My Confession of Faith

I love creeds. They are Affirmations of faith that let everyone know where you stand concerning the issues of doctrine and belief. I personally think that Christian Assemblies ought to go back to the Apostles and Nicene creeds, as a basis for teaching and memorization. Yet It seems to me that both of those creeds are sparse in areas that are at least important to me, so I have developed my own Confession of Faith. It is far from an original piece, borrowing heavily from The Nicene Creed, but it conveys my doctrinal beliefs quite nicely

So here it is.

THE CONFESSION OF
DORIAN ANTHONY JONES
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I believe in one God, The Father, Almighty and Eternal, The Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible.
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I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, The only begotten Son of God,
Begotten of The Father before all worlds
God Of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God
Begotten not made, being one in substance with The Father
Through whom all things were made, and by whom all thing consist.
Who, for the salvation of man, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by The Holy Ghost through the Virgin Mary, And being in the form of man was tempted at all points, yet without sin.
Who under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was crucified
Who yielding his life willingly, died, and rose again in three days according to The Scriptures.
Who ascending into heaven, now is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
From there He shall return to judge the quick and the dead. and establish a Kingdom which will have no end
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I believe in The Holy Spirit, The Lord God, one with and proceeding from The Father and The Son.
Creator, Indweller, Life Giver, Protector, Healer, Teacher, and Comforter.
The Ernest of our inheritance until our redemption in glory.
Who with The Father and The Son is worthy of worship and glory.
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I believe in one Holy Christian Church, The Communion of Saints, and the Ordinance of Baptism, The inerrancy of God"s Word, The Holy Bible, The Security of the Believer, The Blood Atonement, the Resurrection of the Dead, and Life Eternal in the world to come. Amen.

Dumpster diving

I never cease to be amazed at the things you find on the Internet, claiming to be "Christian." The availability of information on the web ranges from good fundamental teaching to a wash of absolute garbage. I liken it to the fond childhood memory of dumpster diving. In the effort of climbing into a smelly, greasy metal box, you hope to find something "cool" and, more often than not, you find something better left to rot...Much like today, some things on the net are sound and edifying, and other stink of the rottenness of false teaching. Weather digging through garbage to find "treasure," or surfing the web for pearls of wisdom, the key is to know the difference. True followers of Christ must be able to discern the truth from error, and therein lies the major problem with the Church. The pitiful lack of sound bible teaching has opened the Church to grevious error that undermines the faith of believers, and fails miserably to bring the gospel message to lost souls. A series of best selling books and a message which is considered "relevant to the postmodern culture of today", does not make the Author a Christian. being the son of a famous preacher and having a huge congregation at your stadium sized church does not make one a minister of the gospel. A twenty pound leather bible, a three piece suit, and a ministry that proudly displays your name does not cut it either... When Jesus was preaching what we call the "Sermon on the Mount," (Matthew 7: 15-20) he warned us of false prophets who come in sheep's clothing, but who were ravening wolves inwardly. Then He went on to make a very direct and revealing statement. "Ye shall know them by their fruits." What exactly did Jesus mean by fruits? lifestyle? Good works? Remember what he said earlier, They WEAR SHEEP'S CLOTHING! The outer appearance was that of righteous men, they looked and acted the part... So in my opinion, The fruits Christ spoke of had, in this case, nothing to do with lifestyle or appearance. It is my humble belief that the fruits Jesus was referring to were the fruit of their doctrine. In II Corinthians 11, Paul said that those who preach a different Jesus, Gospel and Holy Spirit than that which he preached were, false apostles deceitful workers, TRANSFORMING THEMSELVES into Apostles of Christ just as Satan transforms himself into an angel of light...(II Corinthians 11: 13-15) We can safely say that concerning spiritual leaders, looks can be deceiving... It is what they teach that counts. Even when Paul preached the gospel, the people of Berea received his word, and "STUDIED THE SCRIPTURES whether those things were so." (Acts 17:10-11) If the Apostle Paul's preaching was subject to the test of Holy Scripture, How much more so these who shower us with books and videos that boost the self esteem and tickle the ear? The Bible is not subject to the interpretation of the teacher, the teachers interpretation is subject to The Bible. remember this, and search the scriptures daily whether those things are so...

A different view of John 3:16...O.K...

