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different systems of Theology

“I am on Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas, and I of Christ”

 

Introduction

1.     Why are there so many denominations?

a.      This question is often asked with the assumption that there are no legitimate reasons for so many Christian sects.

b.     According to the World Christian Encyclopedia there are over 2000 Christian denominational bodies in the US. with 20,800 Christian denominations worldwide classified into seven major blocs and 156 ecclesiastical traditions.

c.      While unity is a high priority, so is orthodoxy.

2.     Some legitimate reasons for various denominational groups.

a.      Apostasy – One group departing from the truth requiring the faithful to separate from that group to remain faithful.

b.     Apostasy is often a cover for the true reason for a denominational split (which may be less legitimate).

3.     Some illegitimate reasons for various sects.

a.      Ethnic or national identity – various Lutheran synods.

b.     Styles of worship, leadership, or ministry –

c.      Power struggles –

d.     Political differences – Northern and Southern Presbyterians.

A.  The relative size of various denominations.

1.   It is estimated that there are over 385,000 congregations in the US. Most of them with less than 75 in weekly attendance.

2.   Recent Gallup polls (report #259) indicate the following preferences among adult Americans.

a.   Protestant = 58%

1.   Baptist = 20%
a.   Southern Baptist Convention = 10%
b.   American Baptist = 2%
c.   All other Baptists = 8%
2.   Methodist = 9%
a.   United Methodist  = 7%
b.   All other Methodists = 2%
3.   Lutheran = 5%
a.   American Lutheran = 2%
b.   Lutheran Church in America = 1%
c.   Missouri Synod = 1%
d.   All other Lutherans = 1%
4.   Presbyterian = 2%
5.   Episcopal = 2%
6.   United Church of Christ (Congregationalist) = 2%
7.   Disciples of Christ = 2%
8.   Other Protestants = 16%

b.   Catholic = 28%

c.   Jewish = 2%

d.   Other = 4%

e.   No affiliation = 8%

3.   Evangelicals (from many different denominations) make up about 22% of the population. (An evangelical is defined as one who can answer “yes” to each of the following questions.)

a.   I have made a “born again” commitment to Christ (40% of total population say “yes”)

b.   I have encouraged someone else to accept Christ. (48% say “yes”)

c.      I believe the Bible to be the Word of God and to be taken literally. (37% say “yes”)

 

Note: Robert Webber in The Younger Evangelicals notes stages in Evangelical development in the Twentieth Century

 

 

Traditional evangelicals        1950-1975

Pragmatic evangelicals 1975-2000

Young evangelicals 2000-

Historical events

After WWII

After the 60s

After 911

Symbolic leader

Billy Graham

Bill Hybels

Brian McLaren

Worldview

Modern

Technological

Postmodern

Communication

Print – verbal

Broadcast – presentational

Internet – interactive

Generation

Booster – traditional

Boomer – innovative

Buster – deconstruction

View of history

Maintain tradition

Ignore historical roots

Return to past wisdom

Theology

Rational apologetics

Therapy for needs

Community of faith

Apologetics

Evidential

Experiential

Metanarrative

Christendom

Civil religion

Market driven

Countercultural

Church style

Rural

Megachurch

Intercultural

Leadership style

Pastor

CEO

Team, mentor

Youth ministry

Church -centered

Retreat centered

Spiritual disciplines

Education

Information centered

Need centered

Community centered

Spirituality

Keep the law

Prosperity and success

Authenticity

Worship

Traditional

Contemporary

Convergence

Art

Restrained

Illustration

Embodiment

Evangelism

Mass rally

Seeker service

Process

 

 

 

4.   The family tree of major Protestant denominational groups.

 

1516                                           Lutheran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1560                       Presbyterian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1520                                     Reformed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1612                              Baptist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1534                                    Anglican

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1787                  Methodist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1886              Pentecostal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1525                                                Anabaptist

 

 

 

 

5.   Ecumenism

a.   The modern ecumenical movement began in 1910 as an outgrowth of the missionary movement.

b.   While “The World Council of Churches” (American branch = “National Council of Churches of Christ”) grew out of a response to the embarrassing testimony of competing denominational missions it soon became mired down in the political and “watered down” compromises between liberal and conservative groups.

c.   Carl McIntire was instrumental in “The American Council of Christian Churches”, a conservative foil to the National Council.

d.   Reasons Evangelicals are not generally a part of modern ecumenical movements.

