My Statement of my personal beliefs as a Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And please post your own beliefs. (Micah, paradise)
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I was asked if my beliefs have recently changed. That gave me the idea for this thread. It's also a thread for anyone who wishes, to post their own personal beliefs as a Christian. It's not intended as a debate thread or to start an argument over whose beliefs are right or wrong. Just post what beliefs you hold to.
Here are my beliefs, most of which I have always held and expect that I always will.
I believe;
In the Trinity. That God is one in three persons---the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
That the Father sent the Son into the world by means of a virgin conception and birth for the
purpose of dying for our sins so that all who believe in him may have eternal life, and also for
the purpose of initiating the process of taking back the earth from Satan and the other spiritual
entities that are enemies of God.
That Jesus rose from the grave three days after he was crucified and appeared repeatedly to his
disciples over a forty day period after which he ascended into heaven.
That eternal life is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
That the believer in Christ Jesus is eternally secure.
That Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father awaiting the time of his return to the
earth.
That the believer goes into the presence of the Father in heaven after he departs this life in physical
death where he will be until the time of the resurrection.
I hold to a pre-tribulational, dispensational pre-millennial position.
I hold to an old earth view of creation which allows for evolution. On this, I used to hold to the GAP
model of creation. If the term is unfamiliar to you just look it up. I no longer hold that view.
That the Bible is both the word of God and a very human writing as well. To use an analogy used by
Peter Enns, just as Jesus is both God and man, the Bible is both divine and human in nature.
That the Bible to be properly understood must be understood within its ancient Near East context.
That's all that comes to mind at the moment.
Your turn. Post your personal beliefs. And again, I don't intend this to start a debate over whose beliefs are right or wrong.
Good idea...and I hope it doesn't turn into a debate. I've actually been wanting to get my beliefs down 'on paper' but with the caveat that my beliefs are always evolving, and I certainly don't try to impose them on others or claim them to be perfect.
This verse is pretty much my life motto, albeit not really a creed:
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
Jesus' life/death/resurrection sums everything up for me. He embodied 'the way': To live with mercy and compassion, kindness to 'the least of these' and to pour out one's life for others. His resurrection showed that 'the way' is victorious over all darkness, and even death itself.
While we don't need anyone to mediate for us, there are others in the heavenly realms that can be our intercessors, should we seek them out, such as the Blessed Mother Mary, and other saints. They can also serve as models and allies on the path, if we choose to enlist their help.
What we do matters--every little thing. The law of cause and effect, or sowing and reaping, as the gospels teach. 'Believing' in Jesus means to follow him and do what he says and seek forgiveness when we do not.
What we do to 'the least of these' we also do to God--because there is a fundamental non duality to existence.
Time in prayer, contemplation, nature, and silence is extremely important for spiritual growth.
I also believe that most spiritual topics are to some degree a 'mystery' and should be approached as such. There should be a sense that our understanding is incomplete, and there is always more for us to learn. We're only understanding a tiny fragment of ultimate reality.
I was asked if my beliefs have recently changed. That gave me the idea for this thread. It's also a thread for anyone who wishes, to post their own personal beliefs as a Christian. It's not intended as a debate thread or to start an argument over whose beliefs are right or wrong. Just post what beliefs you hold to.
Here are my beliefs, most of which I have always held and expect that I always will.
I believe;
In the Trinity. That God is one in three persons---the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
That the Father sent the Son into the world by means of a virgin conception and birth for the
purpose of dying for our sins so that all who believe in him may have eternal life, and also for
the purpose of initiating the process of taking back the earth from Satan and the other spiritual
entities that are enemies of God.
That Jesus rose from the grave three days after he was crucified and appeared repeatedly to his
disciples over a forty day period after which he ascended into heaven.
That eternal life is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
That the believer in Christ Jesus is eternally secure.
That Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father awaiting the time of his return to the
earth.
That the believer goes into the presence of the Father in heaven after he departs this life in physical
death where he will be until the time of the resurrection.
I hold to a pre-tribulational, dispensational pre-millennial position.
I hold to an old earth view of creation which allows for evolution. On this, I used to hold to the GAP
model of creation. If the term is unfamiliar to you just look it up. I no longer hold that view.
That the Bible is both the word of God and a very human writing as well. To use an analogy used by
Peter Enns, just as Jesus is both God and man, the Bible is both divine and human in nature.
That the Bible to be properly understood must be understood within its ancient Near East context.
That's all that comes to mind at the moment.
Your turn. Post your personal beliefs. And again, I don't intend this to start a debate over whose beliefs are right or wrong.
I can agree with you on JUUUUUUUUUST about every point you list, and I'd have no problem calling you "Brother". I bolded the lines that MAY cause some division between us, and we have had some discussion over them. This isn't really the place for it, and I don't mean to engage in debate. I do just have one question that stems from your statements.
Yup, my thoughts, too. Also couldn't rep him. I'm going to be gone for much of the day, but I do intend to contribute to this thread. Hope you will, too, Miss Hepburn.
I believe in God, the Eternal Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. I believe that together they constitute the Godhead. The three of them, both collectively and individually should be thought of as “God.” While I see them as being physically distinct from one another, I believe them to be perfectly and absolutely “one” in will, purpose, mind and heart.
I believe that God created the spirits of each and every one of us long, long before our birth here on Earth. I believe our spirits resided with Him for untold millennia prior to the Creation. We loved and worshiped Him and rejoiced when He called us together to explain to us His glorious plan for our eternal happiness, a plan which would involve our being born to earthly parents, with the spirit that already existed moving to reside in a physical body to give it life.
