With gratitude to the Maker of the universe, by invocations and hymns, we offer thanks for our creation, for all the means of health, for the various qualities of the different kinds of things, and for the changes of the seasons, and we present petitions before Him that we may exist again in incorruption through faith in Him.
Concerning worship on Sunday: Our Lord’s resurrection is spoken of by Isaiah.
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
— Isaiah 65:17-18
We are the new Jerusalem. It was a point in time of a new creation.
I think the essentials are the nature of God and of Jesus Christ and giving yourself over to His authority, part of which is believing in the gospel. The gospel also is the only way to salvation.
When describing the nature of God I don't think you must recite a full, correct description of the trinity. I agree with you that when you get to granular enough questions about the Trinity or Jesus or the Gospel, there is no certain answer.
But in general we know God is Trinity. One God in Three Persons. We also know that Jesus is the 2nd Person of the Trinity making Him God as well. We also know Jesus is both God and Man at the same time, which is the only way His sacrifice on the cross would pay for all our sins. We know His death, burial, and resurrection was necessary to save all of us, and we know we must repent and believe to receive salvation.
There may be a view others, but that is about it for me.
"A paradox, a paradox. A most ingenious paradox." -- from The Pirates of Penzance, by Gilbert & Sullivan
The message of Christianity is so simple that a young child can easily grasp the concept, yet at the same time, it is so deep that a person can study an entire lifetime without ever coming close to the fullness of understanding.
Perhaps this is where the faith/works connection appears. We come to Christ as little children, in faith, and spend the rest of our lives working out that faith. Our lives must show tangible evidence of the faith we initially have and part of that evidence is the greater understanding we acquire as the result of years and decades of trying to understand it. If we never progress beyond the basics of understanding, can it be said that we really have faith?
Roger, this comes right to the point of my current endeavor. Being too focused on the nuances of doctrine at the cost of living a Christian life is as much of a concern as being too focused on living a Christian life at the cost of understanding proper doctrine.
I know at the moment I am quite focused on the "living a Christian life" part of this equation. Perhaps it is to make up for a past of being too hung up about proper doctrine (to exaggerate the point of my upbringing in a low-church protestant environment, a view that "those Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox have too much wrong in their doctrine and dogmas.")
Concerning worship on Sunday: Our Lord’s resurrection is spoken of by Isaiah.
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
— Isaiah 65:17-18
We are the new Jerusalem. It was a point in time of a new creation.
I think the essentials are the nature of God and of Jesus Christ and giving yourself over to His authority, part of which is believing in the gospel. The gospel also is the only way to salvation.
When describing the nature of God I don't think you must recite a full, correct description of the trinity. I agree with you that when you get to granular enough questions about the Trinity or Jesus or the Gospel, there is no certain answer.
But in general we know God is Trinity. One God in Three Persons. We also know that Jesus is the 2nd Person of the Trinity making Him God as well. We also know Jesus is both God and Man at the same time, which is the only way His sacrifice on the cross would pay for all our sins. We know His death, burial, and resurrection was necessary to save all of us, and we know we must repent and believe to receive salvation.
There may be a view others, but that is about it for me.
"A paradox, a paradox. A most ingenious paradox." -- from The Pirates of Penzance, by Gilbert & Sullivan
The message of Christianity is so simple that a young child can easily grasp the concept, yet at the same time, it is so deep that a person can study an entire lifetime without ever coming close to the fullness of understanding.
Perhaps this is where the faith/works connection appears. We come to Christ as little children, in faith, and spend the rest of our lives working out that faith. Our lives must show tangible evidence of the faith we initially have and part of that evidence is the greater understanding we acquire as the result of years and decades of trying to understand it. If we never progress beyond the basics of understanding, can it be said that we really have faith?
Roger, this comes right to the point of my current endeavor. Being too focused on the nuances of doctrine at the cost of living a Christian life is as much of a concern as being too focused on living a Christian life at the cost of understanding proper doctrine.
I know at the moment I am quite focused on the "living a Christian life" part of this equation. Perhaps it is to make up for a past of being too hung up about proper doctrine (to exaggerate the point of my upbringing in a low-church protestant environment, a view that "those Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox have too much wrong in their doctrine and dogmas.")