Topic: We are a diverse community at JSH
no photo
Mon 12/17/07 10:23 PM


kat, kat, KAT - Anoasis, Anoasis, Anoasis, ...
... WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!?




Agree totally with red that those two are missing!!! Their spirit, and light are missing!

Let's put out a 'get back here now' WARRANT in their names, that always works!!!

:)



Didn't I tell you ???

It always works!!!

Glad to read you Kat!!!

:)

scttrbrain's photo
Mon 12/17/07 10:27 PM



kat, kat, KAT - Anoasis, Anoasis, Anoasis, ...
... WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!?




Agree totally with red that those two are missing!!! Their spirit, and light are missing!

Let's put out a 'get back here now' WARRANT in their names, that always works!!!

:)



Didn't I tell you ???

It always works!!!

Glad to read you Kat!!!

:)


Awwww, thank you hon. I'm feeling a little out of place though? I miss all of you.flowerforyou

Kat

lizardking19's photo
Tue 12/18/07 08:49 AM


ah a cult of worshipping me what a wonderful idea, however i think that this cult would attract people similar 2 me who refuse to do anything but b worshipped and then my cult would degenerate into a tribal bloodfest so no thank u



Come on 'lizard', don't give up on yourself so quickly.

I'd give up worshipping 'ME', to worship 'YOU' any old day!!!

Gi'me your dogma, ... and I'll worship ya' !!!


Alright u want my dogma, well then im gonna eat over some catmas
not necessarily here but in another thread right? this thread is just 4 discussion of the creation of said thread
So look for a religion thread called "the new hedonism" in the next few days (or maybe today if i feel like it)

feralcatlady's photo
Tue 12/18/07 09:32 AM
Christian Doctrine

1. There is only one God - Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8-9

2. God is a Trinity - 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2

3. There are no Gods before or after God - Isaiah 43:10

4. God knows all things - 1 John 3:20


5. God is all powerful - Psalm 115:3

6. God is everywhere - Jer. 23:23,24

7. God is sovereign - Zech. 9:14; 1 Tim. 6:15-16

8. God is spirit - John 4:24

9. God created all that exists - Gen. 1:1; Isaiah 44:24

10. Spirit does not have a body of flesh and bones - Luke 24:39

11. God has always been God - Psalm 90:2

12. Jesus is God - John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:8

13. Jesus became a man - Phil. 2:5-8

14. Jesus has two natures: divine and human - Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 2:5

15. Jesus was sinless - 1 Pet. 2:22

16. Jesus is the only way to God the Father - John 14:6; Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22

17. The Holy Spirit is God - Acts 5:3-4

18. The Holy Spirit is not a force. He is alive - Acts 13:2

19. The Bible is inspired by God - 2 Tim. 3:16

20. All people have sinned - Rom. 3:23, 5:12

21. Man did not evolve, he was created - Gen. 1:26

22. Adam and Eve were real people - Gen. 3:20; 5:1; 1 Tim. 2:13

23. Death entered the world because of Adam's sin - Rom. 5:12-15

24. Sin separates us from God - Isaiah 59:2

25. Jesus died for all our sins - 1 John 2:2; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Pet. 2:24

26. Jesus' sacrifice was a substitution, for us - 1 Pet. 2:24

27. Jesus rose from the dead in His physical body - John 2:19-21

28. Those who reject Jesus will go to Hell - Rev. 20:11-15

29. Hell is a place of fiery punishment - Matt. 25:41; Rev. 19:20

30. Hell is eternal - Matt. 25:46

31. The unsaved go to hell forever - Rev. 21:8

32. Salvation is a free gift of God - Rom. 4:5; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9

33. The Bible is the Word of God - 2 Tim. 3:16

34. Jesus will return visibly to earth - Acts 1:11

35. Christians will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns - 1 Thess. 4:14-17

36. There will be a rapture (being caught up into the clouds with Jesus) -
1 Thess. 4:14-17

37. There will be a final judgment - 2 Pet. 3:7

38. The damned will be thrown into a lake of fire - Rev. 20:15

39. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire - Rev. 20:10

40. There will be a new heavens and a new earth - 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1


Now again as staying within what I believe to be Redy's rules. This is not up for debate.....It's what I believe......

The following is an outline of basic Christian Doctrine. It's brief, accurate, and informative. As with any venture into learning you must first begin with the basics. The basics are the foundation of your Christian life. If you learn what is here, you will be well informed and knowledgeable. All you need to do is get grounded in the fundamentals and from there cultivate your Christian walk: "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity" (Heb. 6:1). A building is only as strong as its foundation.

1. The Bible

The Bible consists of 66 books: 39 in the OT and 27 in the new. (Note: 3 x 9 = 27).

The OT has 23,214 verses. The NT has 7,959 verses.

2. The Bible took about 1600 years to write.

It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) by about 40 authors and is internally consistent throughout.

It was written on three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe.

It was written by a variety of people: prophets, priest, cupbearer, a king, judges, fishermen, etc.

The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in A.D. 1388.

The first American edition of the Bible was perhaps published some time before A.D. 1752.

The Bible has been translated in part or in whole as of 1964 in over 1,200 different languages or dialects.

The Bible was divided into chapters by Stephen Langton about A.D. 1228.

The Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan in A.D. 1448 and the New Testament by Robert Stephanus in A.D. 1551.

Old Testament -- a total of 39 books and has 5 main divisions:
Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy), Historical (Joshua to Esther), Poetic (Job to Song of Solomon), Major Prophets (Isaiah to Daniel), Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi).

New Testament -- a total of 27 books and has 4 main divisions
Gospels (Matthew to John), History (Acts), Epistles (Romans to Jude), Prophetic (Revelation).

Reliability of the biblical documents.
The Bible is 98½ percent textually pure. This means that through all the copying of the Biblical manuscripts of the entire Bible, only 1½% has any question about it. Nothing in all of the ancient writings of the entire world even approaches the accuracy of transmission found in the biblical documents.

The 1½ percent that is in question does not affect doctrine. The areas of interest are called variants and they consist mainly in variations of wording and spelling.

The OT does not have as many supporting manuscripts as the NT but it is, nevertheless, remarkably reliable.

The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew OT done around 250 B.C., attests to the reliability and consistency of the OT when it is compared to existing Hebrew manuscripts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 also verify the reliability of the OT manuscripts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were ancient documents that were hidden in a cave in Israel about 2000 years ago. The scrolls contained many OT books, one of them being Isaiah.

