Non-denomonational Christian

[chris414]

Im an Anglican (yes i know this a non-denominational forum so moderators please dont remove this thread - im not here to debate). How does a non-denominational church take a stand on an issue if it does not follow certain doctrines (correct me if im wrong here:confused: )? Dont you just get a lot of different opinions / interpretations of Scripture?

eg. what is your church's stance on homosexuality, death penalty, the Holy Trinity, evangelising, end times (im talking general church doctrine not your individual opinion)

In Christ,
Chris

[SteelDisciple]

Im an Anglican (yes i know this a non-denominational forum so moderators please dont remove this thread - im not here to debate). How does a non-denominational church take a stand on an issue if it does not follow certain doctrines (correct me if im wrong here:confused: )? Dont you just get a lot of different opinions / interpretations of Scripture?

eg. what is your church's stance on homosexuality, death penalty, the Holy Trinity, evangelising, end times (im talking general church doctrine not your individual opinion)

In Christ,
Chris


If you are following church doctrine..then you are NOT following God. All we need is what God Himself provided...and that is the Holy Spirit and the Bible. When a church starts making up it's own rules...they no longer server God.

There is only one interpretation of the scriptures...you will always find people who like to make up their own interpretations in any denomination...but for the most part we follow just what the Bible says. (ie..homosexuality is WRONG, so says the Word of God..we don't need man to tell us that)

Basically...following any church that tells you to only follow the rules they make up or THEIR interpretations of the bible...they are not following God. They are following man-made rules and doctrines. The Holy Spirit is our "translator" for the Bible.

I think you are to caught up in church as a religion. Denominations are man-made. Religion is man-made. Non-Denom is about getting back to the basics...following God's word directly, through use of the Holy Spirit.

[revrobor]

Most non-denominational churches have doctrinal statements they follow based on what they believe about what the Bible teaches. And I agree with SteelDisciple. If you are following a church doctrine you are not following God. You should be following Jesus. There is no salvation in church doctrine.

[chris414]

If you are following church doctrine..then you are NOT following God. All we need is what God Himself provided...and that is the Holy Spirit and the Bible. When a church starts making up it's own rules...they no longer server God.

There is only one interpretation of the scriptures...you will always find people who like to make up their own interpretations in any denomination...but for the most part we follow just what the Bible says. (ie..homosexuality is WRONG, so says the Word of God..we don't need man to tell us that)

Basically...following any church that tells you to only follow the rules they make up or THEIR interpretations of the bible...they are not following God. They are following man-made rules and doctrines. The Holy Spirit is our "translator" for the Bible.

I think you are to caught up in church as a religion. Denominations are man-made. Religion is man-made. Non-Denom is about getting back to the basics...following God's word directly, through use of the Holy Spirit.

Believe me when i say that i am far from being caught up in church doctrine. i know what i believe but havnt the faintest idea what doctrine says it. What i believe is from the Bible.

What i am asking is if non-denom does not have doctrines which outline your beliefs, surely you get lots of different ministers preaching a lot of different stuff? I thought the point of a doctrine was to ensure that if you went to 2 different (for example) Anglican churches you would hear the same message and be taught the same stuff. In 2 different non-denom churches couldnt you have 2 ministers preaching a different message?

[SteelDisciple]

Believe me when i say that i am far from being caught up in church doctrine. i know what i believe but havnt the faintest idea what doctrine says it. What i believe is from the Bible.

What i am asking is if non-denom does not have doctrines which outline your beliefs, surely you get lots of different ministers preaching a lot of different stuff? I thought the point of a doctrine was to ensure that if you went to 2 different (for example) Anglican churches you would hear the same message and be taught the same stuff. In 2 different non-denom churches couldnt you have 2 ministers preaching a different message?


I'm sure there are churches out there that teach contrary to the Spirit..I haven't been to any..but I'm sure they exist.

Also..if you go to a denomination where they all share the same doctrine...then it's more likely a political thing, rather than a God thing...kind of like how one particular denomination is in "Agreement" that homosexuality is ok now...just because a denomination shares a belief..doesn't mean it's the right belief.

But anyway...for the most part...all churches teach the same thing...there are a few wacko's out there...like in anything. But most churches i've been to are led by the Spirit..so there is no WAY to have contridicting teaching.

[Thenolos]

You can't really look at non-denom churches in the same way you look an denominational churches. Most non-denom churches started as denominational churches that seperated from thier districts (or conferances or synods etc...). You are going to run into non-denom churches of all flavors. Most will be vaguely Baptist, others various flavors of Free Methodism or Pentacostal. Some are random mixes of everything. However, you will be hard pressed to find a non-denom church that is liturgical (similar to Roman, EO, Lutheran, Anglican... etc). The reason for this divide in opinions with non-denom churches is because they come from a variety of backgrounds and traditions.

People who attend non-denom churches are not as likely to be worried about attending a different church and being taught the same exact doctrines.

