Tux314
July 2nd 2005, 09:50 PM
I asked the atheists and agnostics over at the Gentoo Linux Forums (http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-355483.html), but now I want to see the Christian response from TheologyWeb. Am I a "fundamentalist"? Here are some beliefs summarized:
1.) The Bible as originally revealed is inerrant (has no errors) and inspired. However, it is possible that our modern English Bibles have lost accuracy through the transmission and translation. We must interpret everything in the Bible in context, not only in the literary sense but also in the socio-historical sense. J.P. Holding of Tekton Apologetics Ministries (http://www.tektonics.org) generally does a good job of this. It is certain that, like any other work of its size, the Bible contains portions which were never intended to be taken literally. Textual criticism is a good way to reveal when this is the case.
2.) Genesis 1 in its original Hebrew is literally true. However, the universe is about 13.7 billion years old. Hugh Ross (http://www.reasons.org) and Rich Deem (http://www.godandscience.org) have done a good job of explaining how this is possible. I consider theistic evolution to be a very real possibility, but will need to see more evidence to be convinced. Yes, it is possible that Genesis 1 was one of the figurative portions.
3.) Jesus Christ was literally born of a virgin and was physically resurrected. He is the sole source of salvation. He was also God in the flesh.
4.) Salvation is attained through acceptance of Jesus Christ's gift on the cross. Those who accept will spend eternity with God in heaven. Those who do not accept this gift do not attain salvation, and will spend eternity without God in hell.
5.) Evangelism (sharing of faith) is a good thing, because it shows people how they can escape hell. It is bad whenever anyone goes to hell. I only wish we could all go to heaven. Evangelism is also good because it was commanded by Jesus.
6.) God loves everyone unconditionally. He would not send anyone to hell if justice did not force him to, and he will not reject anyone who seeks salvation.
7.) Homosexual behavior is a sin, but it is no worse than other sins such as adultery and lust. It can be forgiven, just like any other sin. I would also like to mention that homosexual attraction is not a sin. Homophobia (hatred of homosexual people) is a sin. (This is not a core Christian belief, but homosexuality seems to be on a lot of people's minds when they describe "fundamentalists".)
8.) Just as God loves everyone, Christians are called to love everyone. This includes unbelievers. It's not as though I should treat, say, a homosexual any worse than I would treat my pastor at church.
9.) Many Christians do act in hypocritical ways, judging and showing hatred towards other people while ignoring their own struggles with sin. This hypocrisy is in and of itself sin and should be avoided. However, reasoned moral objection to any given sin does not constitute hypocrisy or "judging". "Love the sinner, not the sin" is a good paradigm, even though many forget to love the sinner.
10.) Reason is a gift from God and should be used, not ignored.
1.) The Bible as originally revealed is inerrant (has no errors) and inspired. However, it is possible that our modern English Bibles have lost accuracy through the transmission and translation. We must interpret everything in the Bible in context, not only in the literary sense but also in the socio-historical sense. J.P. Holding of Tekton Apologetics Ministries (http://www.tektonics.org) generally does a good job of this. It is certain that, like any other work of its size, the Bible contains portions which were never intended to be taken literally. Textual criticism is a good way to reveal when this is the case.
2.) Genesis 1 in its original Hebrew is literally true. However, the universe is about 13.7 billion years old. Hugh Ross (http://www.reasons.org) and Rich Deem (http://www.godandscience.org) have done a good job of explaining how this is possible. I consider theistic evolution to be a very real possibility, but will need to see more evidence to be convinced. Yes, it is possible that Genesis 1 was one of the figurative portions.
3.) Jesus Christ was literally born of a virgin and was physically resurrected. He is the sole source of salvation. He was also God in the flesh.
4.) Salvation is attained through acceptance of Jesus Christ's gift on the cross. Those who accept will spend eternity with God in heaven. Those who do not accept this gift do not attain salvation, and will spend eternity without God in hell.
5.) Evangelism (sharing of faith) is a good thing, because it shows people how they can escape hell. It is bad whenever anyone goes to hell. I only wish we could all go to heaven. Evangelism is also good because it was commanded by Jesus.
6.) God loves everyone unconditionally. He would not send anyone to hell if justice did not force him to, and he will not reject anyone who seeks salvation.
7.) Homosexual behavior is a sin, but it is no worse than other sins such as adultery and lust. It can be forgiven, just like any other sin. I would also like to mention that homosexual attraction is not a sin. Homophobia (hatred of homosexual people) is a sin. (This is not a core Christian belief, but homosexuality seems to be on a lot of people's minds when they describe "fundamentalists".)
8.) Just as God loves everyone, Christians are called to love everyone. This includes unbelievers. It's not as though I should treat, say, a homosexual any worse than I would treat my pastor at church.
9.) Many Christians do act in hypocritical ways, judging and showing hatred towards other people while ignoring their own struggles with sin. This hypocrisy is in and of itself sin and should be avoided. However, reasoned moral objection to any given sin does not constitute hypocrisy or "judging". "Love the sinner, not the sin" is a good paradigm, even though many forget to love the sinner.
10.) Reason is a gift from God and should be used, not ignored.