> > >
> >
> > > I heard a phrase that sums it up neatly: "Liberty on the peripherals, unity on the essentials".
> > >
> > >
> > > koala"phrase also useful for determining whether cult or denomination"mom
> >
> > I thin kthe exact quote you're thinking of is "In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity." Or maybe not, but it's similar... St. Augustine said it. smart guy, it would seem.
> >
> > Ki"and that is why I am non-denominational"ki
> Not to disagree with you or anything, but one of my leaders said that there really is no such thing as non-denominational...every church follows some sort of dogma, if you will. There's Armenian, Catholic, Lutheran, and I think Calvinism...there may be more, I'm not sure. So the Church may have a label of non-denominational, but they follow one or the other. Of course you could be saying that you yourself have no denomination, which I personally think is ok. I get along with every type of believer.
>
> Ran"I think more along the lines of Calvin and Luther, or is it Calvin and Hobbes?"dy

I realized when I wrote that that I wasn't being very clear, so lets see if I can fix that. The church I attend (although I'm not a member - but I'm a core member of the youth group, and it's the only church I've been going to) is Presbyterian. There's a LOT of Presbyterian doctrine that I in fact don't agree with, but that doesn't come up too much in youth group (except senior year, "yay") so I don't worry too much about it.

As for the non-denominational thing.... one of my basic beliefs is that it really doesn't MATTER what you call yourself - be it Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, or Messianic Jew - as long as you believe that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to heaven, accept him as your savior, and are building a personal relationship with Him. Whenever someone asks me "What religion are you?" I respond "Christian". I am frequently, after that, asked, "No, I mean, Baptist, Methodist, what?" My response to that is "Non-denominational" and, when asked what that means, I give the same response I just gave here.

Ki"I hope that clears things up..."ki