The MENA "Let's discuss religion and our own personal belief" thread

[MrsAmera 41]

Some more information:

"Between 325 and 681, Christians theologically articulated and refined their view of the nature of Jesus by a series of seven ecumenical councils (see Christology). These councils described Jesus as one of the three divine hypostases or persons of the Holy Trinity: the Son is defined as constituting, together with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, the single substance of the One God (see Communicatio idiomatum).[161] Furthermore, Jesus is defined to be one person with a fully human and a fully divine nature, a doctrine known as the Hypostatic union.[162]"

The hypostatic union (or the divination of Jesus) was declared/affirmed at the Nicene Conference.

325 Constantine calls the first ecumenical council at Nicea.

Arian heresy which declared Christ was a created being is refuted. Nicene Creed is drawn up, declaring Christ to be "...Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father..."

451 Ecumenical council at Chalcedon affirms Christ as having two distinct natures united in one person (known as the 'Hypostatic Union').

[sara..... 371]

ok this may sound like a stupid question but i really would like to know the answer, what is it that separates the different sectors of Christianity as in, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Assembly of God, Jehovah witness, im sure there are more but thats the ones i can remember at this time.

sara

Edited May 5, 2009 by estadia

[AlHayatZween 2]

It's an interesting question... Jesus being the son of God.

But here is my question: Aren't we all, in effect, children of God?

[Nagishkaw 510]

First, there is the Trinity....Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Example: the egg. You have the shell, the yoke and the egg white. Is it not an egg? We call an egg an egg, yet we know an egg has 3 parts to it. So does the Trinity. They are one, but have 3 parts.

The Word begins with " In the beginning". Then..."The SPIRIT of God was hovering over the waters." Then later God said. LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE. Why didn't he say LET ME make man in MY own image?? Because He was referring to the trinity.

The 0ld Testament is all about the foretelling of Christ. The New Testament is about Christ

( Y'shua ) coming to earth, leaving the thrown of heaven to ultimately pay the price for the remission of our sins. No longer is the spilling of animals blood required. No longer do we have to go to a priest who enters the holiest of Holy's in the temple to get to God. We now have direct contact to Him whenever, where ever we choose.

[Aymsgirl 0]

ok this may sound like a stupid question but i really would like to know the answer, what is it that separates the different sectors of Christianity as in, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Assembly of God, Jehovah witness, im sure there are more but thats the ones i can remember at this time.

sara

I was raised Baptist for years and served in the Baptist church for about 14-15 years. We were taught to believe in one God, Jesus being born from a virgin birth, He is the Savior and He is God's Son, the Trinity-Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Crucifixtion---(Jesus died on the cross for our sins and had atonement for them and by believing in Him you had eternal salvation---we believed everyone is a sinner and this was the only way to get to Heaven is through accepting the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross). We believed in the Ressurection, Divine Grace, You were born without sin, Once saved always saved, Separation of Church and State adn also the Baptists come in with their own view of Baptistm. They do not baptize as a young baby because it is to be believed they were born without sin and do not know better and it is their own responsibility to accept Jesus as their Savior later in life. They used full immersion Baptism in the church I attended which is like a public statement saying that I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. Also, the Baptist church is governed by the pastor and deacons which are voted on by the church members.

If I can remember or help with anything else please let me know.

[sara..... 371]

It's an interesting question... Jesus being the son of God.

But here is my question: Aren't we all, in effect, children of God?

i think that the answer to that question lays in what someone preserves the word father to mean, as a Muslim i cant really agree with it, because son of God implies physical union, but for sure God has created all things yup i know apples and oranges

sara

[Nagishkaw 510]

It's an interesting question... Jesus being the son of God.

But here is my question: Aren't we all, in effect, children of God?

We are His creation. If you believe in Christ ( Y'shua ) , the Word says, now we have become the sons of God. Why? because by having accepted Christ, we become like Him.

[New Beginnings 32]

ok this may sound like a stupid question but i really would like to know the answer, what is it that separates the different sectors of Christianity as in, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Assembly of God, Jehovah witness, im sure there are more but thats the ones i can remember at this time.

sara

This is a great question!!! I will again answer to the best of my knowledge based on the church I attend. The one thing to keep in mind with this question is that we all see our church as being the right one. So, I'm not saying anyone who isn't Lutheran is wrong, I'm just saying this is my personal belief...

The two that I have the most knowledge on is Catholic vs. Lutheran. I know that there are other differences between the other protestant religions but unfortunately I'm not exactly sure what they are.

