quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
I've never done a head count but I know how I 'feel' when reading posts from illiberals. There is a smattering of conservative RCs, most of whom are converts and claim to know the faith better than those born into it.

---

quote:

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Originally posted by cliffdweller:
I'm ordained PCUSA (Presbyterian) but serve and feel at home in a small evangelical denon. (So I guess leo can "feel" my ill-liberal posts...?)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by cliffdweller:
I'm ordained PCUSA (Presbyterian) but serve and feel at home in a small evangelical denon. (So I guess leo can "feel" my ill-liberal posts...?)

---

No - yours vaguely make me question my assumptions - which is good - rather than annoy me

---

That's what we're all here for, yes?
 

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Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I used to be a devotee of Tezcatlipoca, but I had a shattering mystical vision, and thereupon, as you can see, switched to Quetzalcoatl, who has rewarded me abundantly.
 

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Posted by croinua (# 18252) on :
 
Little confused with that post there. They seem to be Aztec Gods and I thought this was a Christian website.
 

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Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Is it? Fuck. You see, I had a vision of the great Toltec ruler, Ce Acatl Topiltzin, and he seemed to be murmuring something like 'ship of fools', so naturally enough, I took this as an indication. I have been traduced!
 

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Posted by croinua (# 18252) on :
 
Very good.
 

---

Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :
 
uh... welcome to the Ship, croinua. Let all who enter, throw assumptions out the window. bwahahaha!


 

---

Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by croinua:
Very good.

---

quote:

---

I thought this was a Christian website.

---

quote:

---

Apologies. I'm an Anglican with leanings towards Quetzalcoatl.

---

You're also very funny!

Hi croinua, another Anglican here, quite catholic but quite liberal too with a very eclectic approach to theology.

I'm also half Irish
 

---

Posted by chris stiles (# 12641) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by croinua:
Hi.
I was wondering what sort of denominations people aligned themselves to on this website. From what I can tell, most people seem to represent a Liberal Anglican faith but I'm sure there are other denominations represented.

---

Hi croinua - welcome to the ship, where at least one member of every grouping believes they are in the minority and are got at
 

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Posted by itsarumdo (# 18174) on :
 
Probably more Daoist than anything else.

I was baptised Anglican, but stopped going to Church at about 7yo when it all seemed rather dreary and pointless - sticking silly stamps in an album for no apparent reason, sitting in a dusty dark oak panelled and light-bereft room listening to something that didn't seem to have much meaning.

I now practice Bruno Groening's teaching - which is non-denominational - and that (plus a little exposure to Swedenborg) interestingly has got me more interested in Christianity.
 

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Posted by Mudfrog (# 8116) on :
 
I'm a Salvationist.

I guess that means I'm in a little box all by myself
 

---

Posted by Belle Ringer (# 13379) on :
 
What denomination claims me as a member or what denomination do I feel most aligned with?

Anyway, it changes every decade more or less as my spirituality evolves (or devolves, or whatever).
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Pretty much on my own on the Ship.
 

---

Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I'm an Anglican with leanings towards Quetzalcoatl.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Steve Langton:
Some of our shipmates are agnostic or even (shock horror!) atheists!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mudfrog:
I'm a Salvationist.

I guess that means I'm in a little box all by myself

---

You get the Mercy Seat all to yourself, Mudfrog!

I'm a Methodist, with some very slight leanings towards Buddhism since I started using Mindfulness meditation.

[ 17. October 2014, 17:47: Message edited by: Starbug ]
 

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Posted by Fr Weber (# 13472) on :
 
Continuing Anglican, US variety.
 

---

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :
 
Why is this thread in Purgatory instead of Heaven?

(said the United Methodist)
 

---

Posted by Arethosemyfeet (# 17047) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Steve Langton:
Don't worry, croinua; it's not necessary to be Christian to contribute to the forums (which is a good job for the liberal Anglicans, come to think of it...).

---

Steve, can I politely request that you apologise for casting aspersions on the faith of other Christians.

