A New-Old Denomination?

[Eli1]

In my experience that is not the result one usually gets. The Bible Discussion Forum is a good example of what you can expect instead.

Once you filter out all the trolling, you don't think that the BDF is a way where you see how people love God in different ways and they argue about minor things? Despite talking over each-other sometimes?
The Apostilles themselves had differences did they not? They came from different backgrounds too. And they were in the same culture!
Even in the same culture, tradition and faith they had disagreements but once you filter out the pharisees of their time, you see people who love God with all their heart in different ways.
That's what i see.

 

[Josepus86]

Thanks, Eli1, but now you have given everyone the material for Apostilles (Sent out to sit out of the Battle of Troy.)

 

[Eli1]

Thanks, Eli1, but now you have given everyone the material for Apostilles (Sent out to sit out of the Battle of Troy.)

C'mon now. You don't see any positivity?
I mean i used to do a Bible study with 3 Protestants at my job. Despite some things that made me laugh, i know that those guys love God despite the funny things they said sometimes. Funny to me, not them.

 

[Eli1]

One guy who i used to work with, he had printed on his cubicle the following:

Days change
Seasons change
Jobs change
God never changes.

I loved when i saw that for the first time when i met him.

 

[Eli1]

Well in the spirit of showing that One Church is still going strong, this article popped up in my news feed today.
1700 years ago the Niacine Creed was established. Here we are here today saying the same words that Jesus told us to pray. "Our Father who are in Heaven" and many other prayers and pillars we might take for granted today.

The anniversary of the Nicene Creed offers us an opportunity to reflect

Every Sunday, in churches across the country, worshippers stand to affirm that they believe in “one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”

For many, these words are as familiar as the Lord’s Prayer – part of the shared rhythm of worship and memory that shapes Christian life across generations. They are found in the Book of Common Prayer and in the contemporary language of services like Common Worship. They have been translated into nearly every language, and set to music by William Byrd, John Merbecke, and countless others. They echo in the cadences of Cathedral Choirs and the steady voice of Radio 4’s Sunday Worship. Yet their roots lie far deeper, in an extraordinary moment of theological clarity 1,700 years ago.

The Nicene Creed – as it is still commonly known – emerged from the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, the first gathering of Christian bishops from across the Roman Empire. It was a defining act of unity for a faith newly emerging from persecution and grappling with questions of identity. Was Jesus fully divine, or somehow less than God? The answer, forged through prayer, argument and no small courage, was clear and emphatic: Jesus Christ is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God … of one Being with the Father”. The words mattered then, and they matter still.

The Creed was later expanded at the Council of Constantinople in 381 to take fuller account of the Holy Spirit. This revised text – the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, to give it its full title – remains the most widely recognised summary of Christian faith in the world today. Recited by Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and many Protestant churches alike, it remains a touchstone of what it means to be part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

What’s remarkable is that these ancient words have not only endured, but remained instantly recognisable. That’s due in part to the continuity of liturgical tradition, but also to something less tangible – a kind of collective memory. We know them not just in our minds, but in our whole being. For many, they inhabit the same world as the worn pages of a prayer book, the scent of wood polish on pews, or the familiar strains of a well-loved hymn. Different versions exist, with small variations of language – but the core text remains the same. For many, the Nicene Creed is inseparable from the melodies to which it has been sung. It has become part of the fabric of our ecclesial and cultural memory – words held in the heart, even if we’ve not paused to reflect on them for years.

And yet – as with all things familiar – there is a risk we stop hearing what we are saying. The words of the Creed can become a well-worn path our minds wander along, rather than a statement that stirs our hearts or arrests our thinking. That’s why, in this 1,700th anniversary year, we have an opportunity. A moment to pause, to listen afresh, and to reflect on the extraordinary depth and beauty of what the Creed has to say to us about God.

The Nicene Creed is not a list of abstract propositions. It is a living confession of faith, hope and love. It tells the story of a world created in love, broken by sin, and redeemed through the self-giving of God in Christ. It speaks of incarnation, of suffering, of resurrection and of eternal hope. It tells us not only who God is, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but also who we are: people formed for relationship, for worship, for belonging.

That’s why this anniversary year presents such a valuable opportunity to revisit the Nicene Creed with fresh attention. One way churches and individuals are doing this is through a new set of reflections published by the Church of England, which take the Creed line by line as a prompt for prayer and theological reflection. Whether used in parish groups or private devotion, they offer a gentle invitation to sit with familiar words and explore their depth anew.

In an age where public discourse can often seem thin and fragmented, the Creed offers a depth of meaning that holds firm. It does not reduce faith to sentiment or certainty, nor does it shy away from mystery. Instead, it offers a robust yet gracious framework for belief: a faith shared, inherited, and spoken together.

