Doubts about denominations

[Albion]

Pro-Catholic arguments? I've heard the opposite for years.

OK. I guess I thought you were seeking to decide between several different options, not be immersed in an attack upon one of them.

Is Karl Keating controversial?

Oh, yes.

I do admit Catholics have had a long time to come up with "reasons" for their beliefs. But they do always have an answer of some sort.

Right. And Keating will give you all the stock replies.

Still, it's your decision, not mine; and I wish you the best on your journey.

 

[Dansiph]

OK. I guess I thought you were seeking to decide between several different options, not be immersed in an attack upon one of them.


Oh, yes.


Right. And Keating will give you all the stock replies.

Still, it's your decision, not mine; and I wish you the best on your journey.

Thank you. I plan to read a book by the Free Church of England too. I noticed some Anglican ministers leaving for that denomination. I just thought getting the opposite opinion would be most useful to start off with. My reason for not looking into the Anglicanism of the CoE is I find it very liberal which I do not think is Biblical at all.

The Free Church of England: Introduction to an Evangelical Catholic Tradition

 

[Dansiph]

OK. I guess I thought you were seeking to decide between several different options, not be immersed in an attack upon one of them.


Oh, yes.


Right. And Keating will give you all the stock replies.

Still, it's your decision, not mine; and I wish you the best on your journey.

Another book on their website: Anglican Ecclesiology and the Gospel: The Renewing of a Vision

 

[Albion]

Thank you. I plan to read a book by the Free Church of England too. I noticed some Anglican ministers leaving for that denomination.

Ah yes, but it is a very small denomination now. If you lived near one of its parishes, I would think the FCE would be worth looking into.

My reason for not looking into the Anglicanism of the CoE is I find it very liberal which I do not think is Biblical at all.

It has become very liberal in recent years, that's so, but when people ask for the kind of advice you did about choosing between denominations, I am sorry to see members here take it as an opportunity to reply by promoting their own.

The Free Church of England: Introduction to an Evangelical Catholic Tradition

It's true that the FCE is about as close to a Bible-oriented, 'Low Church' kind of Anglicanism as you are going to find anywhere.

 

[Dansiph]

Ah yes, but it is a very small denomination now. If you lived near one of its parishes, I would think the FCE would be worth looking into.

Some of the Parishes surround my City but there isn't one within.

It has become very liberal in recent years, that's so, but when people ask for the kind of advice you did about choosing between denominations, I never take it as an opportunity to promote my own.

I mentioned Anglicanism because although I didn't feel you were promoting it it's sometimes hard for us not to be baised. If I remember right you used to be Catholic? I also just mentioned it because your profile is Anglican. My main reason for getting the Keating book is it directly addresses my current beliefs.

It's true that the FCE is about as close to a Bible-oriented, 'Low Church' kind of Anglicanism as you are going to find anywhere.

What is a Low Church? I'm showing my ignorance here.

 

[Albion]

Some of the Parishes surround my City but there isn't one within.

None of them at all "reachable," then?

I mentioned Anglicanism because although I didn't feel you were promiting it it's sometimes hard for us not to be baised. If I remember right you used to be Catholic?

That's true.

What is a Low Church? I'm showing my ignorance here.

Yeh, I shouldn't have used that kind of terminology although it's commonly used among Anglicans.

High Church = lots of Catholic-type ceremony; Low Church = not very ceremonial.

Low Church, it should however also be mentioned, is not unstructured like some non-denominational or fundamentalist churches. The FCE Prayerbook, which contains the formats for the worship services and administration of the sacraments, is quite similar to those of other Anglican church bodies.

 

[Dansiph]

None of them at all "reachable," then?

I wouldn't say they're "not reachable" if I had a car. However, I don't. The closest one is doable but it is over the river. I don't really want to just attend a Church yet either. Which is a bit of a problem.

Yeh, I shouldn't have used that kind of terminology although it's commonly used among Anglicans.

High Church = lots of Catholic-type ceremony; Low Church = not very ceremonial.

Low Church, it should however also be mentioned, is not unstructured like some non-denominational or fundamentalist churches. The FCE Prayerbook, which contains the formats for the worship services and administration of the sacraments, is quite similar to those of other Anglican church bodies.

Ah ok. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[chilehed]

I thought I'd write here - if anyone cares - I have ordered the book Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating. It was recommended by @chilehed on this thread. Although I felt settled again I became aware of the one-sidedness of the info I was reading, the recurring and slight doubts and also that I was putting my head in the sand on the issue.

I'm looking forward to reading the book because I currently would call myself a "fundamentalist".

