Umc's View On Millennialism

[BeachOfEden]

Brother Rog once gaves some great links here to the Presbyterian's offical view of why they do not subscribe to the rapture...I was wondering, can anyone here tell me where i might be able to find a good link telling what the united methodists' take on/against the rapture belief is?

 

Thanks!

[BeachOfEden]

All I can find is this from the Offical UMC web page:

 

Where does the "Rapture" fit into the United Methodist realm of beliefs?

 

Methodism has a lot of diverse viewpoints among its churches and members, and so I have no doubts that many pastors and churches are tuning in to this speculative phenomenon. However, it is not central to our approach to discipleship and our theological framework.

 

Wesley and his spiritual children are not into the future in the kind of rapture/left behind approach. He and we are into the present--living in love toward God and neighbor. Our doctrine focuses on the order of salvation--prevenient grace, justifying grace, sanctifying grace and the assurance of salvation that God gives in trust.

 

See our Our Doctrinal Standards and General Rules in the Book of Discipline. Go on line and read the sermons of John Wesley. Read especially Wesley's sermon on the Great Assize. This will get you as close as Wesley gets to this type of thinking. But notice that almost all of his sermons have to do with how we live our lives now and how we accept the gift of salvation and live accountably for the grace we have received.

 

Rev. Dan Benedict

Center for Worship Resourcing

General Board of Discipleship

 

This does not answer muc...????

[des]

The rapture is not really a part of *any* mainline or typical evangelical religious belief system, afaik. My sister is involved with PresbyterianPC (?) which do not even ordain women, and they do not buy this. They consider it unscriptural-- and it is. This is a more recent take, to my understanding, by someone Darby (not "our" Darby :-)) back in the 1920s I think. Even churches that believe in a literal second coming, do not believe in a "pretribulation rapture", as my sister calls it. The believed would be saved and go up with Jesus, but only after the end has actually come. There wouldn't be such a bizarre thing as people driving along and

leaving their cars. (As in "In case of the rapture, can you have your car?" BTW, I think the answer is "yes" as it would be pretty chaotic :-)).

 

However, I think large nos of people do believe these things, and lately several large mainline churches have been taken over by so-called renewal groups. I heard a female pastor of a UMC church on tv talk about the rapture. I don't know to what extent UMC worries about if individual churches are going according to standard doctrine. But I'm sure it isn't and she isn't.

 

 

--des

[BeachOfEden]

Yeah, I know that UMC does not believe in the rapture..but I was hoping they might have written a really logical essey on how they think it is not biblical and then I would mark it as one of my favs.

[JosephM]

Yeah, I know that UMC does not believe in the rapture..but I was hoping they might have written a really logical essey on how they think it is not biblical and then I would mark it as one of my favs.

 

Hi Beachof Eden,

 

Not sure that they would approve of this short writing but it does point out how it may not be biblical from a christian perspective. Its a chapter using King James scripture to indicate that the common teaching concerning the 'rapture' in most organized churches may be in error. Enjoy.

 

http://home.fuse.net/mattioli/GodBook/page56.html

 

JM

[Quaker Way]

Yeah, I know that UMC does not believe in the rapture..but I was hoping they might have written a really logical essey on how they think it is not biblical and then I would mark it as one of my favs.

As a member of the UMC church, there has never been a discussion or printed position of 'the rapture' in the theology of the church as far as I know.

[BeachOfEden]

It would be cool for a progressive or moderate UMC pastor to come here and share their personal views on this topic here.

[rivanna]

Beach,

 

There is a helpful interpretation of I Thess. 4:15 (where the Rapture theory got started) in Who Wrote the New Testament by Burton Mack.

Paul was trying to come up with a reassuring answer to Christians who wondered about dead friends and relatives--would they lose contact, etc. As Mack says, "we can almost see Paul working it out on the spot, desperately trying to find a way to answer the question about those who had died....Paul was caught between a Jewish notion of resurrection and a Greek idea of immortality."

 

I think Paul was a brilliant writer, mystic and visionary who definitely had a life changing experience of Jesus. But I don't see this strange bit of cloud & trumpet imagery as essential to his message. Apocalyptic language is always used when "the good" is in danger of being overwhelmed by external circumstances.

 

It also partly explains why the concept of eternal life shifted from Jesus' teachings - a kingdom available here & now - to a cosmic realm of bliss at the end of time.

 

Maybe the most important part of Paul's thinking on this subject is 5:11-- "Whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."

[des]

I think there is a reason that many mainline churches don't make statements on the "rapture", perhaps they don't think it worth their time, given it is sort of a fringe idea. (Sort of like why they haven't issued a statement on snake handling). Otoh, I kind of disagree with the idea of NOT making a statement. Many people believe in it, in fact, a surprising no. Without anybody saying what's wrong with the belief, people take it as agreement. Therefore, I think they should.

 

 

--des