Common Christian practices that are not taught in scripture

[Ken]

It's a weird how you skip the two prior verses, 1 Cor 7:10-11.

I would not say that divorce and remarriage are common Christian practices, or that they are Christian practices at all. As in, '"it is our Christian duty to divorce and remarry"

That is not to say that some Christians in modern times have divorced and remarried. But I would hazard a guess to say that some Christians did so in the early church too as well, not to mention during both the Old and New Testament times.

You could pick any other social practice. Say slavery. It was common during Biblical times. I don't believe Jesus ever speaks out directly against slavery. And Paul even sends a slave back to his master in the Philemon. And up until the 1860s it was a common American practice as well. But that doesn't mean slavery is a CHRISTIAN practice and that one must own slaves to be a good Christian.

Actually, I would agree with you divorce and remarriage is most certainly an UN-Christian practice.

My point is that it has been a consistent HUMAN practice since the dawn of antiquity up to and including the modern day. It existed during both the Old and New Testaments, and has been a practice that Christians have engaged in non-stop during the entire 2,000 year history of Christianity.

But that doesn't make it a Christian practice. Rather, something that Christianity and ancient Judaism have always tolerated to one degree or another. And those churches that prohibit it without any exceptions are exceedingly rare and have never represented anything more than a tiny fraction of Christianity.

[MaxPC]

Baptismal and church membership classes.

There is Early Church written evidence of preparation classes for baptism and church membership. One example is in Galatians wherein the neophytes were called "catechumens" as is noted in the Greek of Galatians 6

6 Let him who is taught the word (katechoumenos) share all good things with him who teaches.

[Chris]

Ushers.

I don't like ushering. I'd like to sit where I please. Thank you. If I see it is crowded I will sit close. Pretty simple.

[Chris]

Wearing of gold

True. The prodigal son did get a ring though. Which is interesting.

[MaxPC]

Ushers.

I don't like ushering. I'd like to sit where I please. Thank you. If I see it is crowded I will sit close. Pretty simple.

The contextual clue I am getting from your comment is that ushers make you sit in a particular place? Is that true of many churches? Or am I misunderstanding your meaning?

My experiences of ushers are the following:
-If I arrive just as the service starts, they help me find a vacant seat.
-They are available to assist anyone who is struggling with a medical episode.
-They take the collection basket around the pews.

[Sudsy]

It's a weird how you skip the two prior verses, 1 Cor 7:10-11.

I would not say that divorce and remarriage are common Christian practices, or that they are Christian practices at all. As in, '"it is our Christian duty to divorce and remarry"

That is not to say that some Christians in modern times have divorced and remarried. But I would hazard a guess to say that some Christians did so in the early church too as well, not to mention during both the Old and New Testament times.

You could pick any other social practice. Say slavery. It was common during Biblical times. I don't believe Jesus ever speaks out directly against slavery. And Paul even sends a slave back to his master in the Philemon. And up until the 1860s it was a common American practice as well. But that doesn't mean slavery is a CHRISTIAN practice and that one must own slaves to be a good Christian.

Actually, I would agree with you divorce and remarriage is most certainly an UN-Christian practice.

The same u]UN-Christian[/u] practice then could be said for the practise of water baptism in a mode other than immersion.

Thank God that He forgives and forgets all our sins when we repent. He doesn't hold our past failings over our head as some of His followers do. Rather our sins are put into the sea of His forgetfulness never to be remembered against us again.

When we lie and ask forgiveness we are no longer a liar in God's eyes. Or when we do any other kind of sinning, upon forgiveness, we are no longer that sort of sinner. My belief is that this holds true to every sin including adultery, divorce and all other sins. We are warned to not continue to sin so grace may abound and some care to believe remarriage is continuing in sin. I don't as God forgives and forgets all sin. YMMV.

[mike]

Thank God that He forgives and forgets all our sins when we repent. He doesn't hold our past failings over our head as some of His followers do. Rather our sins are put into the sea of His forgetfulness never to be remembered against us again.

When we lie and ask forgiveness we are no longer a liar in God's eyes. Or when we do any other kind of sinning, upon forgiveness, we are no longer that sort of sinner. My belief is that this holds true to every sin including adultery, divorce and all other sins. We are warned to not continue to sin so grace may abound and some care to believe remarriage is continuing in sin. I don't as God forgives and forgets all sin. YMMV.

Your view seems to be that divorce and remarriage is a sin, but that it can be forgiven without leaving the second marriage. If this is true, then it wouldn't it also be true that the sin of same-sex marriage can be forgiven without leaving the same-sex marriage?

[Sudsy]

Baptismal and church membership classes.

There is Early Church written evidence of preparation classes for baptism and church membership. One example is in Galatians wherein the neophytes were called "catechumens" as is noted in the Greek of Galatians 6

6 Let him who is taught the word (katechoumenos) share all good things with him who teaches.

Yes, it is quite interesting to read in places like the Didache where it talks about preparation before baptism. But, imo, all this is add-ons to what scripture requires as the 66 books of the Bible read.

[MaxPC]

Baptismal and church membership classes.

There is Early Church written evidence of preparation classes for baptism and church membership. One example is in Galatians wherein the neophytes were called "catechumens" as is noted in the Greek of Galatians 6

6 Let him who is taught the word (katechoumenos) share all good things with him who teaches.

Yes, it is quite interesting to read in places like the Didache where it talks about preparation before baptism. But, imo, all this is add-ons to what scripture requires as the 66 books of the Bible read.

Do you consider Galatians 6 Scripture? I am not being facetious, merely trying to follow your thought here.

[mike]

Baptismal and church membership classes.

There is Early Church written evidence of preparation classes for baptism and church membership. One example is in Galatians wherein the neophytes were called "catechumens" as is noted in the Greek of Galatians 6

6 Let him who is taught the word (katechoumenos) share all good things with him who teaches.

The concept of a person being taught the word doesn't indicate that the person being taught was in a formal class in preparation for baptism and church membership.