Hensley Ministries

 Theological Beliefs

Universalism is a religion and theology that generally holds all persons and creatures are related to God or the divine and will be reconciled to God. A church that calls itself Universalist may emphasize the universal principles of most religions and accept other religions in an inclusive manner, believing in a Universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine. Other religions may have Universalist theology as one of their tenets and principles, including Ananda Marga, Christianity, Hinduism, and some of the New Age religions. Universalist beliefs exist within many faiths, and many Universalists practice in a variety of traditions, drawing upon the same universal principles but customizing the practice to suit their audience.

Annihilationism is the minority Christian doctrine that sinners are destroyed rather than tormented forever in "hell" or the lake of fire. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Some annihilationists believe the wicked will be punished for their sins in the lake of fire before being annihilated, others that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin.

Annihilationist denominations include the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the various Advent Christian churches. Some Protestant and Anglican[1] writers have also proposed annihilationist doctrines. Annihilationists base the doctrine on their exegesis of scripture, some early church writing, historical criticism of the doctrine of hell, and the concept of God as too loving to punish His creations forever.

Dispensationalism is a form of premillennialism which teaches biblical history, the present, and the future as a number of successive "administrations" or "economies" (from the Greek word oikonomia) called "dispensations", each of which emphasizes aspects of the covenants God made with His various peoples.

The word, "Dispensation" is contained in the King James Version translation of the Bible where it is written in Ephesians 3:2-4:[1]

"If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)"

Premillennialism in Christian eschatology is the belief that Christ will literally reign on the earth for 1,000 years at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it views the current age as prior to Christ’s kingdom. It is distinct from the other forms of Christian eschatology such as amillennialism or postmillennialism, which view the millennial rule as either figurative and non-temporal, or as occurring prior to the second coming. Premillennialism is largely based upon a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6 in the New Testament which describes Christ’s coming to the earth and subsequent reign at the end of an apocalyptic period of tribulation. It views this future age as a time of fulfillment for the prophetic hope of God’s people as given in the Old Testament.

Amillennialism (Latin: a- "not" + mille "thousand" + annum "year") is a view in Christian eschatology named for its denial of a future, thousand-year, physical reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, as espoused in the premillennial and some postmillennial views of the Book of Revelation, chapter 20. By contrast, the amillennial view holds that the number of years in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a literal description; that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the church age (or more rarely, that it ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70); and that while Christ's reign is spiritual in nature during the millennium, at the end of the church age, Christ will return in final judgment and establish permanent physical reign.

Postmillennialism is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after (Latin post-) the "Millennium", a Golden Age or era of Christian prosperity and dominance. The term subsumes several similar views of the end times, and it stands in contrast to premillennialism and, to a lesser extent, amillennialism (see Summary of Christian eschatological differences).

Antinomianism (from the Greek αντι, "against" + νομος, "law"), or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ανομια,[1] which is "unlawful"), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism, the notion that obedience to a code of religious law is necessary for salvation.

The term has become a point of contention among opposed religious authorities. Few groups or sects explicitly call themselves "antinomian", but the charge is often leveled by some sects against competing sects.

Theonomy has been used to describe various views which see the God revealed in the Bible as the sole source of human ethics. Using the word in this sense, Cornelius Van Til argued that there "is no alternative but that of theonomy or autonomy" (Christian Theistic Ethics p. 134). Among Reformed Christians, John Calvin, the Continental Reformers, the Westminster Divines and other Puritans, and Christian Reconstructionists, have developed similar ethical perspectives, but the term is not limited to the Reformed. As Greg Bahnsen showed, non-Reformed theologians such as Paul Tillich have used the term "theonomy" to describe their ethical perspectives.[1] Between the Reformed on the one hand and Tillich on the other are found various Evangelical, Dispensationalist (usually not mentioned outside systematic theology texts) and Roman Catholic theonomies.

Since the mid 1970's theonomy has been most often used in Protestant circles to specifically label the ethical perspective of Christian Reconstructionism, a perspective that claims to be a faithful revival of the historic Protestant view of the Old Testament law as espoused by many European Reformers and Puritans. Some in the modern Reformed churches are critical of this understanding, while other Calvinists affirm Theonomy.

