FAQ.

[draper]

Do you believe that Christians MUST agree with every part of the Bible to truly be CHristian?

For example my mom told me she is Christian but there are some things that she disagrees with, such as the Church's stance on abortions and some other things.

Is she truly Christian?

And not just her but are people who don't agree w/ every single part of the Bible truly Christians? Do you, as a Christian, disagree with any part of the Bible?

 

[Rafael]

I don't disagree with any part of the Bible, but God is the only one able to judge the heart of another person and their intent. Love covers a multitude of sins, and it all pans out underneath His love.
People change their minds as they grow older and wiser, too. My mother feels the same way as yours, and comes from a time when women were treated rather poorly when pregnant without husbands. I think God's grace and understanding for each individual comes into play differently for us all; having been taught and given different things in life. Only God truly knows us.

 

[CanD]

People aren't always going to agree with others in their Biblical interpretations. However, when something is so fundamental to the Christian beliefs - like thou shalt not kill and then saying that it's okay to abort (kill) a fetus, then you gotta wonder if they're missing the whole point of the commandment.

As for whether that makes them a Christian or not, the first step to becoming a Christian is Salvation. The rest means trying to follow Jesus and as everyone knows, that's not always an easy thing to do.

As was mentioned above, only God knows for sure whether someone is 'truly' a Christian or not, but behaviour can often speak volumes.

 

[draper]

Hmph.

I've also heard that there are some more modern Priests who also don't agree w/certain parts of the Bible. Is that OK in your minds?

And I guess the basis of my Q was, 'Do you think its OK for a Christian to disagree with certain parts in the Bible and still truly want to follow Christ, just not in those parts?'

 

[Rafael]

It depends on what parts.....

 

[puck]

i have always said, to be a Christian you need only one thing. To believe that Christ is the son of God.
That is what I think is the definition of Christianity. This is why there are so many different Christian religions. I think you are asking if you mother is a certain denomanation of Christian. If you want to know if she is Christian, just ask her, "do you believe that Christ is the son of God?"

 

[Peter]

to be a Christian you need only one thing. To believe that Christ is the son of God.

Mormons believe that Jesus is the son of God. But, so is Satan.

There are those who believe that Jesus is the created son of God.

There are those that believe that Jesus is the son of God but He himself is not divine.

Then there are those who believe that Jesus is divine and the son of God, but wasn't always divine, He grew into it.

Then....

Peace.

Peter

 

[Karl - Liberal Backslider]

Christianity has never defined itself as "believing the Bible". It is about following Jesus.

And what does "believing the Bible" mean? I don't agree with AiG's concept of what "believing Genesis 1-11" means, but I still claim I believe it. It's a conceptual quagmire.

 

[PRMan]

If you are a Christian and you are intellectually honest, you will attempt to follow the Bible whole-heartedly. So I for one have trouble with people who pick and choose which parts of the Bible they like. I don't think God intended it that way.

Others twist the words of the Bible into what they want to believe instead of what the plainest meaning is. We ALL do this on some points without even realizing it, because we were brought up interpreting it that way. Still, I think some things are pretty obvously ridiculous (such as saying that God never said anything against homosexuality).

But, these things happen because all of us, in our human nature, have a tremendous desire to "fit in". That's part of the human nature that Christ wants us to fight against! He's called us to be different than the world, even to the point of persecution and death.

I would suspect that people believe abortion is OK for any number of reasons:

1. They've been told it 100 times on TV, so it must be true, or at least it's politically correct and popular to support it, even the Republicans are starting to
2. All their friends are Democrats and believe that abortion is OK, so they have to also to fit in
3. They had a secret abortion at some point in their past and cannot come to grips with what they know in their hearts, that they killed a defenseless baby

Among others. I'm not sure the Bible enters into the equation for a lot of people. This is what Jesus calls building your house on shifting sand.

 

[Rafael]

If you are a Christian and you are intellectually honest, you will attempt to follow the Bible whole-heartedly. So I for one have trouble with people who pick and choose which parts of the Bible they like. I don't think God intended it that way.

Others twist the words of the Bible into what they want to believe instead of what the plainest meaning is. We ALL do this on some points without even realizing it, because we were brought up interpreting it that way. Still, I think some things are pretty obvously ridiculous (such as saying that God never said anything against homosexuality).