Before the Dead Sea scrolls, the earliest existing manuscript of the OT was dated around 900 A.D. called the Masoretic Text. The Scrolls contained OT documents 1000 years earlier. A comparison between the manuscripts revealed an incredible accuracy of transmission through copying, so much so that critics were silenced.

The NT has over 5000 supporting Greek manuscripts existing today with another 20,000 manuscripts in other languages. Some of the manuscript evidence dates to within 100 years of the original writing. There is less than a 1% textual variation in the NT manuscripts.

Estimated time of writing of the NT documents
Paul's Letters, 50-66 A.D.
Matthew, 70-80 A.D.
Mark, 50-65 A.D.
Luke, early 60's
John, 80-100 A.D.
Revelation 96 A.D.

Some of the supporting manuscripts of the NT are:
John Rylands MS written around 130 A.D., the oldest existing fragment of the NT

Bodmer Papyrus II (150-200 A.D.)
Chester Beatty Papyri (200 A.D.), contains major portions of
the NT Codex Vaticanus (325-350 A.D.), contains nearly all the Bible.

Codex Sinaiticus (350 A.D.), contains almost all the NT and over half of the OT

No other ancient writing can boast of having copies so close to the original time of writing. With the Bible, the difference is about 50 years. With Plato and Aristotle, for example, the difference is measure in hundreds of years.

Prophecy and mathematical odds of fulfillment.
The odds of Jesus fulfilling 48 of the 61 major prophecies concerning Him are 1 in 10157; that is a one with 157 zeros behind it.

By comparison, the estimated number of electrons in the entire known universe is about 1079; that is a one with 79 zeros behind it.

Inspiration and Inerrancy - The Bible is inspired by God. Inspiration means that God, through the Holy Spirit, caused the writers of the Bible to write the accurate and authoritative revelation of God. It is God breathed (2 Tim. 3:16) through the instrumentation of the apostles and prophets (2 Pet. 1:21).

It is without error in the original manuscripts and absolutely reliable and true in all areas it addresses.

Every true Christian accepts the inspiration and authority of the Bible.

Scientific Accuracies in the Bible.
The spherical shape of the earth (Isaiah 40:22).
The earth is suspended in nothing (Job. 26:7).
The stars are innumerable (Gen. 15:5).
The existence of valleys in the seas (2 Sam. 22:16).
The existence of springs and fountains in the sea (Gen. 7:11; 8:2; Prov. 8:28).
The existence of water paths (ocean currents) in the seas (Psalm 8:8).
The water cycle (Job. 26:8; 36:27-28; 37:16; 38:25-27; Psalm 135:7; Ecc. 1:6-7).
The fact that all living things reproduce after their own kind (Gen. 1:21; 6:19).
The nature of health, sanitation, and sickness (Gen. 17:9-14; Lev. 12-14).
The concept of entropy, that energy is running down (Psalm 102:26).

2. God
God is the only Supreme Being. He is Holy (Rev. 4:8), Eternal (Isaiah 57:15), Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17,27), Omnipresent (Psalm 119:7-12), Omniscient (1 John 3:20); etc.

He is Love (1 John 4:8,16); Light (1 John 1:5); Spirit (John 4:24); Truth (Psalm 117:2); Creator (Isaiah 40:12,22,26), etc.

He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26; Exodus 4:31; 2 Chron. 29:28; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 7:11).

He is to be served (Matt. 4:10; 1 Cor. 6:19; Phil. 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14).

He is to be proclaimed (Matt. 28:19f.; John 14:15f.; Acts 1:8)

"To worship God is to serve and proclaim Him; to serve God is to proclaim and worship Him; to proclaim God is to worship and serve Him."

The name of God is Jehovah, or Yahweh. It is comprised of the four Hebrew consonants . The precise pronunciation of God's name has been lost. In Exodus 3:14 God proclaims His name to be "I AM." "God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'" (NIV)

God is a Trinity - One God who exists simultaneously in three persons. Each is coequal, copowerful, and coeternal with the other. Each person, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is not the other. Without either there is no God; all comprise the one God.

The Doctrine of the Trinity is opposed to:
Modal Monarchianism, also known as Jesus Only - There is one person in the Godhead who took three consecutive forms or modes. First there was the Father who then became the Son who then became the Holy Spirit.

Present groups are the United Pentecostal and United Apostolic churches. This doctrine is incorrect. It denies the true doctrine of the Trinity.

Dynamic Monarchianism - Only one person in the Godhead, the Father. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not God.

Present groups are the Jehovah's Witnesses, World Wide Church of God, Christadelphianism, and The Way International. This doctrine is incorrect. It denies the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the deity of the Holy Spirit.

Tritheism – the teaching that the godhead is three separate gods: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Christianity is monotheistic - Only one God in existence, anywhere, anytime. See Isaiah Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8-9 for verses that teach monotheism.

Christianity is opposed to:
Polytheism - Belief in many Gods.
Monolatry - Belief in more than one God but serve and worship only one, i.e. Mormonism.

Henotheism - Belief in one God without denying the existence of others.

Pantheism - This is an identification of the universe with God. God is the universe. God is creation.

Panentheism - The belief that God is in the universe. It differs with pantheism which states that God is the universe and all that it comprises.

Deism - God exists, but is not involved in the world.

Theism - God exists, and is involved in the world.

Creation
God created the physical and spiritual universe out of nothing (Gen. 1:1f; Psalm 33:6; John 1:3; Rom. 4:17; 1 Cor. 1:28).
He did not make the world out of part of Himself.
He did not make the world out of a substance called "nothing."
Specifically it was Jesus, the firstborn (Col. 1:15), second person of the Trinity, who created all things (Col. 1:16-17; Isaiah 44:24).

Because God created all things, He is before all things and beyond all things. Therefore, the entire universe is under His control.

Because God created all things, He is able to provide for His creation through the means of His creation, i.e. weather, rain, plants, animals, sunshine, etc.

Opinions on the duration of creation differ. Some say six days; others say six long periods.

Man
Creation of man
Man is not only the crown of creation, but also the object of God's special care.

Man was originally made pure, without sin.

"Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:26-27; see also, 2:7,21-23).

"Let us make man..." is a disclosure of the divine counsel before the creation of man, "us" being the Trinitarian counsel. See also Gen. 11:7.

