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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Why do Protestants go to church?
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Corvo
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# 15220
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Posted
Catholics go to church to receive and grow in the grace which leads to holiness and ultimate salvation. But why do Protestants go? If salvation comes through faith in God's promises, what difference does it make whether you go to church or not?
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Cottontail
Shipmate
# 12234
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Posted
Protestants go to church to receive and grow in the grace which leads to holiness.
So not so different to Catholics, really. It's probably more a question of theological ordering than outright difference. We understand our salvation not so much as the goal of worship, but as as the starting point, inspiring our praise and our utmost devotion. (I suspect Catholic theology also contains this concept.) While I'm not endorsing every one of its sentiments, this old hymn expresses it rather well:
My God, I love thee, not because I hope for heaven thereby.
So yes, our ultimate salvation is in God's hands, but that doesn't mean we don't also have an understanding of sanctification as a process as well. On God's part, our salvation is assured, but we still have to grow into it.
ETA: I write here as a Reformed Protestant, and this reflects my tradition's theology. It occurs to me that those of a Wesleyan tradition might express it differently.
[ 15. June 2013, 08:34: Message edited by: Cottontail ]
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"I don't think you ought to read so much theology," said Lord Peter. "It has a brutalizing influence."
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anteater
Ship's pest-controller
# 11435
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Posted
Sounds a bit of a daft question and I wondered if it was from an uber-catholic but I note you are Anglican. Which is not the same as Protestant at least to Anglo-Catholics.
So are you a Protestant? If so do you go to church in which case you can answer your own question.
I see no real difference between Catholics and Protestants on this. They go for the same reason, albeit with different emphases regarding sacraments preaching and fellowship.
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South Coast Kevin
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# 16130
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Posted
I meet with fellow Christians* to grow in faith through the mutual encouragement, strengthening and challenge that can (but doesn't always, of course) happen when Christians gather together. Your profile says you're Anglican, Corvo, so how would you describe your reasons for going to church services (if you do, of course!)?
*Sorry, I hate the phrase 'go to church'. We are the church so IMO it's not helpful to talk about 'going to church'.
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Ad Orientem
Shipmate
# 17574
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Posted
The two (salvation through faith and through the sacraments of the Church) aren't necessarily opposed to one another and, in fact, they aren't. As for Protestants going to Church, you will probably find that many will say it's not necessary.
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TurquoiseTastic
Fish of a different color
# 8978
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Posted
One reason Protestants (and presumably Catholics and Orthodox) go to church is that we are instructed "not to stop meeting together" in Scripture, surely?
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by anteater:
Sounds a bit of a daft question . . .
I see no real difference between Catholics and Protestants on this. They go for the same reason, albeit with different emphases regarding sacraments preaching and fellowship.
It was a serious question. Maybe it should have been do Protestants need to go to church?
If justification/righteousness is imputed on the basis of faith/trust, rather than infused through the grace of the sacraments (surely more than a mere difference of 'emphasis'?) is church going necessary?
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Vade Mecum
Shipmate
# 17688
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
Catholics go to church to receive and grow in the grace which leads to holiness and ultimate salvation. But why do Protestants go? If salvation comes through faith in God's promises, what difference does it make whether you go to church or not?
(Amongst many other reasons) To hear the Word of God broken open by one appointed (ordained/elected/delegated according to preference) by the Church to do so, and/or by one possessing the charismata/skills to do so.
That would be a classically 16th-18th century position, I would imagine.
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I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
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daisymay
St Elmo's Fire
# 1480
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Posted
Protestants like to be together to hear the Bible, which they read every day at home, and to sing hymns about God, and hear the teaching words of the ministers.
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by anteater:
Sounds a bit of a daft question and I wondered if it was from an uber-catholic but I note you are Anglican. Which is not the same as Protestant at least to Anglo-Catholics.
So are you a Protestant? If so do you go to church in which case you can answer your own question.
quote:
Originally posted by South Coast Kevin:
. . . Your profile says you're Anglican, Corvo, so how would you describe your reasons for going to church services (if you do, of course!)?
My question was intended to be a serious theological one. But, for what its worth, I usually go to anglo-catholic churches because I appreciate the 'aura of sacredness' I find there. But I don't think that answers 'my own question'.
