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From: charli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: the need for correct doctrine
Message-ID: <304@cylixd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Sep-85 13:03:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: cylixd.304
Posted: Fri Sep 20 13:03:34 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Sep-85 05:00:28 EDT
Reply-To: charli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips)
Organization: RCA Cylix Communications , Memphis, TN
Lines: 31

Some comments from the July 1 Forum Letter by Richard John Neuhaus
might be of interest here.

In commenting on the "gnesio-Lutherans," Neuhaus states:

"As important as the doctrine of justification by faith surely is, we
are not baptized into a doctrine; we are baptized into the one, holy,
catholic and apostolic Church. . . The one Church of which we are part
has existed and does exist also where that doctrine is not taught."

In a separate artical, Neuhaus notes that the editors of the _Lutheran
Perspective_ have stated that the Athanasian Creed "can be understood to
suggest that correct faith is a work by which we merit salvation."  The
editors suggest that a council of Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, etc.,
meet to "clean up the text".  (For those not familiar with it, the
Athanasian Creed is a doctrinal statement about the Trinity and the
Incarnation.  It dates from about 400 A.D.)  

The following seem like obvious questions for discussion:  

Is correct faith or correct doctrine necessary to salvation?
If so, to what extent?  What differentiates an unbeliever from
a believer holding a "bad doctrine"?

Should the Athanasian Creed be "cleaned up"?  If so, what would you
change?

(If these comments trigger any other interesting questions or comments,
please post them, too!)

		charli