Same or different.

[Pavlos Maros]

The question is this as there are 33.000 different denominations of Christianity. Do you all follow the same Jesus, are you all expecting the second coming, etc?

This question came up on another site, because one person posed a general question assuming that all Christians were on the same page with it. It was replied that not all Christian denominations follow the same Jesus and are not expecting the second coming etc etc.

I'm hoping that you all here are not of the same religion and could shine some light on this for me.

The problem lies in the fact that even if you're a different denomination, but were another denomination or two previously you yourselves could still only assume that all denominations follow the same jesus you and we simple don't have enough information.
So really am I setting myself up for a fall, expecting an actual answer, as the question is purely academic!

 

[BetteTheRed]

Are you genuinely interested in the differences between the Christians here? I'm not sure you'd find any major difference in breadth of views than in any other world religion.

 

[Waterfall]

While I'm pondering an answer, may I suggest you ponder this. Atheism has it's own little quirks to address.
http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=6487
Is it possible to form any sort of ideology without "branching out"?

 

[Pavlos Maros]

Are you genuinely interested in the differences between the Christians here? I'm not sure you'd find any major difference in breadth of views than in any other world religion.

They aren't a world religion they are a group of 33.000 different religions that's the point. If they were all on the same page then it would be a world religion. Same thing applies to Muslims Hindus Buddists none are world religion, they are all different, until it suits them. I'm asking for common ground between them. if any.

 

[Seeler]

I would say that we all follow the same Jesus - that is the person who, we believe, lived and taught in the area around Galilee and Jerusalem. How we understand and interpret this person is very different. And how we worship is quite different as well - some with very formal rituals with kneeling benches and set liturgies, others wherever the spirit leads them. Some that take the Bible literally, others that look for truth and meaning behind the stories. Some that consider themselves liberal or progressive - and others that consider themselves the only true Christians.
I, myself, identify as liberal and somewhat progressive and there are some people on this WC2 that probably consider me to be an atheist; yet I'm quite sure that the atheists on this site would not want me to claim that name.
For instance I do not expect a second coming. I think that the Spirit is with us always, and/or comes to us again and again. I also identify Christ followers more by their actions than by their claims. Therefore I see people of different faiths (like Gandi), or a young Buddhist from Bhutan that I knew, or even people who do not identify with any faith as following the Way of Jesus. And sometimes I see people who claim to be 'true' or 'born again' Christians who seem to be filled with hate.
Generally I would say that most denominations follow Jesus, some better than others, and none perfectly - and a few are far off the path.

 

[Pavlos Maros]

While I'm pondering an answer, may I suggest you ponder this. Atheism has it's own little quirks to address.

How so! Atheism is simply the lack of belief in god/gods nothing else. so your link doesn't apply. What people add to it is there error. I'm technically an atheist, Because I lack belief in any god/gods that's it. but that's as far as it goes

Is it possible to form any sort of ideology without "branching out"?

if atheism has an ideology then that's news to me, I'm a humanist and we do.

Seeler you should have started with assume, as you can't possibly know. Try to use the right terms it makes for easier reading thanks.

 

[Mendalla]

@Seeler is right, there is a Jesus in the Gospels that they all profess to follow; it is how they follow and what they believe about that Jesus that varies. 33,000 actually seems low to me, @Pavlos Maros, given that many individual Christians follow different understandings of Jesus and God than their denominations and some denominations don't enforce a particular understanding (e.g. the United Church of Canada is extremely diverse in theology and Christology). As I suggested in another thread, Jesus, or any historical/mythological figure, tends to function as a kind of mirror. What we believe about them tells us more about us than about them.

 

[Mendalla]

While I'm pondering an answer, may I suggest you ponder this. Atheism has it's own little quirks to address.
http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=6487
Is it possible to form any sort of ideology without "branching out"?

Once again, atheism is not equivalent to, or the opposite of, Christianity. It is not a religion, is a religious/philosophical position and is the opposite of theism, which is also a religious/philosophical position. Just as theism appears in many religions and philosophies (Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, etc.) so too atheism (scientific materialism, humanism, objectivism, etc.).

I'm a humanist

Which is one of the more common philosophical schools that embraces atheism as a position in modern society though I would note that there are still religious humanists around, too, so "secular humanist" is probably more accurate here.

 

[Waterfall]

How so! Atheism is simply the lack of belief in god/gods nothing else. so your link doesn't apply. What people add to it is there error.

Your interpretation, not every ones.

 

[Mendalla]

Your interpretation, not every ones.