Lutheranism is very similar to Catholocism in many ways. However, Lutherans don't believe in indulgences. Indulgences are how Catholics (both alive and in purgatory) can pay for their sins. Lutherans believe that the only one who can forgive sins is God, not a priest. Also, Lutherans do not put as much faith in Saints as Catholics, for example.. many Catholics will wear their Saint Alexander (I think) who is the patron Saint of travel when they travel for protection.

Also, Lutherans do not believe they have to attend confession with a priest to be absolved. Confessing your sins to God is salvation. I would suggest reading Martin Luther's 99 thesis which are the differences between the Catholic church and the Lutheran Church. Lutherans believe in original sin and the need for baptism.

Now that being said, there are two types of Lutherans.. ELCA and Missouri Synod. ELCA is a more relaxed version in my opinion and they also allow women to be Pastors and heads of the Church. My chuch is Missouri Synod and does not believe in woman being Pastors or heads of the Church. It is mentioned many times in the bible that the man is the head of the house and the church. However, I have many friends who are ELCA lutheran and I have attended services and weddings with woman Pastors and I can definitely respect that in an ELCA church.

Edited May 5, 2009 by Laura and Ali

[sara..... 371]

ok this may sound like a stupid question but i really would like to know the answer, what is it that separates the different sectors of Christianity as in, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Assembly of God, Jehovah witness, im sure there are more but thats the ones i can remember at this time.

sara

I was raised Baptist for years and served in the Baptist church for about 14-15 years. We were taught to believe in one God, Jesus being born from a virgin birth, He is the Savior and He is God's Son, the Trinity-Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Crucifixtion---(Jesus died on the cross for our sins and had atonement for them and by believing in Him you had eternal salvation---we believed everyone is a sinner and this was the only way to get to Heaven is through accepting the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross). We believed in the Ressurection, Divine Grace, You were born without sin, Once saved always saved, Separation of Church and State adn also the Baptists come in with their own view of Baptistm. They do not baptize as a young baby because it is to be believed they were born without sin and do not know better and it is their own responsibility to accept Jesus as their Savior later in life. They used full immersion Baptism in the church I attended which is like a public statement saying that I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. Also, the Baptist church is governed by the pastor and deacons which are voted on by the church members.

If I can remember or help with anything else please let me know.

ok im really trying to understand this so plz correct me if im wrong, what separates Muslims and Christians for the most part is the believe in Jesus in the way that he was conceived and that fact that we do not believe he is God, and if he died on the cross and of course our believe in the prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

and what separates the different sectors of Christianity is the way baptism is understood?

sara

Edited May 5, 2009 by estadia

[sara..... 371]

ok this may sound like a stupid question but i really would like to know the answer, what is it that separates the different sectors of Christianity as in, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Assembly of God, Jehovah witness, im sure there are more but thats the ones i can remember at this time.

sara

This is a great question!!! I will again answer to the best of my knowledge based on the church I attend. The one thing to keep in mind with this question is that we all see our church as being the right one. So, I'm not saying anyone who isn't Lutheran is wrong, I'm just saying this is my personal belief...

The two that I have the most knowledge on is Catholic vs. Lutheran. I know that there are other differences between the other protestant religions but unfortunately I'm not exactly sure what they are.

Lutheranism is very similar to Catholocism in many ways. However, Lutherans don't believe in indulgences. Indulgences are how Catholics (both alive and in purgatory) can pay for their sins. Lutherans believe that the only one who can forgive sins is God, not a priest. Also, Lutherans do not put as much faith in Saints as Catholics, for example.. many Catholics will wear their Saint Alexander (I think) who is the patron Saint of travel when they travel for protection.

Also, Lutherans do not believe they have to attend confession with a priest to be absolved. Confessing your sins to God is salvation. I would suggest reading Martin Luther's 99 thesis which are the differences between the Catholic church and the Lutheran Church. Lutherans believe in original sin and the need for baptism.

Now that being said, there are two types of Lutherans.. ELCA and Missouri Synod. ELCA is a more relaxed version in my opinion and they also allow women to be Pastors and heads of the Church. My chuch is Missouri Synod and does not believe in woman being Pastors or heads of the Church. It is mentioned many times in the bible that the man is the head of the house and the church. However, I have many friends who are ELCA lutheran and I have attended services and weddings with woman Pastors and I can definitely respect that in an ELCA church.

i really am happy to read all of these answers because it is something that has been a question in my mind for years

sara

[Aymsgirl 0]

ok this may sound like a stupid question but i really would like to know the answer, what is it that separates the different sectors of Christianity as in, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Assembly of God, Jehovah witness, im sure there are more but thats the ones i can remember at this time.

