Anglican – Kanisa la Christadelphian huko Anderlecht

Why were Catholics not allowed to take communion during baptismal service

Mai 9, 2024 par Marcus Ampe, publié dans ??? Questions asked, Christadelphian, Faith, Jesus Christ - son of God, Questions & Answers

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Sharing bread and wine only for baptized brothers and sisters

After the baptismal service I received a question from a young lady who was sad because she and others who were baptised were not allowed to share in the bread and wine.

By those other baptised people she meant Catholics. I tried to make it clear to her that there were two main reasons.

Infant baptism

In the Catholic faith, most are baptised as babies. This infant baptism is usually administered in the first days or weeks of a child’s life and it is assumed that this pouring with some water would wash off original sin, according to the church father Augustine. It is assumed that, according to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, babies can be secured in such a way that they would die prematurely that they would not be doomed to have to burn in hell forever. (Children’s) baptism means (according to Catholic teaching) that one receives salvation and is incorporated into the church.

In the past, the Papal Church went so far that in the time of persecution and inquisition one had to choose either death or baptism.

However, during infant baptism, the child has never made the choice for God himself, but the parents or others have made that choice for the child.

However, it is important that everyone, when they have reached an age of consciousness, makes a conscious choice to want to be a child of God in Jesus’ name and to move in that direction of faith for this.

Adult baptism

Later in life, a person can decide for himself which way he wants to go.

The first Christians were always about an act of surrender to God, which could only be performed at an age of reason. Catholics and Reformants had the doom idea of hell in their heads and wanted to save the child from this. As a basis for infant baptism, they point out the covenant and God’s promise.

In our region, more Anabaptists and Baptists also emerged during the time of the Reformation, preaching an Only God and an adult baptism. The Baptist movement rejected infant baptism and advocated baptism after making a confession of faith. In the Netherlands, this idea was adhered to, among others, by Menno Simons, a Frisian ex-priest who became a Mennonite.

The Baptists prefer to call their baptism ceremony baptism of faith because young people who are not yet adults, but already have sufficient insight into the Biblical Truth, can also be baptised on the basis of their faith. The Brothers in Christ or Christadelphians also assume that once a person can make a conscious choice and prove that he has sufficient insight into God’s Word and Teaching, he can surrender to God by allowing himself to be immersed in water, as a symbolic act of purification of past sins.

Participation in the memory of the Lord’s Supper

In most churches of the Christian faith one can only take communion if one has recognized and signed the confession of faith of that community.

In the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, the Last Supper is commemorated in the Eucharist, of which Holy Communion is a part.

In the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, only the consecrated host or Sacramental bread is awarded at communion, drinking from the chalice is usually reserved for the priest. On special occasions, believers may also take communion under two guises (host and wine from the chalice). The idea here is that one becomes one with Christ.

Also among the Christadelphians there is a memory with a « sacrificial meal » in which bread is broken and this is distributed as a symbol of Jesus’ body to all believers who have been baptized according to the Biblical conditions, namely complete immersions with a testimony of faith in only one God (Jehovah) and in His sent Saviour, Jesus Christ. The wine then symbolizes the shed blood of Christ, which may be consumed by the baptized believers, as a sign of forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ blood.

Why only limited participation

It may be strange for Christians from the Trinitarian faith communities that they are not allowed to sit down at the sacrificial table in the services of Christadelphians.

This is because the Christ the Christadelphians believe in is a different Christ from the one the Trinitarian Christians, such as Catholics, Anglicans, Reformed, et al, believe in. For those who believe in the Trinity, Jesus Christ is God who came to earth to redeem us.

For Christadelphians and other True Christians, such as Yeshuaists (or Jeshuaists) and members of The Abrahamic faith, the Church of God, Nazarene Friends, Witnesses of Jehovah, one can only be a participant at the table if one belongs among those who are part of the approved by God, or those who worship only Jehovah as the Only True God.

There is no middle ground for God. He only accepts true worship.

If you still like to join the table

During the baptism ceremony it was noticed that several attendees were convinced that Jesus is the son of God. But bad enough, they were convinced that their Catholic Church thought the same way and did not see Jesus as God. I encouraged them to ask their pastor or some priests from that church questions about this, so that they would gain a better understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church.

