Question about Protestant sects...

[Cristina]

Does anybody have a good link to a clear and easy to understand comparison of Anglican, United, Presbyterian and Baptist beliefs?

I ask because a Christian friend is alarmed by my growing study of Buddhism and meditation (I remain an agnostic at this point) and has asked me to attend one of the above churches with him (my choice) before I completely forsake Christianity. I was raised Catholic but have not considered myself a Christian for many many years.

Thanks

[Andonyx]

Here something that sort of kinda possibly addresses some of your questions:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_divi3.htm

It's a comparison of Southern Baptists, and United Church of Christ, but they touch on some different causes and nuances of the splits in various forms of protestantism.

Umm, I know you were looking for information, not advice, but in my humble view, is one more trip to church really gonna convince you that the path you've been on for "many many" years is suddenly worng and backwards?

[Cristina]

And,
Thanks for the link. I'll read it once my tea is ready.

I agree, this trip won't change anything. But maybe I'll learn something and I will keep peace in my friendship.

He's a good friend and he's worth it.

[Sundog]

Originally posted by Cristina
And,
Thanks for the link. I'll read it once my tea is ready.

I agree, this trip won't change anything. But maybe I'll learn something and I will keep peace in my friendship.

He's a good friend and he's worth it.

I'll tell you exactly what he thinks: he thinks you're rebelling against all the rigidity, pomp and hoopla in the Catholic church (who wouldn't?) and he thinks you'll be favorably impressed by the much more relaxed form of worship in Protestant churches.

And you will be. But he has miscalculated your disaffection, it sounds like you are a deeper thinker than that.

[Tez]

Personal Experience:

Anglican - will bore you to death.

Presbyterian - very judgemental, love the hellfire, brimstone, predestination and all that - extremely trying even for other christians to talk to.

I'd go Baptist....

[Sundog]

Originally posted by Tez
Personal Experience:

Anglican - will bore you to death.


Yes. Catholicism without the Pope.



Presbyterian - very judgemental, love the hellfire, brimstone, predestination and all that - extremely trying even for other christians to talk to.

I'd go Baptist....

Naah. United Methodist over the Baptists. At least they let you dance. (And my sister's a Methodist minister at one of the largest churches in Oklahoma. :D )

[Cristina]

looking at the link, I think I'm leaning United...they seem the most consistent with my beliefs. There doesn't seem to be much exclusion of groups (women, gays). They don't believe in the literal bible stories. They seem the most tolerant.

It's one hour on a Sunday followed by a yummy brunch... how bad can it be?

[abiogenesis]

It's one hour on a Sunday followed by a yummy brunch... how bad can it be?Have you ever considered the exciting world of timeshares? ;)

[bPer]

Originally posted by Cristina
Does anybody have a good link to a clear and easy to understand comparison of Anglican, United, Presbyterian and Baptist beliefs?
Cristina,

FYI, I don't think the 'United' church you referred to is the one that others here are referring to. I recalled that you're Canadian, and so I'm thinking that you're referring to the United Church of Canada, not the United Church of Christ. Check out this URL (http://www.united-church.ca/) for more information.

For the others here, the United Church of Canada is the largest Protestant denomination in Canada. It was formed in 1925 when the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregationalist churches merged. As churches go, it is pretty liberal, having accepted women and gays as ministers, for example. It has a strong social activist presence in Canada too. All this activism and modernity does rub some of the more traditional members the wrong way, and there's always some congregation threatening to leave (and some actually do).

And in case you're wondering, no, I'm not a member, but I grew up in a strong United family.

bPer

[Yahweh]

I grew up in very religious Southern Baptist home. Hated every second of it (didnt exactly have a "normal" or "happy" childhood either).

My entire life, I've always been very very atheist. For a while during highschool in college, I gained an increasing interest in Paganism and Wiccanism. I grew out of that stage when I said outloud to myself "This s**t is cool, but I'm not buying it", thats the very moment I grew out of that stage in life. I have a pretty neato avatar, dont I?

Originally posted by Andonyx

Umm, I know you were looking for information, not advice, but in my humble view, is one more trip to church really gonna convince you that the path you've been on for "many many" years is suddenly worng and backwards?
I agree. No single church visit is going to turn on that "I've been such a terrible heathen, now I know God exists" lightbulb all at once. It takes years and years of brainwashing since childhood to manifest those kind of crazy ideas, duh.

[evildave]

As they say, abstinence is the only safe sects.

[Cristina]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bPer

Cristina,

FYI, I don't think the 'United' church you referred to is the one that others here are referring to. I recalled that you're Canadian, and so I'm thinking that you're referring to the United Church of [B]Canada, not the United Church of Christ. Check out this URL (http://www.united-church.ca/) for more information.