Man was created different than the animals. He had the breath of life breathed into him from God (Gen. 2:7). The animals did not. Also Man was given dominion over the animals. Man can know God, worship Him, and love Him. Animals cannot.

Is Man made of two or three "parts"?
Dichotomy is a term which signifies a division into 2 parts: Body and Soul. The words "spirit" and "soul" are often used interchangeably.

"Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,'" (Luke 1:46-47).

"My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you...," (Isaiah 26:9).

For the term "Body and Soul" see Matt. 6:25; 10:28.
For the term "Body and Spirit" see 1 Cor. 5:3,51.
Trichotomy is a term which signifies a division into 3 parts: Body, Soul, and Spirit.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23).

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart," (Heb. 4:12).

There is no official orthodox position on the number of parts of man.

The Origin of the soul
Traducianism: "The souls of men are propagated along with the bodies by generation, and are therefore transmitted to the children by the parents." (Berkhoff, Systematic Theology. p. 197.)

Creationism: "The soul is a creation of God, owing its origin to a direct creative act." (Berkhoff, p. 199).

Except for Adam, the Bible makes no clear remark regarding the origin of the soul.

Man was created in the image of God.

This means that Man has moral and intellectual abilities
similar to God though not as perfect and vast.

"God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...'" (Gen. 1:26)and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Col. 3:10).

Man is above the animals in "rational ability, moral awareness, pursuit of beauty, use of language, and spiritual awareness."

Man before the Fall.

The Law of God was written in their hearts. Adam and Eve were without sin and "endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness after God's own image, with the ability to keep the Law of God." (Westminster Confession of Faith, 4:2.)

In this state man had free and unhindered access to God. This is exemplified in the account in Gen. 3:8 where God was walking in the Garden.

Man, the Fall, and its effects
Adam and Eve rebelled against God and sinned by eating the forbidden fruit.

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12, NIV).

What was their sin?
They listened to Satan and ate of the fruit that was forbidden by God (Gen. 3:1-13).

What was the consequence of their sin?
Death (Rom. 6:23) and separation from God's presence (Isaiah 59:2)

Transmission of the sin nature to their (and our) children (Psalm 51:5).

Creation also fell (Gen. 3:17; Rom. 8:22).

How did their sin affect God?
They became unfit for the presence of God (Isaiah 59:2).

They became unable to do God's will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14).

They became subject to the curse of the Law and death (Deut. 27:26; Rom. 6:23).

Original Sin - The doctrine that we inherit our sin natures from Adam (Rom. 5:12-21).

Adam was the Federal Head of all humanity; that is, he represented all people in the Garden of Eden.
"For as in Adam all die..." (1 Cor. 15:22).

The phrase "in Adam" indicates our relation to Adam, that he represented us in the garden. In the same way, our being "in Christ" indicates our relation to Jesus, that He represent us on the cross (Rom. 5:18; 6:11; 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:19).

Our sin with Adam: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12). See also Rom. 5:18; 1 Cor. 15:22.

Man after Death and before the resurrection.

The intermediate state
This is the condition of the soul between the death of the body and the resurrection.

There is little spoken of it in the Bible, but it is a state of consciousness (2 Cor. 5:5-8; Luke 16:19-31).

We are self aware and, apparently, with the Lord (Phil. 1:21-23).

For the righteous this is a time of blessedness and joy (Luke 16:19-31).

For the unrighteous this is a time of suffering (Luke 16:19-31) as is exemplified in the account of Lazarus and the rich man.

KalamazooGuy87's photo
Tue 12/18/07 09:57 AM
Edited by KalamazooGuy87 on Tue 12/18/07 10:06 AM

ah a cult of worshipping me what a wonderful idea, however i think that this cult would attract people similar 2 me who refuse to do anything but b worshipped and then my cult would degenerate into a tribal bloodfest so no thank u


wonderful idea? A mass suicide wonderful idea =)

KalamazooGuy87's photo
Tue 12/18/07 09:57 AM
Edited by KalamazooGuy87 on Tue 12/18/07 10:04 AM
Feral! YOU GO! flowerforyou '


I read the whole thing, wow.... =)
"
Reliability of the biblical documents.
The Bible is 98½ percent textually pure. This means that through all the copying of the Biblical manuscripts of the entire Bible, only 1½% has any question about it. Nothing in all of the ancient writings of the entire world even approaches the accuracy of transmission found in the biblical documents.
"

totally agree,

Is this in your words becasue i would like to save this information?

feralcatlady's photo
Tue 12/18/07 10:34 AM
some from school some of mine....save away.......Also I believe alot on-line under Christian Doctrine....


But I thought it would be beautiful to just put it all out their for what I believe......pretty much sums it up....I could at a later date go into God and Man and others but we will see.

