14
The "coreness" of your stated doctrines should really be divided into two groups:
Group 1 (Requires Explanation - See Below)
Doctrine of the Trinity
Deity of Jesus
Group 2 (A Lot! see Methodists in particular)
Predestination
Millenialism
Dispensationalism
The doctrines in Group 2 are actually rather narrow in scope and are rarely considered ...
13
The appropriate Canon law says:
Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays [...] (emphasis mine).
In other words, the rules say that the Archbishop has the authority to decide what can be eaten on Fridays in his diocese (he doesn't have to declare alligator to be 'seafood' - ...
13
Mary is the Queen of Universe because Christ is the King of Universe.
To understand her Queenship, one must understand how who the Queen of the Davidic Kingdom in the Old Testament Jewish monarchy was. It was the Queen Mother. The Kings had many wives, none of whom could be called Queen. That honor was reserved for the mother of the King. We see this in the ...
answered Jul 15 '14 at 19:16
Jayarathina Madharasan
8,5971 gold badge29 silver badges55 bronze badges
12
The way the question is phrased means we must look at two historical developments:
How preaching evolved in the early church, from Jesus through the pioneer stage of Acts to the early church fathers.
How preaching evolved in the protestant church, from Luther into what we have today.
Also, one must note the context of the preaching: Small group, large ...
11
There seem to be two tacks to take here. You could be looking for…
a church that specifically does not believe in these doctrines at all, or…
a church that is welcoming enough to include you in their community without prerequisite of doctrinal unity.
Let's take the easy one first.
Of the doctrinal points you list as believing they are flawed, several ...
10
A non-denominational church is exactly what it sounds like. It is a Church that doesn't adhere to any earthly authority other than maybe the local Pastor at that Church. It doesn't recognize any denominational authority, just that of God and His Word.
I'd like to also address this portion of your question as well:
I was under the impression that since ...
9
The Wikipedia page about the church explains:
The use of the title "Mary, Queen of the Universe" is drawn from section 59 of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church issued in 1964 by the Second Vatican Council, which stated: "Finally, the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly ...
9
According to terminology promolgated by Mark Driscoll and Ed Stetzer, Rob Bell has been identified as part of the Revisionist stream of the Emerging Church movement:
Revisionists are theologically liberal, and openly question whether evangelical doctrine is appropriate for the postmodern world. They look to leaders such as Brian McLaren, Rob Bell and Doug ...
8
TL;DR Yes. Everyone is welcome. (Matthew 28:16-20)
The apostles were instructed to teach all nations in the Great Commission. There are many other verses that reiterate that everyone is welcome and I could be here all day going through all of them. One of my favorites on the subject is Paul's statement that he became all things to all men so that he might ...
8
Baptismal certificates are still used by Churches for whom Trinitarian baptism is important. This is so that they can be certain that someone has been validly baptised. The Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox Churches recognise each other’s baptisms and those of many other denominations as a valid, once-for-all and transferable sacrament. But it can only be ...
8
By way of answer, I refer you to this article on the history of Christian meetings. I'll summarize some sections.
In the first century, Christians generally met in homes, especially the homes of more prominent members.
The Acts of the Apostles portrays the first Christian community in Jerusalem as gathering in the temple colonnades and “breaking bread in ...
7
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 with ...
7
Do any Christian denominations have any policies to prevent nepotism?
Short answer: Yes
The modern Catholic Church does, as of June 22, 1692.
Pope Innocent XII. Innocent XII gave nepotism a death blow by his
celebrated Bull "Romanum decet Pontificem," 22 June 1692.
However, it does not appear to have actually ended the practice.
Romanum decet ...
7
Many years ago, before governments were in the habit of providing live birth documentation and proof of identity, a baptismal certificate was valid proof of citizenship. Because people didn't move around, churches took upon themselves the responsibility to know the souls in their area, and kept register of the same. For the previous generation, where not ...
7
What is the Biblical basis for the formal 'membership' requirements that some Baptist churches have?
In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 Paul says
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
Church membership is how we know who is and isn't a believer. The church, as a whole, is charged with the task of declaring who is and isn't a ...