1.   Biblical precedent - I Cor.11:19 “For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.”
2.   Theological differences on fundamentals of the faith.
3.   Differing understandings of the nature of the church.
4.   Differing understandings of mission.
NOTE: Too many divisions in the church are not the result of anything other than selfish pride, narrow minded and dogmatic styles, and ethnic / cultural preferences.

6.     The demography of the church.

a.   How do the various Christian groups compare in numbers of adherents world-wide? (numbers in millions)

 

Roman Catholic (1000)

 

Protestant (425)

 

 

Eastern Orthodox (187)

 

 

Other (267)

 

 

b.   How do the various Protestant groups (in the USA) break down as a percentage of the whole?

 

Baptist (44%)

 

 

Methodist (14%)

 

 

Lutheran (14%)

 

 

Episcopalian (6%)

 

 

Presbyterian (4%)

 

 

Other (18%)

 

 

B.    Differences between Protestant and Catholic doctrine

 

Area

Issue

Protestant position

Catholic Position

Scripture

Sufficiency

Scripture alone

church tradition plus Scripture

 

Apocrypha

rejected

accepted

Man

Original sin

total depravity and guilt inherited from Adam

corruption and predisposition to evil inherited from Adam

 

Human will

in bondage to sin

free to do spiritual good

 

Predestination

rooted in God’s decrees

rooted in God’s foreknowledge

 

 

 

Atonement

Christ’s death a substitutionary penal sacrifice

Christ’s death the merit for blessings of salvation – blessings passed on to sinners through sacraments

Salvation

 

Grace of God

common grace given to all; saving grace given to elect

prevenient grace,  given at baptism, enabling one to believe;  efficacious grace cooperating with the will,  enabling one to obey

 

 

 

Good works

produced by the grace of God, unworthy of merit of any kind

meritorious

Salvation

Regeneration

work of the Holy Spirit in the elect

grace infused at baptism

 

 

Justification

objective, final, judicial act of God

forgiveness of sins received at baptism, may be lost by committing mortal sin, regained by penance

 

Church and Salvation

distinction between visible and invisible church

outside the (visible) church there is no salvation

The church

 

Sacraments

means of grace only as received by faith

convey justifying and sanctifying grace

 

Priesthood

all believers priests

mediators between God and man

 

Transubstant-iation

rejected

affirmed

After life

Purgatory

denied

affirmed

This material is modified from Robert C. Walton’s Chronological and Background Charts of Church History published by Zondervan

 

C.    Differences between Lutheran and Reformed Protestants.

 

Issue

Lutheran position

Reformed position

Order of decrees

calling, illumination, conversion, regeneration, justification, sanctification, glorification

election, predestination, union with Christ, calling, regeneration, faith, repentance, justification, sanctification, glorification

Grace of God

grace received through baptism or preaching, enabling one to avoid resisting the regeneration grace of God

irresistible

Repentance

leads to faith

flows from faith

Baptism

works regeneration, removing guilt and power of sin

Incorporation into the Covenant of Grace

Lord’s supper

Christ present in the sacraments objectively

Sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace to believers; Christ present by faith

Church and state

state church to tutor in the faith the rulers who support Protestantism

holy commonwealth, in which church and state, both Christian, perform their separate functions

Regulative principle

whatever is not forbidden in Scripture is permissible

whatever is not commanded in Scripture is forbidden

This material is modified from Robert C. Walton’s Chronological and Background Charts of Church History published by Zondervan

 

D.  It is helpful to think of the Christian life in terms of God’s work for us, in us, and through us. Various Christian groups can be understood in terms of their respective emphasis of one of these three areas.