heart ya kalamazoo

Deb

KerryO's photo
Tue 12/18/07 05:38 PM
Edited by KerryO on Tue 12/18/07 05:39 PM

Christian Doctrine

1. There is only one God - Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8-9

2. God is a Trinity - 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2

3. There are no Gods before or after God - Isaiah 43:10

4. God knows all things - 1 John 3:20


5. God is all powerful - Psalm 115:3

6. God is everywhere - Jer. 23:23,24

7. God is sovereign - Zech. 9:14; 1 Tim. 6:15-16

8. God is spirit - John 4:24

9. God created all that exists - Gen. 1:1; Isaiah 44:24

10. Spirit does not have a body of flesh and bones - Luke 24:39

11. God has always been God - Psalm 90:2

12. Jesus is God - John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:8

13. Jesus became a man - Phil. 2:5-8

14. Jesus has two natures: divine and human - Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 2:5

15. Jesus was sinless - 1 Pet. 2:22

16. Jesus is the only way to God the Father - John 14:6; Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22

17. The Holy Spirit is God - Acts 5:3-4

18. The Holy Spirit is not a force. He is alive - Acts 13:2

19. The Bible is inspired by God - 2 Tim. 3:16

20. All people have sinned - Rom. 3:23, 5:12

21. Man did not evolve, he was created - Gen. 1:26

22. Adam and Eve were real people - Gen. 3:20; 5:1; 1 Tim. 2:13

23. Death entered the world because of Adam's sin - Rom. 5:12-15

24. Sin separates us from God - Isaiah 59:2

25. Jesus died for all our sins - 1 John 2:2; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Pet. 2:24

26. Jesus' sacrifice was a substitution, for us - 1 Pet. 2:24

27. Jesus rose from the dead in His physical body - John 2:19-21

28. Those who reject Jesus will go to Hell - Rev. 20:11-15

29. Hell is a place of fiery punishment - Matt. 25:41; Rev. 19:20

30. Hell is eternal - Matt. 25:46

31. The unsaved go to hell forever - Rev. 21:8

32. Salvation is a free gift of God - Rom. 4:5; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9

33. The Bible is the Word of God - 2 Tim. 3:16

34. Jesus will return visibly to earth - Acts 1:11

35. Christians will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns - 1 Thess. 4:14-17

36. There will be a rapture (being caught up into the clouds with Jesus) -
1 Thess. 4:14-17

37. There will be a final judgment - 2 Pet. 3:7

38. The damned will be thrown into a lake of fire - Rev. 20:15

39. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire - Rev. 20:10

40. There will be a new heavens and a new earth - 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1


Now again as staying within what I believe to be Redy's rules. This is not up for debate.....It's what I believe......

The following is an outline of basic Christian Doctrine. It's brief, accurate, and informative. As with any venture into learning you must first begin with the basics. The basics are the foundation of your Christian life. If you learn what is here, you will be well informed and knowledgeable. All you need to do is get grounded in the fundamentals and from there cultivate your Christian walk: "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity" (Heb. 6:1). A building is only as strong as its foundation.

1. The Bible

The Bible consists of 66 books: 39 in the OT and 27 in the new. (Note: 3 x 9 = 27).

The OT has 23,214 verses. The NT has 7,959 verses.

2. The Bible took about 1600 years to write.

It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) by about 40 authors and is internally consistent throughout.

It was written on three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe.

It was written by a variety of people: prophets, priest, cupbearer, a king, judges, fishermen, etc.

The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in A.D. 1388.

The first American edition of the Bible was perhaps published some time before A.D. 1752.

The Bible has been translated in part or in whole as of 1964 in over 1,200 different languages or dialects.

The Bible was divided into chapters by Stephen Langton about A.D. 1228.

The Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan in A.D. 1448 and the New Testament by Robert Stephanus in A.D. 1551.

Old Testament -- a total of 39 books and has 5 main divisions:
Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy), Historical (Joshua to Esther), Poetic (Job to Song of Solomon), Major Prophets (Isaiah to Daniel), Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi).

New Testament -- a total of 27 books and has 4 main divisions
Gospels (Matthew to John), History (Acts), Epistles (Romans to Jude), Prophetic (Revelation).

Reliability of the biblical documents.
The Bible is 98½ percent textually pure. This means that through all the copying of the Biblical manuscripts of the entire Bible, only 1½% has any question about it. Nothing in all of the ancient writings of the entire world even approaches the accuracy of transmission found in the biblical documents.

The 1½ percent that is in question does not affect doctrine. The areas of interest are called variants and they consist mainly in variations of wording and spelling.

The OT does not have as many supporting manuscripts as the NT but it is, nevertheless, remarkably reliable.

The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew OT done around 250 B.C., attests to the reliability and consistency of the OT when it is compared to existing Hebrew manuscripts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 also verify the reliability of the OT manuscripts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were ancient documents that were hidden in a cave in Israel about 2000 years ago. The scrolls contained many OT books, one of them being Isaiah.

Before the Dead Sea scrolls, the earliest existing manuscript of the OT was dated around 900 A.D. called the Masoretic Text. The Scrolls contained OT documents 1000 years earlier. A comparison between the manuscripts revealed an incredible accuracy of transmission through copying, so much so that critics were silenced.

The NT has over 5000 supporting Greek manuscripts existing today with another 20,000 manuscripts in other languages. Some of the manuscript evidence dates to within 100 years of the original writing. There is less than a 1% textual variation in the NT manuscripts.

Estimated time of writing of the NT documents
Paul's Letters, 50-66 A.D.
Matthew, 70-80 A.D.
Mark, 50-65 A.D.
Luke, early 60's
John, 80-100 A.D.
Revelation 96 A.D.

Some of the supporting manuscripts of the NT are:
John Rylands MS written around 130 A.D., the oldest existing fragment of the NT

Bodmer Papyrus II (150-200 A.D.)
Chester Beatty Papyri (200 A.D.), contains major portions of
the NT Codex Vaticanus (325-350 A.D.), contains nearly all the Bible.

Codex Sinaiticus (350 A.D.), contains almost all the NT and over half of the OT

No other ancient writing can boast of having copies so close to the original time of writing. With the Bible, the difference is about 50 years. With Plato and Aristotle, for example, the difference is measure in hundreds of years.

Prophecy and mathematical odds of fulfillment.
The odds of Jesus fulfilling 48 of the 61 major prophecies concerning Him are 1 in 10157; that is a one with 157 zeros behind it.

By comparison, the estimated number of electrons in the entire known universe is about 1079; that is a one with 79 zeros behind it.

Inspiration and Inerrancy - The Bible is inspired by God. Inspiration means that God, through the Holy Spirit, caused the writers of the Bible to write the accurate and authoritative revelation of God. It is God breathed (2 Tim. 3:16) through the instrumentation of the apostles and prophets (2 Pet. 1:21).

It is without error in the original manuscripts and absolutely reliable and true in all areas it addresses.

Every true Christian accepts the inspiration and authority of the Bible.

Scientific Accuracies in the Bible.
The spherical shape of the earth (Isaiah 40:22).
The earth is suspended in nothing (Job. 26:7).
The stars are innumerable (Gen. 15:5).
The existence of valleys in the seas (2 Sam. 22:16).
The existence of springs and fountains in the sea (Gen. 7:11; 8:2; Prov. 8:28).
The existence of water paths (ocean currents) in the seas (Psalm 8:8).
The water cycle (Job. 26:8; 36:27-28; 37:16; 38:25-27; Psalm 135:7; Ecc. 1:6-7).
The fact that all living things reproduce after their own kind (Gen. 1:21; 6:19).
The nature of health, sanitation, and sickness (Gen. 17:9-14; Lev. 12-14).
The concept of entropy, that energy is running down (Psalm 102:26).

2. God
God is the only Supreme Being. He is Holy (Rev. 4:8), Eternal (Isaiah 57:15), Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17,27), Omnipresent (Psalm 119:7-12), Omniscient (1 John 3:20); etc.

