Do Protestants have something like the Catechism or the Code of Canon Law?

[504Katrin]

The various Anglican churches all have codes of canon law.

In the US Episcopal Church, there was a bishop who was deposed, and when he appealed, he was reinstated. There was a real trial with lawyers and witnesses and evidence and all.

His name is Bennison and you can read about him in Wikipedia. He was accused of allowing his younger brother to carry on with (as a youth leader) with a young teenage girl. It was subsequently proven that the brother and the girl had taken lengths to keep knowledge from the elder brother. The younger brother was defrocked as an Episcopal priest.

yes, thanks, I will look it up

 

[504Katrin]

As a life long Methodist, I would say no for us, not like the Catechism. We do have a book called The Discipline, Most of it is Roberts rules/organizational stuff, not doctrine. There is a Social Principles section which contains mainly socialist resolutions adopted by folks way out of the Methodist layman main stream (you can tell my opinion of it)

To my knowledge, the only doctrinal official statement is the Articles of Religion. While no creeds are mentioned, the Articles contain the essence of the Nicene Creed (plus some other stuff). The Nicene Creed and the Apostles creed are printed in the Methodist Hymnal and the Apostles Creed is recited every Sunday in every Methodist Church of which I have been a member (I think there are some very informal, country (not meant pejoratively!) Methodist Churches which do not routinely recite the Apostles Creed).

We have bishops over “conferences” but no “overall bishop.” The just completed GC (see below) tried to add a supernumerary bishop (of disputed powers) but it was defeated,

The final authority is a general conference (clergy and laity) that meets every four years. So the bishops report to no one except in a sense the 4 year general conference. Bishops can be “impeached” (I don’t know the procedure) but it rarely if ever happens even for (what i would consider) quite unorthodox actions/statements.

Thank you for your reply, and just one more question please.You pray the Apostles Creed, hence believe in apostolic succession, so why do you guys not accept St. Peters’ chair and believe in the Pope as well? When you see the Pope what is it that’s running through your mind? Do you see him just like any other bishop, or is he kind of totally irrelevant for your belief in your eyes and you feel nothing? Do you respect catholic priests and bishops the same way you respect protestant bishops and pastors, or would you not listen to them?

 

[marcoroy21]

We Christian Reformists do not have such laws. Because there’s no such law mentioned in the Holy Scripture. Those laws were man-made. It was made by the Pagan Roman Church to corrupt the people’s mind just as they corrupted the Holy Bible by editing the word of God in Latin language.

 

[Chuck_Finley]

We Christian Reformists do not have such laws.

Are you sure about that? Because I’ll be happy to cite a couple dozen of them for you.

Because there’s no such law mentioned in the Holy Scripture.

Not per se, but the foundation for such laws is mentioned many, many times in various commands to see that our doctrine is true.

Those laws were man-made. It was made by the Pagan Roman Church…

Then how do you explain the hundreds of catechisms, creeds, and confessions tht were created and instituted by Protestants and, in many cases, the Reformed?

…to corrupt the people’s mind just as they corrupted the Holy Bible by editing the word of God in Latin language.

OK. I’ll bite: how does translating the Word of God into Latin “corrupt” it, particularly when it was Latin that was the lingua franca of the day?

 

[ltwin]

Thank you for your explanation

The Church of the Nazarene’s 2009-2013 Manual can be read and downloaded for free online. You will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read it in PDF format.

You will notice that there are four main sections: History, Constitution, Government, and Ritual. The Constitution section includes the Articles of Faith, which explains the essential doctrines of the Nazarene Church. The Ritual section contains instructions for the Sacrament of Baptism, the Reception of Church Members, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, Matrimony, the Funeral Service, the Organization of a Local Church, Installation of Officers, and Church Dedications. It is a quite lengthy document totaling 399 pages.

Now the Nazarene Church is an example of a more hierarchical denomination. You can tell that their governing documents are more detailed when it comes to local churches. But there are some denominations that are very congregational, and local churches are free to create their own governing documents.

The Southern Baptist Convention is an example of this type of denomination. The SBC’s Charter, Constitution, and Bylaws is only 19 pages. The closest thing to a catechism that the SBC has is its Baptist Faith and Message.

