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A disclaimer - These theses are entirely my opinion. I hope this sparks some dialogue. Feel free to provide constructive criticism.
Thesis 1. The Nicene Creed holds paramount importance as the foundational statement of Christian faith, affirming one Universal Church that encompasses Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox branches, united in core beliefs despite diverse traditions.
Thesis 2. Baptism is essential for salvation and is valid when administered by any church rooted in Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Eastern/Oriental Orthodoxy, including Eastern Catholicism.
Thesis 3. Confession is essential for spiritual health, but it need not be directed to clergy; confessing before God and another human being is sufficient.
Thesis 4. The Bible is the inerrant word of God, and its interpretation should be guided by the teachings of the Church Fathers.
Thesis 5. Intercession of the saints is a valid practice, akin to asking a friend to pray for you, without implying any mediation on their part; Christ alone is the mediator, and superstitious expectations—such as praying to St. Anthony for lost items to appear magically—are misguided.
Thesis 6. Mary, the Mother of God, is neither the “mediatrix of all graces” nor “co-redemptrix;” the pre-Council of Trent version of the Hail Mary is preferable, though both versions are acceptable provided prayers to her do not seek sanctifying grace independent of Christ.
Thesis 7. Mental or contemplative prayer is necessary for salvation and accessible to all Christians in diverse forms, such as the Rosary, charismatic prayer, centering prayer, or the Jesus Prayer; a panentheistic view of God—wherein He encompasses the world and every creature bears a divine spark in the ground of its soul—is a biblical concept.
Thesis 8. The Eucharist serves as an aid to salvation but is not strictly required; the Real Presence is a biblical doctrine, whereby the faithful receive Christ’s presence in the ground of their soul through sacramental union or transignification, rejecting both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the view of mere symbolism.
Thesis 9. Justification by faith is a biblical doctrine and is connected to theosis.
Thesis 10. Christian mysticism, as exemplified in the works of Pseudo-Dionysius, John Scotus Eriugena, Meister Eckhart, Henry Suso, John Tauler, the Theologia Germanica, the Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, the Philokalia, and Father Thomas Merton, exerts a profound and valid influence on faith.
Thesis 11. The essence-energies distinction is not merely a Patristic concept but a biblical truth.
Thesis 12. Christian existentialism, as articulated by Søren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Berdyaev, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Paul Tillich, and John Macquarrie, holds significant value.
Thesis 13. The ethical personalism developed by Karol Wojtyła (Pope John Paul II) represents a sound philosophical and theological framework.
Thesis 14. The Church should actively engage with diverse philosophical traditions for apologetics, including those of Heraclitus, Platonism and Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, the Upanishads, phenomenology, German idealism (e.g. Schelling and Hegel), and analytic philosophy; strict observance Thomism as upheld by Traditionalist Catholics is false, though Thomism itself is acceptable, and no external philosophy should be canonized.
Thesis 15. The Pope is the leader of the Church of Rome and a figure of respect, but he is not the Vicar of Christ; papal supremacy is false.
Thesis 16. Papal infallibility is false.
Thesis 17. The ideas of predestination, total depravity, irresistible grace, unconditional election, and limited atonement are false; Calvinism and New Calvinism, in general, are rejected.
Thesis 18. The Wesleyan concept of entire sanctification parallels theosis but is attainable only in the next life, not the present; the notion of moral perfectionism achieved through God’s grace in this life is false.
Thesis 19. The Five Solas—Scripture alone, Christ alone, glory to God alone, grace alone, and faith alone—accurately reflect the teachings of the Early Church and, when properly understood, do not contradict Roman Catholicism or Orthodoxy.
Thesis 20. Clerical celibacy should be entirely optional for clergy; divorce is permissible when God’s commandments have been violated; individuals should have full freedom to pursue monastic life.
Thesis 21. God’s grace is uncreated; the Thomist concept of created grace is false.
Thesis 22. Those having not known Christ and His Gospel, through living a life following a logos-based worldview or some equivalent, can be called an Unknowing Christian and are potentially saved by God’s love and mercy.
