Shadow Phoenix
January 15th 2006, 09:31 PM
Hello! Welcome to the Intro to Christian Theology forum. I am ApologiaNick and I will be your host. I am a Christian apologist, which means I am a defender of the faith, with an interest in especially philosophical apologetics, though I will be glad to try to answer any question I get. For those who like the answer, my own website has some of my articles. The website is found at http://greasytheologian.tripod.com.
This forum is simply designed to give a clear and straight answer to a question. This is not a debate forum. If you wish to debate a topic presented in this forum, please go to another appropriate forum on TWeb for such a debate.
Also, let us suppose that you have a question on a position such as pre-tribulationism. I am not a pre-tribulationist, but in the interest of fairness, I will find someone who holds that position so they can give you an answer straight from the source. The same applies for any position I do not hold that is within orthodox Christianity.
I would like to take this time to introduce what I consider basic foundational doctrines to the Christian faith.
First off, our faith is built on the event in history of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This was also a physical resurrection. If the resurrection is not physical, then this would mean that Satan had claimed a victory in ruining this world beyond repair. Such a victory will not be allowed. God has promised to redeem his creation and the resurrection is where death itself begins to work backwards, to use the language of C.S. Lewis. For anyone interested in the evidence for the resurrection, I recommend such works as the writings of Gary Habermas as well as "Who Moved the Stone?" by Frank Morison.
The resurrection shows the deity of Christ. When we speak of Christ as God, this is not entaiilng that God is the Trinity. Consider it shorthand. What this means is that Jesus possesses all the attributes fully of deity. (See Col. 2:9) Also, this does not deny his humanity. It is just as much heresy to deny his humanity as it is to deny his divinity. A good work on this topic is Spiros Zodhiates "Was Christ God?" For the more technical reader, I recommend Murray J. Harris's "Jesus as God."
The doctrine of the Trinity is a unique doctrine only in Christianity. We are monotheists, but we believe that the one God exists in three distinct persons. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, the Son is not the Father or Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Son or Father. This is a difficult doctrine to grasp and one that we will not comprehend. I recommend for further research James White's "The Forgotten Trinity", Robert Morey's "The Trinity: Evidence and Issues", and for a good devotional look, "Knowing the Name of God", by Roderick Leupp.
Christians also believe in salvation by grace through faith. This means that our works do not earn us salvation before the throne of God. We are counted righteous by the righteousness of Christ. A good systematic theology can help with understanding all there is of salvation. For those interested in whether it is eternal or not, I recommend the book "Four Views on Eternal Security" where you can see discussions between four different sides on the topic.
We also believe in the Scriptures as a revelation of God. This includes accepted by everyone the 66 books you'll see in Protestant Bibles. (There are some fringe exceptions in some groups) Catholics have more books in their Bibles, but the 66 are held in agreement. Generally, it is believed that these Scriptures are inerrant, though there are some that disagree. I will state that I am one who does hold to inerrancy.
Also, we believe that Jesus Christ will return someday. There are different views as to the timing of this event however.
In conclusion, please realize that I will answer questions from this position. I will try to be fair and accurate with your questions. You may always leave a PM for me if you do so desire. If I am ever away, I will have someone else who is capable of answering the questions.
May God bless you as you seek answers to your questions and remember the words of Christ. Those who seek find.
This forum is simply designed to give a clear and straight answer to a question. This is not a debate forum. If you wish to debate a topic presented in this forum, please go to another appropriate forum on TWeb for such a debate.
Also, let us suppose that you have a question on a position such as pre-tribulationism. I am not a pre-tribulationist, but in the interest of fairness, I will find someone who holds that position so they can give you an answer straight from the source. The same applies for any position I do not hold that is within orthodox Christianity.
I would like to take this time to introduce what I consider basic foundational doctrines to the Christian faith.
First off, our faith is built on the event in history of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This was also a physical resurrection. If the resurrection is not physical, then this would mean that Satan had claimed a victory in ruining this world beyond repair. Such a victory will not be allowed. God has promised to redeem his creation and the resurrection is where death itself begins to work backwards, to use the language of C.S. Lewis. For anyone interested in the evidence for the resurrection, I recommend such works as the writings of Gary Habermas as well as "Who Moved the Stone?" by Frank Morison.
The resurrection shows the deity of Christ. When we speak of Christ as God, this is not entaiilng that God is the Trinity. Consider it shorthand. What this means is that Jesus possesses all the attributes fully of deity. (See Col. 2:9) Also, this does not deny his humanity. It is just as much heresy to deny his humanity as it is to deny his divinity. A good work on this topic is Spiros Zodhiates "Was Christ God?" For the more technical reader, I recommend Murray J. Harris's "Jesus as God."
The doctrine of the Trinity is a unique doctrine only in Christianity. We are monotheists, but we believe that the one God exists in three distinct persons. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, the Son is not the Father or Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Son or Father. This is a difficult doctrine to grasp and one that we will not comprehend. I recommend for further research James White's "The Forgotten Trinity", Robert Morey's "The Trinity: Evidence and Issues", and for a good devotional look, "Knowing the Name of God", by Roderick Leupp.
Christians also believe in salvation by grace through faith. This means that our works do not earn us salvation before the throne of God. We are counted righteous by the righteousness of Christ. A good systematic theology can help with understanding all there is of salvation. For those interested in whether it is eternal or not, I recommend the book "Four Views on Eternal Security" where you can see discussions between four different sides on the topic.
We also believe in the Scriptures as a revelation of God. This includes accepted by everyone the 66 books you'll see in Protestant Bibles. (There are some fringe exceptions in some groups) Catholics have more books in their Bibles, but the 66 are held in agreement. Generally, it is believed that these Scriptures are inerrant, though there are some that disagree. I will state that I am one who does hold to inerrancy.
Also, we believe that Jesus Christ will return someday. There are different views as to the timing of this event however.
In conclusion, please realize that I will answer questions from this position. I will try to be fair and accurate with your questions. You may always leave a PM for me if you do so desire. If I am ever away, I will have someone else who is capable of answering the questions.
May God bless you as you seek answers to your questions and remember the words of Christ. Those who seek find.