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
I agree with South Coast Kevin that we don't just 'go to' church, we are the church. As a catholic-minded Anglican I believe that 'being the church' is expressed primarily in our taking part in the liturgy of the Mass, Eucharist, Holy Communion or whatever you call it, because in that way our feeble devotion is united with the perfect offering of Christ and we are transformed to reflect God's glory.
Of course, the test of whether or not we are truly 'being the church' is not how dignified or inspiring our worship is, but how we live out our faith in the world. But without the Mass at the centre of it all we are going to be thrown back on our own fallible resources.
I can well imagine that many protestants who don't have the same belief about the Eucharist, or even abjure sacraments altogether, might understand that meeting to hear the Word of God is a similar and vital focal point.
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Another answer on another aspect. Being a Christian is not just about personal salvation, it is about living in community both with God and with others. The only way to grow in community is to turn up to community and though I am pretty sure God makes exceptions for those in solitary confinement and on desert islands, I am very sure that as part of being a Christian for the rest of us is to participate in community.
What is more I am very sure that God wants us to be in community with the people we DO NOT GET on with and that is more than just taking the sacraments. Indeed for this Protestant if sacraments are means of Grace then participating in the activities of the Christian community is a sacrament.
Jengie
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Martin60
Shipmate
# 368
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Posted
In answer to the OP, for the life of me I no longer know. I'm a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt still. But I can't see it. Shadows in the darkness at best.
JJ - we are of a certain fellowship, you and I, and you can do and say no wrong as far as I'm concerned - but ! What community ?
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
There is a hundred and one answers to that one Martin and it depends what sort of a mood I am in.
Perhaps the community of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who take the unwashed body of Christ down from the cross.
Jengie
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daronmedway
Shipmate
# 3012
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
Catholics go to church to receive and grow in the grace which leads to holiness and ultimate salvation. But why do Protestants go? If salvation comes through faith in God's promises, what difference does it make whether you go to church or not?
Theoretically speaking, protestants go to the church to avail themselves of the means of grace: the preaching of God's word, the administration of the sacraments, pastoral care and the discipline of the church. Why? Because they want their lives to bring glory to the God who has saved them by grace through faith in Christ.
[ 15. June 2013, 10:57: Message edited by: daronmedway ]
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daronmedway
Shipmate
# 3012
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by TurquoiseTastic:
One reason Protestants (and presumably Catholics and Orthodox) go to church is that we are instructed "not to stop meeting together" in Scripture, surely?
Yes, but we're not expected to spend time with the church out of blind obedience. It's OK to ask why that command it in scripture.
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Galilit
Shipmate
# 16470
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Posted
For the Word
For the Sermon (at least the first 10 min and the last 5 min if not the whole thing for the usual reasons of disagreement or undisciplined drifting off)
For the Sacrament of Communion. Which is weekly at our shack.
For me personally the Confession and Assurance of forgiveness has become much more important in the last ten years. Probably since I became so much more aware of that particular sacrament with exposure to RC and Anglican (bad??!)influences. And as I get older I am less uncomfortable seeing myself as "a sinner".
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South Coast Kevin
Shipmate
# 16130
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by daronmedway:
Theoretically speaking, protestants go to the church to avail themselves of the means of grace: the preaching of God's word, the administration of the sacraments, pastoral care and the discipline of the church.
Speak for yourself, Mr Medway! I don't think I'd describe my 'go[ing] to the church' (assuming this means 'attending a church service') as being for any of those reasons.
IMO we can avail ourselves of the means of grace through a range of activities in a range of places. Likewise, I don't engage with God's word just at church services, and even then there's nothing sacred or special about preaching as a way of engaging with the Bible. And finally, pastoral care and discipline shouldn't be restricted to the church service; they should be a constant thread through all our interactions with other Christians.
Perhaps the label 'Protestant' doesn't really apply to me, I don't know...
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Anselmina
Ship's barmaid
# 3032
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
The two (salvation through faith and through the sacraments of the Church) aren't necessarily opposed to one another and, in fact, they aren't. As for Protestants going to Church, you will probably find that many will say it's not necessary.
