As I grow and become more unsheltered (I grew up in a Christian home, and was homeschooled most of my life up til now), I realize that there are so many differing opinions. I'm seeing that just saying I'm a Christian says nothing about me at all except that I have some understanding of the life of Jesus and the existence of God, and that means something to me. But it says absolutely nothing about who I am. The other day I talked to a guy who believes God created all things over a period of millions of years through the process of evolution! He believes in Christ, he says, but he's not sure that the bible should be taken completely literally, so maybe Jesus wasn't actually the Son of God. I even prefer not to be called a Christian. The early church never actually called themselves "christians" that we know of. King Agrippa called Paul a "Christian" when he asked, "Do you wish to convert me to become a Christian?" But Paul said simply, "I wish you were as I am, but for these chains." He didn't say "christian". That was the term that outsiders used to call the strange sect that had come out of Jerusalem as a result of the "supposed" resurrection of Jesus of Nazereth. The best term, in my mind, is "follower of Christ". People say that the word "Christian" means that, but i'm not so sure. People call themselves Christians all the time, but are they following Christ? Far from it!
Sometimes, many times, I regret to say, I have seen born-again Christians turn from following Christ in certain areas. I have seen unforgiveness and hatred, jealousy and deceit, harbored bitterness and unkindness. Don't get me wrong, just cause someone isn't perfect doesn't mean they aren't following Christ. But in some way or another, we all turn from following christ every day. It is when you step back and look at our actions as a whole, from year to year, that we see many following Christ generally, just not perfectly. For we are not required to follow Him perfectly. Peter even denied Him, but Christ chose Him to share the gospel with the Jews, "Feed My lambs," He told him. So instead of saying, "I'm a Christian," here is my unofficial statement of faith. BTW, please feel free to comment on my statements of faith, since some of them are much different from what you would see in churches all across the nation, no matter what the denomination.
1. I believe that a Being exists, Who has always been and always will be. He created the universe and everything in it for a purpose which is beyond human understanding. He is named Elohim, Jehovah, and more commonly, God. King of the Universe, He holds all things together by His power and every other authority comes under His authority.
2. I believe that God created Jesus before time was, before the earth was formed. Through Jesus, God created the earth, and it is in Jesus' image that humans were made. Jesus is not literally one with God the Father, for they are two seperate persons. But they are so wholly the same in will and love that they might as well be the same being. After all, Jesus proceeds from the Father.
3. I believe in predestination. But I am not a Calvinist. Before there was time, God created this plan, a plan that has never changed. There was never a plan A and a plan B; only one plan existed. The purpose of this plan is not shown clearly to us in scripture, but God gives us sufficient information to help us see His character and puzzle out His plan. It would take ages upon ages to come close to almost understanding His plan and purpose in Creation, the Fall, and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
4. I believe in the calling of the elect, the salvation of the chosen and the punishment of the unchosen. God makes "some for honorable use and some for dishonorable use". In God's plan, there are no accidents. People have brains, people have wills. But whether or not that will is really free depends on your definition of "free". For God's will ultimately over-arches human will, so that whatever man's choices, they always fall into His pre-ordained plan. No matter what we choose, the same outcome will occur, for He has predestined it perfectly. Our wills are free to the extent that right now I am free to choose to keep typing or get off the computer and go to sleep. Or I could choose to go to a different website, or read a book, or watch TV, or eat some ice-cream. All of these choices are available to me, and I choose moment by moment which I will do (right now, I'm choosing to stay on the computer). This is my choice. Predestination does NOT mean that God programs "17 October, 2006, 21:14 - Rachel stays on the computer to type her statement of faith on Blogger.com" into His master plan and it comes to pass as if I have no choice. The truth is, God's plan is so big that whatever I choose to do, He has already chosen it. Just as if I always choose to do what God wants me to do. It's hard to grasp this, because God is outside of time. Everything is finished for Him, and still only beginning. He isn't bound like we are. Moment by moment, we make choices by our own free will. But those choices are part of His plan. In some perspective, that means our will isn't truly free the way God's will is, since a will still supercedes ours, while NO will supercedes God's. Nothing happens without His say-so.
