Careful Thought

With thanks – and apologies – to Christian.

1. I believe that the Scriptures were meant to be read literally (in places), allegorically (in places), as history (in places), as poetry (in places), but most all, as the God-breathed Word of the Lord given to men.
2. I believe that Adam and Eve were real people who probably lived 75-100,000 years ago.  I believe the earth to be about 3.7 billion years old.  I firmly believe every word of God’s special revelation and that general revelation confirms special revelation.  I believe that science is compatible with faith.  Science is simply the observation of the created world, so the truth of science can never – by definition – conflict with the truth of God.  Any perception of a conflict is the result of our misinterpretation of Scripture, of science, or of both.
3. I believe that the Garden of Eden was a real place where God walked with man.
4. I believe the literal doctrine of the Fall as supported by scripture. I believe that Satan was and is a real being, a fallen angel, and not just a good metaphor for man’s ego run amok.  I believe that because of Adam’s fall, mankind by nature is essentially depraved and wicked.  It follows, then, that I believe the doctrine of Original Sin.
5. I believe that God ordered the armies of ancient Israel to destroy pagan nations, sometimes very violently. I believe God ordained ritual sacrifices for His people as a means to shows that physical actions were never enough to bring them close to Him.  I believe that Leviticus or Deuteronomy were not meant as standards for today’s political or religious leaders.
6. I do not believe that people of the twenty-first century are supposed to respond to God in the same way the ancient Israelites did. Therefore, all those old Jewish laws (on diet, slavery, etc) are not applicable in their original context today. They were meant to set the nation of Israel apart from its neighbors.  God does not change and neither does human nature, unless acted upon by God’s Hold Spirit and (somehow) our own free will.
7. I doubt that God has preordained everything (although he may have preordained some things).
8. I believe that God has chosen some people for salvation and others to be hardened against Him.  Is that the same as saying they have no free will?  I don’t think so.  It’s pretty obvious that it is up to us to make a conscious decision to choose God once we are acted upon by the Spirit.
9. I believe the doctrine of Hell, where God infinitely torments (or allows the torment)  of those members of His creation who have rejected Him, judging them infinitely guilty of their sins.   An infinite God is infinitely just and requires recompense for our rejection of His gift of eternal life.  Hell is not just some conception of our own making or something we only experience in our feeble minds.
10. Therefore, I believe that Jesus’ death was a legal blood sacrifice necessary to pay the penalty of our sins.
11. I believe in the virgin birth.
12. I believe that many Old Testament writings are prophecies of the coming Christ and of other events. These prove to be more ‘reasons to believe’ for both believers and unbelievers alike.
13. I believe Jesus was the Son of God in human flesh, somehow fully God and fully man.  Theologs have debated this for centuries, but it still holds up.
14. I believe that Jesus was the ‘perfect’ sacrifice’ (akin to an unblemished lamb) and that his sacrifice was perfect ; he was innocent and undeserving of the punishment he received for proclaiming God’s good news (which was bad news for the ‘powers that be’).  He forgave his tormentors and executioners and did not forsake God while on the cross.
15. I believe that it is logically impossible for Jesus to be ‘just’ a great teacher.
16. I believe that nominal Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Navajos, Druids, Wiccans, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientologists or atheists are going to hell if they reject the free offer of salvation. Jesus said, “no one comes to the Father but through me.”  Pretty straightforward.  Simply calling oneself a Christian is not suffient – salvation requires a conscious act of submission to God and a repentance from sin.
17. I believe that everyone has the opportunity to be ‘saved’.  I believe that Jesus points to and exemplifies the ‘Way’ to eternal life and that he is THE WAY himself. His Way is very narrow; there is no room for our own selfishness or religious arrogance.
18. I believe that not everyone is saved. Everyone has the opportunity, but many won’t allow themselves this change of heart, mind and soul through their own conscious rejection of God’s free gift.
19. I believe that the United States of America was blessed by God for much of its existence and that the majority of our Founding Fathers made decisions about this nation in a manner influenced by their own Christian belief.  I believe that as a nation we have lately rejected God and that His hand of blessing is being removed.  It’s clear from Scripture (Old Testament and New) that a nation is blessed when it follows the Lord, and that He removes His hand when it rejects Him.
20. I believe that Scripture and God’s Holy Spirit were given to us to draw all people to God – though many will reject Him. The existence of some 34,000 different Christian denominations or flavors of Christianity is at once a testimony to our own free will and free expression of worship and also a sad testimony to our ability to shut others out.  When ‘different styles of ‘worship’ becomes ‘our own club’ we have rejected Christianity in favor of earthly religion.  Jesus and earthly ‘religion’ do not mix very well.

Tags: faith, religion, what i believe