What Christians Believe

[patricia1]

A christian to me is one who follows Jesus in relationship to the father, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Not the indoctrination of any organization although certain doctrine within a church to keep order is necessary. It depends on what one chooses to succumb to besides The Holy Spirit.

[jadams_4040]

A christian to me is one who follows Jesus in relationship to the father, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Not the indoctrination of any organization although certain doctrine within a church to keep order is necessary. It depends on what one chooses to succumb to besides The Holy Spirit.

But as i stated, does this not invalidate the lords direction on one faith, one baptism,one God? I to beleive what you say but i also beleive the lord told us that we need to be in unity together in one beleife of doctrine.

[O'Dannyboy]

The flow of this thread has been very inspirational. One would think, at first glance, that Christianity had split at the seams by the divisions resulting from differences in doctrines. Lets assume for a moment that these differences serve a purpose, knowing that each of us, relative to our doctrine, serves a different purpose in the body. Perhaps then, so too do the different denominations each serve a unique role in the body.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another

We should understand that as we sharpen one another there is friction and even sparks. The friction is an integral part of sharpening and so we must not fear it, but expect it. How else can we grow?

[patricia1]

we all have different perferences, one God, Jesus , and Holy Spirit is the common thread holding it together in Love as well.

The twelve apostles were all different and had different calls and Jesus had them in different places. The ingathering will happen soon enough.

We should love all for christ loves all and died for all but not ebrace any doctrine of faith outside of the Gospel of truth. But it should also be love that we will want to minister truth to someone who has not walked in it.

[Rick-Parker]

I believe that the Bible is 100% true; the Bible is what I believe. If something doesn't line up with the Bible, it's not what I believe. Is that convoluted enough?

[Rick-Parker]

Nope sorry that is side stepping the question.

Lets put it this way. You have two people both very devoted to Christ. They both read the Bible and both are very well educated and diligent people. Yet they come to very opposite conclusions of the same scripture even after much prayerful searching. Now Both claim they are being led by the Holy Spirit. Both have the exact same scripture. The Holy spirit did NOT lead one to one truth and the other to a different truth. NOW WHAT? One of them is being deceived. One of them is believing in a lie. One of them is being influenced by satan. Should we not care to know which one WE are.

I think it is a question we should concern ourselves with.

God Bless,

K.D.

If they both end up in the same place, than both are correct. I know that this may sound stupid or overly simple, but if both are on the narrow path, but out of step with each other, are they not still on the same path? Are they not both saved? The Bible is simple, it is us that makes it so difficult and complex. IMO

[Richard_yaash]

If they both end up in the same place, than both are correct. I know that this may sound stupid or overly simple, but if both are on the narrow path, but out of step with each other, are they not still on the same path? Are they not both saved? The Bible is simple, it is us that makes it so difficult and complex. IMO

Well spoken.

[artsylady]

Hello and welcome.

I have asked this of a few Catholics and no one has really been able to answer. Maybe you can.

If the wine and bread served at communion actually turns into the body of Christ, at what point does this happen? In the mouth? In the stomach, the intestines, where?

If this is true, why don't medical examiners find the remains of a human when conducting autopsies. If this is true, scientists could discover the dna of Jesus. If this is true, there would have been many reports of cannibalism in the autopsy reports over the many years. Why hasn't this happened and why doesn't it happen regularly?

We believe the Bible speaks both in metaphorical and literal language. Body of Christ is symbolic, like lamb of God. Jesus wasn't really a lamb, as you know. "lion of Judah, light of the world, rock" - the Bible is full of metaphors and similies. Do you agree with that there are many metaphors?

[Gerioke]

In the end, God decides who is right.

[pamiam]

Back a few posts, Shiloh's comments are worth reading a few times. Wisdom and compassion well said. Years ago we attended Greg Laurie's church in Riverside, CA, and I remember his saying that it was fine to leave for a smaller church, if that was where God was leading. Chuck Smith Jr. said the same thing when I said we were headed to Saddleback. I met some wonderful Spirit-led Catholics when I was in graduate school. Guess what? God is simply everywhere when hearts are seeking him. A few years ago we were trying to figure out where we wanted to live during the summer and met Christians in enough places that I got confused. I thought maybe this one was a sign that we should buy there, and then I had another "Christian" thing happen in another place, finally got it that God was just with us wherever we were and would prosper us wherever we landed. As Shiloh said, always learning, unlearning, relearning is a broader perspective.

I was a Catholic until I married, so I know there is great deference to authority and hierarchy within the Catholic Church, not necessarily a bad thing. Transsubstantiation shouldn't be an issue, really. Do you think God will bar the gates of the kingdom because of that belief, which really doesn't make sense to me either. Back to the original post: I don't think it's valuable to discuss statistics too much, the apparent basis of the argument, when I think it is more about an emotional response to the judgment felt that has been imposed by a small and perceived as arrogant group who claims a handle on the Truth.