For myself I'm a Wee Piskie now I live this side of the border. Whether I am considered liberal or not is a matter of perspective. I imagine Peter Akinola would consider me very liberal and John Shelby Spong would consider me deeply conservative.
 

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Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
Quaker
 

---

Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
Quaker
 

---

Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
I'm exploring that point on the Host Board, HCH.

Welcome croinua! I hope you enjoy the Ship and I assure you that Hosts don't just exist for the purpose of moving threads around! There is a value in reading the headings to each of the Boards to see which is the right one to start off a discussion.

This is a diverse place and not just open to self-declared Christians. We have a fair number of atheists and agnostics, and some representatives of other faiths. Disagreement is pretty normal around here, particularly between Christians (!) in accordance with our general ethos of unrest.
 

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Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :
 
Originally Conservative Evangelical C of E (Prayer Book Mattins and all that....), now licensed as a Reader in an Anglo-Catholic parish, and wondering how the wossname I got here......with secret leanings towards liberalism and the Cathar 'heresy'........

Ian J.
 

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Posted by fullgospel (# 18233) on :
 
I came to know the Lord as a kid in the Brethren (open)


and since then have been enriched on my journey via Anglican Catholicism, Zen, Society of Friends and MCC.

I have also been a mass attender since my teens (on and off), and am being received into the RCC in 37 days time.
 

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Posted by fullgospel (# 18233) on :
 
Welcome aboard croinua.

I am new here myself.



 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
I don't exactly know what is meant by some of these terms. Starting with "liberal Anglican" and "continuing Anglican". Baptist I get, they are the ones who have mini-swimming pools in their churches and I even understand a little bit of their point. Anabaptists? Not sure.

Myself, I was raised in the United Church of Canada, which as far as I know was formed by combing most of the Methodists and Presbyterians and virtually all of the Congregationalists into the second largest denomination in Canada. But I opted for the Anglican church in my mid-teens (in the actual order of importance) because I liked a girl who was Anglican, and I thought CS was a smart guy, and the liturgy and music were more interesting. I think this puts me on the opposite end of the group of folks who've had a deeply meaningful conversion experience, there was nothing much deep about me as a callow kid. Were I to give testimony, I'd have to begin "you see there was this girl...."
 

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Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
I consider myself non-denominational but open-evo. I've been at my current church for 10 years and I'm still not a member
I was an atheist until I was 25, spend 5 years at a large con-evo Anglican in London, 1 year middle of the road Baptist (temporary stop gap), 3 years trad Anglican village parish (left due to awful and very public conflict) and 10 years at our current New Frontiers church.
 

---

Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Barnabas62:
Disagreement is pretty normal around here, particularly between Christians (!) in accordance with our general ethos of unrest.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
I don't exactly know what is meant by some of these terms. Starting with "liberal Anglican" and "continuing Anglican". Baptist I get, they are the ones who have mini-swimming pools in their churches and I even understand a little bit of their point. Anabaptists? Not sure.

---

quote:

---

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Langton:
Some of our shipmates are agnostic or even (shock horror!) atheists!

---

quote:

---

Steve, can I politely request that you apologise for casting aspersions on the faith of other Christians.

---

quote:

---

Anabaptists = literally re-Baptisers. They have their origins in the folks who thought that not only were adult Baptisms better they were the only valid ones - so they baptised all their converts, even those who had already been baptised.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by fullgospel:
I came to know the Lord as a kid in the Brethren (open)


and since then have been enriched on my journey via Anglican Catholicism, Zen, Society of Friends and MCC.

I have also been a mass attender since my teens (on and off), and am being received into the RCC in 37 days time.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Steve Langton:
I wasn't suggesting 'shock horror' in the atheists personally - it was just a slightly exaggerated way of making the point that the ship is not entirely Christian!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bib:
My Anglican allegiances have altered over the years. I began as a middle of the road Anglican, became an evangelical, returned to middle of the road and over the past 15 years or so have joined an Anglo-Catholic parish. I'm inclined to think that many of us change during our journey through life and that what suits at one stage doesn't fulfil needs at a later time in life.

