Statement of Belief
So.....exactly how does a good Catholic girl and a staunch Protestant come together to create and share a Bible study? By . . .
AGREEING ON THE FUNDAMENTALS
There are basic beliefs we both hold on which we will not compromise, or else, we would be denying the Faith handed down to us. Among these fundamentals are:
- The Bible is the inerrant Word of God.
- All human beings have inherited a sin nature from the first man, Adam.
- Jesus Christ is the Divine Son of God, born of a Virgin, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, then rose again on the third day, and ascended to Heaven where we will one day be united with Him for eternity.
- Salvation is through Christ alone.
- Those who truly believe in Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Savior will live a life which produces fruit which bears withness to that relationship.
DECIDING ON THE INCIDENTALS
The "incidentals" are those areas where various Christian denominations and sects differ. For example, does it make a difference to our own personal salvation if we believe in the Rapture OR if we believe Christ bypasses this event and immediately sets up His Kingdom on Earth OR if time continues immemorial until we all exit this earthly life and enter Heaven? It may certainly affect the way we live our daily lives (and those who do not believe in the Rapture may get a wonderful surprise one day!) but it does not affect our Salvation one way or the other. Therefore, though we hold very strongly to our own personal beliefs in such areas, in the immortal words of Ella, we choose to "Let it go! Let it go!" when it comes to our personal relationships with those who believe differently.
RESPECTFULLY DISAGREEING ON THE DIFFERENTIALS
We recognize that there are definitive reasons why Amber is a devout Catholic and Elisha is a devout Protestant. That is because we personally disagree with at least some of the doctrine of the other's brand of Christianity. So on these areas we ask sincere questions, debate the issues, and RESPECTFULLY disagree. Thus our friendship continues, we grow stronger in our faith, and, though we still disagree, we learn more about what the other believes and why.
For more specifics on our theological beliefs:
Regarding the role of men and women, we support the Danvers Statement.
Regarding sexuality, we support the Nashville Statement.
Regarding the Social Justice Gospel, we support the Dallas Statement.