Hot answers tagged denomination
18
From Wikipedia:
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by L.
Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), starting in 1952, as a successor to his
earlier self-help system, Dianetics. Hubbard characterized Scientology
as a religion, and in 1953 incorporated the Church of Scientology in
Camden, New Jersey.
Nothing about Christ here; I'll ...
16
The Kakure Kirishitan literally Hidden Christians were a sect of Japanese believers who received the Gospel in the 1600s, but after foreigners were expelled and went underground. In the 200 years or so following, they developed many peculiar to syncretic to downright heretical ideas about Christianity, mainly based on passed down traditions that had become ...
11
There are two words which come to mind when I read the question, admonish and encourage, and I think we can explore both angles on this particular question.
I tend to be a positive thinker, so I will refer to a passage on the latter word. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) tells us to encourage and build one another up. This is explained in Verse 9 "For God did ...
11
The term "born again" comes from a passage in John 3:
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I ...
10
Jesus is the central "idea" of the Bible:
The old Testament begins with the fall of man and the prophecy of the Redeemer (Jesus)
The Jewish religion was constantly looking forward to the Messiah (Jesus)
The New Testament records Jesus' life and public ministry
The Epistles both explain the doctrine of Jesus as well as re-establish the proofs that the old ...
10
I think you're talking about the World Mission Society Church of God. Or Church of God for short. It was founded in Korea in 1985 by Ahn Sahng-Hong, and according to them has almost two million members.
After browsing their website for a short time it definitely falls in line with the following.
They do specifically cite Galatians 4:26 and 4:28 for this ...
10
The practice of Lent is hardly unique to the Catholic church. It pre-dates the major church schisms. The practice today involves somewhat different implementations in different traditions. Some are much more developed than others, but the general idea is the same.
It is impossible to draw up a list of traditions which do or do not participate, because ...
9
I think the situation in Corinth is comparable to there being different denominations.
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 (ESV)
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by ...
9
Yah, I think this is going to be a rather subjective question, but I will take a brief stab at it:
I think the answer to this question comes down to the doctrine of sin. If you accept the notion of a conscience, then I believe every honest person will admit to doing things they know they shouldn't (i.e. that are against their conscience). Furthermore, I ...
8
The Society for Biblical Literature produces a well regarded translation (Logos even carries it). According to their own mission statement, they are concerned with biblical scholarship and not doctrine. Their vowed mission statement is simply "to promote biblical scholarship." They are a secular organization not affiliated with any religious organization ...
8
According to Scientology, Jesus Christ was part of the "implant" that Xenu imposed on the thetans. That is, he is a fictional character that people were brainwashed into believing in.
Scientologists believe that 75 million years ago the leader of the Galactic Confederation, Xenu, decided that many planets in the galaxy were overpopulated, and to solve this ...
8
The idea of a God that set things in motion but does not, and has not intervened since is a concept central to Deism.
The view has a long history, and has had a few supporters, but is not by any means the predominant view within Christianity. Deists also reject the notion of divine revelation, including Scripture. It's not necessarily a Christian concept, ...
7
The 12 tribes of Israel were separate but still part of God's one people, and part of the family of God. I would consider them more analogous to different traditions in a church (different cultural practices under the same theology), but not denominations (which remain separate because of theological differences, primarily).
Jesus prayed that we may be one ...
7
The Bible doesn't talk about denominations, nor did Jesus or any of the disciples start any denominations. Denominations came from the disagreement of men on the interpretation of the Word of God. For this reason, I do not believe this passage can refer to denominations, which didn't exist when Paul wrote it.
Paul insisted in various places on the unity of ...
7
The term "baptists" came from the fact that Baptists strongly believed that:
Baptism is for believers only. (excluding infant baptism)
Baptism must be by immersion, as opposed to sprinkling and effusion.
Because of their strong beliefs regarding baptism, they were given the name "Baptists".
Baptists generally believe:
Biblical authority ...
7
To be honest, you have a good point.
We're all here for the same reason, to glorify God and rejoice in his Son, our savior. For most intents and purposes, any denomination of Christianity will get you that much.
As far as being part of a body of Christians at all, I believe this to be essential. Time alone is also necessary, but good Christian fellowship ...
7
The term you are looking for is 'Deism'. It says there is a God, but doesn't say that he does much. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson in particular, and several of the Foubding Fathers were in fact Deists, leading Benjamin Franklin to the aphorism, "God helps them who help themselves".
1 Peter, by the way, mentions that in the last days, there will come scoffers ...
7
My denomination is one that is very strongly in the "Christians shouldn't drink - at all" camp. Very strongly. And my Pastor, whom I love and respect, is very strongly in that camp as well. Yet even he, in his sermons, will tell you that nowhere in the Bible is drinking explicitly called a sin.
However, in many places, drunkenness and even alcohol ...
7
The most notable position of the Adventist is the degree of Biblical Literalism. Generally, if the verses can have a literal meaning then that is the belief that they take.
The outsider will notice some or all of these if they spend a short time with an Adventist:
Worship on Saturday (after all, it is in their name. I will expand on this later).
Not ...
6
Most denominations are formed due to differences in doctrine. These usually come about from different interpretations of the Bible or the formation of new doctrine from councils.
The Wikipedia article with the List of Christian denominations does a good job of showing the timeline with the splits in denominations and the reasons for them.
The Reformation ...
6
There is a tremendous amount of agreement across all denominations that certain actions are always sinful: murder, adultery, idolatry, blasphemy, etc.
There are also a number of actions that are viewed differently by the various Christian traditions. (This list is nowhere near complete...)
Baptist denominations generally believe it is wrong to drink ...
6
Arrangement of church pews is really not a function of denomination. The denomination I am most familiar with uses both forward-facing pews and inward facing pews .
6
Authentic faith should never demand a sacrifice of the intellect!
From Fr. Robert Barron, Catholic priest.
One of the signs that you're not dealing with authentic faith is that
you've had to sacrifice your mind.
However, it's important to acknowledge the bounds of one's own intellect, giving due respect to religious traditions that have been fed ...
6
You can find a fairly comprehensive history of Christian Denominations\origins on Wikipedia - Christian Denomination
This chart maps out some of the key denominational differences. (Click to open images)
If don't mind excessive advertising, a more comprehensive chart can be found here: Denominations Beliefs
As far as maps go, here's a fairly current ...
5
For my part, I can quote the inside flap of the Missal in the pew which says, Catholics believe that the Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Christ (not a symbol, but actual fact).
It goes on to say, the Catholic Church permits eastern Orthodox adherents to come to Catholic Mass, celebrate the Eucharist and receive communion. But Catholics are not ...
5
God's will is that we Christians would be one and love one another.
John 17:20-22 (ESV)
20"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The ...
5
Anecdotally, it entirely depends on your locality. There are some very powerful young adults groups in several denominations and it is my experience that those are definitively on the rise among Catholic parishes in Northern NJ and the NYC metro area. But it completely varies on a church to church basis. I know of one Evangelical Free Church in the Princeton ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