BPer,
Yes, you are right about it being the United Church of Canada. Guess that shows how much I know! I've done some investigating and the congregation which my friend would like to visit is very liberal (female minister, pro-gay) and very much involved in social activism (including running an "out of the cold" program for the homeless. I read their newsletter and it drew on teachings from Christian, Buddhist, Jewish and secular sources.


To all, no, I don't expect my beliefs to change. I am agnostic but with a strong spiritual sense (if that makes sense). Lately, I've been reading about Buddhism and have begun to meditate. It might sound lame and I'm sure some here will attack me, but I feel a thirst for spiritual knowledge. I don't want a messiah but I do want a community where I can explore issues of meaning, social justice, meditation, self-awareness. Reading on my own isn't doing it anymore.

[Thanz]

Originally posted by Cristina
Yes, you are right about it being the United Church of Canada. Guess that shows how much I know! I've done some investigating and the congregation which my friend would like to visit is very liberal (female minister, pro-gay) and very much involved in social activism (including running an "out of the cold" program for the homeless. I read their newsletter and it drew on teachings from Christian, Buddhist, Jewish and secular sources.

Based on this, I am going to guess that you are in Toronto. My church (Anglican) also participates in the "Out of the Cold" program. If you are interested in Anglican churches (Catholic Lite, as I like to call it) let me know. I was also raised Catholic and switched when I got married to Anglican as being more in line with my personal beliefs.

[Cristina]

Thanz....

I thought when I saw "centre of the universe" as your location, that you meant Toronto but then I thought "only someone from Toronto would automatically assume that's what it means!"

Hello, neighbour.
Thanks for the kind invitation. I will keep it in mind. I'm going to check out the United first.

I wonder if there are other Toronto-folk here? We should have dinner!

Have a great day,
C

[Hexxenhammer]

Originally posted by Tez

Presbyterian - very judgemental, love the hellfire, brimstone, predestination and all that - extremely trying even for other christians to talk to.
You kidding? I grew up presbyterian and while it may come from Calvinist roots, I've never seen anything like you describe. Every flavor of protestantism has it's bible thumpers but the Presbyterian ones are not in North Dakota or Minnesota. My church as a kid had a VERY liberal female pastor. So liberal that we had "walkpersons" on a list of things to bring on a youth trip instead of "walkman". Presbyterianism has also been struggling with accepting gay pastors for longer than most other churches. I think they may have just approved them recently, I can't remember, I will try to look it up. My wife is considering leaving the Catholic church and I'm trying to convince her that Presbyterianism might be for her.

[Hexxenhammer]

Just to add, while in confirmation, we were taught that the bible is NOT literal, that evolution was true (this made one girl cry), and that many early stories are allegorical and that that did not invalidate the lessons they taught. Heck, my biology teacher even came to my confirmation class to talk about evolution.

[Hexxenhammer]

Here's the Presbyterian Church USA (http://www.pcusa.org/) website. It's a good site. Puts all their beliefs and things right out there. Interesting to note that it's kind of a religious democracy. Not like Catholics or Anglicans that let priests and bishops and what-not do all the thinking for the people that actually go to church.

Also, there are lots of Presbyterian churches out there that are not affiliated with PCUSA apparently, these might be the bible thumpers.

[Cristina]

Hex,
Well, I just finished researching the Presbyterian church in my neighbourhood. (so much for work today!)

Turns out they are also farily liberal. Female minister, food bank, lots of community groups have meetings in their space. They are a bit more literal regarding the bible than I'm comfortable with.

This is turning out to be a really intereting adventure for me. I wonder if my friend would go to each of these churches with me.

Thanks for your input.

[Doorknob]

You could always try to BeliefNet Belief-O-Matic. It asks 20 questions about the things you believe and then tells you which religion most closely matches.

You can find it here: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

[Hexxenhammer]

OOP! Just noticed you're in Canada. Hope the Canadian church is like the one I went to. Glad to help, I needed to do this for my wife anyway. We're having a baby and she just doesn't agree with enough of the Catholic doctrine to put our daughter through being taught something she doesn't believe herself.

[Cristina]

these are my results. Catholic (the religion I was raised in) is last! Liberal Quaker is the highest ranked Christian religion. I'm not sure why neo-pagan and new age are so high. At 10 we have the liberal Protestant sects I've been thinking about. Doesn't the high ranking for UU just mean I don't really fit any one religion?...

