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To: daniel1212
...do enjoy doctrinal unity among essential doctrines...

What "essential doctrines" are those?

23 posted on 12/10/2009 10:01:36 PM PST by papertyger (Representation without taxation is tyranny!)
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To: papertyger
A fair question, as admittedly it sounds as if some doctrines are not essential, but what it refers to are those which are manifest in the Scriptures as essential to salvation, which includes the nature of God and Christ and what He did, as articulated in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, versus Gnostic, Arian, Sabellianism, as well as the means of salvation. (Gal. 1:6-9) Rome herself recognizes a distinction between dogma, and doctrines which are not salvifically essential, and very little of the Bible has been officially defined, nor has an infallible list of all that has been infallibly defined been provided. However, those who deny that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh are not of God (1 Jn. 4:2), and as Christ is declared to be God manifest in the flesh, (Jn. 1:1,14; and the sinless savior, (1Pt. 2:22-24), thus Arians are not saved. Likewise, Scripture plainly declares that righteousness is imputed by faith, albeit this being a faith that follows Christ - overall practicing righteousness in response - thus those who trust in the merit of their works, or the power of their church, are not saved. We see that the gospel which resulted in regeneration preached these truths, while issues such as the time of the rapture, musical instruments or finer details of theology may allow some degree of disagreement. The point of the post was, that even in it weakened state - due to compromise of the faith via yielding to the culture, and not be any fault of the faith - evangelicals consistently evidence a greater degree of fruits of regeneration and doctrinal unity in basic tenets the faith than than their R.C. counterparts. This is more critical for Catholics, as they preach a church which they tell evangelicals they must join, while the latter preach a faith which requires Biblical warrant, not faith in an infallible church.

Catholics broke with their Church's teachings more than most other groups, with just six out of 10 Catholics affirming that God is "a person with whom people can have a relationship", and three in 10 describing God as an "impersonal force." 7.5The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.


48 posted on 12/11/2009 10:11:28 AM PST by daniel1212 (Hear the word of the gospel, and believe", (Acts 15:7) + flee from those who hold another as supreme)
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