Self-Practice

There are several different branches of Christianity. They range from Catholicism to Methodists to Adventists and many more. However, Julia does not fit directly into any of the branches of Christianity. Rather, she a Christian in the broader sense meaning many of her ideas of belief are deep rooted throughout the different branches. I would argue Julia expresses more self-selective practices reflecting general practices of Christianity in America. Her story includes many early Christian influences. By looking at different historical practices within the Christian community, we can better understand her experiences.

One historical practice of Christians is baptism.

"The New Testament implies that the custom of baptizing those who were converted to the Christian faith was derived from John the Baptist, but the source of his own practice is uncertain. Some scholars have argued that it was based on the ablutions of the Jewish Essene community at Qumran, but these were repeated washings related to the need for constant ritual purity and do not seem to have included an initiatory baptism. Others have suggested that John was influenced by the practice of baptizing new converts to Judaism, but there is some doubt whether this was being done in his time or whether it was only adopted at a later date. A third possibility is that it arose out of the Israelite traditions of ritual purification and/or of prophetic symbolism, which had spoken of God's people being cleansed with pure water in preparation for the advent of the messianic age."[1]

Although the origin of baptism is not clear, when further interviewed Julia mentioned it was a practice she did not necessarily agree or disagree with but she does not practice it herself. She breaks away from this early ritual in that she does not believe a pastor can hold the same weight as Jesus himself. She said her spirit has been baptized but a pastor dipping her in water would not add to or take away from the personal relationship she has with her savior.

There are different approaches to developing a personal relationship with God, which is also another common practice among Christians. One way is by engaging in song and dance. "When they become warm the beating ceases, and they begin to dance and jump, clapping their hands and shouting at the top of their voices until at length all idea of melody and metro is lost, and it becomes a riotous rather than a religious assembly."[2] "Rejoicing in the Lord is really what it is all about," said Julia. Praising has a deep-rooted past that goes as far back as Native American rituals with spirit dancing and African American music and dance. Julia follows these old traditions in a similar way by worshipping on Sunday's during service and on her own time.

One last ritual that she follows is Eucharist, which was seen with early Catholicism. It is one of their seven sacraments. Although she beliefs in the ritual of Communion, she disagrees with the manner in which Catholics receive the bread and wine. "Provide three days of prayers to be said before receiving Communion and three afterward--- it was a rare enough event that essentially dedicating and entire week to reflecting on it did not seem excessive--- and such mediations could be adapted when one was receiving the sacrament only spiritually."[3] In the manner she receives Communion, her pastor says you should never feel guilty about coming up and taking the bread and wine but with Catholicism that is much different. This shows us the change of belief over time and also the different ideologies within the branches of Christianity. With this example, the practice has the same ideas in that the bread becomes the body of Christ and the wine his blood but much different philosophies on who should and should not be able to receive it.

All of these cultuses are practiced within the Christian culture. However, some are more associated with more specific branches of Christianity, for example Catholicism or Baptism. For this reason, it is justifiable for why Julia choses to classify herself as solely a Christian instead of being more specific as to which category of Christianity describes her beliefs best and in consequence is selective in which practices she feels best suits her beliefs.

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[1] Paul F. Bradshaw, “Early Christian Worship: A Basic Introduction to Ideas and Practice” (Collegeville, Minnesota), 2.

[2] Richard Wallaschek, “Primitive Music: An Inquiry Into The Origin And Development Of Music, Songs, Instruments, Dances, And Pantomimes Of Savage Races” (London, 1893), 13.

[3] James M O’Toole, “The Faithful: A History of Catholics in America” (United States of America), 30.