Altar Calls-Non-Catholic/Orthodox

[ltwin]

Still sounds stolen to me no matter how you word it.

Just because you say its stolen doesn’t mean its stolen. Do you have any basis (such as a background in American religion in the 17 and 1800s?) to make such a claim with any confidence?

As someone who prays at an altar regularly in a Pentecostal church (a lot in my teen years ), its much more closer to a Catholic confessional booth than a communion service.

 

[Darryl_B]

While there seems to be some similarity, I would interested if you have a source indicating that those who practice altar calls do so to replace the going forward to receive the sacrament.
Jon

For a start there is no “altar” at any evangelical pentecostal church that I have been to in the last 20 years. Hence the name itself has to have come from some conceptual basis.

Second, the walk up to the front. Receive. Return to your seat. Dismissal. End of service.

Thirdly, I went to a Catholic Church at 9am and my current Evangelical Church at 11am and thought “ohhh … that would be a good way to convert Catholics.”

 

[ltwin]

For a start there is no “altar” at any evangelical pentecostal church that I have been to in the last 20 years. Hence the name itself has to have come from some conceptual basis.

As I said in post 12 on this thread, “altar” primarily refers to the concept of an altar as a place where you sacrifice or give something to God, rather than a physical altar. It is a place of meeting.

In the traditional layout of evangelical churches there is a wooden table on which a Bible is usually placed and the communion elements are prayed over before being distributed. Altar rails were placed near this area where people could pray.

Second, the walk up to the front. Receive. Return to your seat. Dismissal. End of service.

That’s not how it works. First, in many churches, the altars are open throughout the service. It is common for people to be lead to pray during the congregational singing and sometimes they stay over into the preaching.

Second, when someone goes to an altar it is not like simply receiving communion and returning to your seat. You are in intense prayer that can be very emotional and lengthy.

 

[LivingWaters7]

For a start there is no “altar” at any evangelical pentecostal church that I have been to in the last 20 years. Hence the name itself has to have come from some conceptual basis.

Second, the walk up to the front. Receive. Return to your seat. Dismissal. End of service.

Thirdly, I went to a Catholic Church at 9am and my current Evangelical Church at 11am and thought “ohhh … that would be a good way to convert Catholics.”

So you have no sources on the origins of the altar call.

 

[AbideWithMe]

Just because you say its stolen doesn’t mean its stolen. Do you have any basis (such as a background in American religion in the 17 and 1800s?) to make such a claim with any confidence?

As someone who prays at an altar regularly in a Pentecostal church (a lot in my teen years ), its much more closer to a Catholic confessional booth than a communion service.

I was going to say this but Itwin said it well already.

Altar calls in Evangelical churches can be for a number of things:
They can be for an initial, conscious “Yes” to God in the early stage of conversion, or turning to God.
They can be for self-dedication.“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
They can be for renewal of a neglected relationship with God.
They can be for confession (in my experience, the confessions are said quietly to a pastor while kneeling at the rail), counseling, and being communally prayed over.

 

[PRmerger]

I was going to say this but Itwin said it well already.

Altar calls in Evangelical churches can be for a number of things:
They can be for an initial, conscious “Yes” to God in the early stage of conversion, or turning to God.
They can be for self-dedication.“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
They can be for renewal of a neglected relationship with God.
They can be for confession (in my experience, the confessions are said quietly to a pastor while kneeling at the rail), counseling, and being communally prayed over.

But where are “altar calls” found in Scripture?

Is your quote from Romans 12 an example of an altar call?

 

[PRmerger]

So you have no sources on the origins of the altar call.

And I do find it curious that they are called “altar calls”, a term never found in the Bible…and, as has been pointed out, is not even a ritual that is performed at a real altar.

When and where did it get this moniker?

 

[Isaiah45_9]

And I do find it curious that they are called “altar calls”, a term never found in the Bible…and, as has been pointed out, is not even a ritual that is performed at a real altar.

