Is it 'easy' to be Christian but hard to fit in a denomination

[rturner76]

the split of the church caused denomination to be existed. Every group has their own diff believe. Some even so 'crazy' protest and died for small matters. It's hard to be Christian, just confess Jesus Christ is the saviour then you'll be saved. But then when you walk your journey of faith you'll face many challenges when you found out many different denomination and groups believe and uphold slightly difference teaching, interpretation of scriptures, difference in opinion, theology etc..

unless I spend my whole life study history, read dozens of book, and think about these differences I'm confused in a sense I lack of knowledge to know the truth. Does it affect my Christian living? yeah kind of, hoping church to church, finding out different tradition and read different author from different camp.

Anyone has had this struggle before?[/QUOTE
What may be helpful is to go back to the beginning and study the writings of the old church fathers. See what they emphasize in their writings as priorities for a church to undertake. What doctrine is critical and what is more subjective. We are blessed these days to have the internet so you can go online and look up the denominations in your area that are close proximity or you know they have a friendly atmosphere. Online you can see their statement of purpose, their basic beliefs, and even get a feel for the community there by checking out there activities and pictures.

I think it's also important to decide what you will NOT stand for in a church. Some are very offended by homosexuality so they would definitely not want to chiise a church that believes in gay marriage or has a gay Pastor. For some it's the opposite and either they or a family member either is homosexual or they are close to someone who is. They would want a church that was friendly to homo situations. Same with churches being liberal or conservative in general. They usually post something like that ob their website but on their list of beliefs or mission statements you can usually determine if a church is more "traditional" or "modern/progressive."

You are right though, there is a different denomination for every different opinion about every topic. So I think it's best to establish for yourself what you will simply not go for and avoid those places. Also asking around to people who you think have a good attitude and live a Christian life where they go Then look up the denomination or specific church to see what they believe.

 

[dqhall]

the split of the church caused denomination to be existed. Every group has their own diff believe. Some even so 'crazy' protest and died for small matters. It's hard to be Christian, just confess Jesus Christ is the saviour then you'll be saved. But then when you walk your journey of faith you'll face many challenges when you found out many different denomination and groups believe and uphold slightly difference teaching, interpretation of scriptures, difference in opinion, theology etc..

unless I spend my whole life study history, read dozens of book, and think about these differences I'm confused in a sense I lack of knowledge to know the truth. Does it affect my Christian living? yeah kind of, hoping church to church, finding out different tradition and read different author from different camp.

Anyone has had this struggle before?

It is good to read books and look for gifted Christian’s sermons and books. I studied Biblical archaeology and learned the Old Testament is part fact and part fiction. The inerrancy of the Bible people could not find this truth. Not many churches preach it. I thought God is truth. I should not denounce scientific truth either.

 

[1213]

this is not an excuse to stop going to church and become more individualistic right?

I don’t think it is an excuse to not go to church.

What is wrong with being individualistic? I think we all are individuals. And I don’t think people must go to church, even though it may be useful.

Nowadays church teachings are not necessary very Biblical, that is why it could be even safer for a disciple of Jesus to avoid hearing bad teachings that are not from Jesus and God.

 

[Albion]

A denomination, according to the dictionary, is where a group has slightly different views on Christianity compared with other groups. We differ in that we do not care about the differences.

Then that is one of the doctrinal characteristics of your own denomination, along with no membership or initiation tests. It is also non-sacramental. And the fact that you don't operate any seminaries isn't unique.

There are other denominations that have about the same profile as this, and it's definitely a profile that distinguishes these from from many other denominations.

 

[Albion]

I don’t think it is an excuse to not go to church.

What is wrong with being individualistic? I think we all are individuals. And I don’t think people must go to church, even though it may be useful.

To an extent, you have a valid point. We wouldn't want one's individualism to be quashed, like a cult might do. But it's a valid point only if it isn't pushed too far.

You agree that the Bible is our guide, I assume. If so, it makes a strong case for the necessity of having a church, a congregation, a fellowship, whatever you might prefer to call it.

Christ commanded two sacraments. Who administers them for you? The New Testament makes clear that the earliest churches had officers or clergy--deacons, presbyters/elders/bishops--and conducted corporate worship services. It says that the congregation should arbitrate disagreements, and more.

