Christianity: Difference between revisions

 

Some "highs" on the other hand are "More Roman than Rome" in terms of worship practice. Anglican Churches recognize two sacraments - Baptism and the Eucharist, as primary, since those were the only two that Jesus himself presided over. Anglicans, on the whole believe in the real presence of Christ in communion, though it is officially left a mystery just how that looks.

====Episcopalianism:====

What the Anglican Church morphed into in the United States. It's not company-owned, but it's certainly the largest (and first) franchisee. The split came after the American Revolution when clergy swearing an oath of loyalty to the British monarch suddenly became a bit of a problem. Similar to Modern-Day Catholicism, albeit more liberal. Subject to the Archbishop of Canterbury (an Anglican bishop) in a "First amongst equals" sort of way, and thereby subject to the authority of the Anglican Communion as well. However, Episcopalians are ''not'', technically, Church of England, and are therefore not subject to Her Majesty. Still keeps rituals the Catholic church has abandoned, such as incense and kneeling rails at the altar to receive communion. Like the Church of England uses the ''Book of Common Prayer'', but with its own set of revisions, the most notable being the development of alternate rites for Sunday service with more modern language introduced in 1979. Sadly, the Episcopal Church in the United States has been falling apart lately, particularly over the issue of ordaining gay clergy, the uniqueness of Christ and the authority of scripture(this is probably where the stereotype of Episcopalians as "anything goes" types comes from). The actual "falling apart" piece of the Episcopalian Church is a rather small number of very vocal churches. That said, several other pastors have issues with the church, just not enough to break off. Furthermore, one could argue that the Episcopalian Church has been "breaking apart" for the better part of the 20th century, with issues including abortion, gay marriage, ordination of women and so forth causing certain churches to break off. A small group of these churches have petitioned the Anglican Communion to become a separate region of the Communion within the United States (these regions are normally defined by geography, not belief). The issue is complicated.

==== Evangelical Christianity ====

Somewhat synonymous to "Fundamentalism", a movement within Christianity unique to America beginning in the 19th century as a response to Modernity, and continued to gain popularity into the 20th. While early leaders of this movement shunned mainline churches, their followers instead stayed within their congregations and spread their teachings through these communities, injecting a particular flavor of Premillenialist theology into already-existing American Protestanism. However around the turn of the century the movement did start splitting from these mainline churches to create their own congregations and are now mostly associated with giant cross-denominational mega-churches. Evangelicals emphasize the potential imminence of Judgment Day and the importance of converting non-believers. Notable evangelical preachers of the 20th century include Jimmy Swaggart, Oral Roberts, Billy Graham (and later his son Franklin), Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson. Most of these preachers are best known to the public through TV programs connected to their respective churches, and are thus sometimes called "televangelists". Evangelicals have a reputation for being highly, but not exclusively, conservative and in America are highly influential in politics, especially in the southern states.

==== Seventh-day Adventists ====

The basics are in the name: they worship on the Jewish Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) instead of on Sunday, and they believe the Second Coming is imminent. They believe that they should honor the Sabbath each week, but, like most Christian sects, do not follow the scriptural teachings of the Sabbath Year (every 7th year) or the Jubilee Year (every 25th or 50th year). Also known for vegetarianism, a strong focus on healthy living (many adherents belonging to the medical field), and a belief in soul sleep. Adventist teaching is largely based on the work of a nineteenth-century writer Ellen G. White; Adventists refer to Mrs. White as the "Voice of Prophecy" and consider her writings second in authority only to the Bible. The SDA grew out of the Millerite movement which believe that the world would end on 22 October 1844. This day is now referred to as "The Great Disappointment" in a massive understatement. Many modern Adventists view "The Great Disappointment" as a result of misinterpretation of the of the date, stating that it was incorrectly meant to be the end of the world, when it was merely the start of "The Remnant Church" in preparation for the End Times.

==== Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement ====

Generally called some variant of Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ, or a generic Christian Church. Founded when Barton Stone and Thomas Campbell independently came up with the idea that all these creeds and churches named after a founder is wrong. Individual churches are autonomous and believe on full immersion baptism. Southern Churches of Christ tend to be strictly non-instrumental vs the northern Christian Churches use instruments. Disciples of Christ formally split from the others when they formed an ecumenical council.

====Christian Scientists ====

More properly "The Church of Christ, Scientist." Founded by a Boston woman, Mary Baker Eddy, whose sickness was not healed by "animal magnetism" (which worked by inadvertently hypnotizing the patient) but did get better after praying. Their main difference from other types of Christianity is denying the existence of the physical world (which peculiarly sounds rather like [[Buddhism]]). This leads to the conclusion that there is no need to rely on drugs and medical treatment, since these imply a reality to the physical. In practice, failing to be good enough at seeing that there is no physical world is not a sin, so members are allowed to seek medical help as a second resort. They also deny the existence of evil, Satan and any need to evangelize or proselytize. They are very much in favor of reading though. Not to be confused with the Church of Scientology. The sect established ''[[wikipedia:The Christian Science Monitor|The Christian Science Monitor]]'' as a response to criticism and ridicule of Eddy early on; it eventually became a top outlet for high-quality journalism in the United States.

==== Moravians ====

One of the oldest Protestant sects, and one of the very few surviving that can lay claim to independence before Martin Luther's proclamation. The Moravians have their origins in 1400's Bohemia and Moravia, following the execution of Jan Hus, a priest who openly criticized the Catholic Church, particularly their practices of indulgences and not allowing texts to be published and said in the language of the people. He was burned at the stake in 1415; his followers organized and rebelled. Although they were successful, they were eventually overrun and scattered by the Catholic Habsburgs in 1621. A group of refugees managed to escape to Germany, where an open-minded nobleman, [[Awesome McCoolname|Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf]], allowed them to settle on his estate at Herrnhut. Fascinated by their story and teachings, he eventually became a Moravian bishop, sent forth the first Protestant missionaries, and founded the [[Eagle Land|American]] Moravian settlements of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Salem,<ref>now Winston-Salem</ref> North Carolina. Much like their early counterparts, modern Moravians strongly believe in a focus on the essential basics of Christianity, the freedom to choose styles of worship, tolerance towards others who believe differently, and a call of stewardship to dedicate time and talents to those who need them. The most famous Moravian practice is the ''Lovefeast'', a simple meal, usually bread and a beverage, eaten as a congregation to show of fellowship and celebration.<ref>This does ''not'' replace communion, which Moravians also observe.</ref> There are also 26-pointed stars called Moravian stars that are often used as Christmas decorations; they did not get their start as religious symbol, but are called so because they were used as a geometry lesson at the Moravian Boys' School in Niesky, Germany.

 

=== Other ===