Are you thinking of any particular Protestant denomination, when you say 'many'? I can think of countless Roman Catholics, and non-denominationalists, of my acquaintance who will also say 'going to church' isn't necessary, and who feel they prove it by not going anywhere near a church while - in their minds - still considering themselves a Catholic and/or whatever other kind of Christian there is. So are you talking institutional Protestant Churches or individual Protestants?
Institutionally, I haven't yet come across a Protestant Church that teaches that going to church is optional. And I presume that regardless of how many Roman Catholics tell me churchgoing isn't necessary for them or their religion, I know that their Church thinks and teaches otherwise.
I'm a Protestant - and Anglican - and I go to worship God. I know there are other reasons to go to church, but generally I thought most other people also went to church to worship God. To me, that would be the priority surely of attending an ordinary service?
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SvitlanaV2
Shipmate
# 16967
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Posted
For Protestants in the Nonconformist and more recent Pentecostal and evangelical traditions the sermon, 'preaching the Word', has been the main attraction of communal church life. It's been more important in practice, if not necessarily in theory, than taking communion. I've heard of Catholics who go to church to take communion, and then leave. This makes no sense from a deeply Protestant perspective.
The downside of prioritising sermons is that their quality, content and context are hugely variable, and preachers and congregations are variable too. A sermon can disappoint you, but presumably the bread and wine always maintain their mystical powers, regardless of what's going on in your life or your soul.
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anselmina:
. . . Institutionally, I haven't yet come across a Protestant Church that teaches that going to church is optional . . .
Apart from asserting that it is, what reasons do these Protestant churches give for it not being optional? Or rather, what positive reasons do they give for it being compulsory?
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LutheranChik
Shipmate
# 9826
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Posted
Hmmm. We Lutherans are Protestant and sacramental. We go to church to receive the benefits of the Sacraments, to participate in community worship and edification, as has been the custom of God's people throughout history and to marshal our faith community's resources for the benefit of our neighbors (in the broadest sense of the word).
[ 15. June 2013, 12:39: Message edited by: LutheranChik ]
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SvitlanaV2
Shipmate
# 16967
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by LutheranChik:
Hmmm. We Lutherans are Protestant and sacramental. We go to church to receive the benefits of the Sacraments, to participate in community worship and edification, as has been the custom of God's people throughout history and to marshal our faith community's resources for the benefit of our neighbors (in the broadest sense of the word).
I don't think the Lutheran Church fits into the rather British Nonconformist category that I referred to. It's unsurprising that the Lutherans are both Protestant and sacramental; you're historically and stylistically closer to the RCC than the Nonconformist churches are, even though your theology may be very different from the RCC in other respects.
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Svitlana
British Non-Conformists is very broad, basically anyone who in 1663 would not sign up to the 39 Articles and the Prayer book and was not specifically Roman Catholic.
That would mean any Lutherans that were in England, Arminian, any Pelagian and I can go on. It is one of the reasons that Congregational church structure has been the dominant form. There as in the CofE is a strong Reformed strand but the variety of theological stances far out does the CofE. Basically they drew the lines and we took everyone who was outside of it.
Jengie
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by TurquoiseTastic:
One reason Protestants (and presumably Catholics and Orthodox) go to church is that we are instructed "not to stop meeting together" in Scripture, surely?
So we go becuase it's a rule to go?
No. That's not it.
Because even we evangelicals, who often concentrate on the salvation of individuals and play down the corporate aspects of salvation, have a sense of being part of the church, the body of Christ. there is a sense tha we work out our salvation along with others.
Just don't expect to hear this in many evangelical sermons. Acceptance of the corporate nature of the church tends to be tacit, but it is still there.
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Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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SvitlanaV2
Shipmate
# 16967
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Posted
Jengie Jon
I'm sure you're correct, theoretically speaking. But Lutheranism seems to have survived as a dominant state-supported church in Continental Europe, rather than as a culturally or numerically significant presence in British Nonconformism.
I accept that in the USA everyone is a 'Nonconformist', in the sense that there is no state church. Do Americans use this word to describe their churches?
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tclune
Shipmate
# 7959
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Posted
I don't know about other Protestants, but I go to church as an act of worship. It isn't a deed for which I expect credit.
--Tom Clune
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
I certainly see Lutheranism as the equivalent of Anglicanism in continental Europe.