---

I too think this would be true of many people, myself included though interestingly I appear have come full circle.
What I find fascinating and even joyful is the fact that the Anglican Church still has the breadth to be able to accommodate such a journey and for someone to remain within the continuity of a denomination.
It is sometimes more challenging to make this journey across denominations without being required to leave behind the riches of one part in order to embrace the new. I was once told that I had to do that- and outwardly tried for a while but secretly held on tight to what was embedded in me.
However I also know people who have done this and whose theology and praxis have somehow managed to span denominational differences and proved a source of personal and corporate enrichment!
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
I'm part of the Ichthus network which is a charismatic evangelical church with its roots largely in the anabaptist church and methodism.

Interestingly, we have quite a few people who've come from other church backgrounds and who still identify with them. E.g. we have a chap who still refers to himself as anglican and we have quite a few baptists, myself included.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Not wishing to bore everyone silly with my life journey:

I had an agnostic/atheist upbringing then came to faith at 17 - originally Anglican I toyed with evangelicalism and Catholicism at Uni but stayed Anglican until I was about 30 when the homophobia of my then parish really got me and I had a new boyfriend so had other things to do on a Sunday morning...

After 3 years in the wilderness and just as boyfriend was leaving I decided to have a bash at Quakerism and found my spiritual home at my local Friends Meeting [London Yearly Meeting in those far off days, now known as Britain Yearly Meeting].

Since relocating to India in 1997 I still consider myself Quaker but the nearest Meeting is in Bhopal, two days away by train, each way. Having to leave here Thursday to get to Meeting then getting home Tuesday doesn't seem practical so I generally go to Latin Catholic Mass, though sometimes Syro-Malabar Catholic.

I am also happy to worship in the local Hindu Temple [150 metres away] and have a bit of an affinity for Ganapati [Ganesh/Vinayaka].

Theologically and socially many would call me liberal but I don't really think much of the nomenclature matters.

God is God whatever religion is practiced.

Sree Narayanan Guru is my sort of hero in this regard.
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
I'm a lifelong Presbyterian (Church of Scotland). I started moving towards the conservative side of the church in my twenties. I then switched and moved towards the liberal side in my thirties, where I've been ever since.
 

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Posted by ExclamationMark (# 14715) on :
 
Con Evo CofE to Con Evo/Charismatic Baptist (BUGB). Reformed in belief and teaching, Charismatic in expression larded with a dash of liberation theology and socialism.

I'm part of church where the background of attendees is pretty much the kind of norm you'd expect for a Baptist Church. We've people from across the theological spectrum from atheists to pentecostalists and from Brethren to Catholic backgrounds.

I left the CofE once before returning later. In that case it was a consumer decision: moving with work, the only local CofE church close to our new home had no children and was deadly dull with no teaching at all. We joined the Baptist church which had children's work and all of the active Anglicans.

I left the CofE for good when I got really annoyed at the lack of leadership, daft hierarchies and hoops you had to jump through and once again, no local church that we felt we could fit into, however hard we tried to meet more than halfway. Let's just say I can find better things to talk about at church than your latest expensive holiday, new car or refitted kitchen.
 

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Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :
 
In my case, probably best classified as broadly evangelical Protestant. Came to faith through a (non-denominational) evangelical youth organisation with early church experience being Methodist. University was primarily Methodist and non-denominational evangelical with strong Anglican influences thrown into the mix. Post-university brought me into Congregationalism and then URC, which is probably closest to my home now (though, I'm still far evangelical that the average for the URC). I'm currently worshipping at a Lutheran church.
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Baptised RCC, still on the roll of the CofE but attending an independent (mostly) charismatic church. The effect is that I'm somewhere between these three points so that in a RC church I'm the charismatic Anglican, though I'd never describe myself as such.

btw, you can get an 'I thought this was a Christian website' mug!
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
What it says on the tin.
 

---

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
I wasn't going to add my name to this thread, but having just said on the 'Progressive Christianity or Progressive Christianity?' thread that I'm not a 'progressive Christian', I thought I'd better come here and say that I'm not a progressive Christian, I'm an ordinary Christian. Denominationally I'm CofE.
 