To hold oneself apart from all of that is to flout the teaching of the Bible even while a person says that he affirms it.

Nowadays church teachings are not necessary very Biblical, that is why it could be even safer for a disciple of Jesus to avoid hearing bad teachings that are not from Jesus and God.

That depends on which denomination or congregation you choose. It's not a reason for boycotting all of them.

 

[RDKirk]

To an extent, you have a valid point. We wouldn't want one's individualism to be quashed, like a cult might do. But it's a valid point only if it isn't pushed too far.

You agree that the Bible is our guide, I assume. If so, it makes a strong case for the necessity of having a church, a congregation, a fellowship, whatever you might prefer to call it.

Christ commanded two sacraments. Who administers them for you? The New Testament makes clear that the earliest churches had officers or clergy--deacons, presbyters/elders/bishops--and conducted corporate worship services. It says that the congregation should arbitrate disagreements, and more.

To hold oneself apart from all of that is to flout the teaching of the Bible even while a person says that he affirms it.


That depends on which denomination or congregation you choose. It's not a reason for boycotting all of them.

I have to agree. Rigorous individualism is not something one can find in the New Testament.

 

[kdm1984]

To the OP -- I think so.

I first grew up in the WELS. My mom liked them because they were the most conservative of Lutherans. My dad went to this church as well, although he grew up Episcopalian.

In my later childhood years, my parents left WELS, though not really for doctrinal reasons. Nonetheless, they got more Charismatic and End Times focused. There was a lot of Trinity Broadcasting Network on the TV in the mid and late 1990s. I remember lots of Dwight Thompson, Benny Hinn (sad to say), guys like that. My dad predicted the end of the world would be in 2008. That didn't work. Whoops.

I also remember both my parents admiring Billy Graham, but I now understand they didn't really focus much on his doctrine. My dad never heard of the Billy Graham rule that Mike Pence follows. That's more of a Baptist thing, and some Non-denoms, who are Baptist/Pentecostal.

Later in my adult years, I came across Reformed Calvinists, both Baptists and traditional. They were much more preoccupied with gender roles than my parents were. I was never inundated with 'Biblical womanhood' or 'June Cleaver,' but these things were focuses of my Reformed online friends, some of whom even questioned women working outside of the home at all, or even voting. That was all weird to me and my family.

My parents were never big churchgoers after they left WELS. I finally encouraged my dad to look into Calvary Chapel, which he still attends (sporadically). But he's just not a denominational, church attending, moral exhortation sort of guy. He does love Trump, but he thinks people should read the Bible and come to their own conclusions. My dad doesn't preach about being against abortion or any of that, although I think he's probably against abortion. He's not against alcohol or smoking. He thinks people can be saved after they die, and he allowed me to marry an unbeliever. Some denoms think 2 Cor 6:14 is the prooftext for being against marrying unbelievers; we look at 1 Cor 7, where Paul allowed marriage between Christians and unbelievers.

I'm back in WELS now after having been in Calvary Chapel, the IFB (attending 6 mos.; never an official member), and LCMS. WELS is big on things like baptizing infants, communion being true body and blood. So was LCMS. I don't think my dad has strong opinions on these things.

So I guess we're kind of generic conservative Christians in a sense. But we were never hardcore denominationalists. I'm more theologically inclined than my dad, and he's occasionally had to deal with men who were against me marrying an unbeliever, and men going against my dad for not being more moralistic. Well, he thinks those kinds of men are too works centered, too legalistic, some even cultic.

So that's my family and I in a nutshell.

 

[_ReadtheBible]

The subject of denomination is a polarizing one that causes tension, but it remains that not all see the text the same way -- they group off and it formulates a mindset and, even within a denomination, there are differentiating takes on what they are reading. I find it a bit unfortunate that there is such a divide, but I understand that not all agree on what they have read. Perhaps human-nature is to group-off? And divide? And - maybe in that - there is a lesson?

 

[kdm1984]

The subject of denomination is a polarizing one that causes tension, but it remains that not all see the text the same way -- they group off and it formulates a mindset and, even within a denomination, there are differentiating takes on what they are reading. I find it a bit unfortunate that there is such a divide, but I understand that not all agree on what they have read. Perhaps human-nature is to group-off? And divide? And - maybe in that - there is a lesson?

