A Main Denomination Identifier Belief

[Sudsy]

This thread is to give your impression on what is a main, perhaps the main, identifying topic for your church. Or where your church stands out amongst others in emphasizing an area of Christianity.

I'll begin.

In my Pentecostal upbringing it was being baptised in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

Is the question what the church itself would say its main identifying belief is, or what people outside the church would say it is?

I think both would be most interesting.

[Sudsy]

To me, the most distinctive feature of Conservative Anabaptists is their dress requirements.

I would personally say

This thread is to give your impression on what is a main, perhaps the main, identifying topic for your church. Or where your church stands out amongst others in emphasizing an area of Christianity.

isn’t the Anabaptist dress requirements.
I would say that following the quoted, it would be nonresistance

Do you think nonresistance is today a main identifier of CAs and if we surveyed unbelievers would their most common response be nonresistance ? I would think that during the world wars nonresistance would be the most common identifier but today I'm doubtful.

Today I think there is still a strong ethnic distinctive of CA churches having German background whereas non-CA churches, those labelled 'liberal', not so much. I don't know if this data exists anywhere but I am curious as to what percent of people in CA churches still have a German or Russian background.

[steve-in-kville]

Our church is sponsoring/supporting some refugees right now. They're making it work with the language barrier and all. I think Ken describes it the best: too many groups have become all about self-preservation and little influence to the oustide.

[Sudsy]

I'm not trying to call you out specifically.

Yes you are. And now my feelings are hurt so I'm gonna go cry in a corner somewhere.

Seriously... I see your point. Our church, even though we are in the middle of nowhere, is a safe haven in more ways than one. We've had people show up in the middle of a Sunday morning service needing help. They had nowhere to go, no food... almost no gas left in the car. We are known for helping such people. Get them shelter and food and stabilized. We do not expect anything in return, no commitment on their end. Jesus didn't go around helping people only if they followed him. He helped everyone regardless.

That's how we roll.

Sounds very Christ like to me. Reminds me of my experience in the Salvation Army.

[Ken]

To me, the most distinctive feature of Conservative Anabaptists is their dress requirements.

I would personally say

This thread is to give your impression on what is a main, perhaps the main, identifying topic for your church. Or where your church stands out amongst others in emphasizing an area of Christianity.

isn’t the Anabaptist dress requirements.
I would say that following the quoted, it would be nonresistance

Do you think nonresistance is today a main identifier of CAs and if we surveyed unbelievers would their most common response be nonresistance ? I would think that during the world wars nonresistance would be the most common identifier but today I'm doubtful.

Today I think there is still a strong ethnic distinctive of CA churches having German background whereas non-CA churches, those labelled 'liberal', not so much. I don't know if this data exists anywhere but I am curious as to what percent of people in CA churches still have a German or Russian background.

I think you are right.

If you were to take a group of visibly Anabaptist people and poll the public as to what they believed, I doubt you would get very many responses that they believed in "pacifism" or "non-resistance". You would be more likely to get a long list of things that the public thinks they are opposed to (cars, computers, drinking, etc.)

I suspect that was quite different in say 1944 for obvious reasons.

[mike]

This thread is to give your impression on what is a main, perhaps the main, identifying topic for your church. Or where your church stands out amongst others in emphasizing an area of Christianity.

I'll begin.

In my Pentecostal upbringing it was being baptised in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

Is the question what the church itself would say its main identifying belief is, or what people outside the church would say it is?

I think both would be most interesting.

I'm not actually sure what our church would say its main identifying belief is. I would say that, stated in the best possible light, it is probably something like "Following Jesus in the Mennonite tradition." What other people would probably say is a question. Probably they would say it's the belief of being separate from the world, based on the fact that we dress distinctively, and the fact that most people's impression is based sort of shallowly on what they see unless they really know us.

[Soloist]

Do you think nonresistance is today a main identifier of CAs and if we surveyed unbelievers would their most common response be nonresistance ? I would think that during the world wars nonresistance would be the most common identifier but today I'm doubtful.

Today I think there is still a strong ethnic distinctive of CA churches having German background whereas non-CA churches, those labelled 'liberal', not so much. I don't know if this data exists anywhere but I am curious as to what percent of people in CA churches still have a German or Russian background.

I see that you are attempting to focus on two different things at the same time… if you went out and asked people about your group I doubt they would pick out speaking in tongues as a distinctive of Pentecostal’s. Ask a Pentecostal and that would be a distinctive. When I think of Salvation Army I only know them for standing outside of Walmart and ringing that stupid bell.
Ask a different Christian group and they would likely pick out tongues too.
Now in the same way, people might decide Anabaptists are unified by dress, but that’s not really true as there is a great deal of difference between 1 group and another. I would say if the public wouldn’t know about nonresistance then they would say we live simple lives but most people think of Amish.

[barnhart]

If Pentacostals believe tongues to be the defining evidence of the Spirit filled life, then it is not a denominational distinctive because believers who lack are fake. It becomes a fundamental doctrine of Christianity. To be a denominational distinctive one must allow there is diversity in the kingdom of Jesus on this point.

[Josh]

If Pentacostals believe tongues to be the defining evidence of the Spirit filled life, then it is not a denominational distinctive because believers who lack are fake. It becomes a fundamental doctrine of Christianity. To be a denominational distinctive one must allow there is diversity in the kingdom of Jesus on this point.

Wesleyan Holiness doctrine allows for someone to be saved, but not (yet) filled with the Spirit.

[Ken]

If Pentacostals believe tongues to be the defining evidence of the Spirit filled life, then it is not a denominational distinctive because believers who lack are fake. It becomes a fundamental doctrine of Christianity. To be a denominational distinctive one must allow there is diversity in the kingdom of Jesus on this point.

I'm not sure I follow. I would suspect that most denominations believe that all of their beliefs are fundamental beliefs, not discretionary "denominational" beliefs. That is why we call them "beliefs" and not "customs"

Look at the Mennonite Confession of Faith, for example. Which ones of those do Mennonites believe are fundamental vs denominational?