A Little Theological Question?
I had a theological conversation with a friend, Guitar Man, today, and we both raised some very interesting points that I wish to share.
A mutual friend of ours had expressed his anger with the Baptist church because they had never taught him the book of Acts. Guitar Man replied to him that he was mad at the Pentecostal church because they never taught him anything else.
Think about it. If you are UPC or another A/P organization, most likely "standards" were preached hard and heavy along with the 3-step plan of salvation. I was raised to think there was a formula to live by and get to heaven. Follow the formula and you will be rewarded, miss any step and you will be doomed forever. I can't speak for any other denomination, but to hear them talk, it seems as they are taught to repent and say a prayer and they make it to heaven. The rest of their life doesn't really matter.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in Jesus Name Baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost, but I think sometimes that's all we concentrate on, that we miss so many other things. For the longest time I knew very little about my beliefs except, be baptized in Jesus Name, speak in tongues, and look the proper way. We are so busy pushing "oneness" on people that we don't even realize that those that believe in the "trinity" believe basically the same thing we do. I think many people forget that speaking in tongues is evidence of the Holy Ghost, not the Holy Ghost itself.
What about loving our neighbor as our self, taking care of the widows and homeless, and bearing the fruit of the spirit? What about operating in the gifts of the spirit? What about living in grace and forgiveness? Why wasn't that preached just as much?
Where did the church go wrong? When did people who consider themselves Christians become so involved in their own agenda that they pushed it more than they pushed God?
A mutual friend of ours had expressed his anger with the Baptist church because they had never taught him the book of Acts. Guitar Man replied to him that he was mad at the Pentecostal church because they never taught him anything else.
Think about it. If you are UPC or another A/P organization, most likely "standards" were preached hard and heavy along with the 3-step plan of salvation. I was raised to think there was a formula to live by and get to heaven. Follow the formula and you will be rewarded, miss any step and you will be doomed forever. I can't speak for any other denomination, but to hear them talk, it seems as they are taught to repent and say a prayer and they make it to heaven. The rest of their life doesn't really matter.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in Jesus Name Baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost, but I think sometimes that's all we concentrate on, that we miss so many other things. For the longest time I knew very little about my beliefs except, be baptized in Jesus Name, speak in tongues, and look the proper way. We are so busy pushing "oneness" on people that we don't even realize that those that believe in the "trinity" believe basically the same thing we do. I think many people forget that speaking in tongues is evidence of the Holy Ghost, not the Holy Ghost itself.
What about loving our neighbor as our self, taking care of the widows and homeless, and bearing the fruit of the spirit? What about operating in the gifts of the spirit? What about living in grace and forgiveness? Why wasn't that preached just as much?
Where did the church go wrong? When did people who consider themselves Christians become so involved in their own agenda that they pushed it more than they pushed God?
Comments
Guitar Man
As far as what you were taught (Jesus name baptism, infilling), I wasn't raised Pentecostal so I can't say much on your part but I have also heard plenty of sermons on the fruits of the spirit, grace, forgivness. Not just the standards, infilling and baptism. However, I found it to search my Bible myself and found the differnces. Guitar Man, did you do Bible studies to find questions to your anwers to see if there was more than just standards and oneness? On the flip side, I did (Was Baptist and searched out more than just what I was taught from the pulpit. I found more than what I had been taught.) But I didn't get mad at the baptist b/c they didn't teach it to me. What right do I have to get mad @ someone when they have only taught me what they feel is important? It's your heart that tells you what to do and preach. And if someone disagrees with you...SO WHAT!! We arent here to please man anyway, wer are here to plase CHRIST.The same for evangelists & whoever else may be doing the preaching.
I've talked too much....
Yes, I have done many bible studies and have searched the word of God for the last several years, though I will admit I probably was not very studious at times, I find myself at peace with my “current” beliefs. My whole issue with “oneness” Pentecostals (I am one by the way) is that there is a very common attitude that "we" have the truth and everyone else is wrong. We spend so much time worried about hair length, short skirts, and defending ourselves from the Trinitarians that we don’t have much time for anything else. And while I have heard many helpful messages, being UPC for 27 years, I feel like I have had a very lopsided view of Christianity not to mention the rest of the world.
Now, if I had to do it all over again I would still want to be raised in the Apostolic/Pentecostal faith. My point was not so much that I was mad but that I was using the same words my friend used to show how I, basically, feel the same way about the faith that I was raised in as was he in his faith. Because I was taught that Baptist were wrong then I missed out on some very valuable truths that they teach and that I feel we have almost completely ignored as Apostolics. At the same time, the Baptist are missing out on the empowerment of the Holy Ghost and the gifts of the spirit that we take for granted because we aren’t allowed to fellowship with them or even consider them brothers.
Would it be wrong to think that there are things that we could learn from each other and possibly see another outpouring comparing to the book of Acts? Is it wrong to think that Baptist are part of the body of Christ and can contribute greatly to the work and survival of the body?
I don’t have time to go into all of these issues but I feel safe to say that our emphasis as Pentecostals hasn’t always allowed a balanced view of Christianity and in some cases we don’t have a correct doctrinal view in regard to our daily walk with God or living a life overcoming sin. In my opinion, we are mostly about a three-step formula, rules, and traditions that in some cases have been elevated to the point of idolatry.