Don't Pigeon-hole me as a Protestant!

[sunlover1]

imo, if you are part of the western churches which sprang from the reformation, you are a protestant.

I'm a part of the ENTIRE body of Christ.
One God, one faith.

Im neither a Catholic nor am I a Protestant...what am I?

A CHRISTIAN.

I do not follow any man, but Christ alone: "Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" 1 Corinthians 1:12-13

Seems this passage is a joke nowdays..
I'm with you.

I really learned a valuable lesson from this episode in my life.
A person may be describing something about themselves, but don't know the vocabulary to say what they mean.
Because they don't know the vocabulary, they won't recognize the synonymous meaning to what they are describing.
Since they are describing something personal, I am in mo position to tell them what they mean.
I am in no position, unless invited by them, to teach them the vocabulary synonymous with their description.
I just have to sit back and let each person tell it their own way, without judging, correcting, or otherwise imposing my perspective onto their experience.
At least, that's what I'm going to take from all this.

Sounds like an awesome plan.
Had it been me and you, I'd have "protested" as he did.
Unfortunately, many RCC's make the mistake of seperating
themselves this way.
My kids have met kids , asked them if they were Christian,
only to be told, "No, I'm Catholic"

Too bad it's all come to this.. God must be so proud of us all.
:o

 

[Ishraqiyun]

Sounds like he was being a hot head. Even if he was right why get all upset about it? For me I find it's best to just humor people like that. Nod your head and say "uh huh".

I debate whether the term Protestant would be appropriate for me or not. Ultimately I don't think it's incredibly important one way or the other. Names and titles are not of the utmost importance to begin with. Most Protestants wouldn't want someone with ideas like mine associated with theirs to begin with. Then again at times Roman Catholics can say I'm Protestant just because they tend to think in RC vs Protestant terms. People can call me what they want I only get slightly defensive when people say I'm NOT Christian.

 

[Rick Otto]

Sounds like he was being a hot head. Even if he was right why get all upset about it? For me I find it's best to just humor people like that. Nod your head and say "uh huh".

I debate whether the term Protestant would be appropriate for me or not. Ultimately I don't think it's incredibly important one way or the other. Names and titles are not of the utmost importance to begin with. Most Protestants wouldn't want someone with ideas like mine associated with theirs to begin with. Then again at times Roman Catholics can say I'm Protestant just because they tend to think in RC vs Protestant terms. People can call me what they want I only get slightly defensive when people say I'm NOT Christian.

Right,... its like sometimes the labels can disable the conversation. They can alter or muddy a real issue at hand.
:/

 

[hedrick]

There two reasons why Protestants don't call themselves Protestants.

1) Some Baptists believe that they go back before the Reformation, and that the anaBaptists were in fact persecuted by early Protestants.

2) Some non-denominationalists think that Protestants became so fragemented that they needed to start from scratch with just the Bible. They failed to notice that their doctrines really weren't different from Protestants, and that they hadn't found a way to solve the fragmentation; they just added an additional denomination

 

[sunlover1]

There two reasons why Protestants don't call themselves Protestants.

1) Some Baptists believe that they go back before the Reformation, and that the anaBaptists were in fact persecuted by early Protestants.

2) Some non-denominationalists think that Protestants became so fragemented that they needed to start from scratch with just the Bible. They failed to notice that their doctrines really weren't different from Protestants, and that they hadn't found a way to solve the fragmentation; they just added an additional denomination

Do you believe someone can be just plain old follower of Him, The Way?

 

[Montalban]

Do you believe someone can be just plain old follower of Him, The Way?

Sure, but they're generally called Orthodox

 

[Rick Otto]

Do you believe someone can be just plain old follower of Him, The Way?

I do, but they are generaly harder to spot if they are conforming too much to any divided brother.

 

[Montalban]

I do, but they are generaly harder to spot if they are conforming too much to any divided brother.

Which canon do you use to follow Jesus?