Purgatory is the process of purification by which, according to Roman Catholic belief, those who die in God’s grace and friendship achieve the holiness necessary for heaven.[1] It is also called the "final purification of the elect". Catholics believe that Purgatory is experienced only by those souls judged by God at the moment of death to be destined for heaven, and only by those that are not yet perfectly holy. Purgatory involves temporal punishment for sin[2], which is entirely different from the eternal punishment of the damned in hell.[3]

The concept of Purgatory originated from ideas about purification after death in the ancient world. Medievalist Jacques Le Goff dated the "birth" of Purgatory to the High Middle Ages, when it was conceived as a single distinct place named Purgatory.[4] Other scholars have adopted a less strict definition. The concept is linked directly to the practice of prayer for the dead and the sense that not everyone who died without being condemned was yet ready for the eternal perfection of heaven.[5] Important theologians, including St. Augustine and St. Gregory the Great, contributed to the understanding of the soul’s purification after death, and by the twelfth century Purgatory had emerged as a fully developed concept,[6] achieving formal doctrinal definition at the Councils of Lyon (1245, 1274), Florence (1439), and Trent (1545-63).

The doctrine contributed greatly to Christian spirituality, ritual, piety, and imagination, giving rise to various devotions and literary works.[7] Historically, descriptions of purgatory have emphasised the natural and supernatural bonding between the living and the dead – the belief that the souls in Purgatory were part of the church of the redeemed, and prayer for the dead, became a principal expression of the ties binding the Christian community together.[8] The teaching became "a powerful symbol of all that the holiness of God requires of man and also of His mercy and His love for men."[5]

Non-Catholic Christians have differing interpretations of the concept. Eastern Orthodox Christians pray for the dead, but teach that after the soul leaves the body it waits for Christ's final judgment.[9] They regard the Roman Catholic view of purgatory and related penitance as needlessly innovative.[10][11] Protestant reformers of the 16th century came to reject the doctrine, especially because of its relationship with the granting of indulgences. Today, few protestants believe in purgatory.

Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought in Protestant Christian theology founded by the Dutch theologian Jacobus Hermanszoon, who was best known by the Latin form of his name, Jacobus Arminius. Its acceptance stretches through much of mainstream Protestantism. Due to the influence of John Wesley, Arminianism is perhaps most prominent in the Methodist movement.

Arminianism holds to the following tenets:

Humans are naturally unable to make any effort towards salvation
Salvation is possible by grace alone
Works of human effort cannot cause or contribute to salvation
God's election is conditional on faith in Jesus
Jesus' atonement was for all people
God allows his grace to be resisted by those unwilling to believe
Salvation can be lost, as continued salvation is conditional upon continued faith
Arminianism is most accurately used to define those who affirm the original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius himself, but the term can also be understood as an umbrella for a larger grouping of ideas including those of Hugo Grotius, John Wesley, Clark Pinnock, and others. There are two primary perspectives on how the system is applied in detail: Classical Arminianism, which sees Arminius as its figurehead, and Wesleyan Arminianism, which sees John Wesley as its figurehead. Wesleyan Arminianism is sometimes synonymous with Methodism. Additionally, Arminianism is understood by some of its critics to also include Pelagianism, though supporters from both primary perspectives deny this vehemently.

Within the broad scope of church history, Arminianism is closely related to Calvinism (or Reformed theology), and the two systems share both history and many doctrines in common. Nonetheless, they are often viewed as archrivals within Evangelicalism because of their disagreement over the doctrines of predestination and salvation.

Docetism (from the Greek δοκέω [dokeō], "to seem") is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief treats the sentence "the Word was made Flesh" (John 1:14) as merely figurative. Docetism has historically been regarded as heretical by most Christian theologians.

Pelagianism is a theological theory named after Pelagius. It is the belief that original sin did not taint human nature (which, being created from God, was divine), and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without Divine aid. Thus, Adam's sin was "to set a bad example" for his progeny, but his actions did not have the other consequences imputed to Original Sin. Pelagianism views the role of Jesus as "setting a good example" for the rest of humanity (thus counteracting Adam's bad example). In short, humanity has full control, and thus full responsibility, for its own salvation in addition to full responsibility for every sin (the latter insisted upon by both proponents and opponents of Pelagianism). According to Pelagian doctrine, because humanity does not require God's grace for salvation (beyond the creation of will),[1] Jesus' execution is therefore devoid of the redemptive quality ascribed to it by orthodox Christian theology.

Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate or inevitable predetermination.

Fatalism generally refers to several of the following ideas:

That free will does not exist, meaning therefore that history has progressed in the only manner possible. [1] This belief is very similar to determinism.
That actions are free, but nevertheless work toward an inevitable end. [2] This belief is very similar to predestination.
[3] That acceptance is appropriate, rather than resistence against inevitability. This belief is very similar to defeatism.

Moral dualism is the belief of the coexistence (in eastern and naturalistic religions) or conflict (in western religions) between the "benevolent" and the "malignant". Most religious systems have some form of moral dualism - in western religions, for instance, a conflict between good and evil.

