved.

I think it's a matter of trying a few and just seeing what feels right to you.