Members Lucian Hodoboc Posted March 11, 2019 Members Share Posted March 11, 2019 Which Christian denomination or Church do you consider to be the closest to the Baptist Church in terms of teachings? To phrase this differently, which denomination would you choose to belong to if the Baptist Church didn't exist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Salyan Posted March 11, 2019 Moderators Share Posted March 11, 2019 That's two different questions there, really. For the second, well, you're thinking about it from the wrong perspective. A church is not an organized denomination. A church is a group of like-minded believers, meeting to worship God in accordance with Scriptural guidelines for conduct and organization. If no established church is available, but a group of believers is present, they may begin their own church with the guides of Scripture. You can see this happen throughout history as groups of baptistic believers met together. Many were destroyed through persecution. Some became the forerunners of different Baptist and non-conformist churches today. Baptistic churches have always existed, and will always exist, as long as true doctrine is known. For your first question - if there was no Baptist church in the area, I'd have to see what was available. I've gone to different evangelical churches in the past. Maybe Brethren? I'd have to check out the general doctrine of the denomination and specific beliefs of that church (i.e. body of believers) first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Invicta Posted March 12, 2019 Members Share Posted March 12, 2019 8 hours ago, Salyan said: Maybe Brethren? Depends which Brethren. There is a group of Exclusive Brethren around here and they are nothing like Baptists. The secretary of my former church came from a family of Exclusive Brethren and when he was a child he used to go to his grandparents for an evening meal once a week, but when he got to the age of thirteen, his grandmother told him he could no longer come because he was not a part of their church. I also know some one from a silimlar background and they practised infant baptism. The Open Brethren are more like baptists, except they don't have pastors, only elders. The Open Brethren are almost extinct in this area. They mostly have changed to "Christian Fellowhips" but the one nearest here is called a "Community Church". My former church was an Evangelical church, and my present one is Baptist. There is no difference in their beliefs or practice. Our new pastor sometimes preaches at my former church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jerry Posted March 12, 2019 Members Share Posted March 12, 2019 Free Presbyterians are the closest to Independant Fundamental Baptists. There are many Baptist churches in name today that would no longer fit what Baptists have stood for historically (ie. the Baptist Distinctives) - so many churches today may be similar to a run of the mill Baptist church, but miles away from a die-hard Baptist church holding to the fundamentals of the faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveW Posted March 12, 2019 Members Share Posted March 12, 2019 Since Independent Baptist Churches are independent churches, the closest would be a church that is 100% independent from any denominational grouping, and since Independent Baptist Churches TRY to follow the Bible in all respects, it would have to be a 100% independent church that tries to follow the Bible as its only guide and rule - regardless of what name it hangs over the door. John Young 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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