He is Love (1 John 4:8,16); Light (1 John 1:5); Spirit (John 4:24); Truth (Psalm 117:2); Creator (Isaiah 40:12,22,26), etc.

He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26; Exodus 4:31; 2 Chron. 29:28; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 7:11).

He is to be served (Matt. 4:10; 1 Cor. 6:19; Phil. 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14).

He is to be proclaimed (Matt. 28:19f.; John 14:15f.; Acts 1:8)

"To worship God is to serve and proclaim Him; to serve God is to proclaim and worship Him; to proclaim God is to worship and serve Him."

The name of God is Jehovah, or Yahweh. It is comprised of the four Hebrew consonants . The precise pronunciation of God's name has been lost. In Exodus 3:14 God proclaims His name to be "I AM." "God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'" (NIV)

God is a Trinity - One God who exists simultaneously in three persons. Each is coequal, copowerful, and coeternal with the other. Each person, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is not the other. Without either there is no God; all comprise the one God.

The Doctrine of the Trinity is opposed to:
Modal Monarchianism, also known as Jesus Only - There is one person in the Godhead who took three consecutive forms or modes. First there was the Father who then became the Son who then became the Holy Spirit.

Present groups are the United Pentecostal and United Apostolic churches. This doctrine is incorrect. It denies the true doctrine of the Trinity.

Dynamic Monarchianism - Only one person in the Godhead, the Father. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not God.

Present groups are the Jehovah's Witnesses, World Wide Church of God, Christadelphianism, and The Way International. This doctrine is incorrect. It denies the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the deity of the Holy Spirit.

Tritheism – the teaching that the godhead is three separate gods: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Christianity is monotheistic - Only one God in existence, anywhere, anytime. See Isaiah Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8-9 for verses that teach monotheism.

Christianity is opposed to:
Polytheism - Belief in many Gods.
Monolatry - Belief in more than one God but serve and worship only one, i.e. Mormonism.

Henotheism - Belief in one God without denying the existence of others.

Pantheism - This is an identification of the universe with God. God is the universe. God is creation.

Panentheism - The belief that God is in the universe. It differs with pantheism which states that God is the universe and all that it comprises.

Deism - God exists, but is not involved in the world.

Theism - God exists, and is involved in the world.

Creation
God created the physical and spiritual universe out of nothing (Gen. 1:1f; Psalm 33:6; John 1:3; Rom. 4:17; 1 Cor. 1:28).
He did not make the world out of part of Himself.
He did not make the world out of a substance called "nothing."
Specifically it was Jesus, the firstborn (Col. 1:15), second person of the Trinity, who created all things (Col. 1:16-17; Isaiah 44:24).

Because God created all things, He is before all things and beyond all things. Therefore, the entire universe is under His control.

Because God created all things, He is able to provide for His creation through the means of His creation, i.e. weather, rain, plants, animals, sunshine, etc.

Opinions on the duration of creation differ. Some say six days; others say six long periods.

Man
Creation of man
Man is not only the crown of creation, but also the object of God's special care.

Man was originally made pure, without sin.

"Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:26-27; see also, 2:7,21-23).

"Let us make man..." is a disclosure of the divine counsel before the creation of man, "us" being the Trinitarian counsel. See also Gen. 11:7.

Man was created different than the animals. He had the breath of life breathed into him from God (Gen. 2:7). The animals did not. Also Man was given dominion over the animals. Man can know God, worship Him, and love Him. Animals cannot.

Is Man made of two or three "parts"?
Dichotomy is a term which signifies a division into 2 parts: Body and Soul. The words "spirit" and "soul" are often used interchangeably.

"Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,'" (Luke 1:46-47).

"My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you...," (Isaiah 26:9).

For the term "Body and Soul" see Matt. 6:25; 10:28.
For the term "Body and Spirit" see 1 Cor. 5:3,51.
Trichotomy is a term which signifies a division into 3 parts: Body, Soul, and Spirit.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23).

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart," (Heb. 4:12).

There is no official orthodox position on the number of parts of man.

The Origin of the soul
Traducianism: "The souls of men are propagated along with the bodies by generation, and are therefore transmitted to the children by the parents." (Berkhoff, Systematic Theology. p. 197.)

Creationism: "The soul is a creation of God, owing its origin to a direct creative act." (Berkhoff, p. 199).

Except for Adam, the Bible makes no clear remark regarding the origin of the soul.

Man was created in the image of God.

This means that Man has moral and intellectual abilities
similar to God though not as perfect and vast.

"God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...'" (Gen. 1:26)and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Col. 3:10).

Man is above the animals in "rational ability, moral awareness, pursuit of beauty, use of language, and spiritual awareness."

Man before the Fall.

The Law of God was written in their hearts. Adam and Eve were without sin and "endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness after God's own image, with the ability to keep the Law of God." (Westminster Confession of Faith, 4:2.)

In this state man had free and unhindered access to God. This is exemplified in the account in Gen. 3:8 where God was walking in the Garden.

Man, the Fall, and its effects
Adam and Eve rebelled against God and sinned by eating the forbidden fruit.

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12, NIV).

What was their sin?
They listened to Satan and ate of the fruit that was forbidden by God (Gen. 3:1-13).

What was the consequence of their sin?
Death (Rom. 6:23) and separation from God's presence (Isaiah 59:2)

Transmission of the sin nature to their (and our) children (Psalm 51:5).

Creation also fell (Gen. 3:17; Rom. 8:22).

How did their sin affect God?
They became unfit for the presence of God (Isaiah 59:2).

They became unable to do God's will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14).

They became subject to the curse of the Law and death (Deut. 27:26; Rom. 6:23).

Original Sin - The doctrine that we inherit our sin natures from Adam (Rom. 5:12-21).

Adam was the Federal Head of all humanity; that is, he represented all people in the Garden of Eden.
"For as in Adam all die..." (1 Cor. 15:22).

The phrase "in Adam" indicates our relation to Adam, that he represented us in the garden. In the same way, our being "in Christ" indicates our relation to Jesus, that He represent us on the cross (Rom. 5:18; 6:11; 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:19).

Our sin with Adam: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12). See also Rom. 5:18; 1 Cor. 15:22.

Man after Death and before the resurrection.

The intermediate state
This is the condition of the soul between the death of the body and the resurrection.

There is little spoken of it in the Bible, but it is a state of consciousness (2 Cor. 5:5-8; Luke 16:19-31).

We are self aware and, apparently, with the Lord (Phil. 1:21-23).

