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Foundations of Belief

Last week I introduced the idea that the Bible, while not an answer handbook, does lay the foundations for our beliefs and provide boundaries for our discussions. Today we look at the foundations. This I think is the easy part of the discussion, since most of us would agree with this.

The Bible provides us with clear foundations on which our worldview and beliefs are built. The primary question that we have to grapple with is what is considered foundational? Here I think we run into a problem. Often times I think that we have made things that are not foundational to the faith cornerstones. One chief example of this is acapella worship.

In the Churches of Christ, which I and most of my readers are a part of, this has been a fight to the death issue for years. This is, in my humble opinion, ridiculous. We have made the style of worship essential to being a Christian. I have seen, with my own eyes, churches get more upset about the mention of guitars than the suggestion from members that Jesus may not actually be God!

So how do we determine foundational issues? I propose that our foundation is Christ and things pertaining to him. He is our cornerstone, our firm foundation. These are the things which the Bible is clear on and are necessary to be a Christian. Here is a short list of some of the issues considered foundational.

The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus

The Trinity (who Jesus/God is)

The Second Coming

Salvation through Christ Alone

Creation by God Alone

All of these issues are foundational and clearly expressed in scripture. Though to be clear what is foundational is the fact of these truths, not necessarily specific interpretations of them. Consider the Second Coming of Christ. What is essential to Christian belief is that Christ WILL return one day in judgment and restore the world. That's it. A lot of the details surrounding this discussion will come up next week in the boundaries discussion. As Christians we can disagree about the when, how, and so on of Christ's return. We cannot disagree on the fact that he will return.

It is my opinion, and just my opinion, that the fundamentals of the faith should be as short as possible but as long as necessary. We must be faithful to Christ and what scripture teaches, but we should not add anything to the foundation that is not put there by scripture. Too often I think we have done just that.

This, however, is only half the discussion. Next week we will discuss how the Bible sets up boundaries atop the foundation for our discussions and growth. Within the boundaries set by scripture there is freedom to disagree, but we must stay within the boundaries.

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