Comparing Doctrines.

[teresahrc]

I'm going to try to compare doctrines of different denominations. I found a list of the top (by attendance) denominations in the USA. I deleted LDS and "non-denominational", the former because nearly all non-LDS Christians believe their heretical, the latter because I don't know how to find out what "non-denominational" Christians believe.

For now, I'm only going to research the beliefs on Sacraments because time and space and sanity do not allow me to research everything.
I'm going to get my info. from their websites.

Baptist
Methodist
Lutheran
Pentecostal/Charismatic/Foursquare
Presbyterian
Church of Christ
Episcopal/Anglican
Assemblies of God
Congregational/
United Church of Christ
Seventh-Day Adventist

Baptist (Southern Baptist):

VII. Baptism and the Lord's Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp#vii

Methodist:(United Methodist)

The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church XVI-XVIII The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church XVI-XVIII

Article XVI—Of the Sacraments

Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they are certain signs of grace, and God's good will toward us, by which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm, our faith in him.

There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.

Those five commonly called sacraments, that is to say, confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel; being such as have partly grown out of the corrupt following of the apostles, and partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, because they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.

The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about; but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith.

Article XVII—Of Baptism

Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church.

Article XVIII—Of the Lord's Supper

The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death; insomuch that, to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ.

Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.

The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is faith.

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshiped archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1651

I'll finish the rest later. This is harder than I thougt

[Ramon]

I was a former Pentecostal (Church of God). My former pastor was a ex-Catholic Priest, so his views on the Eucharist was not very much "Pentecostalism", even after he became a Pentecostal Pastor!, which only regard it as a symbolic meal with no saving virtues. He used tell us to pray during the service the day we was going to partake of it. He will quote Saint Paul's passage of the Eucharist during the Eucharistic ceremony, etc. He used to tell us that we be in a very serious state because he has witness many getting healed when they partook of the Eucharist. We didn't believed on what Catholics and Orthodox believes concerning the Eucharist, but I would say we didn't believed what the Baptist believed concerning the Eucharist either! Baptism was very similar too. We were taught it was for the forgiveness of sins, etc. I mean when you was a ex-Catholic Priest, old beliefs die hard! ;D ;D He used also wear a "cleric vestment" as do most Baptists Pastors. But overall, our theology and worship were Protestant.

The Majority of Protestants regard the Eucharist, with varies degrees, as the Body and Blood of Christ (Lutherans, Presbyterian, etc).

In IC.XC,
Ramon

P.S, the word "non-denominational" is a oxymoron! These churches have there own beliefs that set them apart from other Churches. These peoples just say that there church is a "non-denomination" simply because they do not want to label themselves but in all reality, they are a denomination!