Going to a CC in the morning

[ConservativeChristian97]

My dh and I, God willing, are going to a CC in the morning! :clap: I'm excited, as I've never been to one before and neither has my hubby. lol! Actually, the only churches he has experience with are Church of the Brethren, Pentecostal Holiness, and Southern Baptist. Me, I've been to a Lutheran Church, CoB, Pentecostal, SBC, and Pentecostal Holiness (not even associated with Pentecostal, that's why its seperate). So, are we in for a shock in the mornin'? ;)

Also, I noticed something funny when I was looking up CoCs and CCs online, cause we're moving in about 2 months (God willing). Where we live now (Northern Virginia) there are only CCs, where we're moving (Northern Mississippi) there are only CoCs. Guess that proves the point I was trying to make to my parents that MS is more conservative, huh? :thumbsup:

Anyways, thank you all for your help during this difficult time of indecision and confusion. I pray this is God's answer, otherwise I guess I'll have to keep searching.
God bless you all,
Dawn

[EdmundBlackadderTheThird]

The CoC and CC are not much different at all to be honest. Our schism is due to the use of instruments and even that is closing rapidly. The area you describe it likely to be old school still but outside of the no instruments doctrine you will find little different than the CC in most cases. A cappella worship is absolutely beautiful so you will likely enjoy the worship service.

Enjoy your new experience!

[Jim47]

I hope you don't mind my asking, but what is CC and CoC? I'm one of those acronym challanged people :)

[HeyHomie]

I hope you don't mind my asking, but what is CC and CoC? I'm one of those acronym challanged people :)

CC = Christian Church

CoC = Church of Christ

Two types of congregations within the same general "brotherhood" (we don't use the term "denomination," since we don't have a creed or a headquarters).

[Jim47]

CC = Christian Church

CoC = Church of Christ

Two types of congregations within the same general "brotherhood" (we don't use the term "denomination," since we don't have a creed or a headquarters).


Thanks for the explaination. I figured CoC stood Church of Christ but I had no idea what CC was.

When you say have no creed, does that mean that you deny the Apostles Creed, Niciene Creed and the Athanasian Creed? If so, could you please explain why?

[AJB4]

Thanks for the explaination. I figured CoC stood Church of Christ but I had no idea what CC was.

When you say have no creed, does that mean that you deny the Apostles Creed, Niciene Creed and the Athanasian Creed? If so, could you please explain why?
I'm CoC, and I don't even really know why. Something to do with 'no creed but the Bible blah, blah, blah', but the Nicene Creed at least, is completely biblical. I don't know why they have a bee in their bonnett about that one.

[InServicetoGod]

GOING to the UNITY CHURCH Tomorrow
I usually attend the CC on the 4th Sunday of the month, but did not know until yesterday that the Associate Pastor who usually preaches on the 4th Sunday will actually beging delivering the Sermon on the 2nd Sunday of the month now , so that changes my whole schedule........

ANYWAY I have been to the Unity Church before (in a different town) but not hear; I will check out the local group and see what is working therein

Peace to ya, brothers and sisters....

[WesWoodell]

Thanks for the explaination. I figured CoC stood Church of Christ but I had no idea what CC was.

When you say have no creed, does that mean that you deny the Apostles Creed, Niciene Creed and the Athanasian Creed? If so, could you please explain why?

No, we don't deny the nicene creed. That would break CF rules.

The statement basically means that we'd rather just say that we use the Bible to state our beliefs rather than a creed written by men.

[InServicetoGod]

Well Wes, I was thinking about that. and I had to ask myself, would I allow the Inspriation Of God through the Holy Spirit, which I might find at the Unity Church to work through me, or would I have to allow some group at the local CC which may CLAIM to be of the Spirit but have no obvious fruit s of it to influence me? which is why I am going to the Unity Church today

Now granted, I may get there and find it is not worth my time I may realize that I am as I have always said better off as a " lone ranger" outisde of the traditional church BUT at least I have to try
Better to try something new than to stick with something that is not just right

[HeyHomie]

When you say have no creed, does that mean that you deny the Apostles Creed, Niciene Creed and the Athanasian Creed? If so, could you please explain why?

We don't confirm or deny any creed - creeds just aren't on our radar. Some of us have confirmed the Nicene Creed in order to join CF, because its contents are part of our doctrine, but the creed itself isn't something we teach.

Read the sticky; it says that no believer will be expected to read, recite, memorize, affirm, or pledge a creed as a litmus test for salvation, fellowship or communion.

[Jim47]

Thanks for your replies. If I may ask, what is it that you do not agree with in the Creeds? There isn't anything there unscriptural that I see.

I will list the 3 main Creeds here so it makes it easier to comment on.





APOSTLES' CREED



The Apostles' Creed is a brief statement of gospel truths taught by the apostles. It was not formulated by theologians, but out of the needs of the Christian church. Christians used it to tell others what they believed and also to confess their faith with one another as they met for worship.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.