5. I believe that the bible is to be taken both literally and metaphorically. It is of utmost importance to take the bible as a whole and see it in context before breaking it up into pieces. What divides Christians today is nothing more than different interpretations of the same words. It all seems so much bigger than that, but it's really not. When one neglects to look at the whole of scripture all together, in one large context, all the little things start seeming to contradict one another, and different interpretations seem necessary in order to make sense of it. God doesn't need us to makes sense of His words. They already make sense, we just don't read them right. We already assume to know what context in which to put His words. But it is important to remember that in the bible, God is conveying something that cannot be truly conveyed. Our miniscule brains could never grasp all of what He is telling us.
6. I believe that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable. The point of scripture is for God to communicate with us. He has sent us a message. This message is meant to be understood. He would not have sent it if He didn't want us to understand it. Who sends a letter written in English to a Chinese guy who doesn't read, write, or speak English? The sender will only be dissapointed, since the Chinese guy won 't understand the message. God put Himself into human terms. But God cannot be wholly defined in human terms, so there's a lot still missing. He gave us enough, though. Exactly enough, no more, no less.
7. I believe that when we die, we stop living on the earth, and begin to sleep, or maybe to dream, the bible doesn't say. We are not conscious of this sleep, for just as when you fall asleep at night and immediately when you wake it is morning, when in reality, 7 hours has gone by, when we die, we go into a sleep from which we seem to wake immediately, not realizing how many years have passed. Once we stop living in our bodies, we exit the realm of time.
8. I believe in the resurrection. We dont' stay sleeping, but awake, for on the "last day" as the bible calls it, every human who has died will be raised to the judgement. What the judgement will be like exactly, the bible doesn't clearly say. But it can be seen that those who are born again (those covered by the sacrifice of Jesus by faith in His work on the cross and His resurrection) will reign and live and rejoice with God in His Kingdom (commonly called heaven), while those who have done evil (everyone except those justified by faith in Christ) will be cast out into punishment. Refiner's fire, in which that which was filthy becomes clean through painful means. This punishment is not expounded upon, though it is referred to as "Gehenna" by Jesus, which was a valley used/known as a trash dump in Israel. The word used to describe the length of time this torment, this knashing of teeth in regret, will last is "Ion", which literally means, "age" or "unknown period of time". Taking God's merciful and loving character into account, I do not believe in an eternal hell. God's good and perfect plan could not include eternal torment for people who did not place their faith in Jesus and give their lives to God. There is severe discipline for those who have turned from Christ and continued in sin on Earth, but it is by no means everlasting, and the purpose of it is to restore them to a right relationship with God by removing their sin nature (through fire).
9. I believe in Satan and demons. They have been given a certain amount of power on earth, perhaps to possess humans and scare them. Satan certainly tempts the children of God, but it is clear from scripture that he is powerless without God's permission. Satan can't just go out and do whatever he pleases. He hates and resents the fact, but God's authority is greater than His. Satan lost the battle before it started, he just doesn't want to believe it. God is love and truth, Satan is hatred and lies. These he attempts to stir up in the hearts of men.
10. I believe that the Holy Spirit is God's power that is seen by humans in the flesh. God is spirit and cannot be seen by fleshly beings. But the Holy spirit is the power which provides evidence that God is doing something. It was because Jesus had the Holy Spirit inside Him from the day He was created that He was able to do all those miraculous things. It is by the Holy Spirit in us as believers that gives us power to trust Jesus completely, the Holy Spirit gives us faith and helps us understand scripture. God's voice, power, and hand is what we call the Holy Spirit. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a seperate person from God. The Holy Spirit is a part of God, more specifically, the power of God. I call it God's holy spirit, or the spirit of God to emphasise that.