I believe that God created our universe according to natural laws and did so over a period of several billion years. I also believe the man, as he exists today, evolved in some way from a more primitive life form. (These two points are not specifically part of my religious beliefs; they are simply how I see "the beginning." I have no problem reconciling these beliefs to the Genesis account of the creation, as I do not believe the scriptures to be a literal account of what took place.)
I see Adam and Eve as having been real people, but probably as not the first humanoids. I see their role as pivotal to God's plan. I don't see them as corrupt or wicked. I don't blame them for the woes of the world. I credit them with having accomplished the task of helping to put God's Plan in motion. I believe the events that took place in the Garden of Eden to have been exactly as God intended them to be. I believe the Fall to have been an absolutely essential part of the Plan, and that because they understood this to be the case, Adam and Eve rejoiced in the fact that they could then begin their journey back to their Father in Heaven. I believe that God promised to provide a Savior for them and for all of us, to help us attain the potential He'd given each of us as His spirit offspring.
I believe that God has always spoken to Prophets, mortal men such as Noah, Moses, Abraham and Isaiah and inspired them to guide His children. I believe that some of these men prophesied of the coming of a Messiah, and that just over 2000 years ago, He was born to a virgin, a young Jewish woman. By a miracle we cannot understand, this Messiah would be born as a mortal man, though He was also the literal Son of the Almighty God.
I believe that Jesus Christ, unlike any other person who has ever walked the Earth, lived a perfect life. I believe that He preached a gospel that was focused on love. I believe He called twelve men to serve as His Apostles and that He established His Church, leaving them to oversee its development after His death.
I believe that after a roughly three-year ministry, it was His time to do what He had said was the greatest demonstration of love possible -- laying down one's life for His friends. I believe that while in Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed by one of His own, He experienced unimaginable pain and grief associated with our sins and our sorrows. I believe He was later exposed to ridicule and torture, culminating with His being nailed to a cross, and crucified, in a loving atoning sacrifice to heal and bless us with His perfect love and empathy.
I believe He rose from the dead three days later and appeared to many of those He'd known during His mortal life. I believe that because He was the first to conquer death, each and every person who has ever lived will also be resurrected. I believe that, because of Him, each of us can look forward to being able to return to our Father's presence someday, not just "saved," but made better. I believe that God doesn't just want us to come home to Him, but that He wants us to feel "at home" in His presence.
I do not believe any of us will be held accountable for Adam's transgression. We all have more than enough sins of our own to repent of. I believe that, though the grace of Christ, we will find it possible to overcome any trials we encounter in life. He is there to lift and support us, because He, His Father, and the Holy Ghost all desperately want us to succeed.
I believe that, at death, a person's spirit leaves his body, but continues to exist in another realm as a fully cognizant entity. I don't believe that anyone goes to Heaven immediately after death, but to an intermediate realm described in the Bible as "the Spirit World." This state of existence can be either one of Paradise or Prison, depending upon the way a person lived his life. But it is only temporary, as as those awaiting the resurrection come to hear of Jesus Christ, and accept the sacrifice He made for them, a transition from Prison to Paradise is entirely possible. I believe that God has provided a means for those who did not hear the gospel of Christ during their lives (or may have heard it, but were not at a place where it was meaningful to them) will be given that opportunity during the period of time in between their death and their resurrection.
I believe that when Jesus Christ returns to begin His millennial reign, all who have accepted Him at that time will be resurrected and received into Heaven. Those who have not will remain in a spirit state of mental anguish for another thousand years, during which time all but a tiny number will eventually be reconciled to Christ and allowed to enter Heaven. I do not believe that Heaven is a one-size-fits-all kind of place, but that we will all be "rewarded according to [our] works," as Jesus was known to have said.
I believe the Bible to be the word of God, but I do not believe it to be inerrant, nor do I believe it to be the only record we have of God's dealings with mankind.
I believe that God loves all of us -- Christian and non-Christian alike. I believe that it was this great love that inspired Him to give His Only Begotten Son as a gift to the world (to all the world). I believe that Jesus Christ's work and glory was to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. And I believe He will succeed in this.
I believe in the old earth creation of God , as there are many old rocks and fossils that predate the literal creation story , not saying that stories in Genesis are not all true and the bible is completely true , as Jesus himself pulled out values in the bible that He did not approve ....... And even The Holy Spirit told here this week that the Scriptures that proclaim that man is basically evil come from the cleric who wrote down the Word of God , as man is heavily influenced by the devil spirits of this world .......... Even I believe that the devil was evil thousands of years before the rise of Adam and man but before man came the devils authority in the earth was very limited .
I believe in the 66 books which comprise the Holy Scriptures and is referred to as the Bible. I bear witness to these beliefs with the way I live my life in all aspects both public and private.
Yup, my thoughts, too. Also couldn't rep him.
I'm going to be gone for much of the day, but I do intend to contribute to this thread. Hope you will, too, Miss Hepburn.
Ya know I have spilled my guts here so many many times...I just am not in the mood, with respect.
AND it is so controversial - why over turn the basket many live in and makes them happy.
Every one comes to their own Realizations and Awakenings in their own good time....
like being in the nap room...each kid wakes up naturally for them.
I keep slowly rubbing my eyes, shaking the sleep off me and
seeing more and more, myself!
It's all good...what i believe and what others believe...atheists or Jews or Christians or Sikhs.
Such perfect timing like a flower blooming and straightening to reach more and more to the Sun.
Such a wonderful process, so individualized.
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