I am a Christian. Ideally, this statement would provide much clarity on what I hold to be true about the world and our place in it. However, in our society where many people of diverse backgrounds claim a "Christian" affiliation, I recognize that affirming the Christian faith without further explanation might not be very helpful. People who call themselves Christian say and do many different and sometimes contradictory things. I am certainly a part of that confusing and inconsistent group (actually, every Christian is). Nonetheless, there is a core set of beliefs that all practicing Christians share.
What do Christians believe? It is difficult to do better than to quote The Apostles' Creed, whose words I include below. This creed dates to A.D. 390 and provides a helpful summary of the historic understanding of the Christian faith rooted in the teachings of Christ's earliest and closest followers.
What do Christians believe? It is difficult to do better than to quote The Apostles' Creed, whose words I include below. This creed dates to A.D. 390 and provides a helpful summary of the historic understanding of the Christian faith rooted in the teachings of Christ's earliest and closest followers.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Here is a helpful, 5-minute summary of the meaning of the Apostles' Creed.
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Here is a helpful, 5-minute summary of the meaning of the Apostles' Creed.
What do these Christian beliefs mean for me personally? I would love to talk with you about this in person. However one of the most important things to understand is that I hold my faith in Christ with great humility and deep respect for all. My faith gives me no reason whatsoever to think of myself as better than anyone (Romans 3:21-24). The Bible teaches that it is God's work alone that saves us from the errors we all commit and gives meaning for our human existence, and that there is nothing I or anyone else could do to earn the forgiveness that I need (Romans 5:6-8). I find this teaching deeply freeing and empowering. God provides hope for my life, and since hope is so badly needed in our broken world I would be happy to share more about the Christian faith with you, if you are interested.
Are you interested in learning more about the Christian faith? Here are a few different kinds of resources to consider related to the Christian perspective on life and reality, and ultimately what the Christian Gospel (literally, the "Good News") actually is:
1. The odb.org ("Our Daily Bread") website, a resource that provides a new point to ponder from the Bible every day.
2. The sermon database of The Village Church Denton, the group of believers in Denton of which I am a part. The sermon database page linked here makes available for download the weekly talks provided by the pastoral team at The Village Church Denton, led by that church's primary teaching pastor, Dr. Beau Hughes. I find great inspiration and guidance from the teaching presented on this page, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in understanding more about the Christian faith and its meaning for our lives today.
3. If you don't want to commit to listening to one of the 45 minute talks linked above (I wouldn't blame you!), below is a great 6-minute video that explains the central message of the Bible: the Gospel, or literally the "Good News". The Good News about what? Well, that is what the video explains. I invite you to invest 6 minutes in learning about the Gospel and how this Good News relates to our broken world.
1. The odb.org ("Our Daily Bread") website, a resource that provides a new point to ponder from the Bible every day.
2. The sermon database of The Village Church Denton, the group of believers in Denton of which I am a part. The sermon database page linked here makes available for download the weekly talks provided by the pastoral team at The Village Church Denton, led by that church's primary teaching pastor, Dr. Beau Hughes. I find great inspiration and guidance from the teaching presented on this page, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in understanding more about the Christian faith and its meaning for our lives today.
3. If you don't want to commit to listening to one of the 45 minute talks linked above (I wouldn't blame you!), below is a great 6-minute video that explains the central message of the Bible: the Gospel, or literally the "Good News". The Good News about what? Well, that is what the video explains. I invite you to invest 6 minutes in learning about the Gospel and how this Good News relates to our broken world.
4. If you happen to be someone who thinks of Christianity as being primarily concerned with maintaining the status quo, and not much concerned about the injustice in the world, you might want to check out the talk below.
Please feel free to stop by and chat if you would like to talk about anything here. Thanks for visiting this page!