That’s interesting - because my friend grew up Christadelphian but now goes to Baptist and Presbyterian services. I’m learning about Christadelphians in ‘The Nature of Christ’ thread in the non-catholic forum
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=402261
They believe when you die you have no conscious thought, that you return to dust and don’t go to Heaven.
But obviously Baptists do not carry the same belief as the Christadelphians but see this is what reeeeally confuses me about many protestants (and my friend’s situation only highlights it further) - the protestants I know seem happy to jump from church to church (churches that obviously have very different beliefs) yet make up they their own individual belief - ‘it’s all about what the individual believes’ mentality - I know there are many many catholics who think this way too. I just don’t understand!!!
My friend practices in a Baptist church but clearly still holds their Christadelphian belief!
I have friends that started out Baptist of the liberal kind. Their leaders believed abortion was ok, but not drinking wine, and they went to a little storefront Baptist church. The pastor had a PhD in music and played the piano so they had great music. They finally rented a Dutch Reformed church on Sunday evening for their services. Their pastor became to ill to continue and instead of finding a new one they merged congregations with the DRs. Doctrinal differences were not important. My friends left there after a couple of years unable to deal with the Cavlinist gloom to join a non-denominational Bible believing mega church. Their kids went off to college and what mattered to the parents was the kids become involved with a good church. It was OK when they got in with a group that was related to Quakers.
Really the only thing that would have bothered them would be if their kids went to a Catholic church. Protestant doctrine may be a mish-mash of contradictions, but it is ok, because it all comes from someone’s interpretation of the Bible. As long as that interpretation is not the of the from the saints of the ages its ok.
I have a friend who was raised in a fundamentalist Calvinist leaning Protestant family, once saved always saved. He converted to Catholicism. His mother was very distraught over this and felt very guilty that she did something wrong in raising him that he would do something so crazy. He told her she did not have to worry. He told her to remember she witnessed him when he was a boy kneel down next to his bed and say the sinner’s prayer and ask Jesus into his heart and get saved, so she had nothing to worry about.
The story of the rich man and Lazarus seems to refute the beliefs of the Christadelphians (what a name). So it really doesn;t matter to them what the Bible says.
I have another friend who goes to a “Bible believing church” where the pastor teaches and they all believe there is no such thing as angels. When shown that the Bible is full of stories about angels they find some convoluted logic to distort what the Bible says. The fact that 99.9% of Christians read the same Bible and beleive in angels and have for 2000 years does not matter. Their interpretation is correct. They call themselves Protestant even though they disagree with all other Protestants. They say the Bible is the word of God and their sole rule of faith.
I have yet another friend who is the pastor of another store front Bible believing Baptist church. He moved to a small town were there are already three well established Baptist churches. I asked him why he would start another one. He said those other Baptists “don’t believe right”. I said, but they believe the Bible is the word of God. He said they haven’t got it right. So he has attracted about six or seven poor families who gather on Sunday and listen to him preach his version of the Bible.
To a non-Protestant it seems clear that this belief that the Bible is the sole rule of faith does not lead people to knowledge of truth in doctrine, and it leads people away from unity in faith that Christ commands in the Bible. Jehovah Witnesses insist the Bible is their rule of faith and they don’t believe in the Trinity. An Assembly of God pastor told me he refuses to even consider they might be Christians. But they all claim the Bible is their sole guide.
I have friends who were once died in the wool Calvinists and got in an argument with their church over reelection of their pastor and now go to a church that is far from reformed theology. To a non-Protestant it seems that doctrine really does not matter to Protestants. They cling to the Bible and cook up all kinds of doctrine without seeing any problem.
Another Baptist minister told me that no church or denomination had 100% of its doctrines correct or true and that it was arrogant if you thought you did. Jesus says in the Bible that His Church would be led into all truth by the Holy Spirit. I asked him which of his doctrines were false. He looked at me like I was crazy. If he knew the answer to that he would not believe false things. This man is now retired. He counciled young women that it was ok to have abortions. he set himself up as the shepherd of souls and claims he does not know truth. I said, if you do not know which of your doctrines are false, then you can not know which are true either.
He got angry with me, because I believed my Church knew the truth, or even claimed to know it. I said if you don’t know the truth what do you preach? I really was not trying to antagonize or confound him. Everything he said confounded me.
Here is a bit of truth folks. Truth can not be arrogant. Truth can never be arrogant.
