Do I have this right?

[curiousStudent]

Hi
I've been studying the Christian religion for a little while and would like to know if I have things right. Here is what I think it's about - can someone please tell me if I've got anything wrong or missed anything?

Thanks
E


(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);
(ii) he created everything in the universe at the same time (probably about 6000 years ago);
(iii) the first two humans he created were given explicit verbal instructions by god to not eat fruit from one particular tree (all the other trees were OK);
(iv) the first woman disobeyed this rule and ate an apple from the forbidden tree after being beguiled from god's antithesis (Satan) who had taken the form of a talking snake;
(v) the first man soon followed suit - then god found out about their sin and banished both of them from the garden
(vi) ever since then, all humans, when they are born (but assumedly not while in utero) are tainted with this "original sin"
(?) god has communicated with specific humans ever since - usually verbally - and many of those communications have been written into a 'holy book' which is known as 'god's word' as it is considered to have been written by god, not by humans. It is the only source of truth.
(vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans: that is, because Adam and Eve sinned, everyone will die unless a perfect individual is sacrificed; a person who dies without atonement for this original sin (and others) will be condemned to spend eternity in Hell after they die;
(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form, also known as the son of god. He performed many miracles, and when he was about 30 years old, we was crucified and died. Three days later he rose from the dead and now, because he is god, he returned to live with god (his father) in heaven (non-material world).
(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.
__________________

 

[single eye]

On an orthodox forum you probably will not get much disagreement. Ask this question on an unorthodox forum and all hell will break loose.

 

[miamited]

Hi curious student,

That is pretty much the nuts and bolts of our existence and God has provided fairly ample evidence that it is true, in the Scriptures.

God created. Man sinned. However, to achieve God's purpose, shown in chapter 21 of the Revelation of Jesus, God does require an acceptable sacrifice for the sin of man. Those who accept the truth of God and set their life to love him, will, in the end, gain the promise of God. They will live an eternal existence where God will be their God and He will live with them.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[Audacious]

Note that what I'm saying can only constitute my opinion, and I think that Christians should interpret the Bible partly through the knowledge we gain of the universe through science.

Hi
I've been studying the Christian religion for a little while and would like to know if I have things right. Here is what I think it's about - can someone please tell me if I've got anything wrong or missed anything?

Thanks
E


(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);

He is genderless, but has a masculine role in our lives and shows himself to us as a male, so we call him a male as a result. An omnipotent deity really can't be restricted to a corporeal form.

(ii) he created everything in the universe at the same time (probably about 6000 years ago);

I'm of the opinion that God orchestrated the Big Bang and made its matter occur ex nihilo ("out of nothing"), but that little to nothing has been created ex nihilo since then. God, as an omniscient being, can have the foresight to create a universe where all of the domninos would fall as he saw fit; after all, he created physics.

The universe is 13.8 billion years old, whilst the Earth is 4.5 billion.

(iii) the first two humans he created were given explicit verbal instructions by god to not eat fruit from one particular tree (all the other trees were OK);

Humans evolved over time as part of God's big ol' awesome universe-y plan, and are related to all life on Earth, because all of it comes from one unicellular organism dating to a few billion years ago.

There was a mitochondrial Eve, to whom all humans are related, and a Y chromosomal Adam, but they were like sixty thousand years apart and thus probably never met.

(iv) the first woman disobeyed this rule and ate an apple from the forbidden tree after being beguiled from god's antithesis (Satan) who had taken the form of a talking snake;

Satan is less an antithesis and more of a lame antagonist with very little power. He might be more powerful than humans, but compared to God he's not very important whatsoever.

I would say that sin came into the world because... well, honestly, I don't know, except that I think that what Genesis described may have happened on a larger scale. However, this doesn't make too much since, because certain physiological elements appear to have remained constants, so there can't really have been a point where humans lived to be 900 and stuff.

If the Garden existed, I would posit that it's as separated from Earth as Heaven is.

I don't believe in a literal Genesis, so I can't really comment about the rest because it has no relevance to my theology except as a parable.

(vi) ever since then, all humans, when they are born (but assumedly not while in utero) are tainted with this "original sin"

I don't like original sin as a doctrine; I don't really see how babies, etc can be blamed for sins they can't have even committed yet. IMO, you need to be a mature sapient being in order to take full responsibility for your actions.

I think babies go to heaven regardless of baptism and that you don't need to be saved from sin until you can actually understand what the hell it is to begin with.

(?) god has communicated with specific humans ever since - usually verbally - and many of those communications have been written into a 'holy book' which is known as 'god's word' as it is considered to have been written by god, not by humans. It is the only source of truth.