Many of the details in the following material are modified from “Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine” by H.Wayne House

 

Those theologies that have a strong emphasis upon

 

What God has done FOR us.

 

1.  Natural Theology (Deism)

      Natural theology is the attempt to attain an understanding of God and his relationship to the universe by means of rational reflection, without appealing to special revelation such as the self-revelation of God in Christ and in Scripture.

2.  Lutheran Theology

      Lutheran Theology builds around the three fundamental doctrines of sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and sola fide (faith alone).

3.  Reformed Theology (Presbyterian)

      Reformed theology builds around the central theme of the sovereignty of God. The whole of reality falls under the supreme rule of God.

4.  Fundamentalist Theology (Many ultra conservative denominations and independent congregations) (religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/fund.html)

      Fundamentalist theology is evangelical theology with an attitude.

5.  Evangelical Theology (Most conservative denominations)

      Evangelical theology embraces the major tenants of the reformed faith as expressed in the following characteristics:

a.   It looks to the Bible as the supreme norm of truth for Christian belief and practice - the biblical message enshrined in its narratives and its interpretations of those narratives.
b.   It holds a supernatural world-view that is centered in a transcendent, personal God who interacts with, and intervenes in, creation.
c.   It focuses on the forgiving and transforming grace of God through Jesus Christ in the experience called conversion as the center of authentic Christian experience.
d.   It believes that the primary task of Christian theology is to serve the church’s mission of bringing God’s grace to the whole world through proclamation and service.

 

 

Those theologies that have a strong emphasis upon

 

What God has done IN us.

 

1.  Anabaptist Theology (Baptist)

      Anabaptists did not stress systematic theological studies. Rather, doctrine was forged as it applied to life. Anabaptists were characterized by missionary zeal, separation of life, and an emphasis on ecclesiology.

2.  Arminian Theology (Methodist)

      Arminian theology is concerned to preserve the justice (fairness) of God. How could a just God hold individuals responsible for obedience to commands they are powerless to obey. Arminian Theology emphasizes divine foreknowledge, human responsibility and free will, and universal (common) enabling grace.

3.  Wesleyan Theology (Methodist)

      Wesleyan theology is essentially Arminian but has a stronger sense of the reality of sin and of dependence on divine grace.

4.  Pentecostal Theology (many denominations)

      Pentecostal theology is usually Arminian in its leaning with a strong emphasis on a “second blessing” or experience with the Holy Spirit that gives the Christian power to minister in the supernatural and a love for emotional praise and worship.

5.  Existential Theology (Elements in many mainline denominations)

      Existential theologians claim that we have to “demythologize” Scripture. “To demythologize Scripture is to reject not Scripture or the Christian message, but the world-view of a past epoch.” That means to explain everything supernatural as myth. The important part of Christian faith consequently becomes a subjective experience, rather than an objective truth) see Salvation). The Bible, when demythologized, does not talk about God, but about man.

6.  Neo-orthodox Theology (Conservative wing of many mainline denominations)

      Neo-orthodoxy is more a hermeneutic than it is a complete systematic theology. It reacted against late-nineteenth-century liberalism and strove to retain the essence of Reformation theology while still adapting to contemporary issues. It is a theology of encounter between God and man.

 

Those theologies that have a strong emphasis upon

 

What God has done THROUGH us.

 

1.  Traditional Roman Catholic Theology

      Theology is constantly evolving in its understanding of the Christian faith. The Ignatian principle of accommodation and J.H. Newman’s principle of development reflect the changing nature of Roman Catholic theology. Catholicism’s trait of change is due mainly to the authoritative position given to church teaching.

