United Catholic Church Research Paper

The religious revivals that took place during this movement had a major effect on the culture of the United States. This is so because it caused many new religions to branch off of Protestantism. Baptists, Methodists, and Congregationalists are a few of the many examples of these emergent religions. One man in particular, Aaron Lummus, describes the story of how he was converted to Methodism and how much it affected him: “My heart was filled with a calm peace, which I never felt before” (Lummus 4-11). His story shows just how powerful the conversions affected these people and how the newly converted could use their religious fervor to impact others and the US. Lummus himself later became one of many Methodist ministers, all of whom converted many others during this period. Many of these newly-formed Protestant religions are still active today, showing how significantly this movement affected the US even in present-day.

The first chapter of the Unitarian Universalist welcome book kicks off with the question of, “What Do Unitarian Universalists Believe?” It expresses that they believe in the freedom of religious expression. They encourage all individuals to develop their own personal theologies, and present their religious opinions without Fear of reprisal. Unitarian Universalists can be known as heretics, because they make their own choice of what they believe or not believe. They believe in intellectual freedom, and encourage their members to have an open mind and heart that is truly free and open. They also believe in the authority of reason and conscience. The ultimate arbiter in religion is not the church or document, but rather the personal choice and decision of the individual. Unitarian Universalists are also known to be very vocal by supporting civil rights and protest unjust wars. They welcome and integrate gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members, and help support their rights in society. They have Sunday sermons were they unite just like Christians do on Sunday in a church. Unitarian Universalists express themselves with seven principles and six sources that they all share. Their Services include time for meditation, singing and prayer led by a minister. They have a symbol known as, the “chalice”, which has a special meaning to them.

The other percentages are divided between professionals and entrepreneurs that cater to the servant elements of the congregations spirituality. This explains and overlaps with the University stance. Our pastor is a college professor, his wife is an educator and pursuing her Phd, their boys are gifted students that have been straight A students since they have entered school. The church itself is not situated around a college campus but the majority of the children in the congregation are also gifted students and fifty percent of the congregants as well as leaders are continuing their educator, educated, or have achieve their doctorates in some type of educational or financial field. The Shepherd stance compliments the affective spirituality as that a large percentage of the leaders come from strong spiritual backgrounds or have a call to ministry (long line of pastors and preachers). The outreach stance is pleasant coupled with the servant spirituality this makes up our congregants and leaders with discipleship

I thought that by doing good things I was living my life the way God wanted me to. When I came to Indiana Wesleyan my ideas about being good were completely changed. I can now see and understand the doctrines of my Church and the purpose behind the study of Theological Anthropology. Creating a relationship with Christ allows Christians to understand the plan that God has in store for us and gives us an opportunity to become more Christ-like.

Worship consist of praying to god, reading and studying the bible, meditating on what they learn from the bible, meeting together, and preaching the “good news of the Kingdom and Helping those in need. Their members reject the sinful values of the secular world and maintain a degree of separation from non-believers - they are "in the world" but not "of the world". They believe that there are circumvent practices that displease God, including the misuse of blood by taking blood

"As local churches and annual conferences continue to cut budgets or hold them flat, we believe that all of the general funds must adjust as we stand in solidarity with United Methodists across the connection," Gilbert Hanke, convener of the General Secretaries Table said in a statement.

Roman Catholicism is headed by the pope. For the first 1,500 years of Christianity, there wasn’t any type of Catholicism. Common traditions, beliefs, and worship were the body of Christian believers around the world which is how they were all united; if you were a Christian, you belonged to a catholic church. Any other type of beliefs was considered treachery to the Christianity belief. In our time, there are multiple forms of Christianity besides Roman Catholicism. Being a catholic in this time means that one has certain beliefs, practices, and traditions compared to those of Protestantism, Anglicanism, Greek Orthodox, and all the other various types of Christianity. Roman Catholicism is considered to be the largest group out of them all.

There are many messages the Catholic Church wishes to teach us, as well as lead us to follow. Many of them are interrelated as well, as many of them center upon similar ideas, like love, giving, or life. A few themes include that everyone is a part of God's creation, God lives within all of us, God is love, human life is valuable, and nothing is impossible for God. We, as Catholics, believe that God is love- an important idea in the Church. Since God is within us all, we also all must have love within us. And since we're all a part of his creation, everyone is equally special and should be treated like they are.