But, these things happen because all of us, in our human nature, have a tremendous desire to "fit in". That's part of the human nature that Christ wants us to fight against! He's called us to be different than the world, even to the point of persecution and death.

I would suspect that people believe abortion is OK for any number of reasons:

1. They've been told it 100 times on TV, so it must be true, or at least it's politically correct and popular to support it, even the Republicans are starting to
2. All their friends are Democrats and believe that abortion is OK, so they have to also to fit in
3. They had a secret abortion at some point in their past and cannot come to grips with what they know in their hearts, that they killed a defenseless baby

Among others. I'm not sure the Bible enters into the equation for a lot of people. This is what Jesus calls building your house on shifting sand.

Yes, well said Prman. The flesh desires to fit in with the world while the Bible tells us that to be friends with the world is to be enemies with God - pretty radical. The Bible calls us to put the flesh to death, which is what baptizm is a symbol of, and to live unto a new life led by the Spirit - not the flesh which is bound for death and corruption. Dying to self is impossible without the help of God because if goes against the nature we are born with - a nature to sin. That is why being born again is necessary; createing a new creature with a new nature. Yes, sin still dwells in the flesh, but the new man of the Spirit desires to follow God and please Him.
There really is no easy believeism, but grace abounds.

 

[WarEagle]

Do you believe that Christians MUST agree with every part of the Bible to truly be CHristian?

For example my mom told me she is Christian but there are some things that she disagrees with, such as the Church's stance on abortions and some other things.

Is she truly Christian?

And not just her but are people who don't agree w/ every single part of the Bible truly Christians? Do you, as a Christian, disagree with any part of the Bible?

I dont see how. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you have to believe all of the Bible to be saved, but there's a hermeneutic (big word that just means Bible study) principle called the "analogy of scripture".

Simply put, this says that the Bible is meant to be interpreted as one whole, in tact unit and that every part of the Bible rests and is supported by some other part of the Bible.

If she's going to disagree with 'x', then how can she agree with 'y' which is based on 'x'? If either x or y have to do with the doctrine of Christ, then 2 John 1:9 says that she isn't a Christian.

Now, there are also some things in the Bible called adiopheron, which just means that some things aren't clearly spelled out, so we have to do the best we can with what the Bible does say and it's really a matter of conscience.

In the case of abortion, I don't believe that you can disagree that murder is wrong and be a Christian, but I do believe that you can sincerely believe that an unborn baby is not a person (although, how one can believe this, I have no idea), thus, killing an unborn baby is not murder.

Don't get me wrong, whether you believe it's murder or not, you're still culpable before God if you do it, but I do believe that there is a distinction between the two and being a Christian or not.

If you want to know whether your mom is a Christian or not, ask her if she were to die today, if God would send her to Heaven or to Hell.

If her answer is "Hell", then it's rather obvious that she isn't.

If answer is "Heaven", ask her why she believes she's going to Heaven. If her answer to that question is anything other than "because I've repented for my sins and placed my faith in Christ and His atonement on the cross on my behalf", then she isn't a Christian.

If she has repented and placed her faith in Christ, then that's what the Bible tells us she needs to do to be saved. Of course, how sincere she is is known only to her and to God, and then there's also the question of, if she's a Christian, what kind of Christian is she?

 

[heron]

Why are there suddenly a lot of 2003 threads coming back to life? Has the p 1 2 3 4 5 6 set of links flip-flopped?

 

[joeboonda]

Do you believe that Christians MUST agree with every part of the Bible to truly be CHristian?

For example my mom told me she is Christian but there are some things that she disagrees with, such as the Church's stance on abortions and some other things.

Is she truly Christian?

And not just her but are people who don't agree w/ every single part of the Bible truly Christians? Do you, as a Christian, disagree with any part of the Bible?

There are what are considered essential and non-essential doctrines. People can disagree on non-essential doctrines and be saved, but not on the essentials. (the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, Christ's atoning death, and his physical resurrection, and 2nd coming). To be saved one must have trusted alone in Christ alone for salvation. They must believe Christ's death paid for all their sins and that he rose physically from the grave the third day. As Romans 10 says:

9 Say with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord." Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. 10 With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say that Jesus is Lord. And so you are saved. 11 Scripture says, "The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."