 

[Erose]

It sounds to me that the man you are talking about took Protestantism to its final conclusion if checks and balances which most "Protestant" churches have in place.

There seems to be more and more people who feel that they can be Christian and not be church-going Christians. Well there is a problem there. Christ never meant for us to live on an island by ourselves in our spiritual life. We need Church. We need to active members of the body of Christ. If I take a knife and chop of my thumb the cells of my thumb will shortly die and all that is there is a piece of meat. No longer alive but dead. That is what I believe is the danger of being an unchurched Christian. If you cut yourself away from the body. Away from the fellowship. Away from the Sacraments. Away from hearing the Word of God. You will slowing but surely cease to be spiritually alive.

This man feels like he can go on his own without the help of anybody. Well sooner or later, he may or may not realize it but he will end up being truly alone.

 

[Erose]

Sure, but they're generally called Orthodox

I thought they were called Catholic. Go figure.

 

[Erose]

I really learned a valuable lesson from this episode in my life.
A person may be describing something about themselves, but don't know the vocabulary to say what they mean.
Because they don't know the vocabulary, they won't recognize the synonymous meaning to what they are describing.
Since they are describing something personal, I am in mo position to tell them what they mean.
I am in no position, unless invited by them, to teach them the vocabulary synonymous with their description.
I just have to sit back and let each person tell it their own way, without judging, correcting, or otherwise imposing my perspective onto their experience.
At least, that's what I'm going to take from all this.

You know quite honestly it sounds like you hit a nerve with this man. I think that you did the right thing. If anything God may have used you to plant a seed in this man that what he is doing by separating himself from a church is not going to get him into heaven. Remember God works in mysterious ways and He uses us in those ways. Maybe you got him thinking and opening up to God's grace.

 

[Lion King]

It sounds to me that the man you are talking about took Protestantism to its final conclusion if checks and balances which most "Protestant" churches have in place.

There seems to be more and more people who feel that they can be Christian and not be church-going Christians. Well there is a problem there. Christ never meant for us to live on an island by ourselves in our spiritual life. We need Church. We need to active members of the body of Christ. If I take a knife and chop of my thumb the cells of my thumb will shortly die and all that is there is a piece of meat. No longer alive but dead. That is what I believe is the danger of being an unchurched Christian. If you cut yourself away from the body. Away from the fellowship. Away from the Sacraments. Away from hearing the Word of God. You will slowing but surely cease to be spiritually alive.

This man feels like he can go on his own without the help of anybody. Well sooner or later, he may or may not realize it but he will end up being truly alone.

"I don't believe heaven waits for only those who congregate...." Don Williams

 

[Erose]

Unfortunately, many RCC's make the mistake of seperating
themselves this way.
My kids have met kids , asked them if they were Christian,
only to be told, "No, I'm Catholic"

Too bad it's all come to this.. God must be so proud of us all.
:o

I think that were this comes from is that the "term" Christian has been used by so many televangelist on TV to separate Protestants (who the televangelist believe are the only Christians) from Catholics (who he doesn't believe are Christians) that it has gotten into the mainstream. I am a Catholic, which makes me a Christian. But some many people that call themselves Catholic don't go to church but call themselves Catholic because well that what their parents were. That is the sad part about it that there are so many people out their that claim to be Catholic, baptist, methodist, Lutheran, etc. and yet don't go to church, don't read the Bible, don't pray and don't learn that it give us that are actively Christian a bad name.

 

[Erose]

"I don't believe heaven waits for only those who congregate...." Don Williams

I don't know who Don Williams is but I have to say that I completely disagree with him. Christ created a church on the day of Pentecost. The early Christians lived as a community. The Apostles went out and created more communities. The members of these communities got together on the Lord's day to hear the Word and break bread. All the writings of the NT except 4 of the letters of Paul where written to Churches and not to individuals. These writings were read out loud in the churches. Our faith is a faith that requires community. It requires other people praying for you and you for them. It requires us to love others and not just ourselves. Jesus teaches us to love one another (fellow Christian) as He loved us. That means we must be willing to give everything including our lives to one another. We are called the body of Christ for a reason. We are one body. Our body must be whole to function and live. Take any body and if that person is cut up in pieces that body and all the individual pieces will die.