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Posted by ThunderBunk (# 15579) on :
 
Liberal Catholic C of E here, with strong mystical and (possibly directly related) slight charismatic tendencies. The effect of that is liberal theology, a low attitude to the Bible (partly due to a literary academic background), a love of liturgy and liturgical music and an acceptance of tradition as an organic thing which needs to grow and adapt to survive.
 

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Posted by Uncle Pete (# 10422) on :
 
Raised low church Anglican, prayer book, north end, all that stuff (I later discovered the minister was an Anglo-Catholic who cut his jib to suit his parishoners). On the few occasions I go to my home town that church (since moved on to liberal Anglican, with women clergy) is still the one I fetch up at (don't tell the Pope), because of family memories and such. However I was exposed to a lot of Catholic theology because my father's extended family was.

Nearly 50 years ago, I felt that I no longer belonged on that part of the spectrum. Since then I have been a practising Catholic of the Roman sort. I'm actual quite conservative in myself, but friends here and in Real Life (whatever that is) know that, when circumstances dictate, I can be quite comfortable elsewhere.

Perhaps I am not a Real Catholic . The older I get the less it seems to matter, but on a normal Sunday, I am at my usual spot.
 

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Posted by Stejjie (# 13941) on :
 
I'm a Baptist born and bred and have never really felt a "pull" from any other tradition. That isn't to say I don't respect or appreciate other traditions, just that I think my roots are in the Baptist way of doing & being church and it's actually quite a significant part of "my" Christianity, my "faith journey" ( hate that phrase). I did have a brief dalliance with charismaticism when I was in the university CU, but I never inhaled...

That said, I think in recent years I've moved in a more liturgical direction, by which I think I mean that I've found myself more and more interested in/concerned with the "whys" and "hows" of worship services: why we do the things we do, what their purpose is and how they can best draw us into an encounter with God collectively. Though I don't want to lose the best sort of informality that's there in the best kind of Baptist/Free Church worship, I find myself growing more and more irritated (not least with myself) when worship is too informal, too casual, too chatty and when we talk more about God than to Him: I think that's a trap we can definitely fall into. I've been to a couple of RC masses this year on behalf of our local Churches Together group and found them very powerful.

I might not be able to hold my own on Ecclesiantics, but they might make a liturgist of me yet!
 

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Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
I'm a priest in the The Episcopal Church. Theologically, I'm Anglo-Catholic with Neo-Orthodox tendencies. I consider myself a moderate but probably qualify as a conservative by current TEC standards. Perhaps, the best way of describing what I mean by moderate is to say that I'm on the far right of Affirming Catholicism.
 

---

Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by croinua:
Hi.
I was wondering what sort of denominations people aligned themselves to on this website. From what I can tell, most people seem to represent a Liberal Anglican faith but I'm sure there are other denominations represented.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by croinua:

quote:

---

Originally posted by fullgospel:
I came to know the Lord as a kid in the Brethren (open)


and since then have been enriched on my journey via Anglican Catholicism, Zen, Society of Friends and MCC.

I have also been a mass attender since my teens (on and off), and am being received into the RCC in 37 days time.

---

Very good. I'll pray for you.
I probably should also say that I'm a Catholic although theologically, I'm quite liberal.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evensong:
Ah I see. Well there are quite a few of us liberal Anglicans around. But if you stay away from us you'll be fine.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by itsarumdo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evensong:
Ah I see. Well there are quite a few of us liberal Anglicans around. But if you stay away from us you'll be fine.

---

Hence the old chestnut - "there's nothing more dangerous than a cornered Liberal Anglican"?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Stejjie:
I'm a Baptist born and bred and have never really felt a "pull" from any other tradition.... I did have a brief dalliance with charismaticism when I was in the university CU, but I never inhaled...

That said, I think in recent years I've moved in a more liturgical direction, by which I think I mean that I've found myself more and more interested in/concerned with the "whys" and "hows" of worship services: why we do the things we do, what their purpose is and how they can best draw us into an encounter with God collectively. ...

I might not be able to hold my own on Ecclesiantics, but they might make a liturgist of me yet!