For the righteous this is a time of blessedness and joy (Luke 16:19-31).

For the unrighteous this is a time of suffering (Luke 16:19-31) as is exemplified in the account of Lazarus and the rich man.



Would someone please explain to me how this huge quoted post, coming as it does in a thread that's supposed to discuss diversity, *isn't* 'ramming beliefs down peoples' throats'? Or the very epitome of trying to _discourage_ diversity?

-Kerry O.

Redykeulous's photo
Tue 12/18/07 06:17 PM
KerryO - it's ok, Farel just didn't understand the rules. I probable wasn't clear enough.

Farel - many applause to you. You have done exactly what I had asked, but I was rather hoping you would begin a NEW thread,

THE DOCTRINE OF (insert your religion) Then anyone who chooses to allign with your doctrine will form a faith together.

The point being, each group declares all the fundamental doctrinces that, the group agrees to adhere to (all of them, all as a group).

Later when we have several Doctrine threads, we can create scenarios and possibly better understand how each 'doctrine' would respond to the scenario.

SO GO FOR FAREL - transfer your doctrine to a new thread.

I have started my one - THE DOCTRINE OF ALL THAT IS

We need some more - come on where are all the opinions of what beliefs to follow.

Help us all to understand what doctrine is to each of you and how you see those who believe as you do react to situations.


feralcatlady's photo
Tue 12/18/07 07:19 PM
This is what I believe Kerry....This is Christian Doctrine.....And I was going to start a new post redy......but decided to show people first so they could also. Would you still like me to start a new post with it. Debb

Redykeulous's photo
Tue 12/18/07 08:04 PM
There is now a new thread - Doctrine of the Lamb. Hosted by Farelcat (Deb). It is a Christian doctrine. I have already visited.

So now we have two new doctrine threads.

Please visit them both and feel free to initiate your own. Let's get a better understanding in 'contained' document threads of each others beliefs.

PEACE

feralcatlady's photo
Tue 12/18/07 08:07 PM
Peace and Love to you to Redy.......

:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

no photo
Tue 12/18/07 08:21 PM
Awesome concept Di but honestly I don't want anyone to follow me, that would be like the blind leading the blind and well frankly I walk into a lot of walls, fall out of trees, trip over rocks..see its just best I lead no one, safer for allbigsmile

no photo
Tue 12/18/07 08:22 PM
just posted mine!

no photo
Tue 12/18/07 08:24 PM
check it out....who else is participating



Mine
The Doctrine of Beer

scttrbrain's photo
Tue 12/18/07 08:25 PM
So....I guess I wasn't even close...Sorry Red. Seems I must be losing my mind? Senile maybe?...

Kat

Redykeulous's photo
Tue 12/18/07 10:53 PM
Kat - you have a fabulous doctrine - if you like perhaps you and Creativesoul can work with me on my doctrine - the All That Is doctrine. It's currently very simple, perhaps we can make it work.

Don't make me beg for a flock - I promise not to lead either of you 'astray'!!!!!!!

KalamazooGuy87's photo
Tue 12/18/07 11:18 PM

There is now a new thread - Doctrine of the Lamb. Hosted by Farelcat (Deb). It is a Christian doctrine. I have already visited.

So now we have two new doctrine threads.

Please visit them both and feel free to initiate your own. Let's get a better understanding in 'contained' document threads of each others beliefs.

PEACE


someone is getting away from the diversity, post. Are we going into the christian bashing topic? Seems so maybe? The diversity Feral posted was her beliefs, rather long and specific, i havent seen such posts from other JSH members, is this grounds for bashinG?

feralcatlady's photo
Wed 12/19/07 12:03 PM


Christian Doctrine

1. There is only one God - Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8-9

2. God is a Trinity - 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2

3. There are no Gods before or after God - Isaiah 43:10

4. God knows all things - 1 John 3:20


5. God is all powerful - Psalm 115:3

6. God is everywhere - Jer. 23:23,24

7. God is sovereign - Zech. 9:14; 1 Tim. 6:15-16

8. God is spirit - John 4:24

9. God created all that exists - Gen. 1:1; Isaiah 44:24

10. Spirit does not have a body of flesh and bones - Luke 24:39

11. God has always been God - Psalm 90:2

12. Jesus is God - John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:8

13. Jesus became a man - Phil. 2:5-8

14. Jesus has two natures: divine and human - Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 2:5

15. Jesus was sinless - 1 Pet. 2:22

16. Jesus is the only way to God the Father - John 14:6; Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22

17. The Holy Spirit is God - Acts 5:3-4

18. The Holy Spirit is not a force. He is alive - Acts 13:2

19. The Bible is inspired by God - 2 Tim. 3:16

20. All people have sinned - Rom. 3:23, 5:12

21. Man did not evolve, he was created - Gen. 1:26

22. Adam and Eve were real people - Gen. 3:20; 5:1; 1 Tim. 2:13

23. Death entered the world because of Adam's sin - Rom. 5:12-15

24. Sin separates us from God - Isaiah 59:2

25. Jesus died for all our sins - 1 John 2:2; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Pet. 2:24

26. Jesus' sacrifice was a substitution, for us - 1 Pet. 2:24

27. Jesus rose from the dead in His physical body - John 2:19-21

28. Those who reject Jesus will go to Hell - Rev. 20:11-15

29. Hell is a place of fiery punishment - Matt. 25:41; Rev. 19:20

30. Hell is eternal - Matt. 25:46

31. The unsaved go to hell forever - Rev. 21:8

32. Salvation is a free gift of God - Rom. 4:5; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9

33. The Bible is the Word of God - 2 Tim. 3:16

34. Jesus will return visibly to earth - Acts 1:11

35. Christians will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns - 1 Thess. 4:14-17

36. There will be a rapture (being caught up into the clouds with Jesus) -
1 Thess. 4:14-17

37. There will be a final judgment - 2 Pet. 3:7

38. The damned will be thrown into a lake of fire - Rev. 20:15

39. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire - Rev. 20:10

40. There will be a new heavens and a new earth - 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1


Now again as staying within what I believe to be Redy's rules. This is not up for debate.....It's what I believe......

The following is an outline of basic Christian Doctrine. It's brief, accurate, and informative. As with any venture into learning you must first begin with the basics. The basics are the foundation of your Christian life. If you learn what is here, you will be well informed and knowledgeable. All you need to do is get grounded in the fundamentals and from there cultivate your Christian walk: "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity" (Heb. 6:1). A building is only as strong as its foundation.