The founder of the Dominican order was Dominic Savio, born on April 2, 1842 in Riva Northern Italy. Dominic was born to Charles and Brigid Savio, who were poor, hard-working, and pious. As a child was a remarkable boy in the sense that he mastered his emotion despite his age. He was loved and respected by his friends and he reciprocated, a he exhibited his leadership skills among his peers in a friendly manner. Furthermore, at attender age Dominic was prayerful and had an ever maturing spirituality. Dominic’s remarkable piety encouraged Fr. John Lucca the pastor at his parish, let him receive first communion at the ae of seven while others receive at their teens. The reflection he wrote down before the reception of first communion was as follows, he would go to confession and receive communion as often as his confessor permits. Second, he promises to sanctify

They informed me that they believe in dressing modestly because our bodies are gifts from God so they want to show respect for them. They concluded that they are not bothered societies differences from their own beliefs. The consumption of alcohol, poor behavior, and scandalous attire do not offend them. They believe that we are all Gods children and it is our personal choice whether or not we do these things. They also stated that they believe their religion is 100% true, but they respect everyone’s views and opinions regarding religion. They educated me on the structure and organization of the church. The highest governing body of the church is the First Presidency. The First Presidency consists of the president, the most senior apostle, and his selected counselors. The second-highest governing body is the Quorum of Twelve which consists of the other twelve apostles. Apostles are regarded as special witnesses of Jesus Christ throughout the world. Leaders called seventies assist the Twelve Apostles and serve in various locations throughout the world. Local congregations are led by a bishop. The priesthood of the church obtains the power to act in God’s name and is divided into the lesser, Aaronic priesthood, and the higher, Melchizedek priesthood. The priesthood has the power and authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of mankind. Male members who meet the standards of moral behavior and active church participation are generally appointed to specific offices within the priesthood. They are responsible for conducting most of the rites and ceremonies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

The church held to the Holiness emphasis on holiness in life as proof of entire sanctification, subsequent to justification, and evidence of the Spirit by speaking in tongues. They remained Trinitarian after the “oneness” controversy spread across other Pentecostal camps. Repentance is highly stressed as a proof of salvation. Divine healing is believed as a normal in the new Spirit filled life. One of the remainders of Calvinism is the absolute necessity of holiness before salvation. All of the other normal Protestant sacraments of the church are also adhered. It did and continues to utilize a very effective Episcopalian form of church government that allowed such monstrous growths throughout the years despite of numerous divisions. One particular of the church and Mason was its pacifist stance. Mason was once jailed after forbidding members to participate in World War I; he was released the next day after a storm blew the roof of the jail. The pacifist view was so serious that the FBI kept a file on Mason. The pride of the church was its unrelenting stance on racial unity during some of America’s darkest days. Mason once said “The church is like the eye… it has a little white and a little black without both it can’t see.” This spirit has clearly carried the denomination throughout the years! (Mead 57)(Burgess 205)(Synan

Ceremonies vary tremendously and each congregation holds its own traditions. Most traditions are based on the needs of the congregation. Ceremonies can include weddings, baptisms, memorial services, coming of age services, and other wild and creative services. According to the Unitarian Universalist website (2007), “the day-to-day life of a congregation is the glue that holds the spiritual community together. Unitarian Universalism approaches the more "secular" aspects of congregational life with the same religious intent as its worship. Each congregation's religious education classes, community activities, special youth and young adult groups and activities, and even the building facilities committees are essential aspects of our spiritual work. We believe it is our deeds, not our creeds, that are most important.”

They hold to most of the standard Christian doctrines, but do not practice the rituals of communion or baptism. Members of the church are required to perform charitable deeds including working in rescue missions and soup kitchens, running second hand stores, assisting in areas of natural disasters, fire, etc, and doing street evangelism. Members are encourage to learn a musical instrument that can

Christians seek happiness and fulfillment from a higher power, a purpose that others cannot see or touch. They have faith that God will reward them in heaven for their commitment and unselfish efforts to help others in need. From the very beginning, Christians have never really fit into the normal ways of the world. Many people believe Christians think, say and do things that are very foreign to cultural norms. This should not be surprising as they are expected to stand not just for one’s self, but to be believed in a higher power, to obey the creator and to show love, patience and kindness to others. Once a believer enters the Christian religion and starts to practice the traditions, they should stop acting like the rest of the world. They are called to a change of lifestyle and a life on mission. This belief forces Christians to think, speak and act differently than non-believers.

Over the years I have realized that the Methodist church appears to have more liberal aspects than Baptists. The church that I grew up in never taught about Methodist history. There are rooms named after the one of the founders and his mother: John and Susanna Wesley. Other than those two glances in history of the Methodist denomination there is not much talk. I enjoyed learning about the many significant times in Baptist