I find this to be very interesting, hence here comes the next question What happens if you are out of town for work or if you’re on vacation some place else, can you go to any other protestant church like the Nazarene church for example, and do they have the same liturgy like the same order of prayers and songs and readings? I’m just thinking that with so many denominations it might be hard to find your own church some place else.

I would think most Evangelical Protestants would feel at home in other Evangelical Protestant Churches. For some Evangelicals, a particular denomination is not really important, and many Evangelicals attend churches that are not affiliated with any particular denomination. However, there are Evangelicals who are very attached to their denominational affiliation, especially if their family came out of that tradition.

If we stick with a Nazarene Church member, for example, if they were out of town and wanted to go to church I would imagine they would go to a Nazarene Church if one was available. However, if one was not, they would probably be satisfied attending any other Evangelical Protestant Church, especially one that was similar such as a Wesleyan or Methodist church. If they are more of a throwback to an earlier type of Nazarene (Nazarenes were once known as a shouting church), they may be at home in a Pentecostal church. If that all fails, there is always a Southern Baptist Church or the non-denominational option.

 

[Scottish_Monk]

Just recently I asked some Protestants whether they had some sort of Catechism like we do or another book with rules but none of them could tell. Maybe some of our knowledgable members here will
And also, you guys have bishops so I was just wondering who is the head of them?

In my opinion, none of the protestant traditions have anything as comprehensive or as easy to read as the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.) published by Doubleday. And most protestants I know would benefit from studying this book.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41dPgIxCEKL.BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01.jpg

…Scottish Monk

 

[billt9]

Thank you for your reply, and just one more question please.You pray the Apostles Creed, hence believe in apostolic succession, so why do you guys not accept St. Peters’ chair and believe in the Pope as well? When you see the Pope what is it that’s running through your mind? Do you see him just like any other bishop, or is he kind of totally irrelevant for your belief in your eyes and you feel nothing? Do you respect catholic priests and bishops the same way you respect protestant bishops and pastors, or would you not listen to them?

I appreciate your kindness. I’ll try to explain without proselytizing.

I do not believe in “apostolic succession,” at least as you use it. The Apostles Creed does not contain the words “apostolic succession.” The Nicene Creed refers to the “apostolic church.” We (I should probably say I) believe that the church is “apostolic” in that it follows the teachings of the apostles (all of whom died by 100AD), but not that subsequent or present bishops are apostles or are inerrantly guided by the Holy Spirit in the same sense/to the same degree as the “real” apostles or as (I would say) the “only” apostles.

St. Peter was an apostle, the lead apostle.But I do not see in the Bible (or these two Creeds) where there will be a line of human beings who will “inherit” his unique status.

When I see the Pope I see a special Christian, much “better” in a learning and devotional (and a lot other) sense than me, whom i respect, but i do not see him as an infallible successor of Peter. If I did, then i would convert. By not a “successor” I mean as a true apostle; of course, he is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and deserves respect as that. (I read historically that there were some Popes who were “bad men.” In my lifetime, I have never known a Pope who I did not think was a good man.)

Yes, I give the same respect to Catholic priests and bishops as i do to Methodist ministers and bishops, but i do not consider either group infallible or holding the exclusive keys to the way to God. Obviously, I agree more often with the Methodist contingent, but there are some Methodist bishops I have no respect for because, I believe, they follow (at best) a perverted Christian message. And I admit that Protestant churches do a poor job of disciplining, controlling, correcting – whatever is the right term – straying (in a theological sense) ministers and bishops. My personal opinion is that there are some protestant denominations that have come perilously close to abandoning apostolic Christianity; and I admire the RCC for doing a better job of adhering to the “apostolic faith.”

I hope that is at least somewhat responsive and God bless.

 

[Prosmith]

Just recently I asked some Protestants whether they had some sort of Catechism like we do or another book with rules but none of them could tell. Maybe some of our knowledgable members here will
And also, you guys have bishops so I was just wondering who is the head of them?

You guys? Protestants? Who exactly are you referring to? Protestants such as myself absolutely have a Catechism and a hierarchy and the Creeds etc., but other Protestants have little else besides Scripture. Clarify just exactly who you are talking about if you would please and I would be more than happy to answer your questions.