sara

I was raised Baptist for years and served in the Baptist church for about 14-15 years. We were taught to believe in one God, Jesus being born from a virgin birth, He is the Savior and He is God's Son, the Trinity-Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Crucifixtion---(Jesus died on the cross for our sins and had atonement for them and by believing in Him you had eternal salvation---we believed everyone is a sinner and this was the only way to get to Heaven is through accepting the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross). We believed in the Ressurection, Divine Grace, You were born without sin, Once saved always saved, Separation of Church and State adn also the Baptists come in with their own view of Baptistm. They do not baptize as a young baby because it is to be believed they were born without sin and do not know better and it is their own responsibility to accept Jesus as their Savior later in life. They used full immersion Baptism in the church I attended which is like a public statement saying that I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. Also, the Baptist church is governed by the pastor and deacons which are voted on by the church members.

If I can remember or help with anything else please let me know.

ok im really trying to understand this so plz correct me if im wrong, what separates Muslims and Christians for the most part is the believe in Jesus and if he died on the cross and of course our believe in the prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

and what separates the different sectors of Christianity is the way baptism is understood?

sara

Yes, you are correct about what separates us muslims from Christians from what I am aware of.

Honestly, the different sectors of Christianity come in so many different ways. I will tell you that Baptism is one, you can see from Laura's post indulgences are another. Pretty much it is the doctrine, interpretation and ritualization of worship that make up the differences.

[sara..... 371]

oh and one thing i want to say before i have to leave for SHOPPING my worst self indulgence lol,

i am so very happy to see that we can ask and receive answers to questions about other religions with out the fighting and demanding that each other believe in what we do, its so refreshing to be able to do this, i want to thank the poster that started this thread!!!!!

sara

[MrsAmera 41]

The differences between different sects of Christianity are more than just baptism. The biggest split is between Catholics and Protestants. Within Protestantism you find denominations such as Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.

The division between Catholics and Protestants occured in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on a church in Wittenberg Germany. The practices of the Catholic church at the time were corrupt and Luther and his followers felt outside of the Bible. (such as the selling of indulgances - meaning people would pay for their sins to the church so that they could "go to heaven" and not be stuck in purgatory - the more money you gave the faster you could get out).

Protestantism is also credited as creating a shift towards independence and free interpretation. It helps that this was the same time period as moveable type was invented and bibles and other religious material could be produced on a larger scale - making it available to common people. In Protestantism regular people were free to interpret the works on their own, where previously only those church leaders were permitted to do this.

Protestants also do not believe in an intermediary. In the Catholic church one prays to an intermediary, such as Mary, Jesus or even a priest - there is no direct communciation with God.

Those are the major differences. If others want to add more excellent!

[Ahmeds Girl 0]

Ok, I started this thread because I love talking about this topic. It was also suggested by a moderator that we do this instead of bumping into the Muslim thread.

I guess we should begin by setting a few rules/statements:

1. Please try to be mindful of others feelings. This is not a thread for bashing other religions. If you have your opinion, state it, but try not to go too far.

2. Also, . This thread has the potential to be very interesting and to promote interfaith dialogue. Do not violate the terms of use for the forums.

3. We all need to remember too that some people may state their opinions and it may not jive with our own beliefs. We need to understand that and accept that not all people believe the same way we do.

If I forgot any major rules, let me know...

With that said, bring on your questions! I'm sure there are a lot of them. This forum is filled with people of different faiths. I think we'll be surprised at how similar the faiths really are.

This thread topic seems interesting, but I have one concern. All of us should remember that there are also people who don't believe in God. This may be different from my personal belief and yours, but a growing percentage of the world's population are atheists. I tried to make this point on the Muslim thread, but was told that I hate God and questioned on whether I was trying to prove God was dead.

If we want tolerance for our own beliefs, then we have to recognise that the world is full of people who think ours are crazy. The important thing is to respect other people's right to belief what they want to and ensure that our societies recognise the rights of all human beings. Isn't that more respectful to God? (for those that believe there is one). Ultimately, God will be the judge.

It astounds me to see Christians and Muslims arguing over the detail of religion and denying the 'truth' in the other's. It doesn't seem any more perplexing to me that some people believe Jesus to be the son of God than it is to get that some people believe that an angel appeared in a cave to speak to a man about God.

People should be free to believe what they want to. Sadly, in many countries, they are not.

Should I start another thread, as my views don't quite fit in here?

[Ahmeds Girl 0]

"What separates Muslims and Christians for the most part is the believe in Jesus in the way that he was conceived" Sara

The way that Jesus was conceived (or the 'Immaculate Conception') also separates Christians, most notably Catholics.