Amid the dissonance of modern life the Creed does not offer easy answers. Instead, it provides a deep and steady orientation, a way of seeing ourselves and our world held within the story of God’s enduring faithfulness.

The words of the Nicene Creed have been said by emperors and exiles, in grand cathedrals and tiny chapels, in moments of triumph and of suffering. As we mark 1,700 years since they were first agreed, we have the chance not only to remember them – but to recover them. To let these ancient words speak again, and to rediscover the faith that lies at their heart.

Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave is Bishop of Lichfield and Chair of the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission

 

[Suze]

As Bob Dylan put it, "You got to serve somebody."
My Goal is proximity, doctrinal cohesion will come from this melting pot eventually.
In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, but in all things charity."-Augustine

In my congregation , we have several , fundemental core beliefs that we have all agreed upon , apart from that we r free to believe whatever we like as long as it's not against biblical teaching or our agreed tenants . As a consequence , we have many excellent debates among us , that serve to encourage us to study and keep talking about the Bible , while learning to b respectful and patient with each other .

 

[gb9]

In my congregation , we have several , fundemental core beliefs that we have all agreed upon , apart from that we r free to believe whatever we like as long as it's not against biblical teaching or our agreed tenants . As a consequence , we have many excellent debates among us , that serve to encourage us to study and keep talking about the Bible , while learning to b respectful and patient with each other .

awesome! that is not a easy thing to do! good for you and your church!

 

[Josepus86]

In my congregation , we have several , fundemental core beliefs that we have all agreed upon , apart from that we r free to believe whatever we like as long as it's not against biblical teaching or our agreed tenants . As a consequence , we have many excellent debates among us , that serve to encourage us to study and keep talking about the Bible , while learning to b respectful and patient with each other .

What are the seven core beliefs, out of curiosity?

 

[Burn1986]

So, I feel I have been called to consolidate the fraying church back into one fold.
I am planning to get multiple ordinations and form a cross-denominational congregation.
It is based roughly on the model of the United States, in that there are layers to government and traditions.

One Corporate entity with lesser congregational entities.

Sunday mornings would look something like this:
Sects meet for early worship in individual rooms.
Tradtions, hold Sunday school
And the second worship before lunch is held all together.

I know I will separate each faction by polity and tradition, meaning that the southern Baptists and reformed Baptists each get an early service and such, but then all Reformed converge into their own Sunday schools by age and type.

The idea only works in a mega church building, but I figure, go big or go home.

The question I have is about traditions, for instance, Reformed Tradition: Reformed Congregational (Like Reformed Baptist), Reformed Presbyterians (all presbys), Reformed Episcopal (REC), and independent Reformed (Non-Denom)

The question is this: What should the Traditions be?
Reformed is one, Restorationist (Plymouth Brethren, Apostolic, etc), Charismatic, Etc?
Can I conflate similar ones like Lutheran and methodist?

Well good luck with that. Most of us have never even heard of those denominations. From that list, you could basically say every church that does not believe in the Holy Spirit (or baptism of) is included.

 

[Josepus86]

Well good luck with that. Most of us have never even heard of those denominations. From that list, you could basically say every church that does not believe in the Holy Spirit (or baptism of) is included.

I had said charismatic, the one I know believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Just because I didn’t mention Pentecostals does not mean they are excluded. I do not think I mention anglicans either.

You honestly never heard of these denominations? I may not fully align with them but atleast I have hear of them.

 

[Burn1986]

I had said charismatic, the one I know believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Just because I didn’t mention Pentecostals does not mean they are excluded. I do not think I mention anglicans either.

You honestly never heard of these denominations? I may not fully align with them but atleast I have hear of them.

I’ve heard of Southern Baptist and Primitive Baptist but I don’t know the difference. I’ve heard of Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, AME, Church of Christ, Church of God, Church of the Nazarene, Church of What’s Happening Now (I made that one up).

Don’t listen to us, man. You just do what you feel God wants you to do. Most of us on this forum are sort of washed up and critical of everything.

 

[Lynx]

I’ve heard of Southern Baptist and Primitive Baptist but I don’t know the difference. I’ve heard of Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, AME, Church of Christ, Church of God, Church of the Nazarene, Church of What’s Happening Now (I made that one up).

Don’t listen to us, man. You just do what you feel God wants you to do. Most of us on this forum are sort of washed up and critical of everything.

The opinions stated in this post are the opinions of the individual forum member, and are not representative of the official position of this forum or any of its other members.

Specifically, who you calling washed up and critical?