When and where did it get this moniker?

 

[PRmerger]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhhn6xjuAM1qeafox.gif

 

[ltwin]

They can be for confession (in my experience, the confessions are said quietly to a pastor while kneeling at the rail), counseling, and being communally prayed over.

Yes, I remember as a teen one time I went down to the altar to confess some sins, and it evolved into a spiritual counseling session from the assistant pastor.

 

[Darryl_B]

So you have no sources on the origins of the altar call.

I find the comparison too statistically similar to ignore the relationship.

 

[ltwin]

And I do find it curious that they are called “altar calls”, a term never found in the Bible…and, as has been pointed out, is not even a ritual that is performed at a real altar.

Lots of terms aren’t found in the Bible: Trinity, pulpit, pews, steeple, prayer meeting, fellowship hall, church vans, and Sunday School to name a few. So what? “Altar call” is a descriptive label for something that is done: a calling to the altar. The “altar” is a place set aside to give things to God and to seek God’s will and intervention.

God said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” The altar is primarily a place at the front of the church set aside for prayer that gives other members of the congregation the opportunity to gather around a person and pray with and for them. There evangelicals give things to God (themselves and their burdens, fears, and concerns), and they seek His will and intervention.

When and where did it get this moniker?

Post 18 above will give you the answer.

 

[AbideWithMe]

But where are “altar calls” found in Scripture?

Is your quote from Romans 12 an example of an altar call?

Paul tells to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, and to no longer be conformed to the world in Romans 12. In the OT, sacrifices were placed upon the altar. So, for example, a person coming to kneel at the railing in my Evangelical church may be doing so as an act of self-dedication to the Lord.

In regards to your first question, I’m not a member of a church that will not do anything unless it’s explicitly found in the Bible, so your question would be better directed elsewhere. I don’t know if anyone here is from one of those churches (Churches of Christ?) or if those churches do have altar calls.

 

[PRmerger]

Lots of terms aren’t found in the Bible: Trinity, pulpit, pews, steeple, prayer meeting, fellowship hall, church vans, and Sunday School to name a few. So what?

Fair enough.

Then I hope that you will afford Catholicism the same paradigm and never object to anything Catholic because it’s “not found in the Bible.”

 

[AbideWithMe]

I find the comparison too statistically similar to ignore the relationship.

They don’t seem similar to me. In Communion we receive from the Lord. In altar calls we give to the Lord—we lay down our lives before Him, or we lay down our sins in repentance, or we cast our cares or our gratitude before Him.

 

[ltwin]

Fair enough.

Then I hope that you will afford Catholicism the same paradigm and never object to anything Catholic because it’s “not found in the Bible.”

I judge all things by Scripture. I don’t condemn something because it isn’t found in Scripture. Prayer, no matter what you call it, is found throughout Scripture.

 

[AbideWithMe]

Fair enough.

Then I hope that you will afford Catholicism the same paradigm and never object to anything Catholic because it’s “not found in the Bible.”

PRMerger–I was hoping your question to me was not an attempt at a adversarial “Gotcha” question.

 

[ltwin]

They don’t seem similar to me. In Communion we receive from the Lord. In altar calls we give to the Lord—we lay down our lives before Him, or we lay down our sins in repentance, or we cast our cares or our gratitude before Him.

Wonderful breakdown of the difference!

 

[PRmerger]

I judge all things by Scripture. I don’t condemn something because it isn’t found in Scripture. Prayer, no matter what you call it, is found throughout Scripture.

I am confused about your paradigm.

Is it: if it’s not found in Scripture it’s permitted

OR

If it’s not found in Scripture it’s prohibited.

 

[PRmerger]

They don’t seem similar to me. In Communion we receive from the Lord. In altar calls we give to the Lord—we lay down our lives before Him, or we lay down our sins in repentance, or we cast our cares or our gratitude before Him.

Is it your pastor’s position that you receive the Holy Spirit during an altar call?