Christians: What Do You Believe In?

[ISiddiqui]

@Czarcasm

Fair enough, but I could get that same info from a pamphlet in any Christian foyer. Y’all may be Christians, but you are also individuals, otherwise your posts might as well consist of the word “Ditto”.

I think it likely is in response to the very open ended OP. When not knowing where to start, it is best to start at the Creeds (as a start, of course).

So I’ll say that I believe in all that is in the Nicene and Apostle’s Creed. I believe in the God the Creator, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection of Jesus, the working of the Holy Spirit.

In addition to that, I believe in Theistic Evolution. I believe the Bible is divinely inspired (but not perfect). I believe that the Bible is man writing down a witness of his revelation, but in that biases can and do occur. I believe that the Bible is a process - where the understanding of God increased over time and one can see that in a God who seems be just a bigger, angrier version of us at times in Genesis becomes akin to a loving, welcoming God in the later Prophets, prior to the coming of Jesus himself.

I believe that God reveals Himself to us in ways we can understand Him (Calvin’s Theory of Condescension) and as we grow in understanding, God reveals more of Himself and that didn’t just stop with the Book of Revelation, but continues until today. I believe that when we were ready for it, God revealed His wish that slavery was not Godly and is currently revealing His wish that our homosexual brothers and sisters are welcomed into the Community of God, fully and with equal love and charity.

I believe that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. That God the Son became man so that man could rejoin with God. I believe that God became man so that the chains of sin, death, and the devil could be defeated in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (my atonement is Christus Victor, not penal substitutionary - Christ’s sacrifice was a victory, not in payment for our sins). To jump off that, I believe that sin is merely moving away from God and since God is love, anything that is not loving is sinful.

I believe that God will save everyone in the end in His wonderful and matchless love.

I believe that Jesus began His Kingdom on the day He was resurrected, but it shall not full come into realization until His second coming. And yes, I believe he will come again to defeat evil.

I believe that at the end the dead will rise and there shall be a New Heaven and New Earth as stated in Revelation. I do not believe we will leave this Earth for a Heaven somewhere else - I believe that Heaven is simply God’s reality and in the end Heaven will transform the Earth into a new Eden.

My denomination is Lutheran (ELCA), but I believe that different denominations have different gifts. I believe the Holy Spirit is moving to this day and that speaking in tongues and healings can be manifestations of Its power (though I don’t think healings necessarily happen every day).

I also believe that God works on our hearts and emotions and am not troubled by those who claim miracles don’t make rational sense as God exists beyond rationality and beyond time and space.

I’m sure there are few more beliefs I have as a Christian, but that’s it for now :).

[FriarTed]

@Czarcasm

Fair enough, but I could get that same info from a pamphlet in any Christian foyer. Y’all may be Christians, but you are also individuals, otherwise your posts might as well consist of the word “Ditto”.

However, there are plenty of people who claim a Christian identity who differ with some or much of the “basics” which are summed up in the Creeds. So citing the Creed or the Five Fundamentals or whatever is useful for getting that part established & then going on to other stuff.

To Procrustes’ Hell Q- because I think ‘Hell’ (more specifically Sheol-Hades & Gehenna-the Lake of Fire) exits, but they are not necessarily eternal sentences (Sheol-Hades definitely not eternal as Revelation 20 says they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire which Rev 14 identifies as the Presence of Christ in all His Fierceness- which I believe corresponds to Paul’s assertion in I Corinthians 15 that Death shall be swallowed up in Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.)

[Skammer]

@Procrustus

Because 1) there is no Hell, 2) there is a Hell but nobody goes there, or 3) people go there but not for eternity?

I don’t believe in a hell as classically imagined (a fire and brimstone dominion of Satan).

I do believe in a type of Hell that is, basically, a removal of oneself from God’s presence - an unwillingness to participate in the God’s Kingdom. But I think eventually everyone will find grace irresistable. This is an ancient belief that has scriptual support but is definitely in the minority of modern Christianity. For an easy read that gets to what I’m talking about I recommend the book Love Wins by Rob Bell.

[gigi]

@Skammer

Fair enough Czasrcasm, but I’m honestly more interested in focusing on the beliefs that Christians agree on than those we disagree on. Maybe because I’ve seen enough dissention in the church over issues that are completely peripheral. Christians used to fight over the proper way to baptize, or whether to stand or kneel at prayer, or whether there should be candles on the altar - denominations have split over these kinds of things. Today we fight over homosexuality, economic justice, the role of women in the church, or evolution. I have opinions on all these things but none of them make me a Chrstian - it’s because Friar Ted and gigi and I all subscribe to the ancient creeds that I know we have a lot more in common than those petty things we disagree on.

This is it. The Creed is what I believe. I believe the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church as handed down through Scripture, tradition and the prayerful decisions of men throughout our history. Some of the interpretations of how this impacts moral behavior may change over time but the Truth is it. It’s not even my own belief – I would repeat what the Church’s belief is because I am subject to it as our best belief of the truth about God.

Like Skammer, I have my taste in worship (traditional for me too!) but I don’t think that’s what you mean.

[pchaos]

@ISiddiqui

I believe that Jesus began His Kingdom on the day He was resurrected, but it shall not full come into realization until His second coming. And yes, I believe he will come again to defeat evil.
:).

Maybe I’m asking for too much, but I believe the Second Coming is both an actual event and it is also a metaphor.

The metaphor is when we cheat when nobody is looking. My conscience always comes back to haunt me. That is the metaphoric Second Coming.

The actual event will happen when God sees that mankind is still stumbling around in the dark and Jesus will come in all his glory with God the Father. However, this may not happen within my lifetime.

[simster]

@pchaos

Maybe I’m asking for too much, but I believe the Second Coming is both an actual event and it is also a metaphor.

The metaphor is when we cheat when nobody is looking. My conscience always comes back to haunt me. That is the metaphoric Second Coming.

The actual event will happen when God sees that mankind is still stumbling around in the dark and Jesus will come in all his glory with God the Father. However, this may not happen within my lifetime.

I don’t know of any christian ‘brand’ that teaches it in that manner - so you are in a class by yourself there.

Want to organize it and put a building on it? Do you need a logo?