I live in the USA and we have the Salvition Army and I know it is a church. I have never seen a building and only see them at Christmas time.
Does any one know a thing about them,about the faith,what do they teach,do they have a church building,are they Christian…What can you tell us about the Salivition Army
Their view on Salvation and service can be found here.
I would say that the Salvation Army is Christian in every sense of the word there can be:
They exemplify the words that Jesus spoke in Matthew 25:
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the dkingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an ahungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
So next time you pass one of those Christmas kettles…don’t pass the Christmas kettle.
The Salvation army is a strict, orthodox, non liturgical church.
they belive in poverty, chastity or fidelity according to ones state, and service.
their views are quite in keeping with the Catholics in most social matters, and they “live their faith”
In origin, the Salvation Army was actually a Protestant religious order modelled on military lines, not a church or denomination as such.
I once was a cook for the Salvation Army. This was in a medium-sized Southern town. The SA had bought the building of an old pie factory and put it to work.
There was a shelter where homeless men could stay at night, a kitchen and dining room where we served up to 175 people three meals a day, a center for distributing basic food supplies to the needy, and storage for supplies to be used in disasters and emergencies. Elsewhere in town were stores where donations were resold (the money supported the mission and kitchen), a women’s and children’s shelter. People who had money troubles could get money to pay for medicine or rent, and at Christmas the SA distributed toys for the children of needy parents. Our overhead costs were less than 5% of donations. We were awfully proud of that. The head cook took pride in always getting 100% from the health inspector.
Nationally, the Salvation Army has a network that helps people find missing relatives.
Ordained ministers in the Salvation Army take vows of poverty and service similar to those of Catholic nuns and brothers.
In case of disaster, take a look. The Salvation Army is generally there first, quietly helping people while the Red Cross gets all the attention.
Theologically, I think the Salvation Army most nearly resembles the Wesleyan movement of the 1800’s.
Pax,
Dettingen
Pretty much, yes…and when they get there, they find themselves working shoulder to shoulder with the Mormons and the Catholics…
They do very well, the Salvation Army. They have even been immortalized on Broadway, with “Guys and Dolls.” (well, not exactly by name, but you know what I mean…)