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Neo-Pagan (96%)
3. Mahayana Buddhism (94%)
4. Liberal Quakers (91%)
5. Reform Judaism (85%)
6. New Age (83%)
7. Hinduism (80%)
8. Sikhism (77%)
9. Theravada Buddhism (74%)
10. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (73%)
11. Bahá'í Faith (70%)
12. Jainism (68%)
13. New Thought (64%)
14. Scientology (62%)
15. Secular Humanism (59%)
16. Taoism (59%)
17. Orthodox Judaism (52%)
18. Islam (49%)
19. Orthodox Quaker (48%)
20. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (48%)
21. Nontheist (31%)
22. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (30%)
23. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (29%)
24. Seventh Day Adventist (27%)
25. Jehovah's Witness (19%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (19%)
27. Roman Catholic (19%)

[arcticpenguin]

You should also check out the Church of the Subgenius (http://www.subgenius.com/).

[bPer]

Originally posted by Cristina
Thanz....

I thought when I saw "centre of the universe" as your location, that you meant Toronto but then I thought "only someone from Toronto would automatically assume that's what it means!"
Actually, I thought Thanz used 'centre of the universe' as his/her location as an inside joke to all Canadian members. That's certainly what a good number of us non-Torontonians call it! Oh, and that's not a compliment, in case you didn't know. :D

I think Lavie Enrose was also from Toronto (based of the lat/long he had in his location at one point), but he says he's not going to post here anymore. Can't think of any others, offhand ...

bPer

[Cristina]

Originally posted by bPer

Actually, I thought Thanz used 'centre of the universe' as his/her location as an inside joke to all Canadian members. That's certainly what a good number of us non-Torontonians call it! Oh, and that's not a compliment, in case you didn't know. :D

I think Lavie Enrose was also from Toronto (based of the lat/long he had in his location at one point), but he says he's not going to post here anymore. Can't think of any others, offhand ...

bPer


Do I hear something from the non-centre of the universe????? Did you say you wish you could live in Toronto? :rub:

No? Really? But isn't that the wish of every non-Toronto based Canadian? :confused:

Well, if not that, what? Sorry, you'll have to speak up. I'm too busy being fabulous to hear your ridicule :cool:

:D

[Cristina]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
You should also check out the Church of the Subgenius (http://www.subgenius.com/).


Thanks AP,

They are far too orthodox for me :D

Actually, really, thanks for the link. I enjoyed it.

[bPer]

Originally posted by Cristina
Do I hear something from the non-centre of the universe????? Did you say you wish you could live in Toronto? :rub:

No? Really? But isn't that the wish of every non-Toronto based Canadian? :confused:

Well, if not that, what? Sorry, you'll have to speak up. I'm too busy being fabulous to hear your ridicule :cool:

:D
Hey! At least us REAL Canadians don't call out the army to clear up a little bit of snow! :p

Oh, and contrary to popular opinion in TO, you don't need a rifle to protect yourselves from vicious animals when you venture beyond Muskoka. :D

Gotta stop - I actually like some Torontonians! :eek:

Hope you find the UC to be what you're looking for.

bPer

[Suddenly]

Originally posted by Hexxenhammer
Here's the Presbyterian Church USA (http://www.pcusa.org/) website. It's a good site. Puts all their beliefs and things right out there. Interesting to note that it's kind of a religious democracy. Not like Catholics or Anglicans that let priests and bishops and what-not do all the thinking for the people that actually go to church.

Also, there are lots of Presbyterian churches out there that are not affiliated with PCUSA apparently, these might be the bible thumpers.

I'm pretty sure the original poster confused "Pentecostal" with "Presbyterian." Pentecostals typically resemble the description proffered.

Although, there is a "Presbyterian" church in a nearby town in which I have heard speaking in tounges is performed. However that is hearsay, and where I am a church that doesn't involve handling rattlesnakes can be considered "liberal."

[evildave]

Well, why be a mere follower? You can be a POPE of Eris!

Read the Principia Discordia (http://www.ology.org/principia/), and it will change your life.


An Erisian Hymn
by Rev. Dr. Mungojerry Grindlebone, KOB
Episkopos, THE RAYVILLE APPLE PANTHERS

Onwards Christian Soldiers,
Onwards Buddhist Priests.
Onward, Fruits of Islam,
Fight till you're deceased.
Fight your little battles.
Join in thickest fray;
For the Greater Glory,
of Dis-cord-i-a.
Yah, yah, yah,
Yah, yah, yah, yah.
Blfffffffffffft!

[Cristina]

Originally posted by bPer

Hey! At least us REAL Canadians don't call out the army to clear up a little bit of snow! :p

Oh, and contrary to popular opinion in TO, you don't need a rifle to protect yourselves from vicious animals when you venture beyond Muskoka. :D

Gotta stop - I actually like some Torontonians! :eek:

Hope you find the UC to be what you're looking for.

bPer


I'm actually heading to Wye Marsh and 30 000 islands this weekend...no rifle, eh? Is this just part of an anti-Toronto plot?

[c4ts]

www.chick.com

Oh, you wanted a good link. Oops.