No interpretation needed. Atheism has a single, simple, dictionary definition: Belief in no god(s). Interpretation comes in when various schools of thought express atheist views, but there is no global entity called "atheism" because, as I've already said, it's not a religion like Christianity, it is a theological position, like "theism" or "agnosticism". In UU'ism, we have atheists, agnostics, and theists, but for all them, their religion is UU'ism, not "atheism", "agnosticism", or "theism".

 

[Waterfall]

No interpretation needed. Atheism has a single, simple, dictionary definition: Belief in no god(s). Interpretation comes in when various schools of thought express atheist views, but there is no global entity called "atheism" because, as I've already said, it's not a religion like Christianity, it is a theological position, like "theism" or "agnosticism". In UU'ism, we have atheists, agnostics, and theists, but for all them, their religion is UU'ism, not "atheism", "agnosticism", or "theism".

So atheism is a theological position and Christianity is a religion.....gotcha

 

[Seeler]

Seeler you should have started with assume, as you can't possibly know. Try to use the right terms it makes for easier reading thanks.

I don't really see how the word 'assume' would fit into my opening sentence.

I do know - the various definitions of Christian all center on Jesus - who, we believe, lived 2000 years ago in Galilee. All denominations that call themselves Christian believe in the same Jesus. They understand Jesus differently, sometimes so differently that it would be easy to say that 'your Jesus is different than my Jesus', but what we should say that 'your understanding of Jesus is different than mine'. Is that easy enough for you?

 

[BetteTheRed]

...and even then, you'd have to explain away Gretta Vosper, and Tom Harper's Pagan Christ...

 

[blackbelt1961]

No interpretation needed. Atheism has a single, simple, dictionary definition: Belief in no god(s).

which is why atheist try and get away from the word " Belief" and call it "lack of" because then they would have to admit that atheism is also a religion.

but they do believe they lack it

 

[BetteTheRed]

which is why atheist try and get away from the word " Belief" and call it "lack of" because then they would have to admit that atheism is also a religion.

but they do believe they lack it

If you're going to identify atheism as a religion, then you'll have to agree that it can be combined with other terms. Just as a Jew-Bu is a legit description, so is atheist Jew, atheist Christian, etc. Not sure many Muslims yet get that metaphorical about Allah (it does make a difference that, as a world religion it is some 600 years younger than Christianity), although Rumi certainly approaches it and I've read/seen some feminist Islam that is just fascinating.

 

[Mendalla]

which is why atheist try and get away from the word " Belief" and call it "lack of" because then they would have to admit that atheism is also a religion.

but they do believe they lack it

Except that I posted that as part of explaining why atheism is not a religion.

 

[Jae]

I would say that we all follow the same Jesus - that is the person who, we believe, lived and taught in the area around Galilee and Jerusalem. How we understand and interpret this person is very different. And how we worship is quite different as well - some with very formal rituals with kneeling benches and set liturgies, others wherever the spirit leads them.

Some that take the Bible literally, others that look for truth and meaning behind the stories.

Here I feel you're creating a false dichotomy Seeler. One can do both.

Some that consider themselves liberal or progressive - and others that consider themselves the only true Christians.

And again. One can consider themselves a certain kind of Christian and still hold that their brand of Christianity is not the only true one. And I'd imagine some liberal and progressive Christians also view themselves as being the only true followers of Christ.

I, myself, identify as liberal and somewhat progressive and there are some people on this WC2 that probably consider me to be an atheist; yet I'm quite sure that the atheists on this site would not want me to claim that name. For instance I do not expect a second coming. I think that the Spirit is with us always, and/or comes to us again and again. I also identify Christ followers more by their actions than by their claims. Therefore I see people of different faiths (like Gandi), or a young Buddhist from Bhutan that I knew, or even people who do not identify with any faith as following the Way of Jesus. And sometimes I see people who claim to be 'true' or 'born again' Christians who seem to be filled with hate.

I, myself, identify as moderate and missional. I'm sure no one here at WC2 would in seriousness identify me as an atheist. I do expect and indeed long for Christ to come again. I believe his return is part of God's story and will usher in the redeemed Earth when the Kingdom of Heaven comes in its fullness. I feel that authentic Christian faith will be displayed in actions. As for those of other faiths, I'm not their judge.

Generally I would say that most denominations follow Jesus, some better than others, and none perfectly - and a few are far off the path.

Farther off the path, I would say.

 

[blackbelt1961]

Except that I posted that as part of explaining why atheism is not a religion.

correct just a theological position

 

[blackbelt1961]

If you're going to identify atheism as a religion, then you'll have to agree that it can be combined with other terms.

I am a Tree

 

[Jae]

I am a Tree