Catechism
#817-870
CPPoole,
Jr., August 7, 1999, revised July 24, 2005
Outline
1. Religions of the World, 2004
2.
Christians of the World, 2004
3.
Religions in the USA, 2004
4.
Commonalities and Differences
5. How
and Why We Separated
6
Ecumenism
7.
Ecumenical Accomplishments
8.
Judaism and Islam
9. We
Are a Missionary and Ecumenical Church
10. Divisions throughout History
11. Concluding Remarks
1. Religions
of the World 2004
Christians 2,107 million
Moslems 1,283
Nonreligious 767
Hindus 881
Buddhists 375
Atheists 161
Jews 15
Catholics 1,106 million
Protestants 370
Orthodox 217
Anglicans 79
Other 417
3. Religions
in the USA 2004
Catholic 67.3 million
Baptist 30.0
Methodist 12.3
Pentecostal 10.4
Lutheran 7.8
Jews 5.3
Jehovah witness 4.9
Mormons 4.8
Moslems 4.5
Orthodox 4.2
Church of Christ 3.1
Episcopal 2.3
Presbyterian 1.2
Eastern Catholic 0.6
The population figures are from the 2006 World Almanac
4. Commonalities
and Differences
Orthodox
are in schism
we share the same beliefs
Baptist,
Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian:
We
share many beliefs like the Nicene Creed
Many other
Christian Churches
do not have a recognized baptism
many deny the divinity of Christ
5. How and
Why We Separated
The
Orthodox Schism occurred in 1054
Due to rivalry of Rome vs
Constantinople
the main difference is papal authority
Protestantism
arose in 16th century
The Catholic Church was in need of reform
Protestants
reformed and split off
Anglicans - Henry VIII,
Presbyterians - John Calvin,
Lutherans - Martin Luther
6. Ecumenism
We try to
understand each other
begin to work together
aim toward eventual union
a common commitment to live the
Gospel
Ecumenism
began among Protestants in
Edinborough, Scotland, 1910
World
Council of Churches, 1948
Vatican II
Decree on Ecumenism 1964
7. Ecumenical
Accomplishments
Groups
dialogue officially
Produce
documents and agreements
Hold mutual
worship services
Try not to
offend each other
Protestants
are our siblings in Christ
We now have
a common baptismal certificate
8. Judaism
and Islam
Our roots are
in Judaism
We respect
Jews for this
they are God's chosen people
We
recognize their original covenants
We share a
common moral code
We condemn antisemitism
We esteem
Moslems as children of Abraham
who worship the same God
We seek to
forget the past,
to cooperate for social justice and
moral values
Jews and
Moslems are also people of the
book - namely of the scriptures
9. We Are a
Missionary and Ecumenical Church
The Church
evangelizes by its very nature
We aim
missionary activity toward
those who are not people of the book
especially nonchristians
We are
called to be ecumenical,
and also to spread the faith
We need a
balance between these two aspirations
After
Solomon died Old Testament Judaism
formed two countries: Israel (ten northern
tribes) and Juda
(two southern tribes)
Judaism now
has three main divisions
Orthodox, Reformed, and Conservative
Moslems
have their rival Sunni and Shi'ite factions
Christians
have Catholic, Orthodox, Main Line
Protestant, and miscellaneous other groups
11.
Concluding Remarks
It is a
great tragedy - the divisions among
the followers of Jesus
The power
of love can unite us
We must all
strive to live according to
the Gospel of Jesus
All
Christians of good will must work
to attain God's kingdom
to implement the Gospel of Jesus
CPPoole,
Jr., August 7, 1999, revised July 24, 2005