7
I attended meetings of the Vineyard for a period of a year and the members there exercised the gifts of the Spirit, with multiple people, one at a time, giving revelation and prophesying, tongues and interpretations. Then they bunched together and prayed for healings for the afflicted.
I attended a Brethren-inspired gathering for about 8 years. There, they ...
6
Quakers and Mormons have no paid staff in their local assemblies. In the national bodies, however, there is usually some renumeration or support, in order to retain staff. The truth is that very few would consider it wise to have a national organization without any accountability, which is what an all-volunteer lobby would be.
Additionally, many more ...
6
There might be some confusion here, because killing animals in the church would probably not be done by most Christians.
If, however, you mean "why to Christians kill and eat animals, in general?" then I can answer that.
Christianity inherited its beliefs about food and animals from Judaism. Animals are perceived differently to Christians. They are not ...
6
Consecration establishes a valid place of Catholic divine worship as confirmed by the local ordinary (Bishop)
Can. 1214 By the term church is understood a sacred building
designated for divine worship to which the faithful have the right of
entry for the exercise, especially the public exercise, of divine
worship.
Can. 1215 §1. No church is ...
6
The short answer is Yes.
Some French speaking communities often employ the Ainsi soit-il ending at the end of some of their prayers. Although the use of Amen is by far the norm, many people who speak French still use this alternative ending to their prayers.
For those who wanted prayers: here's the "Hail Mary.
Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce. ...
6
There are some churches dedicated to the Holy Spirit in Poland:
Google Maps
Exclude the westmost one - Armenian (not catholic) and the eastmost one - Orthodox.
Translation help (in case the map still shows Polish labels) - English to Polish:
church - kościół
of the Holy Spirit - Świętego Ducha/Ducha Świętego (the ordering of words is not that important in ...
5
Christians meet on Sunday in remembrance of Jesus's resurrection, which was on the first day of the week. Historical evidence shows that this has been Christian practice since early times, perhaps even since the very beginning of Christianity. The 2nd century apologist Justin Martyr certainly believed so:
But why is it, you ask, that we gather on the ...
5
Willow Creek has held an egalitarian stance about women in leadership since their inception. Yesterday Lynne Hybels reposted the chapter in the book mentioned above on her blog. The link is below. I attended Willow for two years in the 1990s and benefitted greatly from the women on the teaching team and the stellar leadership of the mixed-gender elder board. ...
5
There are tons of ways to answer this question. Here are a few reasons:
First, we're told we should:
Hebrews 10:23-25:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he
who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one
another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is
the habit of some, but ...
5
The solemn ceremony of dedication, or consecration of a church is found in the Roman Pontifical and is performed de jure by a bishop. The simpler rite, which is given in the Roman Ritual, is generally reserved to bishops, but may be also undertaken by a priest with episcopal delegation. I know of cases where a priest have re-consecrated a Catholic Church ...
5
How universal are the “colour” Masses in the Catholic Church?
It would seem that that the so called "Colour Masses" are not universally commemorated, but are somewhat popular in some countries and/or amongst those who are connected within certain spheres of employment that are subject to these Masses. The colours employed at Mass do not always correspond ...
5
There is no difficulty in identifying godly men during past centuries, men who were called and who taught the gospel without apology or excuse. Their ministry was blessed by God. For example:
Martin Luther – 1483 to 1546
John Calvin – 1509 to 1564
John Bunyan – 1628 to 1688
Jonathan Edwards – 1703 to 1758
John Newton – 1725 to 1807
George Whitfield – ...
5
Paul was speaking as an apostle, and all the apostles were chosen by divine appointment. As Jesus said in John 15:14-17, they were now his friends, for they did what he commanded.
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that
ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:
that whatsoever ye shall ask of ...
4
If appealing to authority is necessary, then you would have to appeal to authority that the brother in the wrong is submitting himself to. In this case, it would need to be someone in his congregation (or its hierarchy of authority).
The entire goal of the church discipline described in Mt 18 is to win him over to the truth. He ought to have close ties to ...
4
Some Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches are named after saints. The Reformed (Calvinistic) Churches, which theologically are very much the same as the Presbyterians (just historical differences, Presbyterianism born in the British Isles and Reformed Churches in the European Continent) very rarely have churches with name of saints, ...
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