Feel free to PM me.

 

[Edstano]

A book that was informative and very useful for me is: "Roman Catholics and Evangelicals agreements and differences" By Norman Geisler and Ralph MacKenzie acknowledged by Chuck Colson, evangelical--- Harold O.J. Brown, evangelical ---Richard John Neuhaus, Roman Catholic --- Davis wells, evangelical --- James Hitchcock, Roman Catholic --- James Akin, Roman Catholic --- Mark Noll, evangelical ISBN 0-8010-3875-8 Baker Book House Co.

Part One, Areas of Doctrinal Agreement, 1.Revelation, 2. God, 3. Human Beings, 4. Christ, 5.Salvation, 6.The Church, 7. Ethics, 8. Last Things (death, hell etc).

Part Two, Areas of Doctrinal Differences, 9. Apocrypha, 10. Scripture, 11. Infallibility, 12. Justification, 13. Sacramentalism, 14. Ecclesiology, 15. Mariology, 16. Purgatory.

Part Three, Areas of Practical Cooperation !7. Social Action, 18. Educational Goals, 19. Spiritual Heritage, 20. Evangelism.

Appendixes, A) The Churches of the East, B) The Counter-Reformation and Later Developments, C) Modern/Liberal Catholicism, D) Vatican II and the Current Situation, E) Baptismal Regeneration, F) The Colson-Neuhaus Declaration

Bibliography fifteen pages. The book is set up in the following manner: It explains Catholic's belief, then Protestant's belief, then Summary of both. A very well informative 500 page book.

 

[Radagast]

I thought I'd write here - if anyone cares - I have ordered the book Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating.

So you decided to just ignore all the churches arising from the Reformation: Presbyterian, Reformed, Lutheran, and Anglican?

Because one of the many dishonest things about Keating's book is suggesting that "Baptist" and "Catholic" are the only options.

 

[coffee4u]

I believe what the bible tells me.

I stay far away from denominations as some will do no more than confuse, while others will go so far as to end one up in hell.

I belong to Christ, not an individual groups idea of how it should be.

This ^
I became a believer by reading the Bible, not through a particular church. I am a protestant. I won't claim any particular label as protestants are extremely varied from teaching heresy to teaching Sola Scriptura. Saying 'protestant' as an inclusive label of belief would be equal to saying "all Asian people think X" You can't put them into one basket.

If a doctrine can be shown to be clearly supported by scripture I will agree with it. If it has no scriptural support then it belongs in the category of man-made tradition. If the scripture is silent or ambiguous I look deeper, but there are of course some things I don't think we will know until we meet God.

All churches have people in them, people are not perfect, so the church won't be perfect. I think the best you can do is find a church that teaches as close to correct doctrine as you can find. You will discover that from reading the Bible and praying and asking the Holy Spirit to guide you.

 

[Dansiph]

So you decided to just ignore all the churches arising from the Reformation: Presbyterian, Reformed, Lutheran, and Anglican?

Because one of the many dishonest things about Keating's book is suggesting that "Baptist" and "Catholic" are the only options.

No, I've been reading a book about Presbyterianism. I'm about 2/3 through.

 

[Dansiph]

Does anyone know of a good secular book on the Protestant Reformation. Something well received by both religious and non-religious. Also as non-baised as possible? I don't trust Google to give me the best results here.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

I'm not sure if this is relevant to post here.

Over the past three days I have experienced random doubts about "Protestantism". I use quotation marks because a lot of Baptists don't consider themsleves Protestant. I don't know what triggered it. So, I started looking at Catholic beliefs (mostly just to check for myself)... I was actually at a point of thinking Catholicism could be true. Today I feel I've moved back towards beliefs such as Sola Scriptura and being saved by Faith alone. The problem is now I feel I'm in a sort of limbo of doubt. This is all uncharacteristic for me.

Another problem is everyone is baised and I don't really know how to move forward. Any answers from those who have converted to Catholic or to Protestant would still be helpful though. Please keep in mind how serious of an issue this is.

Thanks

Get a copy of Orthodox copy of the Bible which includes all the extra books. Take a notebook, start with Genesis and read all the the Books while taking notes. do not read into the text.

 

[Dansiph]

Get a copy of Orthodox copy of the Bible which includes all the extra books. Take a notebook, start with Genesis and read all the the Books while taking notes. do not read into the text.

Why would this be helpful? I think doing this is way down the line of steps. I need to establish a different perspective and foundation but being a KJV only reader and just switching to an Orthodox Bible etc would be a huge step for me.