Denominations

[problemz]

Nia, I liked very much what you wrote.

 

[Delta]

I have been to meetings in an Assemblies of God, Methodist, Jehovah's Witness, Quaker and Spiritualist environments and found all worthwhile and learned a lot. I was baptised in the Assemblies of God setting, which is referred to in the UK as simply a Christian Centre. I don't attend anymore mainly because I am not good at forming relationships with others at the level I really want.

Throughout my time spent in different Church environments my only goal really was to develop what I already know to be true. I wish I lived elsewhere, if so I would fully live as a Shaman. However I can channel my energy in a secular setting well but I would like to be free from this now. I have a profoundly deep relationship with God and been party to miracles. I have been blessed to learn a lot about love.

In the last year my faith has been opening up to include my Guardians and nature more. This was in response to an illness which has now been fully healed by us working together. I am for the first time now enjoying my faith.

Overall I only attend Church when called to and my preference is to sit in empty Churches when I do go. I have no interest in arguments about which Church is more true.

 

[Lark]

Hello guys, This is my first post so please go easy. I read the forum from time to time, just decided to sign up.

Anyways, I don't consider denomination to be important, well it ought not to be. It's like choosing your brand of butter which can be influenced by your family tradition or a new partner, or an advert on the telly. As long as it's still butter, that's great.
That said, I do try to find a church that preaches and teaches the bible, not their tradition or opinion. How do you know? you spend time studying the Bible as well, that's the only way with the help of God to know how to discern truth from half-truths. I currently attend a traditional CofE Anglican church.

Now to the matter of RC, I'm picking this up because I've had a similar conversation recently. There's a fundamental flaw in the foundation of RC that seems to corrupt things within it, one being, arrogance. For the record, I did grow up in a mixed religion family (RC, Islam, Amorc etc) that slowly gave way to pentecostalism, which I ended up rebelling strongly against.

Now this flaw in the RC foundations is the misinterpretation of this verse, which Peter himself picks up later in his letter which should clear any confusion.

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

However if you read the context of the verse, you'd find that Jesus was referring to himself as identified by Peter in 16:16
And the one thing to be known about scripture is that, if one thing is said somewhere, it will be echoed through out the bible.

1 Cor 10:4 ...and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

The entire Bible refers to Jesus as the Rock, lots of passages in the OT that mention 'Rock of my Salvation'
Peter gives a full break down here: 1 Peter 2:1-10

"As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him– you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

I do understand that is very hard to break tradition, but the Truth doesn't specify a particular church, we who are in Christ are the church and Christ is the Rock.

"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:11).

Cheers.

I'm not sure what truth you're refering to, if you mean the bible then that is true, it doesnt specify any particular church, it does have Jesus tell his disciples when they mention others who are not of the original community preaching his message to leave them to it, the story of the prodigal son deals with schismatic or protestant tendencies too I think.

I dont find any arrogance within the RC tradition, it isnt the RC tradition which preaches precisely what people can expect in eternal life these days, there is no active condemnation of other denominations as heretical, lies etc. etc. If there ever was, I'm not denying history but the reality is that the RC church was no more tyranical in dealing with sects or splinter groups than many of the secular authorities have been with groups like the Branch Davidians in the US, its not an excuse but the reality is that history has been befogged by generations of propaganda, first religious, then secularist, then athiestic.

Jesus himself didnt write any testament, I'm not sure that he wanted his followers to do so, if he used scriptures in his teaching it was the jewish scriptures or old testament, its clear from my reading that he wanted to establish a community of norms and a tradition. A lot of spiritual leaders have tried that with pretty varying success.