 

[Lion King]

I don't know who Don Williams is but I have to say that I completely disagree with him. Christ created a church on the day of Pentecost. The early Christians lived as a community. The Apostles went out and created more communities. The members of these communities got together on the Lord's day to hear the Word and break bread. All the writings of the NT except 4 of the letters of Paul where written to Churches and not to individuals. These writings were read out loud in the churches. Our faith is a faith that requires community. It requires other people praying for you and you for them. It requires us to love others and not just ourselves. Jesus teaches us to love one another (fellow Christian) as He loved us. That means we must be willing to give everything including our lives to one another. We are called the body of Christ for a reason. We are one body. Our body must be whole to function and live. Take any body and if that person is cut up in pieces that body and all the individual pieces will die.

Im glad that's just your opinion and not the word of God. The body of Christ contains all those who believe in Christ, not just those who congregate. Jesus told us to love one another, Christians and non-Christians alike, stop trying to change the word of God. Since, the books in the NT were written for the Church, does it mean they are only to be read in the Church and not individually at home?

By the way, where did you get that faith requires a community?

 

[Ishraqiyun]

I'm a Christian. My theological ideas and myths are most similar to those of the Sethians /Ophites and some of the earlier streams of Christianity that were later attacked as being heretical and forced underground or temporarily destroyed all together. Is that Protestant , Orthodox, or Catholic? Neither. I don't feel bad being labeled a Protestant though if people need to put me in a box for the sake of understanding. I'm a Western Christian and I don't follow the Pope. For some that means "Protestant" and I don't really have a problem with it either. I like many of the results of the Protestant reformation as well so I don't take it as an insult. I also like some of the more "radical" Protestant groups like the Boehmian Theosophists, Swedenborgians, and the Quakers .

 

[sunlover1]

I am a Catholic, which makes me a Christian. But some many people that call themselves Catholic don't go to church but call themselves Catholic because well that what their parents were. That is the sad part about it that there are so many people out their that claim to be Catholic, baptist, methodist, Lutheran, etc. and yet don't go to church, don't read the Bible, don't pray and don't learn that it give us that are actively Christian a bad name.

I agree because I see this in action.
This is why we need to be receptive to the voice
of the Father. We can't "Ask someone" if they're
Christian, we need to just listen for direction and
then do what He leads us to do. The world is FULL
of those who need a word or deliverance or any
thing else that God wants to do for them through
our hands and hearts..
imo

I'm a Western Christian and I don't follow the Pope. For some that means "Protestant" and I don't really have a problem with it either. I like many of the results of the Protestant reformation as well so I don't take it as an insult. I also like some of the more "radical" Protestant groups like the Boehmian Theosophists and Quakers and such.

I don't consider it an "insult". But i dont want to be called protestant
because God says no divisions/sects.
I realize that it's explained away, ... or maybe I misunderstood it,... but
it's what I believe that for ME is sin, and so for ME, .. I need to obey.
kwim?

 

[Dark_Lite]

In response to the OP: sounds like someone that's a part of the "relationship and not a religion" crowd. If he wants to overthrow the dictionary, that's his business. The rest of us will continue using it to ensure proper communication amongst the populace.

 

[sunlover1]

In response to the OP: sounds like someone that's a part of the "relationship and not a religion" crowd. If he wants to overthrow the dictionary, that's his business.

Danged revolutionary! lol

The rest of us will continue using it to ensure proper communication amongst the populace.

Not to be disagreeable but you can't ensure proper communication.
Much of communication, in fact, 50 to 80%, is non verbal.

 

[FMX]

Some people's Christianity is so weird that I wouldn't argue with them in they claimed to not be a Protestant.

Oh mai, then you must have absolutely no idea what fun really means.