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LutheranChik
Shipmate
# 9826
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Posted
Svitlana. No. To the extent that Americans would use the term "Nonconformist" at all (it's a pretty big word for us -- that was a joke), it would probably only be in the context of describing the Puritans...whom we usually just call Puritans; or social nonconformists of any or no spiritual persuasion.
PS Some of us suspect that the Southern Baptist Convention would love to become the default expression of Christianity in the US, which would make all the rest of us nonconformists, I suppose, in some future
Handmaid's Tale dystopia.
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Kitten
Shipmate
# 1179
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
Protestants like to be together to hear the Bible, which they read every day at home, and to sing hymns about God, and hear the teaching words of the ministers.
Not all of us like to sing hymns, some of us just tolerate them
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Maius intra qua extra
Never accept a ride from a stranger, unless they are in a big blue box
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
Jengie Jon
I'm sure you're correct, theoretically speaking. But Lutheranism seems to have survived as a dominant state-supported church in Continental Europe, rather than as a culturally or numerically significant presence in British Nonconformism.
Yes but that is its absence from the whole of UK churchmanship including Anglicanism. Anglicanism is Erastian-Calvinian mix (and actually many of the high elements come from Calvin, there does not seem to be much Zwinglianism in it unlike other Reformed traditions). It is not Lutheran much as it at times like to think it is.
Jengie
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Zach82
Shipmate
# 3208
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Posted
Lutheran congregations would have been categorized as "stranger church" and were under the authority of the Bishop of London, if'n I'm not mistaken. Non-conformism was a matter of English people not being part of the State Church.
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Anselmina
Ship's barmaid
# 3032
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
quote:
Originally posted by Anselmina:
. . . Institutionally, I haven't yet come across a Protestant Church that teaches that going to church is optional . . .
Apart from asserting that it is, what reasons do these Protestant churches give for it not being optional? Or rather, what positive reasons do they give for it being compulsory?
The ones that I'm aware of would normally quote something like 'do not neglect the fellowship as some are in the habit of doing' from Paul's writings, and point to the very many references from scripture where it's clear Christ's disciples met together regularly and that this was a desirable if not essential part of being the Body of Christ.
I know of a few Brethren, Pentecostal and Christian Community style Churches, in fact, who are very strong on regular attendance. A little like the Holiness clubs of the Wesleys where one's card needed to be punched (so to speak) to prove attendance at one's parish church, if one wished to be fully accepted ino the new Methodism.
Also, it would be rather difficult to be a Church institution without a rather strict policy - or least ideal - of churchgoing being part and parcel of the membership. 'Yes, we have this lovely big building for everyone to gather in and worship God together, but it's not in the least important that you actually come!' I struggle to even imagine how that would work.
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
What I originally had in mind was, perhaps, a more theological question. Given that in Protestantism salvation comes through personal faith - rather than institutional channels of grace - is participation in worship ultimately about anything other than edification?
Posts: 672 | From: The Most Holy Trinity, Coach Lane, North Shields | Registered: Oct 2009
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I go to church because they have good coffee afterwards.
This of course leaves the question: why do Anglicans go to church? ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
What I originally had in mind was, perhaps, a more theological question. Given that in Protestantism salvation comes through personal faith - rather than institutional channels of grace - is participation in worship ultimately about anything other than edification?
Corvo
Protestantism has never said "Personal faith" that is your spin. It says "faith", the million dollar question is "What is faith?" what is clear to me as a sociologist is "Faith" is not solely intellectual assent. Indeed I have heard Protestants argue that it is Christ's faith in us nor our faith at all that counts. Quite a few Reformed type quite like this.
Oh and going to church is not necessarily about Salvation. A good Reformed stance would be because God desires it!
Jengie
[ 15. June 2013, 16:44: Message edited by: Jengie Jon ]
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Cara
Shipmate
# 16966
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Posted
I think the OP is confusing, because, in conversation, "Catholic" usually means Roman Catholic, but then your subsequent posts suggest that you, an Anglican who goes to "anglo-catholic" churches, consider yourself Catholic. Of course I am aware that there are more and less catholic-leaning strands within Anglicanism, and one can call oneself a catholic-leaning Anglican. But in a discussion like this, isn't it clearer if one specifies what one means by "Catholic" ?
