 Posted Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:24 PM
|
|
|
|
I've often thought the same thing you shared...about how great it would be if we had "fellowshipped" or visited after church when I used to attend CS services. Sure, occasionally we'd go out to lunch after church with one other person, but there was never an effort made for this kind of friendly visiting. It was as if that kind of camaraderie would have been too "human" or something.
There always seemed to be a feeling of formality amongst us after church. You just didn't ask someone if you could come over for lunch! Now, when I go back to the CS church of my childhood, as a visitor and as an ex-CSist, I no longer have that fear of being down-to-earth. This past summer I went out of my way to visit those childhood friends & Sunday School Superintendent by actually going to their homes and having the kind of visit I'd dreamed of having with them, 35 yrs. ago! : D
|
|
|
Posted Monday, April 21, 2008 12:01 AM
|
|
|
|
| Linda: Are you familiar with the big Baptist Church on Telegraph south of Orchard Lake Rd in Pontiac? One of my abusers was a member of that church. (Temple Emmanuel) I have some experience with the Methodist Church too. A longtime close friend from Ohio was raised in the faith, and his family owns property at Lakeside on Marblehead, the Methodist retreat. My fiance's oldest sister teaches at Spring Arbor University too. What church is it that has the kneeling benches that fold down from behind the bottom of the pew ahead? I went to a funeral once at a church on Maple Rd east of Franklin Rd, and ended-up with a bruised shin because I wasn't familiar with that tradition. Right across the street from my house is a Sheperd of Love Fellowship church that I know nothing about. There are 9 different groups of Presbyterians too? And I thought that CS was bad. Mark
|
|
|
Posted Monday, April 21, 2008 7:04 AM
|
|
|
|
Mark,
There are indeed a lot of confusing, often contradictory churches out there. I took a comparative religion course in college (while still a CSist) and I had a hard time sorting them out. I've seen estimates of 20 to 30 thousand different denominations in the US. Not sure about the methodology to guess at that, but there are a lot.
One of the touchpoints I learned to use is their attitude and teachings regarding the Bible as that allegedly is something we have in common and is somewhat tangible. Some churches accept the Bible for what I believe it to be, God's literal word (in the original texts), his users manual for humankind. Other churches, like CS, believe it to be flawed and unreliable. Yet others believe it be useful history and wisdom, but teach the need to rely more upon human guidance and authority. There are some "churches" that reject it completely.
As you note, there are nine generally recognized Presbyterian churches. "Presbyterian" has varying connotations, but usually indicates the form of church government. It traditionally also indicated a tendency towards "Calvinism", but that is not always the case especially regarding the larger Presbyterian church (PC USA). The next larger Presbyterian church (PCA) holds to more traditional Biblical values. Sometimes the two churches are compared by calling the PC USA the liberal church and the PCA the conservative church. BTW, I belong to the PCA.
Theological differentiators between churches such as Presbyterian and Baptist regards issues such as predestination and infant baptism. John Calvin is associated with a convenient acronym, TULIP*, that summarizes the theological beliefs of "Calvinism". I put "Calvinism" in quotes because the term is useful for discussion and comparison, but not in terms of literally following John Calvin. I'm not a member of the First Church of John Calvin. I could probably be said to be as much a follower of Martin Luther as of John Calvin though reject anything not attributable to Jesus Christ and consistent with His teachings. I fall into the Reform Theology category overall.
My guess regarding the kneelers is you were in an Episcopal Church (the US communion of the Church of England, aka Anglican) though many other churches also use them. I've seen them in a United Church of Christ church and Catholic churches. From what I've seen, Evangelical and pentecostal churches tend not to use them. I don't recall seeing them in Methodist churches though they might. Methodists sometimes refer to themselves as "Catholic Light".
Do Go Be Man
<><
*TULIP
Total depravity of man (man has a sin nature about which he can do nothing)
Unconditional election (election depends upon God's choosing, not our works or any conditions associated with ourselves)
Limited atonement (atonement is limited to those elected by God)
Irresistible grace (we cannot resist God's Grace)
Perseverance of the saints (once saved, always saved)
|
|
|
|