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Forum Rule 6 Amendment: Apostle's Creed removed

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Erwin

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I have had to remove the Apostle's Creed from Forum Rule 6.

This was our previous rule 6:

[noco2]

Members could use either the Nicene Creed OR the Apostle's Creed to define themselves as a Christian for the purposes of posting in our Christian-only forums.

Mormons are expressedly not allowed to post in our Christian-only forums as we believe the Mormon faith and the LDS church are in error and follow heretical doctrines. However, a few of our Mormon members pointed out that their church beliefs do conform to the Apostle's Creed. Specifically, the Apostle's Creed does not address the Trinitarian nature of God and the Divinity of Christ. This could be a loophole for other cult or sect members to post in Christian-only forums.

As a result, I have amended Forum Rule 6 to say the following:

[noco]

Please be aware of our new rule change. Thanks for understanding! :)
 

seebs

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Just as a point, when I was growing up, as a Lutheran, we used the Apostle's Creed, not the Nicene Creed.

My only concern is that I don't think most people can honestly claim to fully understand the doctrine of the trinity well enough to say for sure whether or not they accept it. We say we accept it because we've been told it's part of the package, but how many people can actually articulate it in their own words without accidentally committing one of the famous heresies of the early church?

(Disclaimer: As a person who attends RSoF meetings, I may be reasonably assumed to be inherently uncomfortable with the very idea of creeds.)
 
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kiwimac

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Erwin,

As a member of the Quakers I am inherently uncomfortable with this rule both in its original form and in its revised form. Quaker's hold to no creeds considering that they limit God rather than 'safeguard' orthodoxy.

Am I allowed to post in the Christian forums & if not why not?, Do you consider the Quakers heretical / unorthodox?

Kiwimac
 
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seebs

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The problem is with words, not beliefs, I think. I can't answer questions about the Trinity. I don't understand it. Show me the words of Jesus in the Gospels, and I can tell you that I recognize the speaker, and that the speaker is the One, the Creator, the Alpha and the Omega. But I don't even know what it means to say that He was "fully God, and fully human". How can I agree with, or not agree with, a statement that I'm not even sure means anything in English? I don't speak the language in which the Creed was first written. My ontology doesn't go far enough into the nature of existence to allow me to assert with much confidence that I comprehend that claim. I think I probably believe it; I mean, it's obvious that He was a man, because he lived and died, and it's obvious that He was God, because I recognize Him. But I don't know how to interpret these carefully constructed words.

The words are not the thing. The map is not the territory. The Creed is not a relationship with God.
 
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seebs

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While I personally believe in the trinity, there are Quakers who don't. Remember, there's no creed. None. I mean, at all. There is no set of words you have to assent to. That would be trying to limit people to an imperfect human understanding of God, and that's a bad start. :)
 
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seebs

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I retain some concern that there may be people who are really Christians, but whose understanding of the words of the Creed doesn't allow them to offer assent to it, even if they actually believe the right things. I do understand the desire to have a safe haven for Christians; I'm just not sure the narrower definition will help all that much. The grave concern, of course, is deciding whether it's better to exclude some people whose beliefs are "proper" or include some whose beliefs are "improper". Underlying this is the concern about whether or not any of us are in a good position to judge.

I don't envy you the role of having to decide who's who; there is no good way to go about this.
 
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Erwin

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Mmm... I just want to exclude Unitarians and "Christians" who hold to heretical beliefs. The belief in a Trinitarian God is a foundational doctrine of being a Christian. But let's not turn this into a debate here. :) That's non-negotiable in terms of posting in the Christian-only forums. I do not want erroneous theology posted in those doctrines.
 
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Oblio

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:sigh:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;


Christ is of one essence with the Father, begotten, not made !
 
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emerald Dragon

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Oblio said:
:sigh:

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;


Christ is of one essence with the Father, begotten, not made !
This is what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been trying to say. Christ is one in pupose with God, not one in physical body. They are literally father and son, begotten meaning "to be born." We do not calim that God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost are the same physicall person, but Three physical people, uited in common goals, powers, puposes, and possibly blood.
 
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Serapha

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Erwin said:
Mmm... I just want to exclude Unitarians and "Christians" who hold to heretical beliefs. The belief in a Trinitarian God is a foundational doctrine of being a Christian. But let's not turn this into a debate here. :) That's non-negotiable in terms of posting in the Christian-only forums. I do not want erroneous theology posted in those doctrines.

Erwin said:
If you belong to the Quakers denomination, then you are fine. They are a Protestant denomination, and believe in the Trinity.
Hi there!

Thanks for retracting on the Society of Friends (Quakers). They are not trinitarian.... not even close.

Personally, I am glad to see the Apostle's Creed removed as a criteria for Christianity on this forum.


~malaka~
 
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