1. The Bible

The Bible consists of 66 books: 39 in the OT and 27 in the new. (Note: 3 x 9 = 27).

The OT has 23,214 verses. The NT has 7,959 verses.

2. The Bible took about 1600 years to write.

It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) by about 40 authors and is internally consistent throughout.

It was written on three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe.

It was written by a variety of people: prophets, priest, cupbearer, a king, judges, fishermen, etc.

The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in A.D. 1388.

The first American edition of the Bible was perhaps published some time before A.D. 1752.

The Bible has been translated in part or in whole as of 1964 in over 1,200 different languages or dialects.

The Bible was divided into chapters by Stephen Langton about A.D. 1228.

The Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan in A.D. 1448 and the New Testament by Robert Stephanus in A.D. 1551.

Old Testament -- a total of 39 books and has 5 main divisions:
Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy), Historical (Joshua to Esther), Poetic (Job to Song of Solomon), Major Prophets (Isaiah to Daniel), Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi).

New Testament -- a total of 27 books and has 4 main divisions
Gospels (Matthew to John), History (Acts), Epistles (Romans to Jude), Prophetic (Revelation).

Reliability of the biblical documents.
The Bible is 98½ percent textually pure. This means that through all the copying of the Biblical manuscripts of the entire Bible, only 1½% has any question about it. Nothing in all of the ancient writings of the entire world even approaches the accuracy of transmission found in the biblical documents.

The 1½ percent that is in question does not affect doctrine. The areas of interest are called variants and they consist mainly in variations of wording and spelling.

The OT does not have as many supporting manuscripts as the NT but it is, nevertheless, remarkably reliable.

The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew OT done around 250 B.C., attests to the reliability and consistency of the OT when it is compared to existing Hebrew manuscripts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 also verify the reliability of the OT manuscripts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were ancient documents that were hidden in a cave in Israel about 2000 years ago. The scrolls contained many OT books, one of them being Isaiah.

Before the Dead Sea scrolls, the earliest existing manuscript of the OT was dated around 900 A.D. called the Masoretic Text. The Scrolls contained OT documents 1000 years earlier. A comparison between the manuscripts revealed an incredible accuracy of transmission through copying, so much so that critics were silenced.

The NT has over 5000 supporting Greek manuscripts existing today with another 20,000 manuscripts in other languages. Some of the manuscript evidence dates to within 100 years of the original writing. There is less than a 1% textual variation in the NT manuscripts.

Estimated time of writing of the NT documents
Paul's Letters, 50-66 A.D.
Matthew, 70-80 A.D.
Mark, 50-65 A.D.
Luke, early 60's
John, 80-100 A.D.
Revelation 96 A.D.

Some of the supporting manuscripts of the NT are:
John Rylands MS written around 130 A.D., the oldest existing fragment of the NT

Bodmer Papyrus II (150-200 A.D.)
Chester Beatty Papyri (200 A.D.), contains major portions of
the NT Codex Vaticanus (325-350 A.D.), contains nearly all the Bible.

Codex Sinaiticus (350 A.D.), contains almost all the NT and over half of the OT

No other ancient writing can boast of having copies so close to the original time of writing. With the Bible, the difference is about 50 years. With Plato and Aristotle, for example, the difference is measure in hundreds of years.

Prophecy and mathematical odds of fulfillment.
The odds of Jesus fulfilling 48 of the 61 major prophecies concerning Him are 1 in 10157; that is a one with 157 zeros behind it.

By comparison, the estimated number of electrons in the entire known universe is about 1079; that is a one with 79 zeros behind it.

Inspiration and Inerrancy - The Bible is inspired by God. Inspiration means that God, through the Holy Spirit, caused the writers of the Bible to write the accurate and authoritative revelation of God. It is God breathed (2 Tim. 3:16) through the instrumentation of the apostles and prophets (2 Pet. 1:21).

It is without error in the original manuscripts and absolutely reliable and true in all areas it addresses.

Every true Christian accepts the inspiration and authority of the Bible.

Scientific Accuracies in the Bible.
The spherical shape of the earth (Isaiah 40:22).
The earth is suspended in nothing (Job. 26:7).
The stars are innumerable (Gen. 15:5).
The existence of valleys in the seas (2 Sam. 22:16).
The existence of springs and fountains in the sea (Gen. 7:11; 8:2; Prov. 8:28).
The existence of water paths (ocean currents) in the seas (Psalm 8:8).
The water cycle (Job. 26:8; 36:27-28; 37:16; 38:25-27; Psalm 135:7; Ecc. 1:6-7).
The fact that all living things reproduce after their own kind (Gen. 1:21; 6:19).
The nature of health, sanitation, and sickness (Gen. 17:9-14; Lev. 12-14).
The concept of entropy, that energy is running down (Psalm 102:26).

2. God
God is the only Supreme Being. He is Holy (Rev. 4:8), Eternal (Isaiah 57:15), Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17,27), Omnipresent (Psalm 119:7-12), Omniscient (1 John 3:20); etc.

He is Love (1 John 4:8,16); Light (1 John 1:5); Spirit (John 4:24); Truth (Psalm 117:2); Creator (Isaiah 40:12,22,26), etc.

He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26; Exodus 4:31; 2 Chron. 29:28; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 7:11).

He is to be served (Matt. 4:10; 1 Cor. 6:19; Phil. 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14).

He is to be proclaimed (Matt. 28:19f.; John 14:15f.; Acts 1:8)

"To worship God is to serve and proclaim Him; to serve God is to proclaim and worship Him; to proclaim God is to worship and serve Him."

The name of God is Jehovah, or Yahweh. It is comprised of the four Hebrew consonants . The precise pronunciation of God's name has been lost. In Exodus 3:14 God proclaims His name to be "I AM." "God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'" (NIV)

God is a Trinity - One God who exists simultaneously in three persons. Each is coequal, copowerful, and coeternal with the other. Each person, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is not the other. Without either there is no God; all comprise the one God.

The Doctrine of the Trinity is opposed to:
Modal Monarchianism, also known as Jesus Only - There is one person in the Godhead who took three consecutive forms or modes. First there was the Father who then became the Son who then became the Holy Spirit.

Present groups are the United Pentecostal and United Apostolic churches. This doctrine is incorrect. It denies the true doctrine of the Trinity.

