Finding Your Way in the Religious Maze

I compare four definitions of what it means to be an Evangelical, discuss the Church Growth Movement with Jeff Porte, Lead Pastor of Centerpoint Church in Kalamazoo, and talk about Christian political involvement with R. J. Morelli, Pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Kalamazoo. Then I close out season 1 by summing up where I personally stand in the religious maze.

I introduce my sixth key question for mapping the religious landscape and discuss the opposing answers given by Liberalism and Fundamentalism with David Nichols, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Kalamazoo, and R. J. Morelli, Pastor of Temple Baptist Church also in Kalamazoo.

I explore the ways the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements emphasize experience as I talk with Dave Barringer, Lead Pastor of Kalamazoo First Assembly of God. In response, I share three clarifications that I find in Scripture about miracles, spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit, prayer, healing, and prosperity.

To examine movements that emphasize right behavior as a source of assurance, I recount the stories and views of Pelagius, Arminius, and Wesley. I also talk with Craig Watson, Lead Pastor of Kalamazoo Free Methodist Church, and end up with three cautions relating to the idea of Christian perfectionism.

I continue looking at Protestantism by exploring the Calvinist beliefs of Presbyterian and Reformed churches with Dr. Greg Salazar from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. I chart their place in the maze with my fourth question, “What is the Church?” Then I introduce my fifth question, “Where is assurance found?” I respond by pointing out three pitfalls related to the question, “Do I have a choice?”

To sort out the Protestant movement, I introduce my fourth key theological question, “What is the Church?” We hear the confessional Lutheran perspective from Paul Naumann, Senior Pastor of St. Michael Lutheran Church. I then compare it with the views of the Anabaptists, asking whether the church needed to start over after Catholicism and whether we all need to do the same in our spiritual lives.

I explore Roman Catholicism’s answer to the question, “What is salvation?”, sharing excerpts from my interview with Father Jose Haro of St Mary’s Catholic Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I compare his views of interpretation, salvation, and worship with Orthodoxy and Protestantism to address the practical concern of finding hope.

As I begin to explore the main branches of Christianity, I zoom in a level by asking my third key question, “What is salvation?” I share excerpts from my interview with Father Nicholas Kotsis of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, highlighting the Orthodox views of interpretation, salvation, and worship. Then, I raise practical questions from a Protestant perspective.

Hear the surprising answer Islam gives to my second key question “Who is Jesus?” I share excerpts from my interview with Hafiz Nauman Akbar, the Imam at the Kalamazoo Islamic Center, about Jesus and about Islam’s view of Scripture, God, and salvation. Then, I respond with a Christian perspective. It all revolves around the issue of whom we should trust.

As we cross into the monotheistic part of the maze I share excerpts about how to relate to God from my interview with Rabbi Mordechai Haller of Chabad House in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I also introduce the second of my key theological questions, “Who is Jesus?” Then I share from the Hebrew Scripture four reasons that we need Jesus.