Like ditheism/bitheism (see below), moral dualism does not imply the absence of monist or monotheistic principles. Moral dualism simply implies that there are two moral opposites at work, independent of any interpretation of what might be "moral" and - unlike ditheism/bitheism - independent of how these may be represented.

For example, Mazdaism (Mazdaen Zoroastrianism) is both dualistic and monotheistic (but not monist) since in that philosophy God—the Creator—is purely good, and the antithesis—which is also uncreated—is an absolute one. Zurvanism (Zurvanite Zoroastrianism), Manichaeism and Mandaeanism, are representative of dualistic and monist philosophies since each has a supreme and transcendental First Principle from which the two equal-but-opposite entities then emanate. This is also true for the lesser-known Christian gnostic religions, such as Bogomils, Catharism, etc. More complex forms of monist dualism also exist, for instance in Hermeticism, where Nous "thought" - that is described to have created man - brings forth both good and evil, depending on whether it receives prompting from God or from the demons.

Deism (dee-iz-uhm) is a religious philosophy and movement that derives the existence and nature of God from reason and personal experience. This is in contrast to fideism which is found in religions like Judaism, many forms of Christianity[1]. Muslims believe that Islam relies on revelation in sacred scriptures or the testimony of other people as well as reasoning and self-questioning.

Deists typically reject supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God does not interfere with human life and the laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most Deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources.

Deism became prominent in Great Britain, France, and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries and continues to this day in the form of Classical Deism and Modern Deism.

Pantheism is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God; or that the Universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. More detailed definitions tend to emphasize the idea that natural law, existence, and the Universe (the sum total of all that is, was, and shall be) is represented in the theological principle of an abstract 'god' rather than a personal, creative deity or deities of any kind. This is the key feature which distinguishes them from panentheists and pandeists. As such, although many religions may claim to hold pantheistic elements, they are more commonly panentheistic or pandeistic in nature.

Arianism is most commonly used to refer to the theological positions made famous by the theologian Arius (c. AD 250-336), who lived and taught in Alexandria, Egypt, in the early 4th century. The most controversial of the teachings of Arius dealt with the relationship between God the Father and the person of Jesus and conflicted with trinitarian christological positions which came to dominate the Roman Church (and hence the modern Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches and most other denominations).

The term Arianism is also used to refer to other nontrinitarian theological systems of the fourth century, which regarded the Son of God, the Logos, as a created being (as in Arianism proper and Anomoeanism) or as neither uncreated nor created in the sense other beings are created (as in "Semi-Arianism").

Monism is the metaphysical and theological view that all is one, that there are no fundamental divisions, and a unified set of laws underlie nature.

Monism is to be distinguished from dualism, which holds that ultimately there are two kinds of substance, and from pluralism, which holds that ultimately there are many kinds of substance.

Monism is often erroneously seen in relation to pantheism, panentheism, and an immanent God. The concepts of absolutism, the monad, and the "Universal substrate" are closely related as well.

Theistic evolution, less commonly known as evolutionary creationism, is the general opinion that some or all classical religious teachings about God and creation are compatible with some or all of the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution. Theistic evolution is not a theory in the scientific sense, but a particular view about how the science of evolution relates to some religious interpretations. In this way, theistic evolution supporters can be seen as one of the groups who deny the conflict thesis regarding the relationship between religion and science; that is, they hold that religious teachings about creation and scientific theories of evolution need not be contradictory.

The term was used by Eugenie Scott to refer to the part of the overall spectrum of beliefs about creation and evolution holding the theological view that God creates through evolution. It covers a wide range of beliefs about the extent of any intervention by God, with some approaching deism in rejecting continued intervention. Others see intervention at critical intervals in history in a way consistent with scientific explanations of speciation, but with similarities to the ideas of Progressive Creationism that God created "kinds" of animals sequentially.[1]

This view is accepted (or at least not rejected) by major Christian churches, including Roman Catholicism and some mainline Protestant denominations; some Jewish denominations; and other religious groups that lack a literalist stance concerning holy scriptures. Various biblical literalists have accepted or noted openness to this stance, including theologian B.B. Warfield and evangelist Billy Graham.

With this approach toward evolution, scriptural creation stories are typically interpreted as being allegorical in nature. Both Jews and Christians have considered the idea of the creation history as an allegory (instead of a historical description) long before the development of Darwin's theory. Two notable examples are the writings of Philo of Alexandria (1st century) and St. Augustine (4th century).

Theistic evolutionists argue that it is inappropriate to use Genesis as a scientific text, since it was written in a pre-scientific age and originally intended for religious instruction; as such, seemingly chronological aspects of the creation accounts should be thought of in terms of a literary framework.

