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Who or What has Determined your Theology


warrior12

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Personally I spent the first 17 years of my life in a church that did not teach what I read in the Bible.

So after being a totally lost person from turning my back on the whole thing at about age 22 I just started reading the Bible for myself instead of reading a Sunday School book, then listening to it when the tapes became available and after 50 or 60 times through it, I developed my own theology strictly from what I read in the Bible and Books and things the Bible quoted from.....    I really don't follow anyone else's writings per say unless they happen to follow what I myself have taught myself to believe.

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26 minutes ago, OneLight said:

Yes, I am very familiar with what people use to build their Theology.  If I remember correctly, you were involved in a thread I started "Why do you believe what you believe?" where I posted a link to a site where one can obtain a series of free classes on Theology.  This helped me in many ways with understanding why people believe what they do and why.  Did you check it out?

Actually, i have that site booked marked and meaning to go through some of it, but has not as yet.  Alright then, i guess i will give my answer.  When i got saved, i was lost as to what to do really as i was under lot of stress and listened to radio and online sermons at the time.  I did not have a church background, though i had family members who were believers.  I did not know about Bible  versions and denominations ect.   But i listened  to a fellow by the name of Charles Stanely and his sermons seemed like he was speaking to me and   i found them to be uplifting.  

I decided to get baptised and to start going to church. So on my lunch i would listen to one pastor who preached and again his messages were powerful and as his church was fairly close to my home i decided to attend.  This church was a pentecostal church and i got baptised  there, which was and event to remember and stayed there about two years till i felt i could not continue. The preaching was good, pentecostal style, music fantastic and fellowship great, but the spiritual atmosphere made me feel uncomfortable with the tongues and slaying in the spirit which i was weary about.   I visited a few more churches of various types and things just did not seem right.  

I prayed and asked the Lord to show me the path i must take.  Then i was looking at churches in my area online and i decided to visit a baptist church  close to my home.  It was small, they had  a temporary pastor and most of the folks were old.  I stayed there for six years and saw people come and go, but i grew in fellowship and they got a pastor that preached solid from the bible scripture and stayed on topic.  Pentecostal type preaching is usually different.  

I read the bible and i read the puritans authors, who do not add to  the Bible, but give good examples and thoughtful messages that i found uplifting.  I have found the Baptist way of service and order and statement of beliefs to be the one that i feel conforms to the Bible message.   Now, there are few areas that they hold that i am still coming to terms with like pre-destination , but overall i like their  way and order of serving God.    So, there you go, I am a Baptist in Church fellowship wise, but is not dogmatic on their total system of worship.   I am no longer there , not for anything on their part.  I have not attended church for about three years now and that is a totally different story.  

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We have a lot in common.   I hold Charles Stanley's teaching in the highest regard.  I like how his peace comes across and his understand of scripture, though I do not agree with him 100%.  I also spent years in the Pentecostal church and also witnessed abuse of the gifts and extra biblical practices.  I also do not have a home church as it is hard to find one that is active with discipleship and the lost, most are like cliques.

My mother was RCC, and I went to the RCC church for the first part of my life, up to being confirmed.  I left due to some actions the priests were doing, which is another story and one I don't like to share.  My father was Baptist, and when my Aunt would bring me, I enjoyed their services.  I felt more at home there as a child.  I have always known there is a God as I always pondered creation and realized there had to be Someone out there who made all this.  It was not until years later that I took scripture seriously.

I have also experienced Christ in a way many have not, and when I give my testimony, most do not believe me.  On November 9. 2007 I wrote a testimony of my experience in a thread titles Jesus speaking about this experience.  I tried to pull it back up but the server must still be indexing and I can only go back to 2009.  I hope you can one day find it and read it.

Let me know when you go through the first topic, Intro to Theology.

 

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My beliefs are formed around what God's Word says not from how I was raised or what church I attended. I do believe though that your beliefs can be influenced by those your associate with. But bottom line I am not going to take my beliefs and try to match scripture to them. That is adding to God's Word. I have always believed that God said, that settles it, and we can believe it or not. That is our choice. 

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On 2/4/2017 at 8:08 AM, warrior12 said:

What is the driving force for the  theology you have formulated in your christian walk .

For me, the Bible itself is the basis of all theology, as taught by the Holy Spirit, and comparing Scripture with Scripture.

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3 hours ago, Ezra said:

For me, the Bible itself is the basis of all theology, as taught by the Holy Spirit, and comparing Scripture with Scripture.

Thanks for your straightforward answer Ezra.  I know most of the answers if not all would be like yours and maybe i have not phrased the question the way i wanted to.  I guess most believers when they got saved, was at a loss as to the real interpretive meaning to scripture verses and looked for help, even if just in the form of a concordance to get a better vantage point if i can put it that way.   Some lean much on those aids, while others may seek Elders or pastors for further clarification or insights.   