11. I believe legalism and fundamentalism sprouted from Satan's lies to Christians by the twisting of Scripture. No matter what I do, yesterday, today, and all my tomorrows, I am righteous before God. Jesus died to free me from sin, not in the sense of giving me the ability to be holy as God is holy (Jesus Himself said that no one can do that. The point of God saying that was to prove that we can't, we need His holiness), but so that I might understand that on the cross, all my sins were placed on Jesus, and died there with Him. I am dead to sin, because my sin was crucified with Christ. Before God, I am not a sinner, but I have the works of Christ to replace my filthy rags. Everything is permissable for me, but not all things are profitable. Sin is destructive to me and others. The reason I don't sin is not because God would disapprove (He wouldn't! That sin is not mine, it is Jesus', for He took it on the cross!), but because I realize that it would only hurt me and others if I sinned. God has set up the universe so that certain things naturally happen as a result of sinful behavior (eg. getting drunk makes u have a hangover, being promiscuous could give u aids, etc.). It is actually self-love to refrain from sinning. The less i sin, the happier i am. It has nothing to do with God! Yes, I say that boldly. Me purposely abstaining from sin has nothing to do with God in the sense of pleasing Him. I could never please Him, that's why Jesus did, so I wouldn't have to (and because i couldn't). He is as pleased as He could ever be with me and every other believer! All that matters now is my relationship with Him. Frienship with Him. Conversations with Him. Getting to know Him. Letting His love fill me so that it will splash out on others in abundance. Letting Him mold and change me into who He wants me to be. Trusting in His perfect will. Loving Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength.
12. I believe that as of this moment my conscience holds me to these statements. However, I also understand that a year ago, this statement of beliefs would have been profoundly different. So I also believe that my beliefs will change and grow as the Lord continues to teach me.
I pray the Lord continues to answer my plea that He would open my mind and heart to the truth, which so very many believers have rejected as a lie.
Sometimes, many times, I regret to say, I have seen born-again Christians turn from following Christ in certain areas. I have seen unforgiveness and hatred, jealousy and deceit, harbored bitterness and unkindness. Don't get me wrong, just cause someone isn't perfect doesn't mean they aren't following Christ. But in some way or another, we all turn from following christ every day. It is when you step back and look at our actions as a whole, from year to year, that we see many following Christ generally, just not perfectly. For we are not required to follow Him perfectly. Peter even denied Him, but Christ chose Him to share the gospel with the Jews, "Feed My lambs," He told him. So instead of saying, "I'm a Christian," here is my unofficial statement of faith. BTW, please feel free to comment on my statements of faith, since some of them are much different from what you would see in churches all across the nation, no matter what the denomination.
1. I believe that a Being exists, Who has always been and always will be. He created the universe and everything in it for a purpose which is beyond human understanding. He is named Elohim, Jehovah, and more commonly, God. King of the Universe, He holds all things together by His power and every other authority comes under His authority.
2. I believe that God created Jesus before time was, before the earth was formed. Through Jesus, God created the earth, and it is in Jesus' image that humans were made. Jesus is not literally one with God the Father, for they are two seperate persons. But they are so wholly the same in will and love that they might as well be the same being. After all, Jesus proceeds from the Father.