Shouldn't the OP have been worded more clearly, something like "Roman Catholics and Anglo-Catholics....." (if indeed you are including the latter) rather than just saying "Catholics..."???
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
What I originally had in mind was, perhaps, a more theological question. Given that in Protestantism salvation comes through personal faith - rather than institutional channels of grace - is participation in worship ultimately about anything other than edification?
Ok, I guess I myself, as a cradle Roman Catholic and now Anglican, am catholic-leaning, and not "Protestant." So I can't speak for people who consider themselves Protestant. But is it ever as cut-and-dried as you suggest? Yes, salvation comes through personal faith in the Protestant view--but surely one can also hold that gathering with other Christians is crucial (and enjoined by St Paul, as has been said) and that Communion is an important part of practising the faith--as has also been said, the very earliest Christians gathered together to pray and break bread together, which became the eucharistic gathering....Justin Martyr and Didache and other early witnesses, as well as Acts and Paul's letters, attest to this.
So surely it would be an unusual Protestant who said personal faith by itself is absolutely all there is to the Christian life?
Yes, it may the way to salvation; but there's more to the Christian life than just whether or not one is "saved," and surely most Protestants would say so?
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
I don't think my own affiliation or any distinction between types of Catholic is particularly relevant.
My understanding of the difference between 'Catholic' and 'Protestant' (in general) is that, at root, with the former salvation is understood in terms of a growing in grace (primarily) through the sacraments mediated by the church, whereas in the latter it is understood in terms of a personal faith (trust) in the promises of God. The former is expressed though the idea of infused righteousness, the latter through that of imputed righteousness. The former seems to make an institutional church essential; the latter . . . ? And that's my question.
Posts: 672 | From: The Most Holy Trinity, Coach Lane, North Shields | Registered: Oct 2009
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
quote:
Corvo: Given that in Protestantism salvation comes through personal faith
I'm a Protestant, and I don't believe this. I'm a little hazy on what 'salvation' means, but if anything, it comes from God.
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
Corvo: Given that in Protestantism salvation comes through personal faith
I'm a Protestant, and I don't believe this. I'm a little hazy on what 'salvation' means, but if anything, it comes from God.
How about this then: In Protestantism salvation comes by grace through faith (Ephesians 2.8). But isn't that 'faith' trust (fiducia) in righteousness imputed, in the promises of God? And without any mediating church?
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HCH
Shipmate
# 14313
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Posted
Why does any Christian attend a church service? I think many would say "to worship God". The details may vary. of course, one can worship God anytime and anywhere; a church service is a community event in which we instruct, comfort and strengthen each other. Solo worship may sometimes be the right choice, but most of us, most of the time, need the community.
By the way, I don't see a dichotomy of faith versus grace; I see a question also of good works. (I suspect the disaster-relief worker who loses track of the days of the week need not worry.)
Posts: 1540 | From: Illinois, USA | Registered: Nov 2008
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LutheranChik
Shipmate
# 9826
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Posted
Corvo: I think an issue here is that you're focusing exclusively on the "saved from what?" element of the salvation equation at the expense of the "saved for what?" Justification, at least for us Lutherans and for people with similar doctrinal stances, is all about God saving us. I cannot add a single thing, a single good work or right thought or feeling to God's saving action in order to be "justified-er" than the next person; justification all about God's saving action. (I'll add, before someone else does, that I realize the complication here regarding baptism -- the fact that this saving on God's initiative, has been understood to take place through baptism, something done through the offices of the faith community. But just work with me here for a moment.)
"Saved for what?" is a different question. We're saved, the saying goes, to love God and help our neighbor. Anyone who's ever tried to do this "freelance" will soon discover that, as hard as it can be to deal with other people sometimes, it's arguably harder to operate as a church-of-one without falling into subjectivity, lack of guidance/support and frustration. That's why Christians practice their faith in communities (even the cantankerous Desert Fathers and Mothers were part of communities.)
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Simul iustus et peccator
http://www.lutheranchiklworddiary.blogspot.com
Posts: 6462 | From: rural Michigan, USA | Registered: Jul 2005
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
Anglicanism is Erastian-Calvinian mix (and actually many of the high elements come from Calvin, there does not seem to be much Zwinglianism in it unlike other Reformed traditions). It is not Lutheran much as it at times like to think it is.
