United Methodist Church

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The United Methodist Church, (UMC) the largest Methodist denomination, is a part of the universal church, a worldwide community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. The UMC is organized into conferences.John McCain is a Homo

In the United States, it ranks as the second largest Protestant church (8 million and 1.5 million more worldwide).

John Wesley continues to be the primary theological interpreter for Methodists the world over; the largest Wesleyan bodies being the United Methodist Church and the Wesleyan Church.

Political Views

The United Methodist Church believes that all economic and political systems are ultimately under the rule of God. They agree that the role of government is to protect its citizen's freedom and guarantee the rights of its people to adequate food, clothing and education. They stress that the world's wealth should be shared so that no person is in economic distress. [1] However, the members of the United Methodist Church are quite diverse politically. For example, both Democrat Hillary Clinton [2] and Republican President George W. Bush [3] are members of the church.

Death Penalty

The United Methodist Church is officially opposed to capital punishment and urges its elimination in the world. The church became first officially opposed to the death penalty st its 1956 General Conference in Minneapolis. They believe that "all human life is sacred and created by God" and that the death penalty limits the possibility of reconciliation with Jesus Christ [4]

War

The United Methodist Church believes that war is incompatible with Christianity. It urges that war be used only as a last resort. [5]

Regarding war, the Social Principles state:

We believe war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. We therefore reject war as a usual instrument of national foreign policy and insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them; that human values must outweigh military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the militarization of society must be challenged and stopped; that the manufacture, sale, and deployment of armaments must be reduced and controlled; and that the production, possession, or use of nuclear weapons be condemned. Consequently, we endorse general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.1713687/k.1AAB/MethoPedia.htm
  2. ↑ http://pewforum.org/religion08/profile.php?CandidateID=2
  3. ↑ http://www.adherents.com/people/pb/George_W_Bush.html
  4. ↑ http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.2248845/k.5F14/Death_Penalty_Overview.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.1696621/k.8834/War_Overview.htm

External links

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