The idea, as I understand it, is that God 'inspired' certain individuals -- many dozens, certainly, since most OT texts have more than one author according to biblical historicity -- to write certain things in order to enlighten mankind and reveal to us the wisdom of God.

All truth comes from God, but the Bible doesn't contain all truth; hell, it doesn't even mention the existence of black holes. I vehemently disagree with the idea that the Bible can answer every question, or even that it should.

(vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans: that is, because Adam and Eve sinned, everyone will die unless a perfect individual is sacrificed; a person who dies without atonement for this original sin (and others) will be condemned to spend eternity in Hell after they die;

Kind of. Basically, Earth is in a proxy war between God and Satan, and Satan is destined to lose said war; individual humans have to choose which side they're on, and as we are sinful beings, we are, by default, on the side of Satan.

Because we are sinful creatures, we are doomed to Hell; however, since God came to Earth in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, the second part of the Trinity, and was sacrificed on the cross in order to pay for our sins, we are promised salvation both from our Hellish fate and our sinful natures -- even if we don't directly receive either thing in this life.

The sacrifice has such profound meaning because Jesus did not sin, and God had to torture himself in order to save us. To death. Jesus rose again, but he still died in the first place, and that's some deep sh#& (bah, censors.).

(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form, also known as the son of god. He performed many miracles, and when he was about 30 years old, we was crucified and died. Three days later he rose from the dead and now, because he is god, he returned to live with god (his father) in heaven (non-material world).

Yes, more-or-less, though I would posit that heaven is another kind of material world -- the Bible says that we'll have bodies there, which are implied to be material.

Jesus was the second part of the Trinity, which is a pretty confusing idea. I've spent a lot of time reading about trinitarian theology, and the only thing that seems to actually make sense to me is modified modal trinitarianism; basically, the father/son/spirit are 'modes' in which God acts / adopts.

(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.

It's less a divine punishment and more a natural consequence; we are sinners, so we're against God, and so we are to be judged by God and cast into the darkness.

Hell is, imo, less 'fire and brimstone' and more 'a place where you are condemned by your own guilt'. We are absolved of our guilt as Christians, but those who are not are, well... not.

 

[bling]

Hi


(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);

God maybe best described as our Father, but that does not mean He is actually a “male”.

(ii) he created everything in the universe at the same time (probably about 6000 years ago);

The 6000 years ago is what some estimate, but that is taking a very literal interpretation of a poetic description of creation. Also Jesus and the Spirit which are God also where not created.

(iii) the first two humans he created were given explicit verbal instructions by god to not eat fruit from one particular tree (all the other trees were OK);

I personally think Adam and Eve lived and there was a literal tree of knowledge, but you do not have to believe the story literally happened to get the message from the story.

(iv) the first woman disobeyed this rule and ate an apple from the forbidden tree after being beguiled from god's antithesis (Satan) who had taken the form of a talking snake;

It may not have been an “apple” but just some fruit.

(v) the first man soon followed suit - then god found out about their sin and banished both of them from the garden

Man was not tempted by the serpent, but did eat also.

(vi) ever since then, all humans, when they are born (but assumedly not while in utero) are tainted with this "original sin"

The Bible does not use the idea of “original sin” nor does it even talk about it as being a “fall”. Humans gained knowledge of “good and evil” (developed a conscience), but that does not mean their “nature” changed.

(?) god has communicated with specific humans ever since - usually verbally - and many of those communications have been written into a 'holy book' which is known as 'god's word' as it is considered to have been written by god, not by humans. It is the only source of truth.

The Bible is only following the linage of Christ, the story of Christ and the start of Christianity using mostly narratives to tell the story, so we do not know what was said to others outside of those stories. We have only glimpses into what else was being taught to others.

God did not dictate the Bible through people but the Spirit of God inspired them to write in their own words the truth. The actual “words” are not God’s specifically, so there is no reason to worship the words themselves. Some are poems, songs and parables that should be allowed some poetic license by the writer.

(

vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans: that is, because Adam and Eve sinned, everyone will die unless a perfect individual is sacrificed; a person who dies without atonement for this original sin (and others) will be condemned to spend eternity in Hell after they die;

Wow!!! You have a lot of miss understanding here and this could take a book worth of words to address. Atonement is a huge topic, but it is not a human sacrifice so God can forgive sins or the sin (God needs nothing to forgive sins). Do not blame Adam and Eve, they did their job.

Humans really need to experience the atonement process to help them fulfill their earthly objective, but people prior to Christ going to the cross had unintentional sins atoned for with as little as a bag of flour being sacrificed and some had intentional sins forgiven by repenting without any suitable atonement sacrifice.

