In my struggles to find a new church that is at once open, welcoming, and true to the Gospel, holiness, and the power of the Holy Spirit, I have begun to look into the doctrines of the United Methodist Church (UMC). According to the webpage Doctrinal Standards of The United Methodist Church, “The Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith provide the foundational framework for United Methodist doctrine.” Both are derived from the 39 Articles of the Episcopal Church, with which I have some familiarity, having spent most of my adult life with my wife in that denomination. Here, I compare the three statements of faith, using the Confession of Faith as the basis document.
Articles of Religion of the Episcopal Church: As established by the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in Convention, on the twelfth day of September, in the Year of our Lord, 1801. These are largely the same as the Anglican Articles of 1571, revised when the American church split off after the Revolution. Articles of Religion by John Wesley, 1784 are found largely unchanged in their modern version as Articles of Religion of the United Methodist Church. I have commented on Wesley’s revisions here:
The Confession of Faith is from the Discipline of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, published in 1963 without having the copyright renewed, so (to my knowledge) is in the public domain, now more than 28 years later. Text is from The Voice and is identical with the Confession of Faith of The Evangelical United Brethren Church published on the UMC website.
Article 8: Reconciliation through Christ
Article 9: Justification and Regeneration
Article 11: Sanctification and Christian Perfection
Article 12: The Judgment and the Future State
Making a Difference in the World 