Saturday 23 October 2010

Which brands ARE Christian?

Having read Damian Thompson's piece Are Methodists and Anglicans part of the Church? an interesting and, for some more than others, a rather challenging pice for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, although Bennie and his colleagues in Rome might stress that they consider the CofE to be nothing more than an 'Ecclesial Community' the reality is that those RC plc members who inhabit the real world realise it is Church in the fullest and most proper sense! In this instance, the sensible and 'in the real world' people are the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. I particularly enjoy their, albeit non-Bennie approved of I'm sure, explanation regarding this:

"Like any family, the Church has several branches. Each is different (Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican to name but a few) but all share a common source: Jesus Christ."

The Thompson article does lead us on
Actually, this view is explicitly to some very interesting considerations regarding who of course IS Christian and who's not. Some of these are easy to answer (although, I understand some of the 'Church Together' groups have difficulties with this) and some perhaps are more difficult.

So Who's In and who's out then?

Easy wins, which I'm sure most would agree with, are Jehovah's Witnesses and Church of the Latter Day Saints (AKA Mormons). I would have thought that these are easy choices for the 'Not' list. Over the years, some of my friends were Mormons claimed that they were part of the Christian Church. None of those who were JW's have ever claimed this. That said, both groups came from a position which sought to start with a common Bible or Christian theme and then depart for their strange lands from there.

So, first two on the list - more to come. Now, the 'common source' from jesus and the theology and thinking have to follow (I assume).

Disagree or agree? Have ideas about what makes a group, denomination or church Christian? This is the place to air views, give evidence and educate me as I seek to develop an apologetic and defence against those who would lead the sheep into error.

1 comment:

Revsimmy said...

Christians Together in Nuneaton, at least when I was there, had the Nicene Creed as its "basis of faith." This excluded JWs, Mormons and Christadelphians. I think it would have included the Seventh Day Adventists (though I am not aware of an SDA church in Nuneaton). Otherwise, all the mainstream denominations, as well as the independent churches could be included.

The Orthodox, of course, might ask which version of the Creed - with or without the filioque clause - but that is another (ecumenical) matter.

Works for me...