Being sensitive to other denominations....

[FireDragon76]

Why ?
They could be right, and you wrong,
or they could be wrong, and you wrong,
or they could be right, and you right,
or they could be wrong, and you right.
Right ?
or wrong ?
Either / any / way, why stay a miserable creature indeed, no matter who is right ? It is God Who Saves us, not some group.

You may be a misanthrope that can't stand people, but my sense of God's presence is often mediated through my relationships with other people. Your religious beliefs seems to reject any kind of sacramental worldview. If no sacramental worldview is real, then I'm afraid I am just not interested in Christianity because it is just another ideology, then, and not very beneficial in my estimation to anyone's life. And if there is no benefit, I'm not interested in it. I detest the idolatry of abstract ideas for their own sake, I want more practical ways of living that produce some results, some "fruit", in Christian terms.

In short, my church gives me a loving community of people that embody Jesus in practical ways in the world, through works of kindness and symbols of God's presence. I can't trade that in for whatever religion you are advocating, nor can I accept what passes for Christianity in many megachurches I have seen.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

It depends on the person.

This may be true outside of Christ, but not in Christ.
In His body , as living stones knitted closely together by Him,
we in Him are all dependent on God, not on ourselves, nor on religion.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

If no sacramental worldview is real, then I'm afraid I am just not interested in Christianity because it is just another ideology, then, and not very beneficial in my estimation to anyone's life. And if there is no benefit, I'm not interested in it.

Good. This is a start and more than I ever hoped for before.
The truth might be at hand, if there is willingness ....

I want more practical ways of living that produce some results, some "fruit", in Christian terms.

Amen, good ....
perhaps very good ! (we pray so)

 

[Albion]

It is the person's preference.

Of course it is his choice. He is allowed by Christian Forums to state whatever faith he wants to claim. That wasn't the question.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

This may be true outside of Christ, but not in Christ. In His body , as living stones knitted closely together by Him, we in Him are all dependent on God, not on ourselves, nor on religion.

Is your salvation dependent on someone else's involvement or christ?

Of course it is his choice. He is allowed by Christian Forums to state whatever faith he wants to claim. That wasn't the question.

It's a default so CF knows who can participate in which forums and follow what rules designated for christians and non-christians. For example, you have the upper hand because you identify as a christian.

As for someone identifying as Christian or JW or Baptist or whatever is the preference of the person. You probably have JW on CF but they don't identify as such because it's not listed in the pick a religion question when registering. It doesn't change their relationship with christ. Just in this thread we need to be sensitive to other denominations regardless if we disagree with them. If we can't be sensitive, what is that saying about Christ?

I'm glad I went into the Church because it gave me a perspective why Christians believe what they do regardless of how I see it, how I read the bible (I read the whole thing), and my relationship with the sacraments.

I feel that's how I knew spirituality, actual living in the spirit, is through faith in Christ within the Church. I wouldn't be on this site if I didn't have that type of respect and wanting to talk about our experiences in christ.

As long as it's respectful, I don't mind. But that's the purpose of this thread and my answer was to drop bias, start with scripture, and be respectful.

 

[salt-n-light]

Where I know we have common ground, and I'm on their turf, I stay on the common ground.

Sometimes its hard to tell where the "common ground" can be established, because they would ask or say things that clearly their denomination have a difference stance on.

Yes walk away, but it sucks.

For example, a pentecostal making a public thread asking about tongues, although probably the answer the person was looking for is one that is from that background, because its open, then naturally their will be a disagreement scripturally. Even if the person can show them something different with scripture, because it hits some of the core beliefs of the denomination, it will come off as offensive.

Its hard to memorize the core values of every single denomination, and even then some of us don't even follow the core beliefs of the denomination. I think I'm a bit stress typing all this out lol.

Idk, I feel like alot of times, the "common ground" only gives me space to stand on one foot.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Sometimes its hard to tell where the "common ground" can be established, because they would ask or say things that clearly their denomination have a difference stance on.

Yes walk away, but it sucks.

For example, a pentecostal making a public thread asking about tongues, although probably the answer the person was looking for is one that is from that background, because its open, then naturally their will be a disagreement scripturally. Even if the person can show them something different with scripture, because it hits some of the core beliefs of the denomination, it will come off as offensive.

Its hard to memorize the core values of every single denomination, and even then some of us don't even follow the core beliefs of the denomination. I think I'm a bit stress typing all this out lol.

Idk, I feel like alot of times, the "common ground" only gives me space to stand on one foot.

Above all it's a matter of becoming ever more sensitive to the doctrine of Scripture. But it does help to know where the other person may be coming from.

 

[UnseenSaviour]

You can't - Christians fight eachother much harder than they fight to defend their Faith in Jesus.

 

[actionsub]

And then there are the people who choose Christian, which tells us even less. I don't know why that one is even offered as a choice.

Part of the problem with that comes with the latest iteration of the forum software, which used to allow the user to choose their denominational preference and change it themselves if needed. Now "Christian" is the default, and requires an official request to change it.

 

[SistrNChrist]

I can't speak for anyone else on this forum, but the reason I choose to identify as non denominational and go to a non denominational church is because I just want to know about Jesus/God and apply those teachings to my everyday life without getting bogged down in the, to me, trivial doctrinal details such as KJV only vs non KJV, how according to some people, even Christian rock/hip hop music comes from Satan, if instruments/music should be allowed in church services, etc.

 

[FireDragon76]

I can't speak for anyone else on this forum, but the reason I choose to identify as non denominational and go to a non denominational church is because I just want to know about Jesus/God and apply those teachings to my everyday life without getting bogged down in the, to me, trivial doctrinal details such as KJV only vs non KJV, how according to some people, even Christian rock/hip hop music comes from Satan, if instruments/music should be allowed in church services, etc.

In my experience non-denominational Christians can be just as petty about secondary matters. They just aren't always as explicit about what they consider essential. Which is fine until you butt heads with somebody, then it can become an issue of personalities and perceived authority.

 

[Johnny4ChristJesus]

You can't - Christians fight eachother much harder than they fight to defend their Faith in Jesus.

You say this, because you accept that everyone who claims to be a Christian is one. From that perspective, it looks like "Christians fight each other much harder." And most misled people think like you do. That is why "defending the faith" from "false faith" is much more important than defending the faith against atheists--although that is important to. Think of counterfeiting.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I can't speak for anyone else on this forum, but the reason I choose to identify as non denominational and go to a non denominational church is because I just want to know about Jesus/God and apply those teachings to my everyday life without getting bogged down in the, to me, trivial doctrinal details such as KJV only vs non KJV, how according to some people, even Christian rock/hip hop music comes from Satan, if instruments/music should be allowed in church services, etc.

SistrNChrist:

Yes, why should the clergy of a particular group claim an allegiance which one does not even necessarily feel? I am non denominational, too, and don't even see denominations in Scripture.

 

[Paidiske]

So many people are non-denominational. My son told me that that means they're Baptist leaning or charismatic. To me, it means I don't know what they teach and believe.

I get the point of Baptist-leaning, because Baptists have a local (congregational) polity, and so do non-denominational churches. So there's some common ground right there on church structure and governance.

But yes, beyond that it does kind of leave everything open!

I try to be respectful of others' beliefs. It does mean I have to learn about them first. It's one of the reasons I was reading this thread in the first place, actually; trying to get a better handle on what might be common understandings for people who are members of non-denominational churches.