sethosayher Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 One denomination I hear of more frequently than others is Church of Christ. I was raised in a Church of God (Pentecostal) background, so I'm not really familiar with CoC. They seem to be so diehard as to turn off other evangelicals! What's the deal? Are they really more conservative than other rightwing christians? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I think they don't allow music to be played in their services. This is pretty hard core to my mind. As bad as the Baptist Church was, at least we had some music. Other than that, I don't know much, but I know there are some former members here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddbird1963 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 They are the result of the "ministry" of a 19th century preacher/personality Alexander Campbell. They would be considered Arminian in their theology - "You're saved by grace but you've got to work to keep it." They believe one must be baptized, be an active member of a Church of Christ church, partake in the Lord's Supper (aka communion) in order to be saved or stay saved , however you want to view it. They have a doctrinal position that if it wasn't found in the New Testament, then they won't do it. I think that mostly pertains to the way they conduct worship, church business and personal "holiness." Since musical instruments do not appear as part of worship in the New Testament, they don't allow musical instruments in their worship services. They do not claim to be a denomination of Protestantism. They are THE Church of Christ. All other churches are "societies" but they are not "churches" - i.e. the bride of Christ. To them, they are the only "true scotsman." That's based on what I picked up over the years. Baptists and CoC'ers have been very contentious with one another over the years. I don't really know the state of thinking across the Churches of Christ in the present day - and I don't care. But they may have changed some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostman42 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I went to one when I was 12 once. It was full of elderly people who swooped down on me like a hawk when they realized a young person actually stepped foot in that ancient snoozefest. I bet they were heartbroken when I never came back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMR Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 You pretty much summed it up!! I was raised in the C of C, I was also married in a C of C....nothing like having your wedding music played on a cassette tape player at the back of the church!! lol I didn't realize they had cassette players 2000 years ago......hahahahaha!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Some of them are so die hard that won't even allow kitchens within the church (and if it weren't for the law, they would refuse to have a bathroom). They truely believe that they are first century Christians even though their mode of worship is based on Catholicism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikirin Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 We had the Church of Christ on our college campus, I was a member of a different campus ministry group, and boy did I hate those guys because to me they were a cult. I remember I'd say little prayers against them when they'd walk past, like 'Lord I bind their works in Jesus name!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jds22 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 We had the Church of Christ on our college campus, I was a member of a different campus ministry group, and boy did I hate those guys because to me they were a cult. I remember I'd say little prayers against them when they'd walk past, like 'Lord I bind their works in Jesus name!' Wow, I remember doing the same thing. Not necessarily against COC but any denom that wasn't Baptist. What horrible way to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brought None Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I was raised non-instrumental Church of Christ. (There are instrumental ones out there) It wasn't until college I learned how hated they are in the real world, specially by other religious groups. CoC has the driest form of worship imaginable. The only thing you look forward to is the classic "Would you stand as we sing" phrase and the final prayer for service dismissal. I rarely liked going to church growing up. Got to learn damn quick how antigay the CoC was. They taught it in lessons and preached about it. I still have my copy of "Straight Talk for Teens", a youth book by Randy Simmons (forth printing, 1991 by Gospel Advocate Co.) which tries to teach what kids should do about societies "moral" issues. They issued this book of horrors to us during High School. There is a whole hate filled section on homosexuality which sums it all down to the phrase "Every right gained by the homosexual community is a lose for Christians." I've got that book section scanned if anyone is interested in seeing it, just PM me. It's the same bullshit they spout still. My church upbringing wasn't hell, but I did internalize a lot of the antigay crap they focused on and now look back and see how much better off I could of been not being in such a dogmatic organization whose main concern was making me another robot for the pews. Still working on my sense of confidence and self image. Last time I went to my church back home the infrastructure was still the same, but it looked to be shrinking in size and I saw no new youth to help the church go forward. The youth group I was part of is falling apart adjusting to a reality they were not raised to be in. They are marrying and divorcing left and right and getting into drugs or other types of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noob Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 We moved to Florida from West Virginia when I was 10 years old. In West Virginia we occasionally attended a Baptist church but when we moved Florida our neighbors introduced us to the Church of Christ and that is the only church I attended until my deconversion a couple of years ago. It’s funny now but I didn’t realize how awful it was until I joined Ex-C and starting seeing it through the eyes of other Ex-Christians. Since I was raised in it, it seemed perfectly normal to me. Even then I knew the place was chock full of self-righteous, pompous, joyless assholes, but I thought that was the way god wanted it to be! It made me extremely sad as a child to think that only the few people who found their way to The Church of Christ were going to go to heaven and everyone else was doomed to hell. I’m embarrassed to admit that I believed that for most of my adult life. I always knew there was something not quite right about it but I was very protective of my delusion and did not give anyone an opportunity to show me the error of my ways! You pretty much summed it up!! I was raised in the C of C, I was also married in a C of C....nothing like having your wedding music played on a cassette tape player at the back of the church!! lol I didn't realize they had cassette players 2000 years ago......hahahahaha!!! My second marriage took place in a Church of Christ. Not only was the music played on a cassette tape player, but the elders would allow it only if it was all a cappella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeryBerry Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I attended one of their services years ago. The sermon consisted of members of the church taking turns sharing about an event or something that someone else did to strenghen their walk with Christ. I was bored out of my mind. However, there were a lot of good looking men who served as ushers, so I had trouble paying attention to anything else One of my former colleagues was a member of a Church of Christ for years, he deconverted and became an atheist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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