If you are "Christian" how do you decide what church to go to?
2006-06-27 12:20:50 · 33 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Chris·ti·an·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (krsch-n-t, krst-)
n.
The Christian religion, founded on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Christians as a group; Christendom.
The state or fact of being a Christian.
pl. Chris·ti·an·i·ties A particular form or sect of the Christian religion: the Christianities of antiquity.
2006-06-27 12:27:34 · answer #1 · answered by ajax_spaid 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Lots of religions are Christian Religions. About half of all Christians are Catholic.
The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus. All other Christian religions were founded by men who had problems with the Catholic Church. Most people go to the church that their parents went to -- because they never question their beliefs.
Some Christian religions are very similar (for example the Anglican Church (Episcopalian) is very similar to the Catholic Church. Others differ greatly.
Some, for example, take everything in the Bible literally -- except for the books that Martin Luther decided didn't belong in the Bible -- and the part about Jesus saying "This is my body" -- which they think was meant as a symbol (while they don't think the creation story was symbolic).
Most protestant religions believe that faith alone will get them into heaven. Catholics, and a few of the other Christian Religions, believe that faith is necessary -- but good works are also needed.
There are a lot of inconsistencies in the Christian Religions.
2006-06-27 12:32:02 · answer #2 · answered by Ranto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To be a Christian is to have a personal relationship with Christ.
All Christian churches are flawed. All Christians are flawed. I chose a church based on flawed beliefs simular to my own. I also like upbeat Christian music, so any church I attend has to have decent tunes!
The only perfect person to ever walk this earth was Jesus Christ Himself. The only way a perfect Christian church could exist would be if Jesus returned as a human and ran every aspect of it. If you read the book of Acts, you'll see even the original church had problems.
2006-06-27 12:27:25 · answer #3 · answered by Gabby_Gabby_Purrsalot 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends on the interpretation of the words in the Bible
all christians have the same common basic belief that Jesus:
1) died for their sins
2) is the son of God in human form
3) was perfect / infallible
4) you have to believe Points 1-3 to get into heaven
After that it disintegrates somewhat e.g. catholics believe it's a mortal sin to divorce whereas protestants allow it, among protestants baptists are pretty strict on "being good and unsinful" while methodists tend to be more relaxed etc. etc.
So basically, the heaven part is the same for all christians, it's the how-to-live-on-earth part that makes you end up choosing this denomination (church) or that.
btw, you don't have to choose a denomination, it's not a requirement for being christian, points 1-3 takes care of that. if you want to be part of a church though then you should give it some thought. Also there are all-inclusive sort of churches like the Ecumenical Church (meaning worldwide, all-sorts) or church of Unity etc.
2006-06-27 12:35:10 · answer #4 · answered by chicawhappa-the-great 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Being a Christian is not about a religion.
It's about a relationship with God.
Where people, who have this relationship, choose to attend church usually depends on a lot of theological factors.
But in my personal opinion, the only thing that should matter is IF the church believes John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life."
2006-06-27 12:28:06 · answer #5 · answered by Brian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A real christian is a follower/disciple of Christ...it turned into a religion when people tried putting it into a box...when they didn't like the box they made another one...and on...and on... I personally like knocking down the walls so that it can be one Body. Deciding what church to go to? whew...people who can't do that sometimes start groups in their homes. They're called Home Churches. There's been a move to try to get back to the kind of gatherings they had in the first century.,,before the days of "organized" when the Spirit was free to lead.
2006-06-27 12:26:55 · answer #6 · answered by novalee 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Christian" is not a religion in and of itself. There are many different religions you could belong to and churches you could go to. Christianity is a belief, however. It's the belief that Jesus is Christ; i.e., the Messiah, the savior of the world.
2006-06-27 12:27:55 · answer #7 · answered by Caritas 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Christian is one that is a follower of Jesus Christ.
To be a Christian, one must endeavor to not only read and understand the Teaching of Jesus Christ, but one must also adhere to the Teachings of Jesus Christ in all manner of personal conduct.
"Now If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" Romans 8:9
A Christian will keep looking for a church until he finds one where many of the other people in the church evidence the Spirit of Christ in them by the way that they live their lives.
2006-06-27 12:29:17 · answer #8 · answered by fresnodan70 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think of it as being my belief. What church to go to..... although the core beliefs are the same amoung Christians, there are some differences (some of them petty, IMHO). Church's usually have a "statement of faith". Read those statements for churches you are interested in attending. It may help you make a decision.
2006-06-27 12:28:16 · answer #9 · answered by plebes02 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your own personal beliefs although some say that you do not have to attend a church at all and some say that the end of the church age has come and you will accually go to hell for going to a church due to the fact that the churchs today are teaching wrong
2006-06-27 12:25:11 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