What do all Christian denominations agree with?

JohnB445 · 2025-07-12T17:40:21-0500

That the Bible is the word of God, that Jesus is God in the flesh.

Now when it comes to salvation, or any other topic what can all Christians agree on?

ViaCrucis · 2025-07-12T20:10:30-0500

JohnB445 said:
That the Bible is the word of God, that Jesus is God in the flesh.

Now when it comes to salvation, or any other topic what can all Christians agree on?

Jesus died for our sins, and by the grace of God we are saved because of what Jesus has done for us.

-CryptoLutheran

Fervent · 2025-07-12T20:25:30-0500

JohnB445 said:
That the Bible is the word of God,

There's nuance to this across denominations, so it depends on what you mean.

JohnB445 said:
that Jesus is God in the flesh.

Yeah

JohnB445 said:
Now when it comes to salvation, or any other topic what can all Christians agree on?

That salvation cannot be had apart from Jesus in some form or fashion.

timothyu · 2025-07-12T20:44:25-0500

They all think it takes money to keep their branch of the religion going, but that was never Jesus’ teachings. Actually He was anti-reiligion. He expected us to act, not institutionalize.

jas3 · 2025-07-12T21:56:15-0500

You would think it goes without saying, but the deity and consubstantiality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Really, the totality of the Nicene Creed, since that's the standard confession of Christian faith.

trophy33 · 2025-07-13T01:24:29-0500

That Jesus is Christ.

Regarding the Bible, as Fervent said, there are plenty of views about it in Christianity. Some churches neither affirm nor reject its inspiration and leave it to everybody's individual belief.

St_Worm2 · 2025-07-13T03:43:26-0500

trophy33 said:
Some churches do not believe [the Bible] is supernaturally inspired.......

I wasn't aware that there were any churches within the pale of Christian orthodoxy that hold to such a belief!

So, please tell us which "Christian" churches/denominations you referring to, specifically, as I would be interested to know!

Thanks

--David

Xeno.of.athens · 2025-07-13T05:28:48-0500

St_Worm2 said:
I wasn't aware that there were any churches within the pale of Christian orthodoxy that hold to such a belief!

So, please tell us which "Christian" churches/denominations you referring to, specifically, as I would be interested to know!

Thanks

--David

Well, I am not sure how you see "supernatural inspiration"? An AI says that there are denominations that may not conform to the idea of inspiration that seems to be common among the more conservative branches of Protestantism; take a look at its answer and let me know if it is helpful. I notice it mentions Catholicism in its list. Interesting ...

Several Christian denominations maintain adherence to the Nicene Creed while holding more nuanced or critical views of biblical inspiration than the traditional doctrine of divine inspiration. Here are the main ones:

Liberal Protestant denominations often take this approach, including many congregations within:

The Episcopal Church (Anglican Communion in the US)

Presbyterian Church (USA) - the mainline branch

United Methodist Church

United Church of Christ

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Some Baptist conventions (particularly American Baptist Churches USA)

The Roman Catholic Church presents an interesting case. While officially teaching biblical inspiration, Catholic theology emphasizes that scripture must be interpreted through church tradition and magisterium, allowing for historical-critical methods that can relativize claims of direct divine authorship.

Eastern Orthodox churches similarly affirm inspiration officially but often emphasize the role of church tradition and the Holy Spirit working through the community of faith rather than focusing on the mechanics of how scripture was inspired.

Anglican churches worldwide vary considerably, with many embracing historical-critical scholarship while maintaining credal orthodoxy. The Church of England, for instance, includes clergy and theologians who view scripture as profoundly meaningful and authoritative for faith without necessarily affirming traditional inspiration theories.

These denominations typically view scripture as authoritative for faith and practice, containing divine truth, and being central to Christian life, but they may understand this through frameworks like:

Human authors writing under divine influence rather than dictation

Scripture as the church's book, authenticated by community discernment

Historical-critical approaches that see divine truth mediated through human cultural contexts

The key distinction is between viewing scripture as divinely inspired in its production versus viewing it as divinely significant in its function for the believing community.

Tuur · 2025-07-13T05:36:56-0500

St_Worm2 said:
I wasn't aware that there were any churches within the pale of Christian orthodoxy that hold to such a belief!

So, please tell us which "Christian" churches/denominations you referring to, specifically, as I would be interested to know!

Thanks

--David

I think it may be more on a ministerial level but yes, have seen the argument against scripture being inspired by God. I don't agree with it, but have seen it.

Here, though, is a problem: All of Christianity comes down to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross for our sins and God resurrected Him on the third day, and by what Jesus has done we can be saved. Not the most succinct way of putting that, and the Nicene Creed adds more detail, but that's what it come down to. But the moment someone start rejecting scripture as divinely inspired, it raises the question of scripture about Jesus Christ Himself.