The term evolutionary creationism is used in particular for beliefs in which God transcends normal time and space, with nature having no existence independent of His will. It allows interpretations consistent with both a literal Genesis and objective science, in which, for example, the events of creation occurred outside time as we know it

 Houses of Faith - and Beliefs

Baptist -

Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. The name comes from the conviction that followers of Jesus Christ are commanded to be immersed in water as a public display of their faith, and thus most adherents reject infant baptism. While the term "Baptist" has its origins with the Anabaptists, and was sometimes viewed as pejorative, the denomination itself is historically linked to the English Separatist movement of the 16th century.

The polity of autonomy is closely related to the polity of congregational governance. Just as each Baptist believer priest with soul competency is equal to all other Baptists in a church, so each church is equal to every other church. No church or ecclesiastical organization has authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control.

Baptists usually are considered Protestants. Some Baptists reject that association. Most Baptist churches choose to associate with denominational groups that provide support without control. Examples of such denominations are the Southern Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention USA, Conservative Baptist Association of America, American Baptist Churches USA, American Baptist Association (Landmark Baptists), among others.

Both Roger Williams and his compatriot in working for religious freedom, Dr. John Clarke, are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in America. In 1639, Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking."
Baptist churches do not have a central governing authority. Therefore, beliefs are not totally consistent from one Baptist church to another, especially beliefs that may be considered minor. However, on major theological issues, Baptist distinctive beliefs are held in common among almost all Baptist churches.

Baptists share so-called "orthodox" Christian beliefs with most other moderate or conservative Christian denominations. These would include beliefs about one God; virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, vicarious atoning death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ; the Trinity (the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, together with God the Father); the need for salvation (though the understanding of means for achieving it may differ at times); grace; the church; the Kingdom of God; last things (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); evangelism and missions. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message, and written church "covenants" which some individual Baptist churches adopt as a statement of their faith and beliefs.

Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ at which time God will sit in judgment and divide humanity between the saved and the lost (the Great White Throne judgment Revelation 20:11) and Christ will sit in judgment of the believers (the Judgment Seat of Christ 2 Corinthians), rewarding them for things done while alive. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism, dispensationalism, and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support.

Roman Catholic-

Roman Catholic Church is a Christian church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus and spread by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter.

The Catholic Church is the largest Christian church, representing about half of all Christians, and is the largest organized body of any world religion. According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the Catholic Church's worldwide recorded membership at the end of 2005 was 1,114,966,000, approximately one-sixth of the world's population.

The worldwide Catholic Church is made up of one Western or Latin and 22 Eastern Catholic autonomous particular churches, all of which look to the Pope, alone or along with the College of Bishops, as their highest authority on earth for matters of faith, morals and church governance. It is divided into jurisdictional areas, usually on a territorial basis. The standard territorial unit is called a diocese in the Latin church and an eparchy in the Eastern churches. Each diocese or eparchy is headed by a bishop, patriarch or eparch. At the end of 2006, the total number of all these jurisdictional areas (or "Sees") was 2,782.

(for their beliefs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_catholic)

Church of Christ -

Churches of Christ are non-denominational, autonomous Christian congregations, and are historically linked in America to the Restoration Movement. Churches of Christ identify with the original Church, as established by Christ in the first century, without the encumbrances of denominational structures and doctrines that have arisen between then and now. Churches of Christ recognize only Jesus Christ as founder (Ephesians 1:22-23), being first manifested on the Day of Pentecost described in the New Testament, only a few weeks after his death and resurrection (see Acts chapter two). Churches of Christ claim the New Testament as their sole rule of faith and practice in deciding matters of doctrine and ecclesiastical structure. They regard the Old Testament as divinely inspired and believe its principles remain true and beneficial, though its laws are not binding under the new covenant in Christ unless otherwise taught in the New Testament.[2]

Members point out that throughout Church history many have sought a return to the simple, original Christianity that is "pre-denominational" and unbound by the decisions of councils or denominational hierarchies. Rather than basing doctrine on the interpretations of post-first century Church fathers, ecclesiastical councils, or more modern denominational synods or conventions, they use only the Bible as their official source of doctrine. These views are based on the conviction that the Church is a spiritual body of faith, rather than a secular or political body. Furthermore, it is taught that God demonstrates in the New Testament how a person may become a Christian, thus a part of the Church, and how Christians may collectively organize and carry out the purposes of the Church which Christ established.