NICENE CREED



The Nicene Creed was written around a.d. 325 in defense of the true Christian faith. The Council at Nicea developed it, expanding on the deity of Christ, in order to safeguard the apostles' teaching.


We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and became fully human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.





THE ATHANASIAN CREED


This creed is named after St. Athanasius, a staunch defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. It was prepared to assist the Church in combating two errors that undermined Bible teaching. One error denied that God's Son and the Holy Spirit are of one being or Godhead with the Father. The other error denied that Jesus Christ is true God and true man In one person. The Athanasian Creed continues to serve the Christian Church as a standard of the truth. It declares that whoever rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Christ is without the saving faith.



Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian faith.
Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever.
Now this is the true Christian faith:
We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God,
without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.
For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct,
but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
equal in glory and coeternal in majesty.
What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.
The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated;
the Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite;
the Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal;
yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal,
just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite,
but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.
In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty;
yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God;
yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;
yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.
For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord,
so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords.
The Father is neither made nor created nor begotten of anyone.
The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten,
but proceeds from the Father and the Son.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior,
but all three persons are coequal and coeternal,
so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God
and one God worshiped as three persons.
Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.

It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation truly to believe
that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh.
Now this is the true Christian faith:
We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and man.
He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father, and he is man, born in time from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man, with rational soul and human flesh,
equal to the Father as to his deity, less than the Father as to his humanity;
and though he is both God and Man, Christ is not two persons but one,
one, not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God;
one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person;
for just as the rational soul and flesh are one human being,
so God and man are one Christ.
He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the third day from the dead.
He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people will rise with their own bodies to answer for their personal deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
but those who have done evil will go into eternal fire.

This is the true Christian faith.
Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.

[EdmundBlackadderTheThird]

It is not that we do not agree with the content of the creeds. In fact I don't think you will find anyone posting in this forum that doesn't agree with them. We feel they are unnecessary because we have scripture that defines our beliefs and do not need man made explanations of said scripture. I think the creeds are an excellent way to re-iterate scripture but that is all that it is. The creeds hold authority at all. Scripture is the only authority.

The reason for "No creed but Christ" was the initial idea that all Christians should be able to be one body with only the requirements for salvation, as laid out in scripture, being the line for fellowship.

So in short it is not that we disagree with the content of the creeds but rather their necessity.

[HeyHomie]

We don't disagree with the content of any of those creeds. We just don't believe in the concept of creeds in general

[Jim47]

It is not that we do not agree with the content of the creeds. In fact I don't think you will find anyone posting in this forum that doesn't agree with them. We feel they are unnecessary because we have scripture that defines our beliefs and do not need man made explanations of said scripture. I think the creeds are an excellent way to re-iterate scripture but that is all that it is. The creeds hold authority at all. Scripture is the only authority.

The reason for "No creed but Christ" was the initial idea that all Christians should be able to be one body with only the requirements for salvation, as laid out in scripture, being the line for fellowship.

So in short it is not that we disagree with the content of the creeds but rather their necessity.



I see where you are coming from. I will say only this. The Creeds were written for an express purpose. Early on their were many false teachings, as everyone was interpreting scripture differently or hanging onto certian parts of scripture and denying the rest(as it didn't make sence to them) .All of the bible is God's Word, not just certian parts. These creeds were written to combat those false teachings and make people look a second time to see of their beliefs were in line with the creeds which are of course taken from scripture.

I think this is good for all of to do, as it easy for false teachings to creep into our hearts, and then have satan steel away our faith and trust in The Lord. Therefore if we daily confess to the truthes of the Creeds we are keeping ourselves in line with God's Word.

[EdmundBlackadderTheThird]

And technically I disagree with the filioque but that's another matter altogether and negated because we don't use creeds. ;)

[EdmundBlackadderTheThird]

I see where you are coming from. I will say only this. The Creeds were written for an express purpose. Early on their were many false teachings, as everyone was interpreting scripture differently or hanging onto certian parts of scripture and denying the rest(as it didn't make sence to them) .All of the bible is God's Word, not just certian parts. These creeds were written to combat those false teachings and make people look a second time to see of their beliefs were in line with the creeds which are of course taken from scripture.

I think this is good for all of to do, as it easy for false teachings to creep into our hearts, and then have satan steel away our faith and trust in The Lord. Therefore if we daily confess to the truthes of the Creeds we are keeping ourselves in line with God's Word.

They were also written at a time when many, the majority, did not have easy access to the scriptures. Those creeds were written by men and while we do not disagree with their content we do not need them for any reason. Scripture, rightly dividing the word of truth, is all that we need. The creeds contain truth but scripture is truth. Wouldn't it be better to recite scripture daily rather than men's retelling of scripture?

And the Bible is God's words or word. The Word is Christ as expressed in scripture. I know it's nit picky but it is a necessary distinction.

[Jim47]

The creeds contain truth but scripture is truth. Wouldn't it be better to recite scripture daily rather than men's retelling of scripture?

.


That would be nice if everyone did this, but as it is we have many false preachers who go about spewing out theor own teachings enstead of God's truth. Thee Creeds are nohing more then confessions of faith as taight by scriptures.

