tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post490763990543252335..comments2024-03-28T12:34:14.649-07:00Comments on dangerous idea: The Central Christian belief, according to C. S. LewisVictor Repperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-40106073074083694102014-01-30T13:37:54.321-07:002014-01-30T13:37:54.321-07:00Steven,
Libraries have been written on the Doctri...Steven,<br /><br />Libraries have been written on the Doctrine of the Trinity, so I can't hope to accomplish much in a short blog posting. But yes, after consideration, I do consider the Trinity to be the fundamental, rock-bottom essential Christian doctrine, and <b>anyone who denies it is not a Christian</b>. (No matter what he calls himself. He might be a Gnostic, an Arian or a Monophysite, or something similar, but he's not a Christian.)<br /><br />The essentials of the doctrine:<br /><br />1. God is Love (1 John 4:8)<br /><br />2. If God is unitary, than He is either not self-sufficient (because He would need something other than Himself to love) or a monster (loving Himself in isolation).<br /><br />3. It follows from the above that all of Reality is in its most essential nature a community (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). This, by the way, is how we get objective morality from God.<br /><br />4. The eternal submission of the Son to the Father is the root of the Incarnation (and therefore of our Redemption).<br /><br />ALL Christian doctrine flows from the fountainhead of this one great doctrine. Without it, the entire edifice is forced and unsustainable. With it, the entire grand whole stands unassailable to all contradiction. What I briefly touched upon here is infinitely less than the tip of the iceberg. (I was serious about those libraries.)planks lengthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01176715815596833639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-61459947276019096632014-01-30T09:01:53.925-07:002014-01-30T09:01:53.925-07:00planks,
If the Trinity is the central Christian be...planks,<br />If the Trinity is the central Christian belief, then if one lacks a positive belief in such a doctrine are they no longer considered a Christian? Or, by central Christian belief, do you simply mean a belief that has been held by a majority of Christians throughout the ages, but doesn't necessitate whether one is in fact a Christian?Steven Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04753917037685188540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-18906656898337256652014-01-29T18:46:33.117-07:002014-01-29T18:46:33.117-07:00Thanks. That was pretty interesting. I love the pa...Thanks. That was pretty interesting. I love the part where it says "Calvin had to make up an entirely new doctrine."John B. Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00234524731241646514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-89469750296590438282014-01-29T16:42:42.522-07:002014-01-29T16:42:42.522-07:00John,
Read THIS for an excellent discussion of th...John,<br /><br />Read <a href="http://catholicdefense.blogspot.com/2014/01/three-major-arguments-against-assurance.html" rel="nofollow">THIS</a> for an excellent discussion of the question you raised.planks lengthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01176715815596833639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-27524419965458409902014-01-29T16:21:23.352-07:002014-01-29T16:21:23.352-07:00Yes, I agree - but what's this about giving us...Yes, I agree - but what's this about giving us a fresh start? Does that mean all my subsequent sins will still be held against me? Or that I'll somehow stop sinning? Probably it's better to say Christ's sacrifice wipes out all our sin both past and future. No fresh start or anything like that.John B. Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00234524731241646514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-11541547728835431332014-01-29T16:05:48.692-07:002014-01-29T16:05:48.692-07:00Wow, that's a tough one. What's the "...Wow, that's a tough one. What's the "central Christian belief"? I'd say that C.S. Lewis was dead on in saying that the Redemption was the most important one for us humans, in that without it we are utterly doomed.<br /><br />But from a non-anthropocentric point of view? I'd have to say it was either the Trinity, or else the Incarnation (which is arguably a subset of the doctrine of the Trinity).<br /><br />I'll go with the Doctrine of the Trinity as the central Christian belief.planks lengthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01176715815596833639noreply@blogger.com