[Terriergal]

I just found a site which ascribed the doctrine of perfectionism to Methodists. Not sure. My dad was raised Baptist and he had huge guilt problems which he tried to foist upon us (probably mostly unconsciously). His parents were incredibly strict and he struggled with control issues too. I was the last kid to come along (when he was 58!) and I had it the easiest.

I'm not saying Baptists have any monopoly on this tendency toward legalism. It's prevalent all over the church. If Prodigal Son grew up in a church where it was rampant, that might explain some things. But regardless, some *people* have that tendency within themselves that they struggle with.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply and for sharing your personal testimony!

Actually, I consider Baptists to be the least legalistic of all denominations. Of course, each Baptist church has its own personality (the result of many, many splits) - and no doubt many of them are "up tight" about a thing or two.

But in the Baptist churches with which I have been associated (San Antonio) - strict, legalistic conformance only applied to the Great Commandment (roughly, love God absolutely and your fellow man unconditionally) --- everything else was just details. We didn't sweat them (Philippians 4:6-7). It was an altogether loving exploration in the Word.