As I was skimming through the Internet, (You Tube to be precise) I saw a posted comment that recommended a website called "The Ooze". Always interested in Christian websites, and seeking to get a greater knowledge of what the "Emergent Church" movement is about, I "Googled The Ooze" to see what's up. After browsing the site for a bit, I happened to come on to a post titled, "John :316- Is It Focused on Just People, or Something Bigger?" by a man who simply called himself Jonathon. It was a critique of the "traditional interpretation" of the verse, And while not denying the traditional interpretation, he made a statement that I found particularly disturbing...

"Basically we read and form theology INTO the verse or this particular verse"

Why do I find this disturbing? Because he states that theology (Which is in this case the the traditional interpretation) Is read into the verse... (italics mine) This struck me as odd ...and a question popped into my mind...

Is he implying that the Traditional view of the verse, (That God gave his son so that those who believe shall have eternal life) is a preconceived notion , which we have READ INTO the verse itself?

It strikes me as odd because I was under the impression that the theology was formed on the basis of what the verse said, in context with the entire narrative...

I continued to read, about how although the traditional interpretation is "good and valid according to theology" He went on to say that:

1. "It is not good in how we appreciate the biblical narrative and theology based on the whole bible"....O.K....

2. That it promote a belief that God cares for people only, and brushes the rest of His Creation aside...

3. "It sort of shrinks our theology giving us a "malnutrition version" of God's plan....WHAT?!?

He than proceeds to give what he perceives to be a more "Holistic/nourished approach of theology based on John 3:16 that is faithful to the biblical message." He did this By using a sparse overview of the Old Testament, and two passages from the New Testament, (Collosians 1: 15-20 and Romans 8: 18-23) to show that God not only seeks to reconcile humans to himself, but creation as a whole... By doing this he sought to show "a more holistic view of the mission of God and theology for understanding John 3:16."

WOW... I never thought John 3:16 meant all that.... and you know what... It Doesn't.

Jesus was not giving a geology lesson to Nicodemus. No where is that implied in the context of the chapter, He was stating the need of a Spiritual rebirth of man which is necessary for salvation.

Jonathon said that we read and form theology into this verse.... and he did the exact same thing...not on the basis of the narrative as a whole, but on the basis of one word... world.

The difference is that the traditional theology is based on the immediate context of the passage, and is consistent with God's plan of redemption throughout the Bible as a whole...

So is it wrong to see that God has a plan to redeem his creation? The Bible says that God will create a NEW heaven and earth wherein dwelleth righteousness....but that is another topic, for a later time.

My first official Blog...woohoo!

Wow... This is totally new to me, so here we go... It has been my intention to start a blog for some time now, but I never got a " 'round tuit." (had a bunch of square tuits and a few triangle tuits, but no round 'uns). Be that as it may, I finally got a 'round tuit, so here I am....
I have been wanting to start a Blog to voice my opinion on whatever issue pops up in my thick skull, chiefly of a religious or philosophical nature. So at the start let me make a few points clear.

1. I am a Christian by faith, A Baptist by preference, and Reformed in my theology. I believe in the Five fundamentals of the Christian Faith, and make no apology for what has been passed down to me by God, through faithful and learned men. I love the Holy Bible, and the Lord Jesus Christ and will defend the faith to the best of my ability.

2. My spelling is lousey (Did I spell lousey right?) and sometimes I am to lazy to use a spell checker, My grammar is not to hot either, so please forgive me for any errors.

3. As a Fundamental Christian, many of my posts will seem intolerant, That comes with the territory. I do not believe in sacrificing Long-established Biblical truth on the alter of inclusivity with those who do not share my faith. I do believe that people are free to believe worship as they see fit, and live as they choose. Loving your neighbor is one of the two pillars of the Christian Faith, (Loving God is the other) so if you disagree, feel free to disagree agreeably.

4. Although I have no problems with Course name calling...(Buzzard Bait, yard bird, dipstick pinhead, dog meat, ect... all in fun) I will not tolerate filthy language in this space. It is my hope that people here will realize that I am a Christian, and respect my wishes in this area. All responses containing such language will be removed..

So... this is my first post. Many will follow, so feel free to read and respond accordingly!
Love and CHAO!
Dorian of the Cross