I've wondered about that too. Paul told us not to have divisions (1 Corinthians 1:10-13), but we've done just that. No going back at this point; there are too many, and too deap-seated. Whether Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox, all have divided into numerous subdivisions. No group is immune, no group pure.

Occasionally I'll see people say that fathers need to be the lead, or male pastors, and that men need to be the intermediaries between women and God. But not all men agree, either. So if I submit to my father, or my husband, or a male pastor, and some other man says my husband or father or pastor is wrong, and that they have no authority and truth, then is my submission correct? As a woman, it's hard to know who to submit to, especially when other men think my male authority figures are wrong.

 

[_ReadtheBible]

I've wondered about that too. Paul told us not to have divisions (1 Corinthians 1:10-13), but we've done just that. No going back at this point; there are too many, and too deap-seated. Whether Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox, all have divided into numerous subdivisions. No group is immune, no group pure.

Occasionally I'll see people say that fathers need to be the lead, or male pastors, and that men need to be the intermediaries between women and God. But not all men agree, either. So if I submit to my father, or my husband, or a male pastor, and some other man says my husband or father or pastor is wrong, and that they have no authority and truth, then is my submission correct? As a woman, it's hard to know who to submit to, especially when other men think my male authority figures are wrong.

As a man, I've never had to question such -- from within my own life. A question I have (for myself) is how much should I listen to any human, who exists on this planet, with me? Do I need to become concerned with the ideas of humans or simply read the Bible? Because, for me, I question if there is a personal pride element regarding who I decide to listen to.

 

[Halbhh]

they challenge you almost every damn time in their sermon.

Do you mean that they challenge you to believe a Calvinistic doctrine every sermon that is particular to Calvinism but not to other churches? If so, that would not be a good preacher. The primary duty in a sermon isn't to preach some denominationally separating doctrine, but instead to preach on what Christ told us, on how to follow Him.

 

[_ReadtheBible]

Do you mean that they challenge you to believe a Calvinistic doctrine every sermon that is particular to Calvinism but not to other churches? If so, that would not be a good preacher. The primary duty in a sermon isn't to preach some denominationally separating doctrine, but instead to preach on what Christ told us, on how to follow Him.

But some preachers see their denomination as "the way" -- that has been my experience. There is a lot of "the others are wrong" type of preaching going on out there.

 

[fhansen]

where did you find the resource for history reading? I find it hard to learn about history of the church, very limited books about it.

I’ve only read a couple of relatively modern concise works on the subject-and it’s a huge subject that can and has filled volumes. I think the Encyclopedia Britannica is probably a fairly good source but there are many books out there on the topic-and I’ll include those if I get more info.

One ancient work, however, that I found entertaining as well as informative was a still popular book called “Eusebius: Ecclesiastical History”. He was a bishop writing in the 4th century about, in this case, the history of the church as he knew it up to that point as well as the Council of Nicaea which he attended. There’s quite a bit of interesting anecdotal information that comes only from such first-hand experience. And that’s the kind of historical literature I’m most interested in. Early Church Fathers are always a good read and William Jurgens’ “Faith of the Early Fathers” was helpful with its topical index. For the most part my studies have focused on researching sources of and reasons for church doctrine so such things as any and all conciliar documents, particularly the ecumenical councils (7 according to the Eastern Orthodox and 21 according to Catholics) as well as books such as “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma” by Ludwig Ott have been edifying. The Old Catholic Encyclopedia gives fair and balanced treatment to most topics related to the faith and is a good research resource as well.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains and expands on church teachings of course, giving many historical references in support of those teachings if one is interested in finding out such things for themselves firsthand. And there are many individual studies to be found on a wide variety of individual topics, from the monasterial life to lives of the saints to the Inquisition to the Reformation to modernism to….etc.

Augustine and Aquinas-especially the Summa in the latter case- are always profitable reads IMO as both have influenced the western Church particularly, and mostly in positive ways that often still impact the whole Christian community to one degree or another. Aquinas is best taken in small portions but the online summa is pretty easy to navigate for specific studies. Anyway, I can’t begin to remember all the material I‘ve consumed, but those are examples.