There are millions of people who are without formal education and yes the Holy Spirit leads and guides us, but we still have to put the effort to do the exhaustive examination of  the word  including the original languages and especially if you are in ministry .  Without the help, truly, you would be struggling to come to conclusions and as we see even on this forum, many varied  take on subjects pertaining to the Bible.  So some individuals or resources  resonates with your comprehensive view of  Biblical meaning and you may affiliate or be incline to  seek their help in addressing the troubling stumbling block.  Some individuals though are bright and let's say God has indeed given them some teaching and explanatory gifts as mentioned in the Bible.  Just my thoughts.   I too, read my Bible and pray for the Lord will send me the Help i need, as sometimes it can be difficult to comprehend, especially when you thought you had it patted down, someone comes up with a explanation  that have you thinking, hmmmum.

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  • 4 months later...

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The King James Bible.

 

 

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If one is willing to draw near to God He will draw near to you Jas 4:8... the how is Scripture using Scripture as Ezra has said (by the way where is he?) . There are several places in Scripture where I have not concluded but am waiting because I cannot go further and in that waiting I will form no conclusions but wait... this is honest obedience to The Holy Spirit as He knows exactly where I am (praise God huh :) )  To know a thing and it be error one must ask 'what good is that' so this is the motivation of being sure that what I have is Scripture and nothing else... you need to find a church family and add your distinctive to it...  Love, Steven

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I judge doctrine by the totality of New Testament scripture.  That is to say, we can glam onto one verse and ignore 40 others.  The truth lies in the light of them all as pointing to a right and balanced understanding.  So I left one church that held me in bondage to salvation by works, which had kept me from growing as a Christian.  I moved to another which taught me that salvation is by faith alone, and that the faith is of a quality that it motivates a person to produce fruit.  There I also learned from the Bible the attributes of God, the person and work of Christ, and the Holy Trinity.  All of these truths opened up more scriptural understanding.  It was there that I also learned to walk in the Spirit and keep my mind centered on Bible solutions to problems and treasures in heaven.  We are told that the truth shall set you free.   We are set free from the bondage of sin and doctrinal error when we embrace the truth of God's Word.  We come into ever closer fellowship with Him.  God also gives us peace in our hearts to guide us as well as ever increasing freedom from confusion.  Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.    

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On 2/4/2017 at 10:08 AM, warrior12 said:

Ok, so you have heard about Christianity, hearing about the Bible and some stories in it. You went to church as a youngster or  dragged there in some instances and you became familiar with the preaching and teaching in that church.  You was not saved at that point and as time went on you got saved.   You stared reading the Bible and attending the same church, but now started to read books and hear sermons of other denominations and their beliefs.   

Your mind now starts to become a bit agitated as you hear about predestination and free will and  no matter what, some of your relatives, even your mother will not make it to heaven, because they were not chosen or elected.   One day, you decided to visit the pentecostal church and a whole different way or style of worship is now before you, you hear people speaking in tongues and with the touch of a hand, people falling to the ground.  You like the service, as it is energizing and not as bland as the church you go to. 

You decided to dig deeper into scripture and with prayer and asking the Holy Spirit to show you the way, you have decided to check the net out and see what others have to say, and you are now at WORTHY, hearing a multitude of different answers to some basic questions like OSAS.  

What or who you think has been responsible for the way you perceive and interpret scripture.  I mean you have uncles and aunts and friends that are really good people, but you cannot see their view of what you read in the Bible and what is believed and practiced.   What is the driving force for the  theology   you have formulated in your christian walk .  Some have even changed course after long years as they have come to see scripture differently  as they previously had.  

VERY Good OP!!

That is exactly how it goes. It is not until you are being questioned about the assumptions/traditions/doctrines you grew up with that you begin to think objectively rather than "preaching to the choir" mode where your goal is to try and compile a list of positions taken by your family/pastor/denomination or even going about to find support for those doctrines in the Bible... once questioned you now must embrace the "bigger picture" of both affirming and disconfirming statements in the Bible or life regarding your accepted beliefs.

1. Do you take the time to 'work through" each of those challenges to your position?

2. Or do you assume that you really don't need to know if your position is right or not - when you get to heaven God will inform you?

3. Does error matter to you?

4. Many people will respond "If I am wrong - God will tell me about it in heaven" which is essentially saying "my error (if I have any) cannot possibly hurt me -- ". Many Jews may have taken that same path in rejecting the Carpenter from Nazareth.

Edited by BobRyan
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