Today, churches of Christ usually have these distinctive traits: the refusal to hold to any creeds other than the Bible itself (i.e., 2 Tim 3:16-17, sometimes known as sola scriptura); the practice of repentance and water baptism by immersion in Christ's name as the response to receive forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit (e.g., Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16); autonomous, non-denominational congregational church organization with oversight by a plurality (Titus 1:5) of male elders (Titus 1:6); the weekly observance (Acts 20:7) of communion/eucharist (i.e., the Lord's Supper); and the practice by most congregations of a cappella worship singing (although several other related congregations use instruments while usually having these other traits, also known as Christian Churches).

The United Methodist Church -

The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination. It has both mainline and evangelical elements.[2][6] In the United States, it ranks as the largest mainline church and second largest Protestant church (after the Southern Baptist Convention). In 2007 worldwide membership was about 12 million members: 8.1 million in the United States,[7] 3.5 million in Africa, Asia and Europe.[8]

The history of this denomination is one of splits and mergers. In 1820, the Methodist Protestant Church split from the Methodist Episcopal Church over the issue of laity having a voice and vote in the administration of the church, insisting that clergy should not be the only ones to have any determination in how the church was to be operated. In 1844, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church split into two conferences because of tensions over slavery and the power of bishops in the denomination. The two General Conferences, Methodist Episcopal Church (or northern section) and Methodist Episcopal Church, South remained separate until the 1939 merger of these two denominations plus a third, the Methodist Protestant Church, the resulting church being known as The Methodist Church. In 1968, The Methodist Church united with the Evangelical United Brethren, also a result of mergers, to become The United Methodist Church (UMC).

Combining the personal holiness emphasis of the evangelical influence in the church with the outreach emphasis from the social gospel proponents has created a combination of practices within the United Methodist Church.

The United Methodist Church is a Protestant denomination which seeks to create disciples for Christ through outreach, evangelism, and through seeking holiness through the process of sanctification. With a focus on triune worship, United Methodists seek to bring honor to God by following the model of Jesus Christ, which is made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. The flame in the church logo represents the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, which is seen in believers through spiritual gifts. The two parts of the flame represent the predecessor denominations, the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren, and are united at the base symbolizing the 1968 merger.

While many United Methodist congregations operate in the evangelical tradition, others are similar to many mainline Protestant denominations. Although United Methodist beliefs have evolved over time, these beliefs can be traced to the writings of the church's founders, John Wesley and Charles Wesley (Methodist), Philip William Otterbein and Martin Boehm (United Brethren), and Jacob Albright (Evangelical). With the formation of The United Methodist Church in 1968, theologian Albert C. Outler led the team which systematized denominational doctrine. Outler's work proved pivotal in the work of union, and he is largely considered the first United Methodist theologian.

The officially established Doctrinal Standards of United Methodism are:

the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church;[12]
the Confession of Faith (United Methodist) of the Evangelical United Brethren Church;[12]
the General Rules of the Methodist Societies;[13]
the Standard Sermons of John Wesley;[12]
and John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the New Testament.[12]
These Doctrinal Standards are constitutionally protected and nearly impossible to change or remove.[12] Other doctrines of the United Methodist Church are found in the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.

The basic beliefs of The United Methodist Church include:

Triune God. God is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost).[14]
Scripture. The writings in the Old Testament and New Testament are the inspired word of God.
Sacraments. The UMC recognizes two sacraments: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. The Church believes that "Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. [15] It believes that Baptism is a sacrament in which God initiates a covenant with individuals,[16] people become a part of the Church,[16] is not to be repeated,[16] and is a means of grace.[17] The United Methodist Church generally practices Baptism by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion[18] and recognizes Trinitarian formula[19] baptisms from other Christian denominations in good standing.[20] The United Methodist Church affirms the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion,[21] believes that it is a time to remember Jesus’ death[22] (with the bread symbolizing His body crucified on the cross and the cup symbolizing His blood shed for humanity),[23] states that it is a means of grace,[24] and practices open communion.[25]
Inclusivity. The UMC includes and welcomes people of all races, cultures, and ages.
Free will. The UMC believes that people, while corrupted by sin, are free to make their own choices because of God's divine grace.
Grace. The UMC believes that God gives unmerited favor freely to all people, though it may be resisted.
The United Methodist Church recognizes the historic ecumenical creeds,[26] the Apostle's Creed[27] and the Nicene Creed;[28]they are used frequently in services of worship.[29] The Book of Discipline also recognizes the importance of the Chalcedonian Creed of the Council of Chalcedon.

Seventh-Day Adventist -

The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 1840s, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, James Springer White and his wife Ellen G. White, Joseph Bates and J. N. Andrews. Over the ensuing decades the church expanded from its original base in New England to become an international organization. Significant developments in the 20th century led to its recognition as a Christian denomination.

(For their beliefs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_fundamentals)

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