I noticed

[cultureslayer]

Southern baptist are more extreme than indepentent baptists (I think that's what they are called).

No: smoking, drinking, gays, sex before marriage, and in general they are very judgemental people. I didn't like it.

And they put way too much emphasis on giving 10% of your money to the church. I just felt like it was more about being judgemental and some people getting an ego boost than God. Didn't help that my mother would make it obvious that it was more important to spend time preparing a sunday school lesson than with her family. All through college they gave money to the church but didn't have any to help with college when they were supposed to (damn "expected family contribution"), so I have pretty much given up organized religion for the last 5 years. I am not going to pay someone to judge me when I can get that on the internet for free.
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Lauren
Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.

[Fidissimus]

Roman Catholic - not recovering.

Hey Al - nice to see you so involved in the Lutheran faith... my sis married a PK... her FIL's a Lutheran Minister down in the Tahoe area of California. Nicest guy ever...

Just wondering if there are any inter-religious marriages? My sis is Roman Catholic and her hubby is Lutheran. I'm RC too and my hubby is Protestant (if not agnostic - he's not too hip with the whole faith thing).
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Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[mrsppmrxky]

My hubby and I are the same denomination. That was one of the important things I was looking for when I started dating him. We felt that was following the mandate in scripture. (it was also one less thing to have to disagree on. )
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[isto]

I TOTALLY agree, Mrs. P! I've seen too many friends marry outside their denomination and they live with alot of heartache. My hubby is a solid Christian man and I find alot of encouagemant and strength in him.

Danita
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[NoahsWife]

Born-Again Christian, Pentacostal type, non-denominational church.
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Never let your fears become the bounderies of your dreams!

[Purrsnikitty]

Hi, Sari - the Episcopal Church - that's the name in the United States grew out of the Church of England as people from England and Scotland migrated to the New World. We are members of the worldwide Anglican Communion (for now anyway - they are pretty mad at us over issues I won't go into here). The Church of England as a Protestant Church developed out of both the Protestant Reformation in Europe and King Henry VIII deciding that he just had to have a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. OK - world history lesson over.

We have many similarities in theology and liturgy to the Roman Catholic Church, but we do ordain women - women can be deacons, priests, even bishops. I'm a deacon and serve at a small parish in Palmetto, Florida and work as a part-time hospital chaplain, even though I earn my living crunching numbers (accountant).

If you want to learn more, PM me - I'm happy to talk about the church I love (with all its present troubles) to anyone who wants to know.
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"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

[daughteroftheking]

[sari]

Thanks for explaining that purrsnikity.... I think I know the division that is going on within your Church at the moment. I have been hearing a lot about it. The same thing is happening over here with the Anglican Churches.
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~*~Sari~*~

[ostrich]

[SoIhaveAdisease]

My reply to southern baptisit and non-southern is this:

Southern baptists follow people. The do alot of "Musn't listen to Christian Contemporary music, only old hymns", "Faith promise offering", ladies must wear skirts, and that sort of thing. Very legalistic imho. (I've had background in this type of church and didn't feel like that was what God wants from his children. I was led to believe through reading the Bible that we are saved by grace, and not of ourselves - our works- lest anyman should boast. And I saw alot of boasting and holier than thou in the Southern Baptist churches.) Also- they usually only preach about getting saved- and they never really delve into the rest of the Bible. They usually tout "King James Bible Only". Any other interpretation is "useless" or an "abomination".

The independant Baptist churches usually don't care if you come to church in slacks or skirt. They will welcome you in and be glad you're there even if you're too poor for church clothes. In other words, they don't make you feel looked down on because of what you wear. They are glad to welcome another brother or sister into the fold.
They let you raise your hands, or say "Praise Jesus, Hallelujah, or Amen" without feeling like a retard when the spirit moves you. LOL! They don't stress faith promise. You give as the Lord leads you. We sing praise chorus, old hymns or sometimes just let our hearts worship with wordless song. The Bible says "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, serve the Lord with gladness" - not "You must only sing one type of music because that's the only type God likes".
The preaching is not out of a lesson book, it's not a feel good sermon and it's not all hail fire and damnation. It's from any section of the Bible the preacher feels lead to speak from, it could be new testament, or old. Currently our church is talking about prophesies in the Bible. So it's covering alot of ground. They believe that to understand scripture fully, it must be translated directly from the original languages, and the preacher usually will point out where translations differ. Very insightful.

Hope this helps! I'm really content serving in my church. I feel like they're spot on in alot of areas!
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Is ferret meat gluten-free?

[cultureslayer]

Good descripion of the differences! To be a happy southern baptist you can't really think for yourself, just do what you are told. At least that's my experience, and I couldn't stand it.
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Lauren
Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.

[daughteroftheking]

One thing we must all remember, no matter what church we attend, is to not put false generalizations on any one denomination. I learned this a lot recently searching for a new church. I was raised in a pastor's home so I never really had to make that choice on my own of where to go to church...I always went with the family...kinda had to as a PK Anyways, I've gone to several different church denominations and I realized that you can't have preconceived ideas about any of them. Recently we went to a southern baptist church here in Virginia & they had contemporary praise & worship, preached a sermon from the Word of God, never made us feel like we were evil & not dressed good enough to be there. A lot has to do with the leadership & senior pastor within the local church. Anyways, al that to say, don't judge every church by just a few. Don't get me wrong, I agree that there are some wacky churches out there...with narrow minded thinking or deceptive thinking....trust me I've been to them and never deisre to return. Just be careful not to make false generalizations about all churches. That's my two cents on that
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GF/WF B-Day: 11/22/2002

[daughteroftheking]

did you know that there is actually southern baptist, independent baptist & american baptist? they are all different...just wasn't sure if you knew that there was also an american baptist. Here is a link to their site: http://www.abc-usa.org/
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GF/WF B-Day: 11/22/2002

[cruelshoes]

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - commonly called the Mormon Church. My husband is Jewish (non-practicing).
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-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
9-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters have negative bloodwork - so far!

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[cultureslayer]

I've been to about a half dozen southern baptist churches. Some do use contemporary music, but it was my understanding that the more important parts for me (smoking, drinking, gays, etc.) were straight from the SBC convention. At my parents latest church a few members do smoke, but I don't know if that's the individual church or the convention finally loosening up. Not sure I'd find a fellow libertarian so that when politics came up we could cover each other's backs while running for the door .
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Lauren
Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.