(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form, also known as the son of god. He performed many miracles, and when he was about 30 years old, we was crucified and died. Three days later he rose from the dead and now, because he is god, he returned to live with god (his father) in heaven (non-material world).

Christian’s bodies are actually the temple of God now so God/Christ/Spirit dwell inside of true Christian if the Christian allows them to.

(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.

You do not have “do” anything, but instead “quit doing” what you have been doing. You are actually fighting God off. You might want to read the prodigal son story (Luke 15).

If you are hell bound there is no logical reason to “love” God, but if you will just give up, surrender, wimp out, to the point of being willing to humbly accept God’s charity, God will readily shower you with unbelievable gifts.

Your Love and commitment should be out of pure gratitude for what god has given you and not to “get” something from Him.

Do you feel burdened by your past wrong choices that have resulted in hurting others (that is sin). The only true relief from that burden is found in God’s forgiveness and His Spirit.

 

[Albion]

Hi
I've been studying the Christian religion for a little while and would like to know if I have things right. Here is what I think it's about - can someone please tell me if I've got anything wrong or missed anything?

Thanks
E


(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);


(ii) he created everything in the universe at the same time (probably about 6000 years ago);


(iii) the first two humans he created were given explicit verbal instructions by god to not eat fruit from one particular tree (all the other trees were OK);


(iv) the first woman disobeyed this rule and ate an apple from the forbidden tree after being beguiled from god's antithesis (Satan) who had taken the form of a talking snake;


(v) the first man soon followed suit - then god found out about their sin and banished both of them from the garden


(vi) ever since then, all humans, when they are born (but assumedly not while in utero) are tainted with this "original sin"


(?) god has communicated with specific humans ever since - usually verbally - and many of those communications have been written into a 'holy book' which is known as 'god's word' as it is considered to have been written by god, not by humans. It is the only source of truth.


(vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans: that is, because Adam and Eve sinned, everyone will die unless a perfect individual is sacrificed; a person who dies without atonement for this original sin (and others) will be condemned to spend eternity in Hell after they die;


(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form, also known as the son of god. He performed many miracles, and when he was about 30 years old, we was crucified and died. Three days later he rose from the dead and now, because he is god, he returned to live with god (his father) in heaven (non-material world).


(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.
__________________

Roughly speaking, that is mostly correct. It's not agreed as to when God created everything or how long it took. It certainly was not all "at the same time." The Bible is not considered to be the only book that is the truth, but that it contains all that is necessary for us to know God and be saved. Human sacrifice is not a requirement (as we know from the fact that it was animals that the Old Testament Hebrews sacrificed). Faith in Christ applies Christ's perfect sacrifice to the believer.

But as with many summaries of complicated subjects, the nuances and choice of words can imply certain ideas that may not be exactly right.

 

[1213]

(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);

I would like to add these:

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:24

I think spirit don’t have gender and so is not male of female in biological way. And I think it is also good to notice these, if one wants to understand God.

He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:8
We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
1 John 4:16

(vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans:

That is not said in the Bible and actually Jesus proves it wrong, because he forgave sins even before his death, as you can see in this scripture:

The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered them, "Why are you reasoning so in your hearts? Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you;' or to say, 'Arise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (he said to the paralyzed man), "I tell you, arise, and take up your cot, and go to your house." Immediately he rose up before them, and took up that which he was laying on, and departed to his house, glorifying God.
Luke 5:21-25

(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form,

Actually, if we believe what Jesus said, God dwelled in Jesus. In my opinion the meaning is little different.

Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works….
John 14:10-14

And it was God who raised Jesus, not Jesus who raised himself.

…Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him does this man stand here before you whole.
Acts 4:10
God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
Acts 5:31
… he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
Fil 2:8-9
I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don't seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.
John 5:30

(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.

It is also good to remember these:

"Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more."
John 8:11

They went out and preached that people should repent.
Mark 6:12

Repent = to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins.

 

[ebia]

Hi
I've been studying the Christian religion for a little while and would like to know if I have things right. Here is what I think it's about - can someone please tell me if I've got anything wrong or missed anything?

Thanks
E


(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);

God is supremely powerful and wise.
He isn't gendered, but we use the metaphor father for one person of the trinity.

(ii) he created everything in the universe at the same time (probably about 6000 years ago);

No. God created.
Scripture is interested in the theology of creation, not the mechanics of science.

