Posted on 11/21/2004 2:48:08 PM PST by atari
Im catholic, but I wasnt raised in a religious household.
Im totally clueless about most Protestant denominations especially, and If any would tell me the differences between them, or point me to a site that would help, that would be great. :-)
Then why was Luther constipated?
The "corrupt" Popes (not the anti-popes) hardly did anything against church doctrine.
What happens when you have to deal with a Diet of Worms...
Well if there is a big difference, I cant see it very well. I prefer the Tridentine Mass.
:)
Nationality or ethnicity was also important: Lutherans and Episcopalians are historically not so very different. The Lutherans were the Continental (Germany, Scandinavia) equivalent of the Anglicans (who became Episcopalians in America), in so far as they both stood between Catholicism on one side and the radical Protestantism of the Calvinists (Presbyterians and Congregationalists in Scotland and England). The Presbyterians (Scots and Scots-Irish) shared much theologically with the French Huguenots, and the Dutch, German, and Swiss Reformed, their fellow Calvinists.
Social class was also important. Methodists were an evangelical outgrowth of Anglicanism/Episcopalianism at first. They were yeoman and tradesmen who had little patience with the rites and rituals of their upper class co-religionists, and eventually the two churches grew apart. As Americans move up the social ladder they tend to move from Baptist to Methodist to Presbyterian to Episcopalian, though there are plenty of exceptions.
A once very strict faith like Congregationalism, tended to become far more liberal as its members grew wealthier. The most liberal and least orthodox became Unitarians and Universalists, and the same process continued to take many Unitarians entirely out of the Christian or Theist camp. By contrast, the Baptists, once the theological "left-wing" of Christianity, have become quite conservative over time. Individual reading of the Bible was regarded as a radical and unsettling idea half a millennium ago. It still is, but today the sources of radicalism are secular, and denominations that attach the most importance to the wording of the Bible are reckoned old fashioned or "reactionary" by the secular media.
None of this is intended to minimize the real credal differences that separate various denominations or the real faith that they share. It's just to suggest that sometimes differences are more apparent than real.
If you're interested in where you might fit in, there are plenty of quizzes on the Internet (like this one) that can give you a clue. It's best to try to find out as much as you can first, rather than just choose the answers you like, though.
Liberius: Arian
Honorius: Monothelite
May I guess that you, personally, are neither CP
nor EF?
"RCs are like Muslims."
There is no Christian denomination that is in the least way like Islam.
You certainly are a greatly learned person to know everything about what every Catholic believes and studies about religion....Are you God?
Great answer. You are a true schollar.
I always make light of the myriad of denominations and the schisms within. Not even the members of any one church can get along. But this is who we are. " In the end the love of most shall grow cold. .... Shall the Son of Man even find faith on the earth when He returns.?"
I used to think that us good Christians would get to skip this part.
You forgot the Orthodox. Our version is something like "Change? Why would you want to change anything?"
I was refering to Alexander VI, Pius II, and Leo X. Protestants refer to those more commonly.
First, avoid any church that belongs to the National Council of Churches. They really aren't churches. They're left-wing propaganda machines.
atari,
What is it that makes you 'Catholic'? If you weren't raised in a religious household then perhaps your parents were not really Catholic. Maybe they were .... nothings. So how are you a 'Catholic'. Did you sign some sort of document?
We are not Christian by dint of our rearing or heritage. And thus we cannot be Catholic this way either as Catholic is really just another name for Christian. One is Christian by accepting the sacrifice of The Christ, on The Cross for our sins and believing upon Him unto our rebirth. You MUST be born again atari.
What are you talking about? The Church Doctors wrote tomes on the Catholic faith and many have studied them. Children read rather long Catechisms (Baltimore 3). When I was a protestant, I learned very little about my faith. It was Catholicism that changed me. And you still havent answered the following question: What about RC is pagan?
Are you a fool? You sound like one. You sound like a person who knows nothing of the history of their church. Just like a Muslim.
He was probably baptized.
Understanding Orthodox Christianity
An Introduction to the Eastern Christian mind
If you have any questions please feel free to email me or any other of the Orthodox here on FR.
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