The Denominations
The Christian groups
By Gabriel Melendez
By Gabriel Melendez
“The Rock Church is the most diverse church in San Diego,” Dru Teves, the Youth Minister at the Rock Church, exclaimed proudly, “It’s a view of Heaven where everybody lives there, not separating each other based on the color of their skin, but on what they followed said by God.” When I arrived at the Rock Church, it was in the evening. The building casted a shadow over the street like a leviathan. Dru explained to me that the Rock isn’t a strict-religious church. He furthered, “I see that there’s the denominations for different social types, yet you can break it down to the main point and still have Christianity.”
Non-denominational Christians believe more in the relationship with God. All the sets and principles laid down by a religious authority are open to question. These laws are treated as man-made opinions. Even though Non-denominational Christianity mainly rejects the idea that religious law is the matter of principle, its roots go back to Protestant teachings. The Rock Church supports three major Christian denominations. First are the Methodists, who started in 1869 in San Diego with a mere 20 members. The general philosophy of the church is that in order to be granted entrance to heaven, one must be charitable, helpful, and generous. These are the teachings of Jesus. The church is dedicated to helping the poor, and is often willing to provide food, shelter, and spiritual guidance. With the church’s pastor, Reverend McDonald, being appointed a military chaplain, the church worked with the city to establish hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens and schools. The Rock Church maintains this mentality.“That’s another thing the Rock thinks, and so what I mean by saying that we leave church, I mean that the church is best when it excites everyone from the glory of God,” Dru explained. The next denomination of Christianity is Baptism. Many are aware of the practice of being baptized in holy water at a young age. Baptists believe in immersion baptism. This practice is an acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah. An essential part of the second act of becoming Baptist is to speak the word of god, which most denominations already do. The third Protestant denomination is Pentecostalism. The Pentecostal Church believes that being born-again means being able to speak for the empowerment of themselves. This involves more than just verbal statements, but also declarations, speaking in tongues, and divine healing. Pentecostalism exemplifies the power of speaking to god. The Catholic Church prefers not to have its rules questioned. The priests dedicate their lives to God; living, breathing, and eating by the word of the Bible. In exchange, their followers are told not to question the pastors and their teachings, for a blind follower is a true follower. City-wide, Catholicism is statistically the largest denomination of Christianity, so much so that many times it’s treated like its own religion. In 1769, they started the religious lifestyle in San Diego. Catholics spread the word of God, promising an afterlife in Heaven to anyone who followed their extremely strict rules and high standards. Christianity is a diverse religion, with more than 5 denominations in San Diego alone. Yet many don’t see it this way. Churches are seen not as a place of worship, diversity, and spirituality, but instead as institutions that drive hatred and breed bigotry. From my experiences I believe that any true follower of Christianity should be at peace not only with himself, but at peace with the world. |