Alan & Brenda Leonard

5/8/03 01:57:

> So...what would someone who goes to the church of Scotland believe
> differently than, say, a Baptist?

Wow. Now there's a question. Well, Anglicans come in several "brands", for
lack of a better word, just like the Baptists do. So I'll tell you what my
church believes, and other Anglicans are likely is pretty much in agreement
with, too. (Correction: my husband tells me that Church of Scotland is
Presbyterian. A different brand of mainline Christianity.) But don't sue
me because you can name three Anglicans who don't believe this, because
that's the nature of religious faith, of course.

Episcopalians (the American version of Anglicans) believe that the Bible is
the history of the people of God. It was written by people who were
inspired by God, but we do not take the Bible literally. That makes a huge
difference.

I think that when I first became Episcopalian, the other thing that struck
me as very different than other Protestants is that scripture (the Bible) is
seen as an equal partner with tradition and reason. The image used is a
three-legged stool; scripture is one leg of it only. It is not the sole
device by which the church considers issues, problems, etc.; traditions of
the church and our God-given ability to reason out a situation are also
given an equal place.

Obviously there are worship difference, and such, too, but they're not
necessarily what you're asking about here. But I have been told before, and
it's often implied, that I'm not a "true Christian" because of those types
of beliefs. Hence my sarcastic comment before. I am truly sorry if what I
said offended you, it wasn't my intent.

brenda