If they are really convinced that Jesus is the son of God and not a god the son, they would be happy to erase whether they are in the right community of faith and whether it is not better to go outside and to God, wouldn’t it be better to join a church community that adheres to Biblical teachings?

Preceding

Additional reading

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Whether or not you feel at home in a church

mars 21, 2024mars 8, 2024 par Marcus Ampe, publié dans Thought for today

In recent years there have been many people who no longer felt at home in the institutional church. A lot has gone wrong among Roman Catholics and Anglicans in recent years due to the many sex scandals. Unfortunately, many people have abandoned their faith as a result.

Yet here and there the voices in people have continued to call their heads and some have been attracted to lesser-known faith groups or denominations that have given them more confidence.

Many people have turned their backs on the large churches and found their way to smaller communities. In recent years there has also been a feeling that people want to belong. For many, social media gives this surrogate of togetherness, but in the end it does not bring the inner peace that many are looking for.

Some just want to feel their own way, while it is important for others to feel like part of a group. In the mastodon or megachurches, people are absorbed into the crowd and ultimately many do not really find themselves at home there. A house church or home church can offer a solution in this area. A house church will offer more opportunity to feel part of a group. People there are not just a number in the whole, but are a personally approachable person. People there are also more likely to be involved in the event. Being a church can be experienced more easily there, because everyone is more closely involved.

However, being more closely involved can be a deterrent for some. Certainly, it is something that one will have to get used to. Because in a house church, one cannot simply sit passively on the sidelines. A house church requests active participation.

Getting together in a small room, be it in someone’s home, or in a public building offers the advantage that there is more intimacy than in a large church building and that one can feel more closely connected.

While a classic church building can have something cold, one experiences the warmth of a house church because one can come to someone’s home as a visitor in a living room or living room. But it is not just any visitor, but someone who wants to be seen as a brother or sister. The house church has that family of brotherhood in Christ. Due to its homely atmosphere and security, a house church offers an attractive, warm environment, which a neutral church building cannot offer.

In the traditional church, the clergy also provides a distance that is not found in the house church. There, everyone is treated on an equal footing. The pastor is an ordinary member of the religious community, who can be the pastor at a certain point, but the next moment an ordinary fellow confessor or »parishioner‘. Several can thus take on the role of preacher in the community, while everyone will be a listening member at a certain point, while the next moment it can be a speaker who says his or her opinion about a Bible text or about the sermon being held.

While there may be a distant cold in the institutional church, there is that domestic feeling in the house church that is filled with love for each other and warmth.
In a large church, one can sometimes look at each other, and laugh at each other, but outside, the people close to you, there remains a distance between the others who are further away. In a house, you can talk to each other and be more informal. You can sit together, not only to pass the service, but to actively participate in it and also to feel truly connected together.

People will not easily be seen eating or drinking anything in the large church building during the service. There is room for that domestic event in the house church. You can eat and drink together, interact with each other and get to know each other better. The connection in a house church can be built up and felt much better than in a more distant church building.

But in this modern capitalist world where people live so individually, seclusion can be great. This may also deter many people from family or domestic life. In any case, it will take some getting used to for many to sit so close together and share their faith. Because sharing faith is essential for the proper functioning of the house church.

In the institutional churches few people are seen sharing their faith, but in the house church this is part of everyday life. However, in the house church it may also be difficult for many to participate in the preaching work themselves in the beginning. In the large churches one sees and hears little preaching work. In the house church, the Word of God is the greatest lump of the service. As it were, it is offered there at an early age.

Sometimes it can seem as if church life is bleeding to death at home and beyond. In general, the churches are, as it were, bleeding to death. But in addition there are living germs, vibrant with enthusiasm.

This enthusiasm can be further fuelled in the house church. What can originally start as a small flame has the opportunity to expand further in that home port and cause ‘larger candles’ to flare up. That is one of the beautiful points in a house church, that everyone fuels each other to build a life of faith more deeply and consciously that one is not afraid to express. In the future, this walking fire can ensure that people outside the house church tell people about those familiar surroundings and dare to invite people to visit the community. This will allow the fire to spread further and the small religious community to grow further into a larger house church.