---

Much the same for me (though I feel a strong pull towards the URC); however I was actually brought up as an Anglican and only became a Baptist when I was 19.

Theologically I am too liberal for most Evangelical and too evangelical for most Liberals! (For instance, I am pro-SSM, I do not believe in a literal six-day creation, I believe that the Bible has to be read within the context of both writer and reader, I am willing to say, "I don't know" to quite a few matters of faith ...). Where's the nearest fence? I need to sit down.

[ 19. October 2014, 16:01: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I was baptised, grew up and did my Public Confession in the Hervormde Kerk in the Netherlands (one of the two Reformed Churches; later they merged).

As a student, I got into an Ecumenical Group. This is the name for most Alt.worship groups of the Netherlands. We don't consider ourselves a separate denomination (we're ecumenical after all), so in a sense I never left my 'old' church.

When I started travelling to Latin America, I got involved with Liberation Theology. This is still a big influence on my faith. This was mostly through the Lutheran church (IECLB, I think it's the equivalent of ELCA). I got involved in their Base Groups, did a lot of work in their social projects, and I even taught Bible Exegesis in one of their theology schools.

Today, I still worship in a Lutheran Church here. They even ask me to preach from time to time. I don't consider myself Lutheran though.
 

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Posted by Charles Had a Splurge on (# 14140) on :
 
Baptist.

Started attending when I was eight. Converted and baptised at fourteen.

Many years later I‘m on my third Baptist Church thanks to moving around the country.

Wouldn’t be a member of any other denomination. I only have to commit to the trinity, credo-baptism and the primacy of the church members meeting as the way of discerning God’s will. All other theology is up for grabs
 

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Posted by Tree Bee (# 4033) on :
 
Anglican till 12.
Atheist till 19.
Baptist till 35.
Anglican till 50 or so.
Now Quaker attender.
 

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Posted by Abigail (# 1672) on :
 
As for me... I grew up with no church background whatsoever, became interested in Christianity in my teens but it took me twenty years to do anything about it. I started attending a Baptist church in my mid thirties then moved on to an Anglican church (the evangelical sort) a few years later. I was baptised and confirmed at the age of 40 and am still just about hanging in there 20 years later.
 

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Posted by Cottontail (# 12234) on :
 
Presbyterian and Reformed. As I was predestined to be.

I am cradle Church of Scotland, and now a minister thereof. Theologically I am a kind of liberal Calvinist, which is not an oxymoron: think of all the mainstream Presbyterian churches.
 

---

Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Theologically I am too liberal for most Evangelical and too evangelical for most Liberals! (For instance, I am pro-SSM, I do not believe in a literal six-day creation, I believe that the Bible has to be read within the context of both writer and reader, I am willing to say, "I don't know" to quite a few matters of faith ...). Where's the nearest fence? I need to sit down.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Were I to give testimony, I'd have to begin "you see there was this girl...."

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evensong:

quote:

---

Originally posted by itsarumdo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evensong:
Ah I see. Well there are quite a few of us liberal Anglicans around. But if you stay away from us you'll be fine.

---

Hence the old chestnut - "there's nothing more dangerous than a cornered Liberal Anglican"?

---

That's an old chestnut is it? Never heard it before.

---

sorry I should have added or or or even Actually, the story of the years prior to the american civil war you could almost change that to be Baptist
 

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Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
I'm an Atheist. I was raised in a family of Jews who weren't serious about it for a few generations and a Catholic grandfather.
 

---

Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by itsarumdo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evensong:

quote:

---

Originally posted by itsarumdo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evensong:
Ah I see. Well there are quite a few of us liberal Anglicans around. But if you stay away from us you'll be fine.

---

Hence the old chestnut - "there's nothing more dangerous than a cornered Liberal Anglican"?

---

That's an old chestnut is it? Never heard it before.

---

sorry I should have added or or or even Actually, the story of the years prior to the american civil war you could almost change that to be Baptist

---

Oh I dunno. I know plenty of ferocious liberals.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
makes a change from 'spineless liberals'
 

---

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
Well, you must have heard of "the intolerance of tolerants"!
 