2.  Liberal Theology (Elements in many mainline denominations)

      Liberal theologians seek to articulate Christianity in terms of contemporary culture and thinking. They attempt to maintain the essence of Christianity in modern terms and images.

3.  Liberation Theology (Politically activistic liberalism in many mainline seminaries)

      Theology is not seen as a system of dogmas but rather as a way to initiate social change. This view has been called the “liberation of theology” (H. Segundo). This theology grew out of Vatican II and the liberal theologians’ attempts to wrestle with social, political, and economic inequities in the face of a Christianity no longer based on a biblical world view. Much of the setting for liberation theology has been Latin America, and this theology has become an answer to the political oppression of the poor. The proponents often have different views; there is really no “unified” liberation theology. Rather, it is a number of closely related “alternatives” springing from common roots. Rather than a classical theology concerned with such theological matters as the nature of God, man, or the future, liberation theology is concerned with this world and how changes may occur through political action. In Latin America, especially, Roman Catholic theologians have sought to combine Christianity and Marxism.

4.  Black Theology (Some African American churches)

      Black theology is a form of liberation theology that has its center in the theme of oppression of blacks by whites. It came out of the “need for black people to define the scope and meaning of black existence in a white racist society” (Cone). It emerged in the last two decades in the wave of liberation movements as an expression of black consciousness and seems to speak to the issues that blacks must contend with on a daily basis.

5. Contemporary Feminist Theological Models (Elements in some mainline denominations and seminaries)

1.   Rejectionist (Post-Christian) Sees the Bible as promoting an oppressive patriarchal structure and rejects it as nonauthoritative. This is sometimes termed “gender feminism.”

2.   Loyalist (Evangelical) Sees no radically oppressive sexism in the biblical record.

3.   Reformist (Liberation) As with Rejectionists Reformists see patriarchal chauvinism in the Bible and Christian history and have a desire to overcome it. Its commitment to liberation as the central message of the Bible keeps it from discarding the Christian tradition.

Pastoral advice

 

What can we learn from each of these theologies?

  1.  Roman Catholicism’s emphasis on the whole (church) being more than the sum of its parts (individual believers) is a strength.

  2.  Natural Theology’s respect for common sense is its strength.

  3.  Lutheran’s distinction between law and grace is a needed emphasis.

  4.  Anabaptist’s separation of church and state is helpful.

  5.  Reformed Theology’s attention to systematics and objective truth is a strength.

  6.  Arminian Theology’s emphasis on human responsibility is important.

  7.  Pentecostal Theology’s openness to emotional praise and the supernatural manifestation of the Spirit in the present.

  8.  Weslyan Theology’s emphasis on holistic conversion is important.

  9.  Liberal Theology’s openness to all truth is admirable.

10.  Existential Theology’s emphasis on personal integrity of faith is vital.

11.  Neo-orthodox Theology’s emphasis on personal subjective encounter with Christ is admirable.          

12.  Liberation Theology’s application of the gospel to social structures is important.

13.  Black Theology’s attention to the WASP influences on theology is helpful.

14.  Feminist Theology’s sensitivity to the abusive treatment of women by the church over the years is helpful.

15.  Fundamentalist Theology’s sensitivity to separation from worldliness and tenacity for the authority of the Bible is its strength.

 

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||    Pope Shenouda    ||    Father Matta    ||    Bishop Mattaous    ||    Fr. Tadros Malaty    ||    Bishop Moussa    ||    Bishop Alexander    ||    Habib Gerguis    ||    Bishop Angealos    ||    Metropolitan Bishoy    ||

||    Prayer of the First Hour    ||    Third Hour    ||    Sixth Hour    ||    Ninth Hour    ||    Vespers (Eleventh Hour)    ||    Compline (Twelfth Hour)    ||    The First Watch of the midnight prayers    ||    The Second Watch of the midnight prayers    ||    The Third Watch of the midnight prayers    ||    The Prayer of the Veil    ||    Various Prayers from the Agbia    ||    Synaxarium