F
flameburns623
Guest
Much of the time, this is the real point of the ‘are you a Christian’ sort of question.
I would only want to point out that it is NOT the Evangelicals who tend to think themselves the ‘only Christians’. They often are rather committed theologically to some denominational stand or another; but Evangelicals have–for twenty or more years–been reminding one another that denominational distinctives are largely build upon peripheral and not ‘core’ theological issues. Evangelicals strive rather mightily to work together where possible–as in ‘Promisekeepers’, in in such quasi-religious organizations as Scouting.
It is typically the sectarian Protestants–fundamentalists–who would tend to want to say that ‘liberal’ Protestant churches such as the Methodists and Episcopalians (fundies are often non-plussed when they meet me and find out that not all Episcopalians are liberals!!!) are de facto not Christians. Usually, along with Roman Catholics and Orthodox, who are presumed to be either open pagans, or garden-variety secularist/‘religionists’. One can readily disarm such folk, when asked how one expects to get to Heaven, by saying ‘through Jesus Christ’. They’ll immediately assume you are one of those brother ‘Evangelical Catholics’ they’ve heard about but never met. I can tell you that most Catholics, when asked such questions, earn an automatic anathema from their own Church by their comments, and clearly display NO sense of a relationship to God:
“Oh I’m not THAT BAD a fellow, y’know; I oughta go to confession once in awhile, I 'spoze, I dunno; and mebbe drink less beer. But I went to church for my aunt’s funeral four years ago . . . .”
Those sorts of answers earn one a lesson in the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’ or a trek down the “Romans Road”, even if we modify the comments above so as to reflect that the person making them were claiming to be Southern Baptist or Assemblies of God.
I would only want to point out that it is NOT the Evangelicals who tend to think themselves the ‘only Christians’. They often are rather committed theologically to some denominational stand or another; but Evangelicals have–for twenty or more years–been reminding one another that denominational distinctives are largely build upon peripheral and not ‘core’ theological issues. Evangelicals strive rather mightily to work together where possible–as in ‘Promisekeepers’, in in such quasi-religious organizations as Scouting.
It is typically the sectarian Protestants–fundamentalists–who would tend to want to say that ‘liberal’ Protestant churches such as the Methodists and Episcopalians (fundies are often non-plussed when they meet me and find out that not all Episcopalians are liberals!!!) are de facto not Christians. Usually, along with Roman Catholics and Orthodox, who are presumed to be either open pagans, or garden-variety secularist/‘religionists’. One can readily disarm such folk, when asked how one expects to get to Heaven, by saying ‘through Jesus Christ’. They’ll immediately assume you are one of those brother ‘Evangelical Catholics’ they’ve heard about but never met. I can tell you that most Catholics, when asked such questions, earn an automatic anathema from their own Church by their comments, and clearly display NO sense of a relationship to God:
“Oh I’m not THAT BAD a fellow, y’know; I oughta go to confession once in awhile, I 'spoze, I dunno; and mebbe drink less beer. But I went to church for my aunt’s funeral four years ago . . . .”
Those sorts of answers earn one a lesson in the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’ or a trek down the “Romans Road”, even if we modify the comments above so as to reflect that the person making them were claiming to be Southern Baptist or Assemblies of God.