---

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:

quote:

---

Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Were I to give testimony, I'd have to begin "you see there was this girl...."

---

And mine would begin "My friend asked me if I would like to meet some girls. When I said yes, he invited me to a youth group. He didn't mention Christianity once."

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nenuphar:
As a child, my parents sent me to Methodist Sunday school, where I learned to love the scriptures but somehow (albeit rather incoherently) I felt drawn to Catholicism. (The Apostles Creed was printed in the back of my Methodist hymn book, and I saw, with some surprise, that I was a member of the one, holy catholic church. Well, I was only about 9 or 10.) At fifteen, with the support of, but not because of, a boyfriend, I was confirmed as an Anglican. By the time I was 18 and at University, I was definitely drawn more and more to Catholicism, but resisted the call except when studying in Spain, when I could (and did) go to daily Mass. However, I remained an Anglican and convinced myself (after some none-too-accurate study) of the "branch" theory of Anglicanism (which believes that there are 3 branches of the true faith, Roman Catholicism, the Orthodox, and the C of E). I believed all the dogma of the Catholic Church apart from the necessity to believe as de fide the four most recently defined dogmas (the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady, the Universal Jurisdiction and Infallibility of the Pope), which I thought were Good Things To Believe, but not truths essential for salvation. And so I resisted the call of Holy Mother Church again.

Matters came to a head around 1993 with the decision of the C of E to ordain women priests. I wasn't opposed to them per se, but felt strongly that if the Holy Spirit wanted women priests, He would definitely tell the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox as well, as they comprised the majority of Christians worldwide. This issue of where authority ultimately lay led to more profound and accurate study of Catholicism, and in 1994 my husband and I were received into the Catholic Church. In my innocence I felt I had "come home" at last, not knowing then that many, many converts feel this (so welcome home, fullgospel!). Never for one minute have I regretted my decision, and I love, study and practise my faith more every day. (Even going on a pilgrimage to Rome next week!)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Were I to give testimony, I'd have to begin "you see there was this girl...."

---

Mine would begin "I wanted to meet some boys......."

Having been dragged around various churches - CofE, methodist & Elim pentecostal - as a kid, my parents were having a non-church phase when I pitched up at the local CofE looking for boys......

And 20odd years later, I'm still there (via a foray into more charismatic Holy Trinity Brompton type places whilst at university). I'd like to be a Quaker, but family wise the parish church is where we're at.
 

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Posted by OddJob (# 17591) on :
 
Often thought I'd be comfortable yet kept on my toes at most Protestant churches as long as not too stuffy or where you need to be very expressive and extrovert in worship to fit in. But always end up wanting to return to the CofE.

Liberal on some issues and orthodox (small 'o') on others (don't like the terms 'conservative' to mean preferring a strict interpretation of the Bible - to me a 'conservative' Christian is one over-concerned with man-made traditions). But I sometimes wonder if my mind still lives in the 1980s. Especially as I'm perceiving an increasing polarisation in Evangelicalism and don't really feel part of any camp.

Tried Charismatic churches in the past and my wife likes visiting them on holiday, but they did nothing for my faith and I felt I wasn't really adding anything to them.
 

---

Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jemima the 9th:
Having been dragged around various churches - CofE, methodist & Elim pentecostal - as a kid, my parents were having a non-church phase when I pitched up at the local CofE looking for boys......

---

Given the usual imbalance between the sexes in your standard CofE church, going to one to look for boys strikes me as the height of optimism!
 

---

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by croinua:
I thought this was a Christian website.

---

Hence this mug, whose acronym is precisely what you've just said.
 

---

Posted by itsarumdo (# 18174) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by ChastMastr:

quote:

---

Originally posted by croinua:
I thought this was a Christian website.

---

Hence this mug, whose acronym is precisely what you've just said.

---

And fired at 800 degrees C, no less.
 

---

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
I usually describe myself as an Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian with a dash of Shinto.

