Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site trwrba.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrba!jnelson From: jnelson@trwrba.UUCP (John T. Nelson) Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: Biblical Christianity Message-ID: <972@trwrba.UUCP> Date: Mon, 24-Sep-84 10:36:09 EDT Article-I.D.: trwrba.972 Posted: Mon Sep 24 10:36:09 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 00:56:07 EDT References: <45@umcp-cs.UUCP> Organization: TRW EDS, Redondo Beach, CA Lines: 43 First of all, the Bible simply is not essential to being a Christian. There were plenty of gentile Christians before any of them knew much about the Jewish scriptures, and the New Testament simply didn't exist until some time after the year 60 (if that early). I agree with you here, except that the only record of what you will call "the essential doctrines" of being a Christian were communicated to us through that book. That being the case, many people will then claim that therefore the New Testiment must be taken in its entirety, and the Old Testiment too. Frankly I prefer your veiw better. The only essential christian doctrines are these: (1) All men are sinners. (2) Christ, who was the son of God, died for our sins. (3) We are all reborn to eternal life in his resurrection. That's it. No flames, sorry... but I can't agree with you entirely here. There are other tenets to observe like "Love your neighbor as yourself", "Forgive your neighbor's sins", "Be kind to animals." I suppose you've pointed out the rough essentials though. I'm glad that you didn't phrase the first of your doctrines as, "All men are born into sin." Do you believe that men are sinfull by the fact of man's fall from grace.... i.e. we're all destined for the fires of Hell because of Adam and Eve's little indescretions? I refuse to subscribe to the notion that their is no Godly inspiration in the scriptures. I must, however, submit that the writers and copyists have added a lot of their own rubbish and lost lots of the good material. All the evidence suggests that the human ear hears the divine voice imperfectly at best. Which certainly upholds your first doctrine, that men are sinfull or at least imperfect. Many argue that the Bible is absolutly inerrant and flawless in its description of all the universal subtlties... yet the Bible itself (in Revalations) admits that it is possible to change scriptural content.