United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is the largest denomination Methodist. She follows in the tradition of liberal Protestantism and contains several elements evangelicals. For the U.S. , it is the second largest Protestant church after the Southern Baptist Convention. It has its origins in the teaching of Pastor John Wesley in England. In 2007 , there were eleven million members, including eight million in the U.S. and Canada , the World Methodist Council and other religious associations.

Summary 1 Origin and History 2 Beliefs 2.1 Summary 3 Positions 3.1 Death Penalty 3.2 Abortion 3.3 Alcohol 3.4 Gambling 4 Notes and references

Origin and History

The future United Methodist Church has its origins in the mid 18th century in a movement of the Church of England. On the campus of the University of Oxford , a few students, including John Wesley , Charles Wesley and George Whitefield , form a group that focuses on the Bible , the methodical study of scripture and the need to live a life consistent with biblical teachings. Nicknamed "the club of saints", they are also called "Methodists" because of the regularity of method and spirit they bring to their religious practices.

Beliefs

Summary

The profession of faith-based United Methodist Church includes:

• Trinity. God only exists in three persons: the Father , the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• Bible. The books of the Old Testament and New Testament were inspired by God.
• Sin. Sin corrupts human nature prevents us from being in God's image.
• Hello by Jesus Christ.
• Sacraments. For the EMU, there are only two sacraments: baptism (which means a new birth ) and communion. The confirmation , the ordination , the marriage , the anointing of the sick are not considered sacraments.
• Free. The EMU think that everyone, even "corrupted" by sin, is free to make their own choices.
• Thanks. God disposes each to receive it.

Positions

Death penalty

The United Methodist Church, like other Methodist churches, condemned the death penalty.

Abortion

The United Methodist Church, considering that human life is sacred, is reluctant to consider the abortion as an acceptable practice, unless the mother's life is in danger or that her pregnancy puts her in an untenable position. In this case, abortion must be practiced in strict sanitary conditions established. The church encourages the adoption of children born of unwanted pregnancies and encourages Governments to facilitate this practice .

Alcohol

Historically, the Methodist Church has supported the temperance organizations. John Wesley , the founder, warned against the dangers of alcohol in his sermon, The Use of Money and in his letter to an alcoholic . Similarly, ministers Methodists took the commitment not to drink and encouraged the faithful to do the same . Today, the United Methodist Church is still against the consumption of alcohol . Instead of wine , she uses the juice of grapes not fermented during the sacrament of the Eucharist .

Gambling

The United Methodist Church opposes gambling, believing it is a sin that feeds the greed and human invites people to place their trust in material possessions rather than God, making the money a idol. They cite the apostle Paul , which states:

For those who want to become rich, they fall into temptation and a trap and a host of fatal and foolish lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. Because the root of all evil is the love of money, and some, in this lust, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves are a lot of torment. (1 Tim 6 , 9-10)

References