By this I mean:

(1) Anglo-Catholic: Not in the "number of candles on the altar is critical" sense at all, but in the "sacramental theology" sense. I'm happy with a folk mass, I'm happy with bells and smells, but I want Communion please. The theology expressed in the liturgy is also very important to me--I can't describe the Trinity as "Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier," because modalism.

(2) Episcopalian: Well, duh. The Episcopal Church in the US, formerly ECUSA (which sounds like some sort of mythological Greek creature) and now TEC.

(2a) Re Hot Button Issue #1 in the Episcopal/Anglican Church: As for female priests, it took me a long time to accept their validity, but now (since 2003) I have been convinced of it.

(2b) Re Hot Button Issue #2 in the Episcopal/Anglican Church: As for gay issues, I'm an odd one on that (I don't believe that, as a Christian, I am permitted to have genitally penetrative sex outside of male-female marriage, so I don't, and my partner knew this coming into our relationship--we'll have been together 12 years this coming May--and as well, I'm open to things which might startle some people, or at least "frighten the horses" (important note: No actual horses are ever involved in such things; one must always be clear, just in case ...); indeed, my (sadly deceased in 1999) master also accepted my limits, God bless him and rest his soul (earthly master, that is--Jesus was and is and ever shall be my Heavenly/Deep Master)), but honestly if the Episcopal Church is officially OK with things like Spong's theology, then I think the sexual matters are far lower on the scale of Things To Wrestle With Fretfully. Quite frankly, some of the clergy I've known whose faith and theology have been most helpful and orthodox have themselves been gay (and without the limits I myself believe in), and I would (and have) far sooner go to them for spiritual counsel than, well, the Spong end of the spectrum.

(3) With a dash of Shinto: I suppose I could say "with an approach to paranormal/odd/rum metaphysical things that tries to emulate St. Francis' approach to nature" but that might be even more confusing.

Alternately, I could describe myself as being like a combination of stuff by C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, some George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton, with the aforementioned dash of Shinto, all wrapped up in leather (I could say "with a dash of Jack Rinella" but I haven't really read him so I can't say what I believe in his work).

So, um, hi!
 

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Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
Oh, forgot to mention my background: Biologically/ethnically down my mother's side I'm Jewish by blood, but I wasn't raised in any religion at all--my mother almost converted to Roman Catholicism as a girl, but became a Theosophist. Bio father was Baptist/Church of Christ. I discovered Christianity mainly via Narnia as a child, via Dante's Divine Comedy at 13 (itself via this issue of X-Men, yes really, and Nightcrawler's joyful Christian faith despite being regarded as a freak and monster by the world--much different than in the movies, by the way-- here, for example), and then entered the Roman Catholic Church in high school, asked too many questions the CCD instructor couldn't answer, got set up with a very nice nun as a tutor who helped me find the other Lewis books I was looking for, was baptized Roman Catholic as an adult (in high school, but making an informed decision), and later wound up in the Episcopal Church. Given matters such as both the "Spong end of the spectrum" and my concerns (in the past, not now) over the ordination of women, I wrestled with leaving the Episcopal Church, but--after looking at the alternatives--decided that its heart was in the right place even if the theology held by some clergy was incorrect, and that its Apostolic Succession was still intact, so I was confirmed there years later.

Good Lord, I'm long-winded... carry on...
 

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Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
(PPS: Yes. I really did get into Dante at 13. I read a lot...)
 

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Posted by Jemima the 9th (# 15106) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:

quote:

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Originally posted by Jemima the 9th:
Having been dragged around various churches - CofE, methodist & Elim pentecostal - as a kid, my parents were having a non-church phase when I pitched up at the local CofE looking for boys......

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Given the usual imbalance between the sexes in your standard CofE church, going to one to look for boys strikes me as the height of optimism!

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Weelll, my parents were strict and I was fairly desperate! We were actually fairly evenly m/f split in the church youth group of the time. And yet I still managed to fall for the philandering bastard.
 

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Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
You are Chastmastr aware that George MacDonald was a Congregational minister who was too liberal for his congregation!