A few years back I was discussing this very thing with a young lady who was very well versed in scripture. She opposed the Creeds as well, so I posted them for her to read again and asked her what she was opposed to, at that point she had to agree that were truth and necessary for the reasons I just mentioned.

I'll leave you folks alone now. I was just curious as to why you objected to Creeds, now I kind of understand, although I also don't agree. We have rule and authority over us. that Ruler is God and anyone who preaches other then what He has said is not serving God but Satan. For he has decieved himself and the truth is no longer in him- God's Truth. That is why we need the Creeds, as they contain all the basic teachings of the bible and give us guidance. :wave:

[EdmundBlackadderTheThird]

That would be nice if everyone did this, but as it is we have many false preachers who go about spewing out theor own teachings enstead of God's truth. Thee Creeds are nohing more then confessions of faith as taight by scriptures.

A few years back I was discussing this very thing with a young lady who was very well versed in scripture. She opposed the Creeds as well, so I posted them for her to read again and asked her what she was opposed to, at that point she had to agree that were truth and necessary for the reasons I just mentioned.

I'll leave you folks alone now. I was just curious as to why you objected to Creeds, now I kind of understand, although I also don't agree. We have rule and authority over us. that Ruler is God and anyone who preaches other then what He has said is not serving God but Satan. For he has decieved himself and the truth is no longer in him- God's Truth. That is why we need the Creeds, as they contain all the basic teachings of the bible and give us guidance. :wave:
But we don't need the creeds. We have scripture. Even the Mormons claim to be able to confess to the NC. And the JWs and Mormons can affirm the Apostle's Creed. There is just as much possibility for error using the creeds as there is using scripture. Your point of view places the creeds higher than scripture in saying that we need them to understand scripture which we do not.

You have posted your reasoning and I am willing to bet that you won't convince anyone here that they are necessary. They are, in fact, not necessary. Do they contain truth? Yes. Why do they contain truth? Because they are based on scripture. We have scripture readily available to us in this day and age which was not the case when the creeds were penned. We have the very basis for the creeds and as such have no use for them at all. We need not follow rote recitation to know the truth of scripture.

I am not opposed to the creeds. They are based on scripture. I place them at the same level of importance as any well written study guide. They are nice to have around but if they ceased to exist we would still have the truth as we have scripture. The creeds are not God's inspired word but rather man's explanation of God's word. We have God's word so the creeds become unnecessary.

[AJB4]

EdmundBlackadderTheThird, sure the Bible is God's word, but don't you think that every man's interpretation of it is flawed in some way. Reciting a creed, to me, would be no different to reciting a verse that's in the Bible anyway. Because every man is going to come up with their own interpretation anyway, doesn't every man come up with his own creed whenever he reads the Bible anyway....you know what I mean?

Of course the creeds are not necessary TODAY (though perhaps they were necessary back in their heyday), but I would recite a creed as a statement of faith without hesitation. It's not sinful. It's simply a summary of what we believe as Christians. Part of the Restoration Movement philosphy is 'not having any creeds except what's written in the Bible', but what's written on the creeds IS written in the Bible.

To me, militantly opposing using creeds (which are summaries of the Bible) except the Bible is a creed itself anyway...

[EdmundBlackadderTheThird]

EdmundBlackadderTheThird, sure the Bible is God's word, but don't you think that every man's interpretation of it is flawed in some way. Reciting a creed, to me, would be no different to reciting a verse that's in the Bible anyway. Because every man is going to come up with their own interpretation anyway, doesn't every man come up with his own creed whenever he reads the Bible anyway....you know what I mean?

Of course the creeds are not necessary TODAY (though perhaps they were necessary back in their heyday), but I would recite a creed as a statement of faith without hesitation. It's not sinful. It's simply a summary of what we believe as Christians. Part of the Restoration Movement philosphy is 'not having any creeds except what's written in the Bible', but what's written on the creeds IS written in the Bible.

To me, militantly opposing using creeds (which are summaries of the Bible) except the Bible is a creed itself anyway...

I don't militantly oppose the creeds. That is a misconception. I oppose the idea that they are necessary. I have said they contain truth. I don't disagree with any point made in the creeds. We sing a version of Rich Mullins' "Creed" during worship. They are at best aids to our faith and are not on the level of scripture. I am opposed, not to the creeds, but rather to the error os stating that they are necessary.

[AJB4]

I don't militantly oppose the creeds. That is a misconception. I oppose the idea that they are necessary. I have said they contain truth. I don't disagree with any point made in the creeds. We sing a version of Rich Mullins' "Creed" during worship. They are at best aids to our faith and are not on the level of scripture. I am opposed, not to the creeds, but rather to the error os stating that they are necessary.
I don't think they're necessary either, but I wouldn't be opposed to reciting one.

[InServicetoGod]

[quote=EdmundBlackadderTheThird;31224672]But we don't need the creeds. We have scripture.

ACTUALLY we don't need scripture either
We have The Holy Spirit