Just a thought: C.S. Lewis discusses the beliefs held in common by all Christians in his book Mere Christianity.

trophy33 · 2025-07-13T06:17:44-0500

St_Worm2 said:
So, please tell us which "Christian" churches/denominations you referring to, specifically, as I would be interested to know!

I do not know what you mean by "Christian" in quotes. I am not here to judge. Many churches have quite a lot of freedom regarding individual congregations. Two different congregations in the same denomination/church can have different opinions about the Bible.

d taylor · 2025-07-13T08:38:34-0500

-

Sadly they can not agree on the most important area concerning what has come to known as Christianity.

Which is how to receive God's free gift of Eternal Life and even more sadly. The majority believe in either a works based approach to receiving Eternal Life or a belief plus approach to receiving Eternal Life.

Something God made so simple, man has made so complicated.

BobRyan · 2025-07-13T10:03:37-0500

JohnB445 said:
That the Bible is the word of God, that Jesus is God in the flesh.

Now when it comes to salvation, or any other topic what can all Christians agree on?

1. God the Father and God the Son (and I wish I could add "God the Holy Spirit" but I think there are some folks that might not agree with that one"
2. Forgiveness of sins comes because of Christ's death -- atoning sacrifice - substitutionary atonement
3. Heaven is real
4. Angels are real
5. Sin will end - righteousness will prevail

fhansen · 2025-07-13T10:37:19-0500

JohnB445 said:
Now when it comes to salvation, or any other topic what can all Christians agree on?

The necessity of grace, of God's life in us.

ViaCrucis · 2025-07-13T10:39:35-0500

trophy33 said:
That Jesus is Christ.

Regarding the Bible, as Fervent said, there are plenty of views about it in Christianity. Some churches neither affirm nor reject its inspiration and leave it to everybody's individual belief.

I'd be uncomfortable permitting a "The Bible isn't inspired at all" to be described as a Christian belief.

Views on inspiration are many and different traditions have different ways of talking about the Divine Inspiration of Scripture--but inspiration is a given. A rejection of Divine Inspiration itself would be a deeply troubling, and to put it bluntly, un-Christian perspective.

Christians can argue, debate, and discuss what we mean by Inspiration, but Inspiration itself is very much a core Christian belief about the Bible. Without Inspiration the Bible ceases to be Sacred Scripture. And if the Bible is only a collection of un-inspired writings, then it is no different than any other work of human authorship.

It's functionally no different than a view which would say that Jesus was a good moral teacher, but not the Messiah, Lord, Son of God, and Crucified and Risen Savior. There's nothing Christian in that view.

Individual Christians can (and often do) have un-Christian views. But we should regard this as a problem that needs addressed through discipleship, catechesis, and the ministerial work of the Church; we shouldn't regard this as just another valid opinion among a sea of valid opinions.

-CryptoLutheran

ViaCrucis · 2025-07-13T10:41:38-0500

trophy33 said:
I do not know what you mean by "Christian" in quotes. I am not here to judge. Many churches have quite a lot of freedom regarding individual congregations. Two different congregations in the same denomination/church can have different opinions about the Bible.

A diversity of opinions exist about the meaning and exact definition of what inspiration means. But, as I said in my last post, Inspiration is a given; where diversity exists is exactly what we mean by Inspiration.

A rejection of inspiration itself is something that should be worrying, and need correcting, and addressed through good spiritual formation.

-CryptoLutheran

Richard T · 2025-07-13T10:53:51-0500

St_Worm2 said:
I wasn't aware that there were any churches within the pale of Christian orthodoxy that hold to such a belief!

So, please tell us which "Christian" churches/denominations you referring to, specifically, as I would be interested to know!

Thanks

--David

Google AI lists this for "church denominations that allow for some error in the bible." Not all denominations are strict so in those cases it rests on what the pastor himself believes.

"Denominations that may allow for some error:

Mainline Protestant:
Many within these traditions acknowledge the Bible's human element in its writing and transmission, allowing for potential errors in non-essential details or historical accounts.
Anglican/Episcopal:
This tradition often emphasizes the Bible's inspiration but may not hold to strict inerrancy.
Methodist:
Some Methodist theologians express a high view of Scripture but do not have an inerrancy statement.
Presbyterian:
Views within Presbyterianism vary, with some holding to inerrancy while others believe it's not necessarily factual but still divinely inspired.
Catholic:
While the Catholic Church traditionally emphasizes the Bible's role in conveying God's word, some theologians and scholars acknowledge the possibility of errors in non-salvific aspects.
Some Lutheran traditions:
While holding a high view of Scripture, some Lutherans may acknowledge the complexity of interpreting a collection of writings spanning centuries.

I can't say for the position on the bible, but the Disciples of Christ (Christian church with 360,000 members) can believe there are other ways to heaven. Their beliefs are rather vague though and individual pastors can pretty much teach what they want. Many have a decided liberal bent as does the denomination. What Do the Disciples of Christ Believe?