Thesis 1. The Nicene Creed holds paramount importance as the foundational statement of Christian faith, affirming one Universal Church that encompasses Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox branches, united in core beliefs despite diverse traditions.
Thesis 2. Baptism is essential for salvation and is valid when administered by any church rooted in Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Eastern/Oriental Orthodoxy, including Eastern Catholicism.
Thesis 3. Confession is essential for spiritual health, but it need not be directed to clergy; confessing before God and another human being is sufficient.
Thesis 4. The Bible is the inerrant word of God, and its interpretation should be guided by the teachings of the Church Fathers.
Thesis 5. Intercession of the saints is a valid practice, akin to asking a friend to pray for you, without implying any mediation on their part; Christ alone is the mediator, and superstitious expectations—such as praying to St. Anthony for lost items to appear magically—are misguided.
Thesis 6. Mary, the Mother of God, is neither the “mediatrix of all graces” nor “co-redemptrix;” the pre-Council of Trent version of the Hail Mary is preferable, though both versions are acceptable provided prayers to her do not seek sanctifying grace independent of Christ.
Thesis 7. Mental or contemplative prayer is necessary for salvation and accessible to all Christians in diverse forms, such as the Rosary, charismatic prayer, centering prayer, or the Jesus Prayer; a panentheistic view of God—wherein He encompasses the world and every creature bears a divine spark in the ground of its soul—is a biblical concept.
Thesis 8. The Eucharist serves as an aid to salvation but is not strictly required; the Real Presence is a biblical doctrine, whereby the faithful receive Christ’s presence in the ground of their soul through sacramental union or transignification, rejecting both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the view of mere symbolism.
Thesis 9. Justification by faith is a biblical doctrine and is connected to theosis.
Thesis 10. Christian mysticism, as exemplified in the works of Pseudo-Dionysius, John Scotus Eriugena, Meister Eckhart, Henry Suso, John Tauler, the Theologia Germanica, the Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, the Philokalia, and Father Thomas Merton, exerts a profound and valid influence on faith.
Thesis 11. The essence-energies distinction is not merely a Patristic concept but a biblical truth.
Thesis 12. Christian existentialism, as articulated by Søren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Berdyaev, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Paul Tillich, and John Macquarrie, holds significant value.
Thesis 13. The ethical personalism developed by Karol Wojtyła (Pope John Paul II) represents a sound philosophical and theological framework.
Thesis 14. The Church should actively engage with diverse philosophical traditions for apologetics, including those of Heraclitus, Platonism and Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, the Upanishads, phenomenology, German idealism (e.g. Schelling and Hegel), and analytic philosophy; strict observance Thomism as upheld by Traditionalist Catholics is false, though Thomism itself is acceptable, and no external philosophy should be canonized.
Thesis 15. The Pope is the leader of the Church of Rome and a figure of respect, but he is not the Vicar of Christ; papal supremacy is false.
Thesis 16. Papal infallibility is false.
Thesis 17. The ideas of predestination, total depravity, irresistible grace, unconditional election, and limited atonement are false; Calvinism and New Calvinism, in general, are rejected.
Thesis 18. The Wesleyan concept of entire sanctification parallels theosis but is attainable only in the next life, not the present; the notion of moral perfectionism achieved through God’s grace in this life is false.
Thesis 19. The Five Solas—Scripture alone, Christ alone, glory to God alone, grace alone, and faith alone—accurately reflect the teachings of the Early Church and, when properly understood, do not contradict Roman Catholicism or Orthodoxy.
Thesis 20. Clerical celibacy should be entirely optional for clergy; divorce is permissible when God’s commandments have been violated; individuals should have full freedom to pursue monastic life.
Thesis 21. God’s grace is uncreated; the Thomist concept of created grace is false.
Thesis 22. Those having not known Christ and His Gospel, through living a life following a logos-based worldview or some equivalent, can be called an Unknowing Christian and are potentially saved by God’s love and mercy.
