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Post by PyleansDontLeaveMe on Jun 29, 2005 11:53:02 GMT -5
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 11:58:19 GMT -5
methodists are very sweet and cuddly people.
but when the early methodists were burned at the stake, they were heard to sing:
"it only takes a spark to get a fire going and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing......"
very very scary people.
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Post by tjaman on Jun 29, 2005 12:00:43 GMT -5
Those of us who didn't turn ourselves into rats for four seasons.
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Post by Rebelman on Jun 29, 2005 12:05:56 GMT -5
I prefer to stick with non denominational. The reason is denominational have a tendancy to have a load of "you can't do this" rules. And at times I have no clue where they come from.
The only 2 types of churches I have ever been to are Baptist and Methodist.
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 12:07:48 GMT -5
i always thought that bit was underutilized.
why not turn Dr. Ben into a mouse?
Glory would have found it harder to be a pouty diva in rodent form and they still would have let him into medical school.
turn all the evil demons into rats as they sit around their poker game. meow.
just a thought.....
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 12:14:39 GMT -5
most people have never studied their own groups' history or doctrines-much less anyone else's.
if someone's going to affiliate with a particular bunch,it helps to know who they are and what they stand for and why.
i'd be nondenomenational except my church was so small our MYF (methodist youth fellowship) group only had one MY.
we needed all the believers we could get.......
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Post by tjaman on Jun 29, 2005 12:15:42 GMT -5
Fun. Sounds like a "Charmed" episode, tho.
"still let him into medical school" was a scream, btw.
Pouty Diva Glory Mouse: Squeek. * pouts *
And another band name slips by without a thread.
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 12:17:32 GMT -5
poor tj....
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Post by tjaman on Jun 29, 2005 12:28:19 GMT -5
I'll manage. ;D
Reb, there are Methodists out there who hold every possible opinion in close and fierce accordance with Bango. There's ... quite a theological range among Methodists, to say the least.
And heck, church has plenty of "don't do this" rules (Commandments, etc.).
Being a member of one denomination or another doesn't make you a weak Christian, Reb. It gives you a faith community that supports and reinforces your approach to worship.
Given the priority among Methodists for individual conscience -- which John Wesley stated as: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity" -- we range from anti-abortion to pro-choice, pro-gay rights and anti-gay rights, we have women pastors and bishops and people who really don't want there to be women pastors and bishops, and we have every conceivable opinion on social issues throughout the pews.
Other churches have a much more top-down social policy and tell people what they believe if they're a good Christian.
No pressure, here, but you really ought to join a church of some sort. In a group setting, you get a little more direct support than all the Christians in the world posting online can give you.
Just ... throwing it out there.
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 12:38:06 GMT -5
agreed. you can try out different denomenations and different church homes to see which feels right. the best ones will help you grow and you won't feel like an outsider or like you're on trial all the time or as if the gathering might as well be a meeting of the Hot Wheels Collector's Club. you'll feel God when you walk in and it'll be like coming home for the first time. (plus,you'll get to eat a lot of yummy covered dishes.)
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Post by tjaman on Jun 29, 2005 12:43:16 GMT -5
* brings a dish to pass *
I love the upper Midwest sometimes. ;D
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 12:49:49 GMT -5
BTW, tj makes some very good points about Methodism.
(prejudiced person here)
because it is so eclectic,it takes you where you are instead of telling you where you have to be.
it gives the hungry soul an all-you-can-eat buffet where it doesn't matter if the 'high church' or 'down home' elements match.
you just take what you need to construct the person God wants you to be.
We 're children of God but we're not clones.
We don't have to be liberal or conservative or anything but authentic beings.
If you're a Jossverse type,that can be quite a relief.
(end of shameless plug)
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 12:52:17 GMT -5
thank you!!!!!!!!!!! the South,too. (wonders if we've ever had a pot luck dinner)
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Post by tjaman on Jun 29, 2005 12:54:20 GMT -5
We tried to have a potluck in here night of the 'Bash but people didn't bring stuff. Instead, they all -- later -- meant to bring stuff. Fortunately, b'man arranged a sumptuous feast, which was later replaced by a mystically self-replenishing greens buffet for a roomful of bunnies, eternally cleaned up after by Zombie NBCFX.
* shifting gears * To me, it feels like Reb might be more at home in a Baptist setting, although there's stuff to appreciate about Southern Methodists.
It depends on how into/put-off-by the "moved by the Spirit" aspects he might be.
Regardless: "more people" is generally a more interesting situation than "one's lonesome".
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Post by quantumcat on Jun 29, 2005 13:04:05 GMT -5
Baptists are cool. it's just that Methodists let you wear pants and you don't have to have a decent pair of hose to go worship God.
try being Baptist if you've had 40 kittens.
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