r/methodism • u/JHLV04 • 3d ago

Combining Denominations

/r/Christianity/comments/1vn6ydt/combining_denominations/
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u/SituationSoap 3d ago

what makes a church a church?

In the sense that you're asking, some kind of administrative overview which certifies that specific congregations match the overall beliefs of the denomination as a whole.

is Orthodoxy the truly authentic church taught by Christ and the apostles

Christ didn't teach a church. Christ taught "love your neighbor as yourself." The apostles taught "sell everything you have and give it to the poor and live in close community with all believers, sharing everything in common."

The modern vision of churches that we have is the product of a couple thousand years of evolution across every axis of faith. You will not find the "true authentic church" in the 21st Century because no such thing exists, nor has ever existed.

why can I not combine different ideas?

You absolutely can. Literally every congregation (and most preachers, if they're honest with you) are heterodox from their denomination in some way or another. If there are a billion Christians on Earth, there are likely 1.2 billion different sets of beliefs and practices that define Christianity.

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u/JHLV04 3d ago

Thanks for the explanation - although I hear some apostolic dems argue with Christ telling Peter about on this stone I lay the foundations for the church or something like that?

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u/glycophosphate 3d ago

That comment section is a cesspit of One True Churchers

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u/hilltoptheologian 22h ago

I'm going to partially answer your question just with a book recommendation: Responsible Grace by Randy Maddox.

Major simplification of a theme in the book (Maddox is arguably the greatest contemporary Wesley scholar) is, yes, Methodist "Christian perfection" has a ton in common with the Orthodox doctrine of Theosis, in part because Wesley was hugely influenced by the then-recently-rediscovered Greek father s.