3. I believe in predestination. But I am not a Calvinist. Before there was time, God created this plan, a plan that has never changed. There was never a plan A and a plan B; only one plan existed. The purpose of this plan is not shown clearly to us in scripture, but God gives us sufficient information to help us see His character and puzzle out His plan. It would take ages upon ages to come close to almost understanding His plan and purpose in Creation, the Fall, and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
4. I believe in the calling of the elect, the salvation of the chosen and the punishment of the unchosen. God makes "some for honorable use and some for dishonorable use". In God's plan, there are no accidents. People have brains, people have wills. But whether or not that will is really free depends on your definition of "free". For God's will ultimately over-arches human will, so that whatever man's choices, they always fall into His pre-ordained plan. No matter what we choose, the same outcome will occur, for He has predestined it perfectly. Our wills are free to the extent that right now I am free to choose to keep typing or get off the computer and go to sleep. Or I could choose to go to a different website, or read a book, or watch TV, or eat some ice-cream. All of these choices are available to me, and I choose moment by moment which I will do (right now, I'm choosing to stay on the computer). This is my choice. Predestination does NOT mean that God programs "17 October, 2006, 21:14 - Rachel stays on the computer to type her statement of faith on Blogger.com" into His master plan and it comes to pass as if I have no choice. The truth is, God's plan is so big that whatever I choose to do, He has already chosen it. Just as if I always choose to do what God wants me to do. It's hard to grasp this, because God is outside of time. Everything is finished for Him, and still only beginning. He isn't bound like we are. Moment by moment, we make choices by our own free will. But those choices are part of His plan. In some perspective, that means our will isn't truly free the way God's will is, since a will still supercedes ours, while NO will supercedes God's. Nothing happens without His say-so.
5. I believe that the bible is to be taken both literally and metaphorically. It is of utmost importance to take the bible as a whole and see it in context before breaking it up into pieces. What divides Christians today is nothing more than different interpretations of the same words. It all seems so much bigger than that, but it's really not. When one neglects to look at the whole of scripture all together, in one large context, all the little things start seeming to contradict one another, and different interpretations seem necessary in order to make sense of it. God doesn't need us to makes sense of His words. They already make sense, we just don't read them right. We already assume to know what context in which to put His words. But it is important to remember that in the bible, God is conveying something that cannot be truly conveyed. Our miniscule brains could never grasp all of what He is telling us.
6. I believe that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable. The point of scripture is for God to communicate with us. He has sent us a message. This message is meant to be understood. He would not have sent it if He didn't want us to understand it. Who sends a letter written in English to a Chinese guy who doesn't read, write, or speak English? The sender will only be dissapointed, since the Chinese guy won 't understand the message. God put Himself into human terms. But God cannot be wholly defined in human terms, so there's a lot still missing. He gave us enough, though. Exactly enough, no more, no less.
7. I believe that when we die, we stop living on the earth, and begin to sleep, or maybe to dream, the bible doesn't say. We are not conscious of this sleep, for just as when you fall asleep at night and immediately when you wake it is morning, when in reality, 7 hours has gone by, when we die, we go into a sleep from which we seem to wake immediately, not realizing how many years have passed. Once we stop living in our bodies, we exit the realm of time.
8. I believe in the resurrection. We dont' stay sleeping, but awake, for on the "last day" as the bible calls it, every human who has died will be raised to the judgement. What the judgement will be like exactly, the bible doesn't clearly say. But it can be seen that those who are born again (those covered by the sacrifice of Jesus by faith in His work on the cross and His resurrection) will reign and live and rejoice with God in His Kingdom (commonly called heaven), while those who have done evil (everyone except those justified by faith in Christ) will be cast out into punishment. Refiner's fire, in which that which was filthy becomes clean through painful means. This punishment is not expounded upon, though it is referred to as "Gehenna" by Jesus, which was a valley used/known as a trash dump in Israel. The word used to describe the length of time this torment, this knashing of teeth in regret, will last is "Ion", which literally means, "age" or "unknown period of time". Taking God's merciful and loving character into account, I do not believe in an eternal hell. God's good and perfect plan could not include eternal torment for people who did not place their faith in Jesus and give their lives to God. There is severe discipline for those who have turned from Christ and continued in sin on Earth, but it is by no means everlasting, and the purpose of it is to restore them to a right relationship with God by removing their sin nature (through fire).
