Finding a Denomination

I'm a believing Christian and have been for a few years now. I converted from being an atheist, but I have yet to fully join a denomination. I find many arguments from Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox compelling. But the historical, intellectual, and even some theological arguments muddle my mind, I'm trying to find a congregation that helps me live the most Christian life that I can. How should I go about doing this? Attending services at different churches, or should I remain patient and continue to pray for guidance?

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Continue to pray for guidance, inform yourself as much as you can. Read the Bible, the history of the Church, the Church Fathers if you can, and let your moral compass guide you as well.
Really take your time to observe.
This exact thing has tormented me for a long time, until I found the answer and settled down.
If I tell you which one it is, it's not gonna do you any good, because you have to find out for yourself in order to be fully convinced in your heart.
A few hints I want to give you are:

One more thing you should do, attend Church services, feel it out and rationalize only what's absolutely necessary and most importantly, let the Lord guide you.

Though I am a member of one of the largest of them, I will honestly tell you: no matter which one you join, it will be foul and you will despise it. Christ is with you wherever you go. A true Christian, who is a manifestation of Jesus' own life in the world can participate in any sect and be holy, or none at all except the things Jesus wants us all to do. Pray for guidance, and don't make the mistake of rushing into them.

Thank you all this has been helpful. I have church going family who are very understanding and have encouraged me to take my time as well. I will continue to read Scripture, pray, and be open to the guidance of Christ, after all that is how I came to want to be a Christian. Thank you for your kind and thoughtful answers.

Is it really possible to live as a faithful and good Christian without belonging to a specific sect?

Can you give some more information about your current mindset? How do you feel about, for example, on sola scriptura vs. Church tradition passed down from apostolic succession?

No it isn't. You need Jesus' Church in order to not fall into heresy.

It's less that you belong to no sect and more that the Body of Christ (material and mystical/invisible, it has two sides) transcends all sects. A Christian is someone who lives and dies in the words of Christ, believing them with faith as the evidence for their faith, and because of this good works and doctrines flow from them. I think the following puts it best:


By all means, be faithful and follow the disciplines, laws, etc, of your particular sect, joining one is extremely beneficial to some, most I'd presume, I did. But don't get caught up in all the drama, as you'll quickly see that people don't actually believe in God when they war over these things, what they believe in is 1) their ability to discern God's will and word 2) their own opinion about what they believe they have discerned. To some extent we can't avoid this, I have just in some form, though possibly in not a strong a way as others, done the same thing as they do, but that's exactly how faith always is, especially when it is forced to be expressed in language. Although with any persons opinion/beliefs/creeds it is the difference between me holding a book and saying "this is a book," which draws both your attention and mine to the simple fact of the book, or me saying "I believe this is a book, and x,y,z is true about this book", which draws both your and mine attention away from the simple fact of the book, and into my opinions about it.

Just be mindful

I'm conflicted on sola scriptura vs Church tradition. I converted largely by simply reading Scripture and opening myself to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior. I see the utility of some traditions in keeping the faith and practice of the faith pure, but on the other hand there are some traditions I think would hinder my ability to connect in genuine fellowship with those who believe in them.

That's what I was thinking when I asked that. I accept that belonging to a community in Christ is probably the best course. I'm just looking for doctrine that I calls me.

Also is that quote from Romans 14?

The quote is from Jacob Boehme, who practiced Lutheranism but was directly taught by God. It is inspired from Romans 14 and the like passages clearly though.

Well, look, I'm Orthodox and I'd argue that we should keep with the Church traditions. After all, the church fathers canonized the bible, so why not listen to their traditions as well? Anyway, if you're set on things like sola scriptura, Sola fide, et cetera, the next questions you should ask yourself is on things like predestination. See if you can rule out the reformed churches or decided if you're interested in Presbyterian vs dutch reformed churches.

I have a basic knowledge of Presbyterianism. I don't know much about any of the Dutch churches, are those like the Mennonites?