In summary, the word "non-denominational" is misleading, as the individual non-denom church may have a doctrinal statement very similar to any major denomination.

[SteelDisciple]

You can't really look at non-denom churches in the same way you look an denominational churches. Most non-denom churches started as denominational churches that seperated from thier districts (or conferances or synods etc...). You are going to run into non-denom churches of all flavors. Most will be vaguely Baptist, others various flavors of Free Methodism or Pentacostal. Some are random mixes of everything. However, you will be hard pressed to find a non-denom church that is liturgical (similar to Roman, EO, Lutheran, Anglican... etc). The reason for this divide in opinions with non-denom churches is because they come from a variety of backgrounds and traditions.

People who attend non-denom churches are not as likely to be worried about attending a different church and being taught the same exact doctrines.

In summary, the word "non-denominational" is misleading, as the individual non-denom church may have a doctrinal statement very similar to any major denomination.

in summary...they share similiarities with lots of other denominations...but are straight-up for the bible, so they don't carry all the weight of all the doctrines other denominations use?

[Thenolos]

But anyway...for the most part...all churches teach the same thing...there are a few wacko's out there...like in anything.



I wouldn't go that far... difference in teaching is one of the main reasons denominations exist. On the surface the Gospel may seem the same, but different groups teach different applications. The political aspects of denominationalism are only the most hyped, not necessarily the denominations defining issues.

[Thenolos]

(double post)

[Thenolos]

in summary...they share similiarities with lots of other denominations...but are straight-up for the bible, so they don't carry all the weight of all the doctrines other denominations use?

Not neccessarily... most non-denom churches that came from denominations, or from church splits, exist mainly because the founding members either didn't want to have the denomination as authority, or felt that they had to leave the denomination due to some evil the denomination endorsed. (which could be anything of a host of disagreements ranging from musical styles to homosexuality) Just because a church is non-denom does not mean that they are "solely from the bible" in doctrine, though the members of the church may believe so. There are plenty of non-denom churches that still base doctrines on the writings of theologians. (Calvin, Luther, Darby, Alexander, Stone, Wesley, etc...) And who still hold to the weighty doctrines of the denominations they were born of. ( baptismal regeneration, tulip, infant/believers baptism, weekly lords supper, etc...)

[SteelDisciple]

Not neccessarily... most non-denom churches that came from denominations, or from church splits, exist mainly because the founding members either didn't want to have the denomination as authority, or felt that they had to leave the denomination due to some evil the denomination endorsed. (which could be anything of a host of disagreements ranging from musical styles to homosexuality) Just because a church is non-denom does not mean that they are "solely from the bible" in doctrine, though the members of the church may believe so. There are plenty of non-denom churches that still base there doctrines on the writings of theologians. (Calvin, Luther, Darby, Alexander, Stone, Wesley, etc...) And who still hold to the weighty doctrines of the denominations they were born of. ( baptismal regeneration, tulip, infant/believers baptism, weekly lords supper, etc...)


I'm sure those do exist...the only Non-Denoms I have been too...(a lot of em..as I used to church hop quite a bit) were void of extra doctrine..just following the Bible...which was far different from the Assembly of God I originall went to...IE..they believed that Dancing was a sin...the Non-Denom's didn't, because it wasn't biblical to believe that.

I don't mind if a denomination has different methods of teaching, or doing the Lord's supper, etc...as long as their doctrine is biblical based and doesn't stray from that...then they are just fine. :)

[Raistlinorr]

If you are following church doctrine..then you are NOT following God. All we need is what God Himself provided...and that is the Holy Spirit and the Bible. When a church starts making up it's own rules...they no longer server God.

There is only one interpretation of the scriptures...you will always find people who like to make up their own interpretations in any denomination...but for the most part we follow just what the Bible says. (ie..homosexuality is WRONG, so says the Word of God..we don't need man to tell us that)

Basically...following any church that tells you to only follow the rules they make up or THEIR interpretations of the bible...they are not following God. They are following man-made rules and doctrines. The Holy Spirit is our "translator" for the Bible.

I think you are to caught up in church as a religion. Denominations are man-made. Religion is man-made. Non-Denom is about getting back to the basics...following God's word directly, through use of the Holy Spirit.

:amen:

Why follow what man tells me when I can follow the word of the Lord instead.

God Bless
Raist

[Knight]

what is your church's stance on homosexuality,

It's a sin.

death penalty,

At the discresion of the government.

the Holy Trinity,

Yep.... We believe in it.

evangelising,

We do it... For God's glory.

end times

He's coming back.


Any more questions?

[lipoftruth]

i agree with what's been said regarding following church doctrines. If you are just following what your denomination says, then you are not really following God. I believe a sincere believer in Christ will examine the Word for themselves and not rely on what other people say. This doesn't mean that you can't listen to the wisdom of others, but just that you ultimately recognise that your faith is personal, and that it must be placed on God and not on a human being.