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This is the forum to discuss the spectrum of views within Christianity on God's foreknowledge and election such as Calvinism, Arminianism, Molinism, Open Theism, Process Theism, Restrictivism, and Inclusivism, Christian Universalism and what these all are about anyway. Who is saved and when is/was their salvation certain? How does God exercise His sovereignty and how powerful is He? Is God timeless and immutable? Does a triune God help better understand God's love for mankind?

While this area is for the discussion of these doctrines within historic Christianity, all theists interested in discussing these areas within the presuppositions of and respect for the Christian framework are welcome to participate here. This is not the area for debate between nontheists and theists, additionally, there may be some topics that within the Moderator's discretion fall so outside the bounds of mainstream evangelical doctrine that may be more appropriately placed within Comparative Religions 101 Nontheists seeking only theistic participation only in a manner that does not seek to undermine the faith of others are also welcome - but we ask that Moderator approval be obtained beforehand.

Atheists are welcome to discuss and debate these issues in the Apologetics 301 or General Theistics 101 forum without such restrictions. Theists who wish to discuss these issues outside the parameters of orthodox Christian doctrine are invited to Unorthodox Theology 201.

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What Qualifies as "Christian (Unorthodox)"?

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  • What Qualifies as "Christian (Unorthodox)"?

    I haven't found a "FAQ" thread anywhere, so I'm posting this question here.

    I received a message saying I couldn't post in Christianity 101 because it's for orthodox Christians only, and I'm confused as to what this particular community defines as "unorthodox"?
    I identified myself as an unorthodox Christian when I joined the site, based on my own definition(s) of the term.

    I do not believe in any kind of "inerrancy" of the Bible, nor in treating the anthology as a single entity, given that each individual work was written by different people at different times, and that the anthology was assembled arbitrarily by men.

    I do not believe the Genesis creation myths to be historical or scientific fact, based on even a cursory literary analysis of the writing style, and the fact that both were original poems which were passed down orally in a tribal society for generations before being written down.

    I do not believe God commanded the slaughter of women, children, and infants, again based on literary analysis, which includes cultural context of the time. There is literally no evidence that these acts were not simply the war tactic of the time, which the victors (aka the ones doing the writing) gave God credit for.

    However....

    I do believe that the Bible has been and continues to be a useful tool for the Spirit.
    Just not the only one at His disposal.

    I also believe that God is the creator of everything, and that we can eventually gain a complete understanding of that creative process via our scientific study of this planet and of the universe.

    And I wholeheartedly believe in the mission of Jesus to bring humanity into better relationship with God, each other, and God's created universe, in His work to teach a better way of living in the here and now, and in His death and resurrection to give those who believe in Him a chance for eternal life.


    These are just a few examples, obviously, but where does this place me relative to the "orthodoxy" line?
    “In many ways the evidence of our faith is found in our ability to control our tongue (or our keyboard)."
    -Adam Hamilton, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White

  • #2
    (( I am not a theist, but I am posting here to subscribe, as I also find this topic interesting. I will not take part in the discussion. ))
    "[Mathematics] is the revealer of every genuine truth, for it knows every hidden secret, and bears the key to every subtlety of letters; whoever, then, has the effrontery to pursue physics while neglecting mathematics should know from the start he will never make his entry through the portals of wisdom."
    --Thomas Bradwardine, De Continuo (c. 1325)

    Comment


    • #3
      From the Christianity 201 guidelines:
      When defining “Christian” or "orthodox" for purposes of this section, we mean persons holding to the core essentials of the historic Christian faith such as the Trinity, the Creatorship of God, the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the atonement, the future bodily return of Christ, the future bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, and the final judgment.
      Does that help to answer your question?

      (BP, you do not need to post in a thread in order to subscribe to it; you may use the "Thread Tools" link at the top of the thread to do so.)
      Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

      Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
      sigpic
      I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
        From the Christianity 201 guidelines:


        Does that help to answer your question?
        Ah, yes. That makes sense.
        I'm apparently just too accustomed to Christians fighting over minutiae to go with a common-sense answer.
        “In many ways the evidence of our faith is found in our ability to control our tongue (or our keyboard)."
        -Adam Hamilton, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White

        Comment


        • #5
          Yeah no we don't fight over the non essentials. I myself have my own cultural questions about the old testament slaughters, but I'm Orthodox according to the terms here.
          A happy family is but an earlier heaven.
          George Bernard Shaw

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Catholicity View Post
            Yeah no we don't fight over the non essentials. I myself have my own cultural questions about the old testament slaughters, but I'm Orthodox according to the terms here.
            No you're not.