9. I believe in Satan and demons. They have been given a certain amount of power on earth, perhaps to possess humans and scare them. Satan certainly tempts the children of God, but it is clear from scripture that he is powerless without God's permission. Satan can't just go out and do whatever he pleases. He hates and resents the fact, but God's authority is greater than His. Satan lost the battle before it started, he just doesn't want to believe it. God is love and truth, Satan is hatred and lies. These he attempts to stir up in the hearts of men.
10. I believe that the Holy Spirit is God's power that is seen by humans in the flesh. God is spirit and cannot be seen by fleshly beings. But the Holy spirit is the power which provides evidence that God is doing something. It was because Jesus had the Holy Spirit inside Him from the day He was created that He was able to do all those miraculous things. It is by the Holy Spirit in us as believers that gives us power to trust Jesus completely, the Holy Spirit gives us faith and helps us understand scripture. God's voice, power, and hand is what we call the Holy Spirit. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a seperate person from God. The Holy Spirit is a part of God, more specifically, the power of God. I call it God's holy spirit, or the spirit of God to emphasise that.
11. I believe legalism and fundamentalism sprouted from Satan's lies to Christians by the twisting of Scripture. No matter what I do, yesterday, today, and all my tomorrows, I am righteous before God. Jesus died to free me from sin, not in the sense of giving me the ability to be holy as God is holy (Jesus Himself said that no one can do that. The point of God saying that was to prove that we can't, we need His holiness), but so that I might understand that on the cross, all my sins were placed on Jesus, and died there with Him. I am dead to sin, because my sin was crucified with Christ. Before God, I am not a sinner, but I have the works of Christ to replace my filthy rags. Everything is permissable for me, but not all things are profitable. Sin is destructive to me and others. The reason I don't sin is not because God would disapprove (He wouldn't! That sin is not mine, it is Jesus', for He took it on the cross!), but because I realize that it would only hurt me and others if I sinned. God has set up the universe so that certain things naturally happen as a result of sinful behavior (eg. getting drunk makes u have a hangover, being promiscuous could give u aids, etc.). It is actually self-love to refrain from sinning. The less i sin, the happier i am. It has nothing to do with God! Yes, I say that boldly. Me purposely abstaining from sin has nothing to do with God in the sense of pleasing Him. I could never please Him, that's why Jesus did, so I wouldn't have to (and because i couldn't). He is as pleased as He could ever be with me and every other believer! All that matters now is my relationship with Him. Frienship with Him. Conversations with Him. Getting to know Him. Letting His love fill me so that it will splash out on others in abundance. Letting Him mold and change me into who He wants me to be. Trusting in His perfect will. Loving Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength.
12. I believe that as of this moment my conscience holds me to these statements. However, I also understand that a year ago, this statement of beliefs would have been profoundly different. So I also believe that my beliefs will change and grow as the Lord continues to teach me.
I pray the Lord continues to answer my plea that He would open my mind and heart to the truth, which so very many believers have rejected as a lie.
posted by Eliora at
5:57 PM
4 Comments:
You say "I believe that a Being exists, Who has always been and always will be. He created the universe and everything in it for a purpose which is beyond human understanding. He is named Elohim, Jehovah, and more commonly, God. King of the Universe, He holds all things together by His power and every other authority comes under His authority."
Well why would a singular male being be referred to in the feminine plural in the term "Elohim", which is both plural and feminine in Hebrew?
By
Wakim, at 11:00 PM
Maybe to point out that God doesn't have a gender. He's a Being. There is no actual word in English or Hebrew or any other language to describe What-He-is.
He calls Himself "IAM"
"I" is singular.
It is Moses who calls Him "Elohim Adonai, Adonai Echad" (The Lord our God, the Lord is One)
That's why I said "a being", and I refer to God as "He" because the Bible does so. God is neither male nor female, but we can hardly call Him "it". I was not calling God a man, although Jesus was a man.
As for it being plural, God Himself is one being, and Jesus is God in the flesh; the perfect reflection or image of God. I guess you could put it like this: "If God were a man, that man would be Jesus."
