Do church labels matter to you like baptist or Pentecostal?

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JustTania

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Does it matter if your girlfriend/boyfriend is from a different church as you? What if there baptist christian and your Mormon or maybe your advent christian or maybe your catholic? Are these not all different secs. of Christianity, Does that play a role in your choosing a girlfriend/boyfriend? Or does believing in Christ as the lord n savor enough for you?
 
Denominations are not God-made, but man-made: Denominations come into being when there has been a revival and over the years the revival slowly disappears, the persons who have become Christians during the revival will have been given some name (ie Methodists), which then with the disappearance of the revival becomes the name of the denomination, the members of this denomination, who will have lost all the Presence and Power of God, will, instead of seeking God for His plans and purposes and His Presence and Power to fulfil them, will then form committes etc..

I would go along the lines that if a person believes in the Lord Jesus as Lord and Saviour (Rom 10v8,9,13), and so, who is a member of the Body of Christ is a Christian and so someone I would fellowship with and also, if off the opposite sex would consider as a potential girlfriend->wife.

All sectarianism should be avoided like the plague! 1Cor 3v1-4.

I do not consider Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses to be Christians, but heretical sects.

The above is my take on this.
 
I think labels WITHIN the body of Christ do tremendous harm. Remember though that, as Jesus said, not all who say "Lord, Lord" are truly His. Some teach a different gospel entirely. For me, keeping the main thing the main thing (the salvation message) is helpful. Spending time with God and in His Word helps us to know the difference between which teachings are truth and which are lies so we can "...be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."~ Matthew 10:16.

It is CRITICAL to me that the person I'm with believes as I do. Relationships are tough enough without adding religious strife to the mix. And knowing that the person you love knows and loves God as you do, and belongs to Him is part of the perfect peace we have no matter what happens in life. I can't imagine what it would be like to fall in love with someone and constantly wonder if their heart was right with God every time they left the house. It must be a very miserable feeling.

You are a wise young lady to make this such an important part of your dating process :)
 
Labels are a blessing and a curse. A curse because they are often misapplied or simply overblown. A blessing because they are a quick and easy way to evaluate someone's beliefs in relation to yours on the basis of what they call themselves.

Some people are from such different Christian sects that attempting a go at life together would simply be a waste of time. Believing in Christ as one's Lord and savior isn't enough. You have to factor in things like temperament, familial compatibility, potential child-rearing practices, even monetary management. The denomination one holds to can say quite a bit about these things.

Now how you go about negotiating these things is entirely up to you. There is no such thing as a perfect match-up, but labels can be an important preliminary step.
 
I don't like labels within the body of Christ, as Jullianna perfectly said. Personally I would worry if the person I love has very different religious opinions(and practices) than me. I really don't think that just by having a sign outside of a church that says CHRISTIAN CHURCH makes it christian, I have to make sure that the gospel is completely intact and complete and that legalism is completely out of the teaching.

While I don't disagree with denominations in general, I don't like to give focus to the differences of our spiritual universal church,instead I wanna make sure that the church is submitted to God, whom ultimately will lead the church to sound doctrine. I can't imagine going by myself to church while my husband goes to a different one, so yes it does matter to me.
 
Labels and generalities are sort of pet peeves of mine, especially when it comes to matters of faith. It bugs me that we tend to cluster around those of like labels and fail to glean what we could from those whose labels we've been encouraged to avoid by those of like labels. Imagine what we could learn from one another if we stopped doing that and truly listened patiently and lovingly to one another. Wow...stopping now. Starting to sound like Lennon. Not that John Lennon is a pet peeve..I just don't like that particular song. :)
 
Wow thanks for all your opinions its very refreshing to hear everyones take on it. For me personally its important what my future spouse is church is or what his denomination is because it plays such an important role in my life and my family as well it would be very hard to be with someone who can't relate to me the same when it comes to matters of faith. Its one of the first things I ask about when I hangout with a guy I think is cute i just easy it in to the convo n ask oh so wat are ur beliefs when it comes to God? since one can't tell what someone else mite be by just looking and usually it word out very well n is a simple way to find out if the person is worth pursing. But again thank you all for sharing your take on my question
 
Ritter said:
Labels are a blessing and a curse. A curse because they are often misapplied or simply overblown. A blessing because they are a quick and easy way to evaluate someone's beliefs in relation to yours on the basis of what they call themselves.

Some people are from such different Christian sects that attempting a go at life together would simply be a waste of time. Believing in Christ as one's Lord and savior isn't enough. You have to factor in things like temperament, familial compatibility, potential child-rearing practices, even monetary management. The denomination one holds to can say quite a bit about these things.