            Be careful what you capitalize.
            Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

            Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
            sigpic
            I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Catholicity View Post
              Yeah no we don't fight over the non essentials. I myself have my own cultural questions about the old testament slaughters, but I'm Orthodox according to the terms here.
              I hope you mean "we don't fight over the essentials." Non essentials is pretty much all we might fight over.
              Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Buzzword View Post
                I haven't found a "FAQ" thread anywhere, so I'm posting this question here.

                I received a message saying I couldn't post in Christianity 101 because it's for orthodox Christians only, and I'm confused as to what this particular community defines as "unorthodox"?
                I identified myself as an unorthodox Christian when I joined the site, based on my own definition(s) of the term.

                I do not believe in any kind of "inerrancy" of the Bible, nor in treating the anthology as a single entity, given that each individual work was written by different people at different times, and that the anthology was assembled arbitrarily by men.

                I do not believe the Genesis creation myths to be historical or scientific fact, based on even a cursory literary analysis of the writing style, and the fact that both were original poems which were passed down orally in a tribal society for generations before being written down.

                I do not believe God commanded the slaughter of women, children, and infants, again based on literary analysis, which includes cultural context of the time. There is literally no evidence that these acts were not simply the war tactic of the time, which the victors (aka the ones doing the writing) gave God credit for.

                However....

                I do believe that the Bible has been and continues to be a useful tool for the Spirit.
                Just not the only one at His disposal.

                I also believe that God is the creator of everything, and that we can eventually gain a complete understanding of that creative process via our scientific study of this planet and of the universe.

                And I wholeheartedly believe in the mission of Jesus to bring humanity into better relationship with God, each other, and God's created universe, in His work to teach a better way of living in the here and now, and in His death and resurrection to give those who believe in Him a chance for eternal life.


                These are just a few examples, obviously, but where does this place me relative to the "orthodoxy" line?
                Your position seems very close to that of Peter Enns. Are you a fan by any chance?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Scrawly View Post
                  Your position seems very close to that of Peter Enns. Are you a fan by any chance?
                  I hadn't heard of him until now, but a brief perusal of his Wikipedia page makes him appear to be something of a kindred spirit.
                  “In many ways the evidence of our faith is found in our ability to control our tongue (or our keyboard)."
                  -Adam Hamilton, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    In case you still haven't found the FAQS yet, ear to the top of every page and you will see them in the narrow dark blue line over on the left side next to private messages and stuff.


                    Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Generally if you agree with the apostle's creed, and some other essentials like OBP quotes above (trinity, bodily resurrection and return of Christ, etc) you would be considered orthodox on this board. We generally don't try to be too pendantic about it so we don't have a complete comprehensive list of doctrines you must agree on, but if we notice someone who claims to be orthodox but is posting something we (the staff) consider to be unorthodox, we will discuss it among ourselves and may ask them to change their designation to unorthodox. It is not a mark against them, just a way to keep our orthodox sections separate so they don't degrade into fighting contests about some particular doctrine or another. Like having a bunch of threads discussing whether the trinity is true or not in Christianity 201.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                        No you're not.

                        Be careful what you capitalize.
                        Very nice piggo......

                        I did mean essentials, Jed.
                        A happy family is but an earlier heaven.
                        George Bernard Shaw

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Catholicity View Post
                          I did mean essentials, Jed.
                          Whew!
                          Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Moderated By: Jedidiah

                            This thread seems to have fulfilled it's purpose. Any further posting is limited to Buzzword and moderators. Thanks.

                            ***If you wish to take issue with this notice DO NOT do so in this thread.***
                            Contact the forum moderator or an administrator in Private Message or email instead. If you feel you must publicly complain or whine, please take it to the Padded Room unless told otherwise.

                            Last edited by Jedidiah; 01-12-2015, 03:55 PM.
                            Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

                            Comment

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