anybody familiar with this denomination?

[777]

What is Christian Reformed denomination?  The stuff on the web is confusing.  Is it closer to non-denominational?  I know its a form of Protestant but thats about it.  Much thanks in advance!  ;)

[HRoberson]

What is confusing you"?

[JohnDB]

Its ALL about Calvinism. (A theological system of beliefs)

Many view this system as a very distorted view of Christ & Salvation.

Others view this system as the very Gospel itself.

Personally, I find it to be at odds with scripture as it is a distorted hermeneutic used to interpret scripture with the absence of art in the songs & an absence of sciences in the historical passages. Usually leaning on a very flat, surface reading & interpretation & eisogesis of scripture to fit the 5 points of Calvinism often referred to as either TULIP or "doctrines of grace".

[Helen]

Reformed theology is basically Calvinism.  The foundational concepts include the idea that spiritual death means a sort of spiritual unconsciousness so that the individual cannot respond to God unless God empowers him to do so.  Because of this, one of the core doctrines is called 'double predestination' -- or the idea that God has chosen who will be saved and who will not be saved and the individual cannot alter that. 

[HRoberson]

Here's a site that makes it pretty simple: http://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions

[777]

Thanks guys.  The church is New Heights, but under their "beliefs" section, it reads fully as sound biblical doctrine and totally legit.  The whole "reformed" thing had me wondering and says there are only 1000 reformed churches nationwide.  Thanks again guys!  ;)

[DaveW]

Thanks guys.  The church is New Heights, but under their "beliefs" section, it reads fully as sound biblical doctrine and totally legit.  The whole "reformed" thing had me wondering and says there are only 1000 reformed churches nationwide.  Thanks again guys!  ;)

More like 1000 Reformed denominations.  "Reformed" = calvinist.

The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) denomination is half of what happened when the Dutch Reformed Church (Netherlands) came to the US. The other half is called Reformed Church of America (RCA).  The CRC is the more conservative of the 2.   They are extremely Calvinistic (explained above) and ONLY sing from the Psalms (at least that is most CRC congregations).

Doctrinally they are similar to conservative Presbyterian groups. (NOT like the  Presby Church USA)

[comfy]

I understand that "Reformed" first means a Protestant group, and therefore is part of the move of people to leave the Roman Catholic thing with its pope and tithing for making high-ups rich and abusing power.

And then, among Protestants, they are split about what they consider to be "free will" and how they understand "predestination". I keep hearing that the Reformed people are into predestination, in a way that there is no "free will". And ones say they are "Calvinistic".

But I'm not sure present-day "Calvinists" even understand what John Calvin wrote and said. People can claim to understand someone, but then make it different that what the person meant.

But how a person actually lives is what tells me what a person really means And I have not known John Calvin, personally. But I have read that he was involved in approving the killing of certain religious people who did not conform to his thing. If this is true . . . that's not even Christian, never mind someone like that being a person for starting a legitimate denomination.

Protestants could be into killing people who differed from them . . . which is what Roman Catholics were also doing. So, such so-called Protestants were Catholic-wannabes, but minus the pope . . . maybe. But were the popes themselves into such killing? I don't know enough about this.

I "might" do better not to get my attention decoyed with this stuff, but pray and feed in the Bible and feed on the love example of the real Jesus people I actually know, now. Why waste my time about people I'll never be able to personally know so that I can really know who and how they were? Who else can speak for them, for that matter? Writers could be making things up, in order to make their own group look good . . . or look the way they themselves want to control people to think, when in fact they may not be able to really know another person in their lives, now.

And anyone can say so-and-so was so great . . . if they never have really known the person? 

[DaveW]

There is another thread debating the definition of "protestant." Certainly "Reform" theology is protestant but it is not the ONLY protestant theology out there.  The whole Wesleyan Holiness (early Methodism) is also considered protestant but varies greatly with Reform theologies.