Now how you go about negotiating these things is entirely up to you. There is no such thing as a perfect match-up, but labels can be an important preliminary step.
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I think you make some great points, Ritter.

If someone tells me "I go to SOUTHSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST WHO WAS IS AND FOREVER WILL BE AND DIED FOR OUR SINS SO WE COULD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE MINISTRIES. It's conveniently located across from Wal-Mart." it doesn't mean much until I see if that specific person truly believes in the way that most others in said church or denomination do.
That's just true in general for me though. If someone says "I'm a Christian", it doesn't mean much to me until I can see what their walk is like and discuss things with them to see what is really there.

I also don't think I could consider someone who holds their specific church or denomination on such a high level that they believe everything spoken at the place and will agree with anything there even without praying, studying God's word, and testing it for themselves. I won't ever put a label on myself.

To the original poster: Yes, it can matter to me. There are some that do things I don't agree with, and hold to different beliefs, etc. My belief on salvation is the core thing, but some other things do matter.
Also, you mentioned Mormons. That's a whole other thing. I don't know how much you've looked into their belief system, but it wouldn't take too much looking to see just how different it is.
 
I think the real issue outside of labels is being unequally yolked. A Christian and a Roman Catholic, though they both believe in Christ, can have some very fundamental differences. I would beseech you to clear labels out of your mind, and just connect with them on a human level.

Baptist? Pentacostal? Advent?

Human.
 
Helloimandrewyo said:
...A Christian and a Roman Catholic, though they both believe in Christ, can have some very fundamental differences...
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What about Roman Catholics who are Christians?

I know many Roman Catholics who are godly born again Christians who love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts, quite often I find them better Christians (more prayerful, loving and Christlike) than Christians who attach the label of "Protestant" to themselves...
 
JustTania said:
Does it matter if your girlfriend/boyfriend is from a different church as you? What if there baptist christian and your Mormon or maybe your advent christian or maybe your catholic? Are these not all different secs. of Christianity, Does that play a role in your choosing a girlfriend/boyfriend? Or does believing in Christ as the lord n savor enough for you?
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Does it?
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Only you know deep in your heart if you can live with someone who worships TOTALLY different than you. I think though one needs to be real careful, or, they could be hooked like a fish and despite trying to tug free the attraction to this person despite a denomination that is too different from yours, like Lutheran, who is VERY conservative faith and a pentecostal, very holy roller, like me :D . Neither is wrong. And, Catholic is more conservative yet. So, anyway, the Lord leads.

He just very well may WANT to slow you down.....

Hmmm, now, that must be IT. I am not married yet because.....

Hey, ladies, any of you a Lutheran ? :D
 
jb said:
What about Roman Catholics who are Christians?

I know many Roman Catholics who are godly born again Christians who love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts, quite often I find them better Christians (more prayerful, loving and Christlike) than Christians who attach the label of "Protestant" to themselves...
Click to expand...

Dude, def. agree. I think catholics are more devout then your average christiian. I have met monks who speak in tongues and are now doubt born again.

Thats why labels suck.

Let humans be human.
 
It would be nice if we lived in a world in which everyone knew the truth about who God is, if churches did not practice ritualistic ceremonies that have nothing to do with a genuine relationship with God, or if people did not think that works were more important than actually following commandments and upholding God's standards.

I wish we didnt have to have labels on our churches, but I am glad that we do, so you know what you are getting yourslef into before you walk in the door.
 
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Mormons are not Christians. You should take a look into their actual beliefs and hold them against Christian beliefs. They don't match.
I also don't take Catholics as Christians. I know that's not 'popular' thinking, but oh well.
I'd prefer not to date a charismatic either. I suppose it would depend in that case. But so many charismatics follow Word of Faith doctrines, which again, are not Christian, and they don't even know it. They tend to follow trends and 'new movements in the spirit' and that makes me leery. I would much prefer someone who's doctrines match or are close to mine as i don't take an attitude that just because someone calls their beliefs Christian means its true.
 
thimsrebma said:
It would be nice if we lived in a world in which everyone knew the truth about who God is, if churches did not practice ritualistic ceremonies that have nothing to do with a genuine relationship with God, or if people did not think that works were more important than actually following commandments and upholding God's standards.

I wish we didnt have to have labels on our churches, but I am glad that we do, so you know what you are getting yourslef into before you walk in the door.
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Umm, works are following commandments and upholding God's standards... I'm confused.
 
And it is exactly why I tried to be so intentionally generic and vague :) You hadda know, right? ;)
 
To me it matters, I may go to a Baptist church, or a Pentacostal but I prefer a non-denominational. I believe the Bible says: There are to be no divisions within the church.
 
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