Jengie
 

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Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Jengie jon:
You are Chastmastr aware that George MacDonald was a Congregational minister who was too liberal for his congregation!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Galloping Granny:

'marriage can (biblically) be celebrated between a man and a woman'
GG

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GG: I'm glad to hear it, and I suspect so is the Grandad. Otherwise my lovely wife and I, like you, have been "living in sin" for the past 40 years.

But perhaps your reference was really intended to distance yourself from those who believe that marriage can be biblically celebrated ONLY between a man and a woman !
 

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Posted by Anesti (# 18259) on :
 
I am a Roman Catholic but I did not receive my confirmation until I was 30.

My father is RCC but my mother is Free Church of Scotland and I attended a CoE church as a child.

Living in Italy as I do, it is lovely to be able to attend Church in some of the most beautiful churches in the World. When I am back in the UK, however, I do like to visit typically English (often Anglican) churches that I find myself missing.

I have a soft spot for the Passionists and I go on retreats for short times at their monastery.

I also love the Orthodox sacred music and I have a growing interest in their form of worship.

While I have utmost respect for all denominations, if I am honest I have to admit to a preference: In the terms off the Secret Worshipper dichotomy I would say that I prefer "stiff" to "happy".

[ 27. October 2014, 11:13: Message edited by: Anesti ]
 

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Posted by Pomona (# 17175) on :
 
Raised in a totally secular (UK) home - dad is a very lapsed Catholic who identifies as humanist but prays to St Anthony when he loses things. Mum is generally non-religious. I became a Christian in my late teens (am 25 now) somewhat surprisingly though street evangelism - it never fails to suprise me that this worked on me of all people! Parents disapproved of church attendance so it wasn't until I moved to East Sussex and was living alone that I could go to church, and started at a conservative evangelical Anglican church. Was baptised at 18 there. Since then have gone up and up the candle and not sure where I am now - there are certainly many people here who are more high-church than me, and I can't let go entirely of evangelicalism since I value many things it's given me. Modern Catholic/evangelical Catholic would seem to be a good fit, though not so easy to find in the CoE. My feelings on the ordination of women and other Dead Horses, alas, prevent me from going to Rome. I think if I was in the US I would be very comfortable in the Lutheran church (ELCA).
 

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Posted by hatless (# 3365) on :
 
I'm another Baptist, very liberal - actually I like to think I'm completely liberal.

These days I'm a hospital chaplain and my ministry is offering a sort of generic spirituality - and I quite like it.
 

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Posted by Motylos (# 18216) on :
 
What a wonderful variety of personal perspectives on faith — seriously! And, even more so, a place where this variegation and variety communicates, even vigorously (to keep up the alliteration)
I grew up in a very ‘Via Media’ Anglicanism in the Church in Wales — ‘High’ Mattins every other Sunday at 11 o’clock.
Something obviously went wrong and I felt felt drawn to being a priest. Tried lots of things to avoid that too, and failed.
Now retired from parochial ministry, I feel somewhat freer from the constraints of Church of England bureaucracy — but not a lot freer, as I always tried to be open and understanding.
Have some duties at the local parish, which is nice, and different, as it is a slightly different liturgical setting to where I was.
But there are a variety of people, and the Vicar lets me do my own thing, to a great extent.
I have been mistaken for charismatic, which I would never see myself as, certainly erring to the more Catholic in liturgy, but with a fascination for the text of the Bible and other scriptures.
 

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Posted by Motylos (# 18216) on :
 
Oh, and Don’t let the picture fool you — I am definitely male — I just liked the image.

 

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Posted by Motylos (# 18216) on :
 

quote:

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I'm another Baptist, very liberal - actually I like to think I'm completely liberal.

These days I'm a hospital chaplain and my ministry is offering a sort of generic spirituality - and I quite like it.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jemima the 9th:

quote:

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Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Were I to give testimony, I'd have to begin "you see there was this girl...."

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Mine would begin "I wanted to meet some boys......."

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quote:

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Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:

quote:

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Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Were I to give testimony, I'd have to begin "you see there was this girl...."

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And mine would begin "My friend asked me if I would like to meet some girls. When I said yes, he invited me to a youth group. He didn't mention Christianity once."

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