No, Mennonites are Anabaptism. They belive in things like radical pacifism. The differences from Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed (or continental reformed churches in general) are pretty minor. Though, different parishes would of course have different beliefs. If Calvinist beliefs are what you're set on, I'd suggest you look at all the RCA, Presbyterian, etc. churches near you, and figure which one aligns closet to your own beliefs.

Pray for guidance on which one you should join

Find a "non-denominational" church, volunteer, sacrifice for them, and be "familia" (Hebrew 10:24-25), read "When the Church was a Family" by Hellerman.

Orthodox.

if you want to join The Church that was established by Jesus Christ then it's simple enough to find out by just looking at history

This. Come Home to Rome, OP

Catholic. If you want absolute answers and a ridiculously full prayer life go Catholic.

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OP here, I think that something like that sounds like a really good option. The campus of my uni also has an interdenominational Christian fellowship club, when school starts up again I'll look to make some connections there as well.

A charismatic Baptist/Pentecostal church without the negative connotations carried by the names "Baptist" or "Pentecostal", in other words. Pastors of these churches only care about amassing large congregations for money and fame.
Be used like a doormat by the church to further their personal agenda. Put on a fake smile and cheery attitude every Sunday so people are inclined to come to this church every week and keep the money stream flowing.
Vow to give a bigger slice of your paycheck to Pastor Jim each week so he can buy a nicer home or better surround sound equipment for his megachurch.
Be part of a large crowd of people, the vast majority of whom will remain strangers to you. The community is full of cliques and will happily ignore or exclude anyone different from them.
A book that tries to downplay the sacrifice of Christ, written by an author who pastors at a non-denom church. Not to mention, the Church was, is, and always will be a family, however Evangelicals like Hellerman allow their pride to get in the way of assimilating to it and instead play God by creating their own heretical churches.

I really wouldn't waste your time with a nom-denominational church, OP. I used to attend one, but the cliques, money-hungry attitudes, egomaniac pastors taking a big shit on the congregation every Sunday, etc. ultimately drove me away. I kid you not, they even sold books, shirts, and other items at the church, just like the synagogues did by the time of Christ. Their theology is very watered-down, meaning they might be good for getting you started on your Christian journey and giving you a Trinitarian Baptism, but not much else. OP, I'd like to recommend a book called "Rome Sweet Home" by Scott & Kimberly Hahn, who were an staunchly Evangelical couple that converted to Catholicism and share their Christian journey and arguments in said book. By the time I finished reading that book as a Protestant, I wanted nothing to do with Protestantism, recognizing it as false, and everything to do with Catholicism. Just over a week ago, I entered full communion with the Catholic Church and was warmly embraced by a multitude of friends and strangers alike. I truly hope you can experience the beauty of the Mass, God's mercy in the Sacrament of Penance, and Christ's presence in the Eucharist one day… I've never felt anything like it before.

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You make an unanswerable case for Catholicism, the conundrum is that I have seen other unanswerable cases for other sects as well.

Apply a more skeptical eye to every statement. Watch the back and forth and you'll find more useful confrontations. Everybody paints a rosy, perfect picture but there is always a flaw or a problem or an issue that will shake you. Always.

Join the RCIA at your local Catholic church and they will sort out everything for you. Remember salvation is not attainable outside of the Church that Jesus Christ Himself established.

I'd recommend he joins a FSSP/ICKSP chapel, they generally do a one-on-one experience for converts. RCIA takes far too long for someone discerning the faith imo. I've had friends try it and then leave 5 months in because they feel disengaged (though, the onus falls on the bad shepherd)

there is an icrsp church near me. what do you mean by "one on one" experience ?

You directly talk to a priest and it's much more intimate than RCIA, which tends to be gathering of many (would-be) converts, usually it takes a year+ to be baptized/confirmed. If you go to the FSSP/ICKSP you can become Catholic in months. Plus you get the Mass of all the Saints.

cool thanks user