Dynamic Monarchianism - Only one person in the Godhead, the Father. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not God.

Present groups are the Jehovah's Witnesses, World Wide Church of God, Christadelphianism, and The Way International. This doctrine is incorrect. It denies the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the deity of the Holy Spirit.

Tritheism – the teaching that the godhead is three separate gods: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Christianity is monotheistic - Only one God in existence, anywhere, anytime. See Isaiah Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; Gal. 4:8-9 for verses that teach monotheism.

Christianity is opposed to:
Polytheism - Belief in many Gods.
Monolatry - Belief in more than one God but serve and worship only one, i.e. Mormonism.

Henotheism - Belief in one God without denying the existence of others.

Pantheism - This is an identification of the universe with God. God is the universe. God is creation.

Panentheism - The belief that God is in the universe. It differs with pantheism which states that God is the universe and all that it comprises.

Deism - God exists, but is not involved in the world.

Theism - God exists, and is involved in the world.

Creation
God created the physical and spiritual universe out of nothing (Gen. 1:1f; Psalm 33:6; John 1:3; Rom. 4:17; 1 Cor. 1:28).
He did not make the world out of part of Himself.
He did not make the world out of a substance called "nothing."
Specifically it was Jesus, the firstborn (Col. 1:15), second person of the Trinity, who created all things (Col. 1:16-17; Isaiah 44:24).

Because God created all things, He is before all things and beyond all things. Therefore, the entire universe is under His control.

Because God created all things, He is able to provide for His creation through the means of His creation, i.e. weather, rain, plants, animals, sunshine, etc.

Opinions on the duration of creation differ. Some say six days; others say six long periods.

Man
Creation of man
Man is not only the crown of creation, but also the object of God's special care.

Man was originally made pure, without sin.

"Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:26-27; see also, 2:7,21-23).

"Let us make man..." is a disclosure of the divine counsel before the creation of man, "us" being the Trinitarian counsel. See also Gen. 11:7.

Man was created different than the animals. He had the breath of life breathed into him from God (Gen. 2:7). The animals did not. Also Man was given dominion over the animals. Man can know God, worship Him, and love Him. Animals cannot.

Is Man made of two or three "parts"?
Dichotomy is a term which signifies a division into 2 parts: Body and Soul. The words "spirit" and "soul" are often used interchangeably.

"Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,'" (Luke 1:46-47).

"My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you...," (Isaiah 26:9).

For the term "Body and Soul" see Matt. 6:25; 10:28.
For the term "Body and Spirit" see 1 Cor. 5:3,51.
Trichotomy is a term which signifies a division into 3 parts: Body, Soul, and Spirit.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23).

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart," (Heb. 4:12).

There is no official orthodox position on the number of parts of man.

The Origin of the soul
Traducianism: "The souls of men are propagated along with the bodies by generation, and are therefore transmitted to the children by the parents." (Berkhoff, Systematic Theology. p. 197.)

Creationism: "The soul is a creation of God, owing its origin to a direct creative act." (Berkhoff, p. 199).

Except for Adam, the Bible makes no clear remark regarding the origin of the soul.

Man was created in the image of God.

This means that Man has moral and intellectual abilities
similar to God though not as perfect and vast.

"God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...'" (Gen. 1:26)and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Col. 3:10).

Man is above the animals in "rational ability, moral awareness, pursuit of beauty, use of language, and spiritual awareness."

Man before the Fall.

The Law of God was written in their hearts. Adam and Eve were without sin and "endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness after God's own image, with the ability to keep the Law of God." (Westminster Confession of Faith, 4:2.)

In this state man had free and unhindered access to God. This is exemplified in the account in Gen. 3:8 where God was walking in the Garden.

Man, the Fall, and its effects
Adam and Eve rebelled against God and sinned by eating the forbidden fruit.

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12, NIV).

What was their sin?
They listened to Satan and ate of the fruit that was forbidden by God (Gen. 3:1-13).

What was the consequence of their sin?
Death (Rom. 6:23) and separation from God's presence (Isaiah 59:2)

Transmission of the sin nature to their (and our) children (Psalm 51:5).

Creation also fell (Gen. 3:17; Rom. 8:22).

How did their sin affect God?
They became unfit for the presence of God (Isaiah 59:2).

They became unable to do God's will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14).

They became subject to the curse of the Law and death (Deut. 27:26; Rom. 6:23).

Original Sin - The doctrine that we inherit our sin natures from Adam (Rom. 5:12-21).

Adam was the Federal Head of all humanity; that is, he represented all people in the Garden of Eden.
"For as in Adam all die..." (1 Cor. 15:22).

The phrase "in Adam" indicates our relation to Adam, that he represented us in the garden. In the same way, our being "in Christ" indicates our relation to Jesus, that He represent us on the cross (Rom. 5:18; 6:11; 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:19).

Our sin with Adam: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12). See also Rom. 5:18; 1 Cor. 15:22.

Man after Death and before the resurrection.

The intermediate state
This is the condition of the soul between the death of the body and the resurrection.

There is little spoken of it in the Bible, but it is a state of consciousness (2 Cor. 5:5-8; Luke 16:19-31).

We are self aware and, apparently, with the Lord (Phil. 1:21-23).

For the righteous this is a time of blessedness and joy (Luke 16:19-31).

For the unrighteous this is a time of suffering (Luke 16:19-31) as is exemplified in the account of Lazarus and the rich man.



Would someone please explain to me how this huge quoted post, coming as it does in a thread that's supposed to discuss diversity, *isn't* 'ramming beliefs down peoples' throats'? Or the very epitome of trying to _discourage_ diversity?

-Kerry O.


These are my beliefs kerry......who shoving anything down your throat....get a grip.


Kalamazoo

Your a love bug.....and thanks for the concern but there is nothing that can be said to me to deter me from what I know is right.

no photo
Wed 12/19/07 12:07 PM

Would someone please explain to me how this huge quoted post, coming as it does in a thread that's supposed to discuss diversity, *isn't* 'ramming beliefs down peoples' throats'? Or the very epitome of trying to _discourage_ diversity?

-Kerry O.


laugh

Diversity appearantly doesn't include Christians.

laugh

"Everyone, share your beliefs."

"Okay, well I believe in Jesu..."

"SHUT THE F*CK UP CHRISTIAN! NONE OF YOUR BELIEF SHOVING AROUND HERE!!!!"

laugh