Beliefs
Some core beliefs affirmed by the Methodist Church are as follows:
- The belief that God is all-knowing, possesses infinite love and goodness, is all-powerful, and the creator of all things.
- God has always existed and will always continue to exist.
- God is three persons in one, the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
- God is the master of all creation and humans are meant to live in a holy covenant with him. Humans have broken this covenant by their sins, and can only be forgiven if they truly have faith in the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ.
- Jesus was God on Earth (conceived of a virgin), in the form of a man who was crucified for the sins of all people, and who was physically resurrected to bring them the hope of eternal life.
- The grace of God is seen by people through the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and in their world. (Personal holiness)
- Close adherence to the teachings of Scripture is essential to the faith because Scripture is the Word of God.
- Christians are part of a universal church and must work with all Christians to spread the love of God.
- Baptism is a sacrament or ceremony, involving the submersion or, more commonly, anointing of water which cleanses the stain of original sin. It also symbolises being brought into the community of faith.
- Communion is a sacrament in which participants eat bread and drink juice to show that they continue to take part in Christ's redeeming resurrection by symbolically taking part in His body (the bread) and blood (the unfermented grape juice).
- Baptism and Communion (often known as the Lord's Supper in Methodist services) are not only sacraments, but also sacrifices to God.
- People can only be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, not by any other acts of redemption such as good deeds.
Additionally, the British Methodist Church teaches the Wesleyan Arminian concepts of Free Will, Conditional Election, Universal Atonement, Christian perfection, and Sanctifying Grace.
Read more about this topic: Methodist Church Of Great Britain
Famous quotes containing the word beliefs:
“The essence of belief is the establishment of a habit; and different beliefs are distinguished by the different modes of action to which they give rise.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)
“To a first approximation, the intentional strategy consists of treating the object whose behavior you want to predict as a rational agent with beliefs and desires and other mental states exhibiting what Brentano and others call intentionality.”
—Daniel Clement Dennett (b. 1942)
“Other people’s beliefs may be myths, but not mine.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)