Who are the Mennonites, and what are their beliefs?
The Mennonites are a group of Anabaptist (opposed to infant baptism) denominations named after and influenced by the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons (1496-1561). Mennonites are committed to nonviolence, nonresistance, and pacifism. Mennonite congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from old-fashioned “plain” people to those who are indistinguishable in dress and…
What is the Vineyard Movement?
The Vineyard Movement is a network of Charismatic churches, part of a movement recognized by such names as “Third Wave,” “power theology,” and the “signs and wonders movement.” The Vineyard Movement’s founder, John Wimber, formed five churches in 1982, with the goal of forming 2,000 churches by the year 2000. The stated goal of the…
What is the Southern Baptist Convention, and what do Southern Baptists believe?
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is an association comprised of over 16 million members in over 42,000 churches in the United States. Individual church membership is typically a matter of accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior and submitting to believer’s baptism by immersion. The SBC is considered to be an evangelistic, mission-minded church with a…
What is revivalism?
Revivalism is a method of evangelism relying on what is usually a series of evangelistic meetings called revivals. Revivalism is concerned with the necessity of conversion—a personal decision to follow Christ. Evangelists leading revivals characteristically end every sermon with a strong, emotional appeal for a decision. Revivalism calls people out of a cultural Christianity into…
Who are the “frozen chosen”?
Generally, people apply the term frozen chosen in a couple of ways. In some contexts, frozen chosen denotes Christian groups that tend to be intellectual, reserved, and more focused on doctrine than on loving their neighbors. It is most often employed to refer to Presbyterians and/or other Reformed Christians who emphasize being “chosen,” (i.e., the…
What is The 700 Club?
The Christian Broadcasting Network’s flagship television program, The 700 Club, is a talk show combining news, social commentary, interviews, and responses to questions and prayer requests received by phone or email. The show has been running since 1966, born out of telethons for CBN during which the network’s founder, M. G. “Pat” Robertson, requested 700…
How is the Christian religion different from all the other world religions?
Religion is the practice of faith; that is, religion is the external or ceremonial observance of a set of beliefs. Technically, there is a difference between faith (the internal attitude) and religion (the external works), but for the sake of this article, we will define “Christian religion” broadly as “the faithful observance of the teachings…
What is the Eastern Orthodox Church and what are the beliefs of Orthodox Christians?
The Eastern Orthodox Church is not a single church but rather a family of 13 self-governing bodies, denominated by the nation in which they are located (e.g., the Greek Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church). They are united in their understanding of the sacraments, doctrine, liturgy, and church government, but each administers its own affairs. The…
What is Christian fanaticism?
Fanaticism is typically defined as “excessive, irrational zeal.” Fanaticism can develop within a variety of different traditions, but this does not mean these traditions are in their very nature fanatical. Non-fanatical forms of various traditions do indeed exist, including non-fanatical Christianity, non-fanatical Islam, and non-fanatical secularism. For the purposes of this article, “Christian fanaticism” will…
What is the United Methodist Church, and what do Methodists believe?
The United Methodist Church is the largest American mainline denomination, with nearly 12 million members in 42,000 congregations worldwide. The United Methodist Church is a participating member of the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches and is one of the leading proponents of ecumenism today. The church was formed in 1968…