Pilgrim:
Mostly tongue in cheek. I think its safe to say I'll be sticking with the Protestant side of things. I went to some Catholic cathedrals over seas and some here in the states and they sort of gave me the eebee jeebies. Especially the ones with dead bodies under glass. *shudder
Wes:
I'm not sure what a Reformed Baptist church is but it sounds interesting. I don't know if I can get around that Original church thing though as it sounds like a rather outlandish claim to make especially these days. I've done some study of Calvinism--nothing major or in depth. Luther has always impressed me. It takes some serious brass to stand up to an organization like the Church in his day. I think, if I remember correctly, I was able to get around four out of five points of Calvinism. I'd have to look at them again to tell you which ones but most Baptists fall in there somewhere whether they are able to vocalize it or not.
BradJHammond:
Oh yes, the cults are a non-issue. I've shooed way too many JW's and bicycle riding Mormons for that to even be a consideration. I've got to tell you that this:
My own experience is also that Independent (Fundamental) Baptist churches tend to be legalistic, contentious, and major on the minors (beers, queers, and the King James Bible)
got a belly laugh. I got accosted one day in a Christian Book store for reading NIV outloud "Thats not a real bible!" Sheesh. Right now we're going to a "Purpose Driven" SBC church which is starting to get on my nerves. Been going on for about a year now so their not quite so militant about it but I'm pretty sure that the cliques that were already in place have been set in concrete the small groups. I'm not sure what a Reformed Baptist is but I'm adding it to my list of things to look into. I've actually got some old friends that go to an Evangelical Free church that sounds pretty good. It's a long way off though. I'm also not sure what their theology is like.
jyeager:
I had to go non-denominational to find one that was theologically Reformed and practiced a sound ecclesiology.
You're not alone in this. I've had a great number of friends who've done the same thing for the same reasons. As for the dogmatic thing, well I've got to try really hard not to sound worse. I've mellowed a bit over the last decade so I can say "I don't agree with that" rather than "You're an idiot!". That's dogmatic.
SR:
I don't think the Presbyterians here would like being represented by the PCUSA just as much as the Baptist wouldn't want to be represented by the ABC.
of this you can be very sure at least the part about the Baptists. I'll check that founders website for sure.
Thanks all for your posts. It is much appreciated. For now I think I'll try looking into these that Brad suggested: (e.g., Presbyterian Church of America, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Southern Baptist Convention, etc.) Reformed Baptists.
Questions:
What the heck IS a synod anyway?
What are some questions I need to answer to decide what my theology is? I can tell you right now I'm a Inspired/Inerrant Scripture person.