(iii) the first two humans he created were given explicit verbal instructions by god to not eat fruit from one particular tree (all the other trees were OK);
(iv) the first woman disobeyed this rule and ate an apple from the forbidden tree after being beguiled from god's antithesis (Satan) who had taken the form of a talking snake;
(v) the first man soon followed suit - then god found out about their sin and banished both of them from the garden

In the Genesis 2/3 story that's what happens, but the story is a theological telling, not a newspaper report. Note that genesis does not identify the snake as Satan.

(vi) ever since then, all humans, when they are born (but assumedly not while in utero) are tainted with this "original sin"

Disfunction gets inherited. You don't need the bible to tell you that; just look at disfunctional families and communities.

(?) god has communicated with specific humans ever since - usually verbally - and many of those communications have been written into a 'holy book' which is known as 'god's word' as it is considered to have been written by god, not by humans. It is the only source of truth.

1. Who says the communication is mostly verbal.
2. Scripture contains all sorts of stuff - only a tiny proportion of it is reported speech from God.
3. God inspires people to write scripture. He doesn't write it himself

(vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans: that is, because Adam and Eve sinned, everyone will die unless a perfect individual is sacrificed; a person who dies without atonement for this original sin (and others) will be condemned to spend eternity in Hell after they die;

That's one common but not very good model used to explain what is going on.

(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form, also known as the son of god. He performed many miracles, and when he was about 30 years old, we was crucified and died. Three days later he rose from the dead and now, because he is god, he returned to live with god (his father) in heaven (non-material world).
(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.
__________________

As above

 

[High Fidelity]

MOD HAT ON

Thread moved to relevant forum.

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[Joshua260]

Ezekial 18 explains that we are accountable for our own sins, and not for our father's sins.

 

[oi_antz]

Hi
I've been studying the Christian religion for a little while and would like to know if I have things right. Here is what I think it's about - can someone please tell me if I've got anything wrong or missed anything?

Thanks
E

Hi there, it is interesting to me that you have chosen to do this. Can you describe a bit for me how you have come to get your present understanding of Christianity? That would be interesting for me to know, to see a different upbringing and to learn how another person has been led into the knowledge of the faith. You do sound genuine and asking good questions in a fair way, which is why I am responding to you even though you have not made any other posts. Usually I am a bit hesitant until I can see more evidence of genuineness.

So I have been raised around people who have had Christian faiths, and I have been invested in the Christian faith all my life, but only really studying it for about four years. I feel I can share what I have learned with you, and that it might be useful, so here is my response to your impression below:

(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);

Omnipotent is not a concept that I think is possible in this world. I believe He is probably able to construct a world in which it is, but this world does demonstrate obvious conflict. However, I do believe He is probably supremely powerful.

Omniscient I do believe is possible for Him in this world, is most likely to be true, and since those who have known Him throughout history have believed and have apparently been told by Him, seems reasonable to suppose.

Non-material is too something I do not personally believe is true, because He is said in John chapter one to have become flesh. "I have the right to lay down my life and to take it up", so I assume He does have the ability to animate matter. Of course, since matter is a product of His creativity, He must be more than matter.

We think of Him as a Father, and He relates t us as a Father. We know Fathers to be male. Jesus is male. Yup, it's ok to think so, it's probably ok to think more broadly too, since Jesus said there is no concept of male and female in heaven.

(ii) he created everything in the universe at the same time (probably about 6000 years ago);

I don't think this is accurate really, since creation is ongoing. As for the time frame, it is all calculated on genealogies given in the book of Genesis. I have not yet been able to find information which reliably describes where that information originated. There is a possibility that it originated from Adam and Eve, transpired through generations, through Noah, Abraham etc to Moses. However, it is also possible that it was invented to express philosophical concepts that support the study of, and faith in, a supreme God creator. You will find Christians sharply divided on this issue, with some not wanting to say that the bible makes false statements, while others not wanting to discourage people from considering and learning from the bible due to it's contradiction with current geological evidences. Underneath both of these beliefs is a support for the value of the bible.

(iii) the first two humans he created were given explicit verbal instructions by god to not eat fruit from one particular tree (all the other trees were OK);
(iv) the first woman disobeyed this rule and ate an apple from the forbidden tree after being beguiled from god's antithesis (Satan) who had taken the form of a talking snake;
(v) the first man soon followed suit - then god found out about their sin and banished both of them from the garden
(vi) ever since then, all humans, when they are born (but assumedly not while in utero) are tainted with this "original sin"

Taking into consideration the dispute outlined above regarding the accuracy of the statements made in the first few chapters of Genesis, what we can all take from it is abstract truth. There are abstract truths to be gained from the study of the story, such as for example, humans naturally struggle to do what God wants them to do, and will often choose to satisfy their desire, even if it could kill them. Humans need to be in control: they desire to be as God is. One day the human race changed it's behaviour and attitude in the world, such that instead of just walking around grazing from trees that gave fruit, they would need to toil and sweat and battle thorns and thistles in order to eat. (The birth of civilization). God does not want the human to live forever in it's sinful state, so He has placed mighty obstacles in the way of our ability to achieve everlasting life. And so on. These are conclusions that Christians can agree to find truth in, regardless of whether they think Genesis is factual or not.

