BK's bible discussion thread

[SlowwHand]

Visit them all, but during your visits, include a Methodist church. Being a life-long Methodist, I suppose I'm biased, but from what I've seen, visiting other denominations, Methodists mostly want you to just come and be there. They don't think people are going to be perfect, but they do want you to recognize problems you might have, and be willing to address if that's what you want to do. They may pray for your sucess, on their own, but not in your face.
Gayness, in and of itself, isn't a problem, for instance.
If your mind and heart have a problem with accepting that of yourself, they'll tell you, you're still a child of God.
How to dress? People wear suits, others wear blue jeans. Again, they want you to be there. I would bet you this quarter I have setting here that the minister does not care.
It may not be suitable for you. You may want a military-minded church. Set down rules and if you break them, you're going to Hell. In that case, Methodists wouldn't do for you. Their number 1 criteria, is what is in your heart, and they don't try to force it, but they'll be there if you want them.

[Ben Kenobi]

I've been to a Methodist church before. Most of the congregation were Koreans, so I'm not sure how much they had in common with your church Slowwy. One thing they share with Catholics is that they liked to use the apostle's creed, although they changed it to little 'c' catholic church.

Also did a paper on Wesley and the Methodist revival in Wales. Very interesting stuff, on how little evangelising was done there by the Anglicans, and how receptive they were to the Wesleys.

[Berzerker]

There wasn't anything orthodox about Jesus. Think outside the box...

Oh yeah, the box is a wooden structure made by man to worship God, when the world is God's Church. Thats blasphemy

[Spec]

@ OP

Also

@ OP


Actually, I'm rather undecided between the two.


Spec.

[Elok]

Originally posted by onodera

Next thing you tell me, you sit in your church. :P
When I was younger, I had great interest in profane aspects of the Orthodox church, and I clearly remember there were three sections: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. BK should stand in the narthex during services.
Well, probably your church is like those fabled Ukrainian mosques that tell that it's okay to eat salo and drink horilka to get any converts. Here in Russia the chruch has no such need, so the rules are followed strictly.

There are chairs for the elderly and infirm, but we stand through most of the services. BK is NOT supposed to stand in the narthex. Not in America. Sounds like Russia has unusually strict local customs to me.

[onodera]

Originally posted by Elok


There are chairs for the elderly and infirm, but we stand through most of the services. BK is NOT supposed to stand in the narthex. Not in America. Sounds like Russia has unusually strict local customs to me.

There's little religious competition in Russia, and few converts. The church can afford to send repentant Catholics and Protestants to the narthex, as the rules stipulate, because they won't make any difference in the number of followers.

[Elok]

Rules which I've never heard of. No, don't bother digging up whatever ancient precedent you use to justify it; I don't care. Ben does not live in Russia, so for the sake of this discussion it's irrelevant.

[MMC]

As an evangelical Christian* I'd have to say that if you want to go, just go. Jesus doesn't really care which church you go to, as long as they teach the gospel accurately. Of course, I've yet to find anything in the bible that says you even have to go to church at all. It only mentions that anywhere 3 or more Christians gather is a church, so sharing communion with family members and friends in your own home is perfectly ok.

*Please note:
Evangelical refers to belief that the Bible (particularly the 4 gospels) is the only authorative word of God, and no other. So whilst not necessarily invalid, the Apocripha, the Book of Mormon, or any other work, are not considered authorative.
To some people, Evangelism may refer to the use of agressive conversion tactics. This is simply wrong. Proper Evangelism (according to the dictionary, if nothing else) is simply a case of pointing out what the Bible says and letting the other person make their own choice.

[Ben Kenobi]

As an evangelical Christian* I'd have to say that if you want to go, just go. Jesus doesn't really care which church you go to, as long as they teach the gospel accurately.

This is very true. If we look at the bible, we look at what Paul says, "let us not give up the habit of meeting with one another." I think community is an important part of being a Christian, both to give us support, and to encourage us to support other Christians. We can't go at it alone.

I'm not an evangelical, but I used to be one. In the Catholic church it's very important to be able to take the sacraments, Confession, communion, etc, which you don't have at all in most evangelical churches. It was one of the reasons I left because I loved the mass very much.

Thank you for your comments MMC. Which evangelical church do you go to? The Baptists?

[MMC]

The church I now go to (when I'm not at uni) was formally a Baptist church, but is now independant (although allied with similar churches around the UK and the World - You might have heard of the FIEC?).

[LordShiva]

Who is this MMC guy?

[Ben Kenobi]

News to me.

[Jon Miller]

I remember him (not much though)

JM

[MMC]

Originally posted by LordShiva
Who is this MMC guy?

I have no idea...

[LordShiva]

Maybe Japher or Colon^TM could tell me