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How can a church claim to be non-denominational if they believe in the Trinity?

Centrist

Active Member
I was checking out a church, in particular an Evangelical-Free Church, and in their statement of beliefs, they say they are non-denominational, yet they also believe in the trinity. Now granted it has been a long time since I was reading the calvinism/arminianism debate, but can they really be non-denominational if they beleive in the Trinity?
My apologies in advance for my apparent ignorance.
 

rockytopva

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
I would go along with two denominations...

Baptist - Really... Any Baptist....
Pentecostal Holiness

Both believe in the Trinity. Show me a good structure of leadership of any of these churches and I would interested in attending and eventually joining.
 

rockytopva

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
A church is a body of believers. Paul did not have the same thing to say to the churches of his time.

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. - Acts 17:10-11

How many books did Paul write to the church of Berea? None that I know of! I believe this is also the case in our time. Each church is unique. It pays to get to know the people before making any kind of commitment.
 

Armchair Apologist

Active Member
Several things do not make sense here. First of all, the Evangelical-Free Church is very much a denomination in the same respects that "Baptist" is a denomination. Like Baptists, each church is autonomous with no governance outside of the local congregation and like some baptists, they may not like the term, but as with Baptists, the Evangelical-Free folks have "Distinctives" that make them distinctly Evangelical-Free so for this reason, I would refer to both as being a "denomination."

Being Trinitarian simply means that in this respect, they are within the realm of doctrinal orthodoxy that makes them a valid and legitimate expression of the Christian faith. Churches that are (for example) Modalist or Unitarian would be outside the scope of orthodoxy and certain denominations exist that espouse these positions (e.g., Unitarian Universalist, Jehovah Witnesses, UPCI Pentecostal, etc.)

Calvinism or Arminianism has nothing to do with whether they are denominational or non-denominational. There are some denominations that are distinctly Calvinist (Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, Etc.) as well as those that are distinctly Arminian (Wesleyan Methodist, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Assembly of God, Etc.) Baptists and Ev-Free may be either/or depending upon the position of a particular congregation.

Finally, there is no such a thing as a truly "Non-Denominational" church. One may call themselves such but no one creates unique beliefs or doctrines that are completely different from anyone else - this includes any cult you may want to name here. A "Non-Denominational" congregation usually adopts certain denominational beliefs and practices from other denominational traditions so a non-traditional congregation may seem distinctly "Baptist" without actually claiming the Baptist name. They may also be Pentecostal (not UPCI) in origin.
 

rockytopva

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
And how many Baptist are denominational Baptist? The ones I have attended are

1. Unadvertised Southern Baptist - You really have to dig to find their denominational affiliation.
2. Unadvertised Independent Baptist

So their names will end up something like "Grace Baptist Church."
 

Armchair Apologist

Active Member
And how many Baptist are denominational Baptist? The ones I have attended are

1. Unadvertised Southern Baptist - You really have to dig to find their denominational affiliation.
2. Unadvertised Independent Baptist

So their names will end up something like "Grace Baptist Church."
I was using a broader definition of "Denomination" referring to all Baptists as being a single denomination although we often narrow the scope to distinguish separate denominations from these larger groups.
 

Ascetic X

Well-Known Member
I was checking out a church, in particular an Evangelical-Free Church, and in their statement of beliefs, they say they are non-denominational, yet they also believe in the trinity. Now granted it has been a long time since I was reading the calvinism/arminianism debate, but can they really be non-denominational if they beleive in the Trinity?
My apologies in advance for my apparent ignorance.
This post makes no sense.

The calvinism/arminianism debate has nothing to do with non-denominational, which has nothing to do with the Trinity.
 
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