 

[pescador]

where did you find the resource for history reading? I find it hard to learn about history of the church, very limited books about it.

Shouldn't your "handle" read "Jesusthekingofkings (plural)? If you really mean "thekingofking", a) to which king are your referring and b) what about the other kings?

 

[RDKirk]

Do you mean that they challenge you to believe a Calvinistic doctrine every sermon that is particular to Calvinism but not to other churches? If so, that would not be a good preacher. The primary duty in a sermon isn't to preach some denominationally separating doctrine, but instead to preach on what Christ told us, on how to follow Him.

Which is why I can listen to most of John Piper's preaching, and just turn him off when he goes into Calvinism.

Regarding John Piper and being a "loner Christian," he had this bit of teaching, in which he points out that the Apostle Paul detested being alone in his ministry. There is more to be known of Christ in association with other Christians than can be known by a Christian on his own.

 

[lismore]

Anyone has had this struggle before?

Hello! Yes, I had a period when I was looking for a church home but couldn't find one.

Finding a church, where you can be a blessing to others and be blessed yourself is wonderful, so it's worth seeking. I think an answer is to pray to the Lord to lead you where he would want you to be. If the church is preaching the true gospel, if souls are being saved, if there is fellowship and pastoral care then it's good to commit. Only shy away if something is significantly off. That's my advice.

In the end I went from AOG to Baptist, quite a turn.

God Bless You

 

[lismore]

Regarding John Piper and being a "loner Christian," he had this bit of teaching, in which he points out that the Apostle Paul detested being alone in his ministry. There is more to be known of Christ in association with other Christians than can be known by a Christian on his own.

I know quite a few 'unchurched Christians'. Some are so by choice, others not by choice, some are still healing over a previous bad experience. Sometimes the teachings the church puts out about them knocks them back by years. God Bless

 

[Cis.jd]

the split of the church caused denomination to be existed. Every group has their own diff believe. Some even so 'crazy' protest and died for small matters. It's hard to be Christian, just confess Jesus Christ is the saviour then you'll be saved. But then when you walk your journey of faith you'll face many challenges when you found out many different denomination and groups believe and uphold slightly difference teaching, interpretation of scriptures, difference in opinion, theology etc..

unless I spend my whole life study history, read dozens of book, and think about these differences I'm confused in a sense I lack of knowledge to know the truth. Does it affect my Christian living? yeah kind of, hoping church to church, finding out different tradition and read different author from different camp.

Anyone has had this struggle before?

i highly agree. Event hough I normally am in the Catholic side in terms of theology and apologetics there are that I can't honestly say I'm 100% on that jeopardizes me of being ex cathedra.

I struggle trying to make sense of accepting the dogma of the Holy Eucharist. I don't reject it but it is a challenge for me.

I do not believe any of the whole "uncorrupt bodies" of dead saints being displayed in some famous cathederals. Not only do I have full skepticism towards it but I find it creepy and somewhat repulsive.

I am entirely against abortion, however i can fathom extreme circumstances in where I can understand it maybe a lesser evil. This is a big no no in Catholicism. There are no circumstances that the church finds excusable.

 

[The Liturgist]

where did you find the resource for history reading? I find it hard to learn about history of the church, very limited books about it.

The history of the Christian church is the single most well-documented subject after Pentecost, until the Renaissance. There are volumes and volumes of books on church history both from antiquity and more recent times.

The Cambridge History of Christianity is a large, modern, exhaustive set available on Scribd. Some of the more ancient historical texts also benefit from being free of charge. I disagree with John Calvin on several theological issues, but his Institutes is a good Reformation-era historical resource. From the Patristic era, Socrates (not to be confused with the tutor of Plato), Eusebius of Caesarea, Epiphanius of Salamis, Irenaeus of Lyons and John of Damascus are extremely useful, as well as the Lausiac History for subjects concerning the Desert Fathers and the “white martyrdom.”

 

[KurtHectic]

Ironically, it’s neither 'easy' to be Christian nor hard to fit in a denomination. I never even worry about “fitting in” since it’s not demanded by God. I just go to church concerned about worship of God and fellowship with others for his sake regardless of what they think of me and whether they like me or not. None of that matters after all in the Kingdom of God, and yet everything matters regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. Godspeed.