Jesus is the first-born of creation. God created Him as a part of Himself to be the head of all saved humanity (Paul refers to Him as the head of the church).
We will never understand how this works, but God Himself could not possibly become a man and die, literally. Think about it. Who was Jesus praying to? Who did He call "Father"? When Jesus died, who was running the universe? In God all things hold together...so if it were possible for God to die, everything else would be utterly obliterated. He wouldn't be there to hold it together. No, Jesus does not = God. They are not one and the same. But they might as well be as far as who they are and what they stand for. God create Jesus to be the human reflection of Himself, so He might as well be God. That's why we worship Him as God, because He's God the way that my reflection in the mirror is me (that analogy is flawed, but bear with me). We cannot comprehend or understand God as "IAM", so He gave us Jesus so that we could comprehend and understand Him in human terms. The Incarnation of God is a good way to describe it, except that God wasn't physically Jesus, but He put His attributes into Jesus, so that Jesus is exactly like God, in fact, He might as well be God.
Anyways, it's a complicated subject. thanks for asking! Gave me somthing to contemplate...
By
Eliora, at 4:27 PM
Let's see how we compare....
1. Agreed.
2. I disagree. Jesus is part of what we think of as God, the Triune Being only partially revealed to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets. Jesus is both God, and is equal to God Himself, as He IS God.
3-4. I disagree. I think God knows what we will choose in regards to whether to accept Christ or not - heck, I think He knows what I'm going to eat for the rest of my life, at every meal. But that doesn't mean God has a little ledger that says "David Noel - leftover chicken noodle soup for lunch, 11/22/06". I agree that God knows what we choose, but that does not nullify our choice. It would if God lived inside of time the way we do, but He does not.
5. I think I agree.
6. I agree.
7. Doubtful, but possible.
8. Not quite sure here. I think it's possible that hell is non-eternal, but more likely that it is, not because I'd like it to be, but because I think that's what Scripture says.
9. I think I agree here.
10. I don't know if I agree here. The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity of God. He/She/It proceeds from the Son and the Father, but yet is equal to them as well. I don't claim to understand it fully - what a ridiculous thought, understanding God! - but there we are.
11. Depends upon your definition of fundamentalism. Does it mean simply relying on the fundamentals of the faith, rather than tradition? By that definition, I'm a fundamentalist. It has negative connotations these days, but being one is only bad when using certain definitions.
Also, God indeed disapproves of sin, any sin - regardless of whether you are a Christian sinning, or a non-Christian sinning. By saying that He doesn't, but still saying it's destructive is to say that God approves of you destroying yourself and others. So why aren't you out there purposefully sinning all the time, Rachel? Because you know that God DOES NOT approve of sin.
Anyway, that was interesting.
By
Anonymous, at 10:12 AM
I want to clarify that last comment about "So why are you not out sinning all the time? Because God does NOT APPROVE.."
No. That is NOT the reason I'm not out sinning all the time.
The reason I don't sin all the time (not that i never sin at all...wouldn't that be nice!) is because God has changed my heart so that I no longer WANT to sin. It's not a matter of being afraid to displease Him or hurt His feelings, or otherwise make myself feel guilty. God doesn't want obedience for obedience's sake. He wants us, in our deepest hearts, to long to be like HIM, which causes us to desire sin less and less.
The thing is, man consistently chooses to do his highest inclinations, which come from our heart (the seat of our desires).
God changes our heart (just as He hardened Pharaoh's) by the work of His Holy Spirit.
This is often called the process of "sanctification".
So what God does is He gives us a new heart (Jer. 31:31), and changes our highest inclinations to be more like His on a day-to-day basis.
Of course, this change happens slowly over the course of our lives.
All that to say, God is constantly forming my heart by putting me in circumstances and bringing me in contact with friends that change my highest inclinations from wanting to do evil to desiring to do good.
By
Eliora, at 8:49 AM
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