Actually, Jengie, Anglicanism is none of these things. The Church of England is a legitimate successor of the historic Catholic Church that has been present in this country since long before St Augustine, let alone Calvin or Luther. At the 'Reformation' it renounced the political power of the papacy, but the first 'Anglicans' were in other respects orthodox Catholics (Henry VIII, despite his many sins, in particular). Later generations were obviously influenced by the continental reformers, and the character of the C of E as we now know it has been moulded by their thought. But it is by no means unanglican to look more to early and medieval Catholic traditions than to the teaching of Calvin et al.
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Brian: You're all individuals!
Crowd: We're all individuals!
Lone voice: I'm not!
Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
Corvo: Given that in Protestantism salvation comes through personal faith
I'm a Protestant, and I don't believe this. I'm a little hazy on what 'salvation' means, but if anything, it comes from God.
He didn't say FROM he said THROUGH.
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
Anglicanism is Erastian-Calvinian mix (and actually many of the high elements come from Calvin, there does not seem to be much Zwinglianism in it unlike other Reformed traditions). It is not Lutheran much as it at times like to think it is.
Actually, Jengie, Anglicanism is none of these things. The Church of England is a legitimate successor of the historic Catholic Church that has been present in this country since long before St Augustine, let alone Calvin or Luther. At the 'Reformation' it renounced the political power of the papacy, but the first 'Anglicans' were in other respects orthodox Catholics (Henry VIII, despite his many sins, in particular). Later generations were obviously influenced by the continental reformers, and the character of the C of E as we now know it has been moulded by their thought. But it is by no means unanglican to look more to early and medieval Catholic traditions than to the teaching of Calvin et al.
Ahh you are believing the myth they tell you. The 39 Articles are a relatively low form of Calvinism. England at the time of the Restoration did not disagree on theology but on how the church should be governed and that was more to do with the Stuart kings wanting to be in control of the church and felt Bishops were the best way to do that. The claim to be successor is duplicated in every single historic form of Protestantism. There are Roman Catholic theologians who claim Calvin is the last to the Great Medieval Scholastics.
You are over emphasising much that Protestantism took from the Western Church and not noticing where it has a specific Reformed spin.
Jengie
[ 16. June 2013, 08:02: Message edited by: Jengie Jon ]
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
I realise (and apologise if) I have only offered a caricature of how salvation is understood in Protestantism.
I was only trying to make the point that 'going to church' is essential to the Catholic understanding because salvation comes through growing in the grace mediated through the sacraments - the Eucharist is food for the journey.
And then I was asking (and forgive me for doing so in a headline grabbing sort of way) how 'going to church' is understood by those who understand salvation more as an 'event' than a journey.
Posts: 672 | From: The Most Holy Trinity, Coach Lane, North Shields | Registered: Oct 2009
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
Le Roc,Anglicans and Lutherans generally take this morning's reading from Galatians as saying that we are saved by faith through grace.
Jengie Jon, As to the Restoration: Clarendon (Hyde) and his group managed very deftly to move the Presbyterians and Puritans well out of the way, and to reinstate bishops very quickly. Some of us are very grateful for their work.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Trisagion
Shipmate
# 5235
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
Catholics go to church to receive and grow in the grace which leads to holiness and ultimate salvation. But why do Protestants go? If salvation comes through faith in God's promises, what difference does it make whether you go to church or not?
Your major premise is incorrect, I would suggest. Catholics "go to church" - I too loathe that expression - to worship God, or more accurately to enter into the worship of God. They do this in specific ways that accord with the teaching and tradition of the Catholic Church. They may receive and grow in grace as a result. How is that different from what Protestants, however they may defined, do?
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ceterum autem censeo tabula delenda esse
Posts: 3923 | Registered: Nov 2003
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fletcher christian
Mutinous Seadog
# 13919
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Posted
I'd tend to agree with Trisagion. The concept of 'going to church' to 'get' something seems a bit lopsided to me.
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'God is love insaturable, love impossible to describe'
Staretz Silouan
Posts: 5235 | From: a prefecture | Registered: Jul 2008
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