Brethren vs. United Brethren

Non-Catholic Religions
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My Wife used to attend a Grace Brethren Church. I have co-workers who attend a United Brethren Church. Apparently these two Protestant Churches are not the same, but both promote the pre-millennial rapture or what is sometimes referred to as Dispensationalism (popularized in the late 1800’s by a Plymouth Brethren by the name of John Darby).

It is my understanding that the former spun off from the Anabaptists in Europe. It’s founder was a former Catholic Priest.

The latter spun off from the Mennonites of Pennsylvania. The father of the famous Wright Brothers was a Bishop in United Brethren Church. There was a split and he was on the side that remained and the other side joined with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church.

Have any of you ever been a member of or know someone who has been a member of either the Brethren or the United Brethren Churches? I enjoy learning about what others believe and why they believe it. God Bless.

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My maternal grandmother was a member of the United Brethren. However, she died when I was a teenager and even though we were kind of close, we never talked much about religion. I have a vague memory of attending her church once as a child, but don’t recall any of the details.

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I know this is an older post, but I’m fairly new here and am just seeing it. I hope the OP is still here. I was raised in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, the UBs. grin My parents were both raised in the UB, and both sets of grandparents were UBs. The founders of the denomination were a Mennonite, Martin Boehm and the German-born Philip William Otterbein, who IIRC, was a member of the German Reformed Church. I’m from a part of PA where the Church of the Brethren is very present, and one of my many-times great-grandfathers emigrated to the US with some of the founders of that denomination. They’d served 3 years of hard labor in Germany for being baptized as adults.

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Yes! Thank you for your perspective!

That’s crazy that your ancestors were punished for being Baptized as adults. The Catholic Church has Baptized Adults who have recently come to the knowledge of the Gospel since the beginning. I guess if one is raised in a particular community and they are not following the rules and customs of a particular community, then there are consequences (wrong or right). We Baptize babies, because we believe Christ is truly working in us and that it is not just a work of men (as some Protestants claim it to be). If one does not believe in regenerative Baptism, then they usually downplay the significance of this gift (Acts 2:38). And we should want our children to become adoptive members of Christ’s body.

Do you know if UB and UBs “dedicate” children? I believe they do, but didn’t know if that is common all across the board.

In the writings of the Early Church Fathers, Origen (in 245 A.D.) and Cyprian (in 253 A.D. write about baptizing infants. St. Augustine wrote about the custom in the early 400’s A.D. And they talk about it as being from the Apostles.

And Jesus says in Matthew 19:14, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of Heaven.”

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen made an analogy between Baptism and the metamorphosis of a caterpillar. A caterpillar is born a caterpillar and is reborn into a butterfly, but without the sun (or The Son in the case of Baptism), this transformation seldom can occur. If the caterpillar is raised in the midst of frost, she will likely die, either as a caterpillar or even as a butterfly.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons made the analogy in 180 A.D., “Just as dry wheat without moisture cannot become one dough or one loaf, so also, we who are many connot be made one in Christ Jesus, without the water from Heaven. Just as dry earth cannot bring forth fruit unless it receive moisture, so also we, being at first a dry tree, can never bring forth fruit unto life, without the voluntary rain from above.”

So, while The Bible, nor the Early Church Fathers instruct us to dedicate our children, as Parents we should dedicate ourselves to raising our children in faith, through love (which, historically, includes Baptizing them).

Both Catholic, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians have all done unChristian things in the name of religion. It makes me shake my head sometimes. We would say that forcing someone to convert and get Baptized by force is not good, but giving a child a gift (the Holy Spirit, Salvific grace, and faith in Christ) is good. And truthfully “dedicating” children, as some Protestants do, is also good, but not as good as giving them the real thing.

I understand the theological reasons why Anabaptists do not not believe in Baptizing infants, however prior to the 16th Century, most Christians did not hold their theology, nor did majority of reformed Protestants of that time.

I am not saying these things to mock or slam individual who hold this view of Baptism, because getting Baptized is better than not getting Baptized (even if it is later in life. Thanks : )

Oh, and welcome to the forum! Glad you are here.

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Peace to all,

Thanks Cade_One and I like the Bishop’s analogy.

Peace always,
Stephen Andrew