ViaCrucis · 2025-07-13T11:06:22-0500

Richard T said:
Google AI lists this for "church denominations that allow for some error in the bible." Not all denominations are strict so in those cases it rests on what the pastor himself believes.

"Denominations that may allow for some error:

Mainline Protestant:
Many within these traditions acknowledge the Bible's human element in its writing and transmission, allowing for potential errors in non-essential details or historical accounts.

Anglican/Episcopal:
This tradition often emphasizes the Bible's inspiration but may not hold to strict inerrancy.

Methodist:
Some Methodist theologians express a high view of Scripture but do not have an inerrancy statement.

Presbyterian:
Views within Presbyterianism vary, with some holding to inerrancy while others believe it's not necessarily factual but still divinely inspired.

Catholic:
While the Catholic Church traditionally emphasizes the Bible's role in conveying God's word, some theologians and scholars acknowledge the possibility of errors in non-salvific aspects.

Some Lutheran traditions:
While holding a high view of Scripture, some Lutherans may acknowledge the complexity of interpreting a collection of writings spanning centuries.

I can't say for the position on the bible, but the Disciples of Christ (Christian church with 360,000 members) can believe there are other ways to heaven. Their beliefs are rather vague though and individual pastors can pretty much teach what they want. Many have a decided liberal bent as does the denomination. What Do the Disciples of Christ Believe?

Wouldn't this largely, however, be within the same vein as what I was saying? That there are many different ways Christians talk about (and argue) the meaning of Inspiration.

Much of what your AI response shows is that there are churches which may not subscribe to inerrancy, or who may question the extent of inerrancy--but that isn't the same thing as rejecting inspiration.

This conflates inerrancy (which is certainly a category of inspiration) with inspiration per se. Which is precisely where many of these discussions and debates about the meaning of inspiration come into play. One may argue that a rejection of inerrancy is a rejection of inspiration; but that's different than someone saying, "I don't believe in inspiration at all".

There's a huge difference between, "I think it's possible that the Bible may not be perfectly precise when it comes to mathematics" and "The Bible doesn't have anything authoritative to say about who God is, about who Jesus Christ is, or God's long redemptive work in and through the world to redeem and heal the world through Jesus". Those are massively different statements.

-CryptoLutheran

Fervent · 2025-07-13T12:10:13-0500

ViaCrucis said:
Wouldn't this largely, however, be within the same vein as what I was saying? That there are many different ways Christians talk about (and argue) the meaning of Inspiration.

Much of what your AI response shows is that there are churches which may not subscribe to inerrancy, or who may question the extent of inerrancy--but that isn't the same thing as rejecting inspiration.

This conflates inerrancy (which is certainly a category of inspiration) with inspiration per se. Which is precisely where many of these discussions and debates about the meaning of inspiration come into play. One may argue that a rejection of inerrancy is a rejection of inspiration; but that's different than someone saying, "I don't believe in inspiration at all".

There's a huge difference between, "I think it's possible that the Bible may not be perfectly precise when it comes to mathematics" and "The Bible doesn't have anything authoritative to say about who God is, about who Jesus Christ is, or God's long redemptive work in and through the world to redeem and heal the world through Jesus". Those are massively different statements.

-CryptoLutheran

Yeah, inspiration is a non-negotiable even though we may disagree on what that means and what is entailed by it.

When I spoke of nuance, it was specifically about the Bible being the "word of God" as there is room within the faith to hold that the "word of God" is the 2nd person of the Trinity, and that the Bible is a means by which He takes expression in human language. Which IMO has dramatic implications on how we understand inspiration(and by extension inerrancy).

Richard T · 2025-07-13T12:32:50-0500

ViaCrucis said:
Wouldn't this largely, however, be within the same vein as what I was saying? That there are many different ways Christians talk about (and argue) the meaning of Inspiration.

Much of what your AI response shows is that there are churches which may not subscribe to inerrancy, or who may question the extent of inerrancy--but that isn't the same thing as rejecting inspiration.

This conflates inerrancy (which is certainly a category of inspiration) with inspiration per se. Which is precisely where many of these discussions and debates about the meaning of inspiration come into play. One may argue that a rejection of inerrancy is a rejection of inspiration; but that's different than someone saying, "I don't believe in inspiration at all".

There's a huge difference between, "I think it's possible that the Bible may not be perfectly precise when it comes to mathematics" and "The Bible doesn't have anything authoritative to say about who God is, about who Jesus Christ is, or God's long redemptive work in and through the world to redeem and heal the world through Jesus". Those are massively different statements.

-CryptoLutheran

Yes, thanks for that distinguishment and explanation.

timothyu · 2025-07-13T14:33:10-0500

Our problem has always been seeing scripture through human eyes rather than with Kingdom thinking. As a result we use scripture and even God for our own purposes rather than change ourselves to the ways of the Kingdom. Even the religion has inserted humanity in front of God making it about us rather than the Father. Jesus was all about the Father

What do all Christian denominations agree with?

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