Presbyterian?

  • Thread starter Thread starter rayne100
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
rayne100 said:
Thank you for the clarification Edwin. But it seems that the presbyterians and episcopals believe most of the same things that Catholics believe. The Nicean Creed, the Apostles creed, the 10 commandments, really we are not all that different.
Click to expand...
Ask how many sacraments they practice.

The differences will start to become obvious.
 
What are the differences between the Presbyterian Churches and the Reformed Church in America?
 
ASimpleSinner said:
Ask how many sacraments they practice.

The differences will start to become obvious.
Click to expand...
well, we had baptism (infant–sprinkle), confirmation,
communion (once quarter–had homemade wine and bread, somtimes oyster crackers–taken in small individual cups/pieces from a tray and consumed as it was passed around, no intinction),
marriage
and ordination (no celibacy, of course, and I never heard of a contemplative order).

This was in the 1960s and 70s. I honestly don’t know which group we would have been affiliated with, PCA or PC(USA) and the church itself no longer exists (it was too small to sustain itself), but the church that it eventually melded into is PCA, so I suspect it would have been PCA (the one my father has returned to is PCA). The other churches with which we had our youth group are PC(USA) now (and one ARP church).

No kneeling, just standing and sitting reverently and quietly, children in the full service from about age 5, before that in the nursery which had the service piped in.

The church itself was very plain, about the early to mid 70s, we did add in Chrismon trees at Christmas in the sanctuary. Other than that it was a couple of candles on the communion table which stood in front of the pulpit. When I did confirmation, mid 70s, I had to study with the minister for a month and be examined by the Board of Elders to be sure my confirmation was acceptable. Catechism is very important. I got $1for memorizing the children’s catechism when I was 5–301 redirect

We did the Apostle’s Creed and Lord’s Prayer every service. For years as a child I could recite the Creed flawlessly in church, but needed the physical trigger of the environment, as outside I couldn’t remember all of it.🙂

We had service (hour of Sunday School followed by the hour of preaching service) on Sunday mornings, usually Bible study and youth group on Sunday evenings (another hour or two), Bible study, dinner and choir practice on Wednesday nights (2 hours), then once a year there would be a week of Revival (about 2 hour services every evening with visiting minister) and Vacation Bible School (about an hour and a half each evening for a week for children of activities and Bible study–not at the same time as Revival). Sunday night and Wednesday night activities were usually just during the school year.

My family’s personal practice included the above plus a daily hour of devotions which started with prayer, had Bible readings and a sermon from my dad, then we knelt and prayed aloud in ascending order of age about all the things we had done wrong that day. This was 7 days a week until I was 10, when he allowed that since we had been at church for close to 4 hours on Sunday we could skip everything but the prayers.
 
KarenNC said:
communion (once quarter–had homemade wine and bread, somtimes oyster crackers–taken in small individual cups/pieces from a tray and consumed as it was passed around, no intinction)
Click to expand...
Oyster crackers? That’s a new one to me. Not the oddest, though. I had a prof at Texas A&M who was a Disciples of Christ minister and once served communion with Coca-cola and potato chips. His reasoning was that Jesus used the popular foods at the time and so should we (even the rather liberal DoC thought that was going too far!)
 
ABostonCatholic said:
Oyster crackers? That’s a new one to me. Not the oddest, though. I had a prof at Texas A&M who was a Disciples of Christ minister and once served communion with Coca-cola and potato chips. His reasoning was that Jesus used the popular foods at the time and so should we (even the rather liberal DoC thought that was going too far!)
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was pretty new to us as well and only happened a few times, but, it is unleavened bread so actually fits better than tearing off a hunk of a French or Italian loaf as was more usually done (in some situations the loaf had been precut in little cubes for ease of distribution and fewer crumbs to vacuum up later).

I did attend a Baptist church a few times when in college that was held in a huge auditorium. The minister was miked as there were far from enough folks to fill up the space (couple hundred in a space meant for 5000). It was a bit of a shocker for me–Baptists use grape juice instead of wine and this particular one used something akin to melba toast for the bread. They also pass around the cups and plate, but, in contrast to the Presbyterians, theyhold it until everyone has theirs and consume at the same time. The grape juice was bad enough as I always gag even at the smell of grape juice in any context, but the miked chewing of the melba toast made me feel that I was in a bowl of rice krispies–not exactly conducive to reverence 🙂

Other than that, it was usually, depending on the church, homemade bread, a loaf of Italian or French bread, or the little wafers that are akin to typing paper and stick to the roof of the mouth rather than dissolving as they are designed to do. Now the Episcopal church I was in used port for the wine, which was a big improvement over the homemade wine I grew up with, which had an unfortunate resemblance to kerosene soaked raisins.

All that said, in the end, I think it is intent rather than form or specific substance that is the most important in any ritual.
 
From 1990 to 1993 I belonged to a small congregation
of the Presbyterian Church (USA). My congregation was much more orthodox than the Denomination, however.
Presbyterians believe in only two sacraments:
Water baptism (which doesn’t save, in their belief), and
the Eucharist (but not the real presence, although some Presbyterians believe that Jesus is “spritually” present during communion,) and they use diced wonder bread and thimbles full of grape juice instead of wine for the communion service.
Presbyterians of the PCUSA variety are also much more open minded when it comes to holding onto Calvin’s TULIP position.
The Presbyterian Hymnal has some great traditional hymns, too.
 
Jaypeeto3 said:
From 1990 to 1993 I belonged to a small congregation
of the Presbyterian Church (USA). My congregation was much more orthodox than the Denomination, however.
Presbyterians believe in only two sacraments:
Water baptism (which doesn’t save, in their belief), and
the Eucharist (but not the real presence, although some Presbyterians believe that Jesus is “spritually” present during communion,) and they use diced wonder bread and thimbles full of grape juice instead of wine for the communion service.
Presbyterians of the PCUSA variety are also much more open minded when it comes to holding onto Calvin’s TULIP position.
The Presbyterian Hymnal has some great traditional hymns, too.
Click to expand...
I stand corrected–I had thought I remembered that marriage, confirmation and ordination were regarded as sacraments, but evidently I was incorrect.
 
I was Catholic (age 4-10) but am now Presbyterian (31 years).
The only two recognized sacraments are baptism and communion, because those are the only two Jesus did. The split-P’s are splitting again. I have a blog: pcualist with about 50 links. Four of them link to a graphic show how in the USA, we have split and reunited many times over the years.

When do communion many ways in my local church.
  • Traditional: “silver” plate with bread, and small cups with grape juice
  • Intinction; Tear off hunk of bread, and dunk in cup of juice.
  • “Experimental”: pre-packaged, Goldfish crackers, …
 
jimwelchok said:
I was Catholic (age 4-10) but am now Presbyterian (31 years).
The only two recognized sacraments are baptism and communion, because those are the only two Jesus did.
Click to expand...
More accurately you come from a tradition that 15 centuries removed from the Early Church and using only Scriptural

As Catholics we rather feel that he did indeed ordain and He did indeed hear confession and provide absolution.

We don’t feel “those are the only two Jesus did.” when we approach from the scripture and the teachings of Christ and His Church from our historical perspective.

Not to be contentious or argumentitive… but for the sake of learning your thinking on this matter and appreciating your ecclesial tradition’s thinking on this matter, could you share with us some thoughts about when and how the Catholic Church began to include these other 5 sacraments in the life of her faithful?

If you contend that Holy Orders, Matrimony, Confirmation/Chrismation, Healing of the Sick, and Confession are not sacraments ordained and commanded by Christ, can you tell us some of the theories you have as to when and how the view that they ARE came to hold sway in Christendom?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top