(?) god has communicated with specific humans ever since - usually verbally - and many of those communications have been written into a 'holy book' which is known as 'god's word' as it is considered to have been written by god, not by humans. It is the only source of truth.

Many Christians do believe the bible is God's Word, but the authors of the bible actually believe God's Word is literally God and existed before the world was made. The world was made through the Word of God (Genesis: God said "let there be light", etc). So, the Word of God existed before the bible was written. The author of John describes his understanding of it very concisely in the first chapter.

So, the bible is writings of men, all who have been inspired by their faith in God. But, the bible was not written by God. God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, which we can not study today. Jesus also wrote in the ground when He was being tested on the topic of stoning an adulteress. Besides that, all the writings in the bible have been men expressing thoughts from their mind.

(vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans: that is, because Adam and Eve sinned, everyone will die unless a perfect individual is sacrificed; a person who dies without atonement for this original sin (and others) will be condemned to spend eternity in Hell after they die;

No bible statements say that. The bible points to God's victory over death and sin by the return of Jesus, who will bring angels, and with the power of God, resurrect everyone to account for their lives. Those He finds useful to keep will be taken to everlasting life, while those He finds useless will be destroyed. Jesus' sacrifice was a necessary but undesired decision, an alternative to fight or flight.

(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form, also known as the son of god. He performed many miracles, and when he was about 30 years old, we was crucified and died. Three days later he rose from the dead and now, because he is god, he returned to live with god (his father) in heaven (non-material world).

This sounds quite accurate.

(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.
__________________

It is as I have described, up to Jesus whether He wishes to take you or I into His community. We do not have any right to claim that gift, but we can use our time to become the sort of person He would find sufficient value in. Perhaps the parable of the sower will help you see the way we can contribute to it:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13:1-9&version=NLT

Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed
13 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

I hope this is useful, and thank you for the opportunity to share what I have thought to be useful

 

[98cwitr]

Hi
I've been studying the Christian religion for a little while and would like to know if I have things right. Here is what I think it's about - can someone please tell me if I've got anything wrong or missed anything?

Thanks
E


(i) god is omnipotent, omniscient, non-material and male (the Father);
(ii) he created everything in the universe at the same time (probably about 6000 years ago);
(iii) the first two humans he created were given explicit verbal instructions by god to not eat fruit from one particular tree (all the other trees were OK);
(iv) the first woman disobeyed this rule and ate an apple from the forbidden tree after being beguiled from god's antithesis (Satan) who had taken the form of a talking snake;
(v) the first man soon followed suit - then god found out about their sin and banished both of them from the garden
(vi) ever since then, all humans, when they are born (but assumedly not while in utero) are tainted with this "original sin"
(?) god has communicated with specific humans ever since - usually verbally - and many of those communications have been written into a 'holy book' which is known as 'god's word' as it is considered to have been written by god, not by humans. It is the only source of truth.
(vii) according to god's immutable law, a human sacrifice is required to atone for these sins for all humans: that is, because Adam and Eve sinned, everyone will die unless a perfect individual is sacrificed; a person who dies without atonement for this original sin (and others) will be condemned to spend eternity in Hell after they die;
(viii) that perfect individual was Jesus, who was born of a virgin about 2000 years ago, and is in fact god in human form, also known as the son of god. He performed many miracles, and when he was about 30 years old, we was crucified and died. Three days later he rose from the dead and now, because he is god, he returned to live with god (his father) in heaven (non-material world).
(ix) finally, if I commit my life to jesus/god and "accept" him as a saviour, he/they will forgive me my sins and I can escape the punishment of being in hell for eternity after I die.
__________________

We dont know the type of fruit (ie: apple or whatever) but the rest is pretty spot on...point 9 is very loaded and could use some further clarification. See the Book of 1 John.

 

[ananda]

On an orthodox forum you probably will not get much disagreement. Ask this question on an unorthodox forum and all hell will break loose.

Yes, what the OP wrote was basically what orthodox Christianity believes. Various other groups of unorthodox Christians would disagree on almost every point, however.

 

[98cwitr]

Our Statement of Faith is also posted here and is mostly conclusive to orthodox Christianity: http://www.christianforums.com/rules/#faq_sof_creed