I'm a protestant Christian....ask me anything!

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Seekingthetruth

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So I’ve seen these threads floating around and they seem fun 🙂 and seeing that I’m new to the forums i thought this would be a good way to get introduced to the community! So here it goes…

The title pretty much says it all, ask me anything, but just a few interesting notes:
  • i would consider myself a hylomorphic dualist
  • i would also consider myself to be a soft panentheist (not to be confusrd with a pantheist)
  • I’m also a theistic evolutionist
These are just a couple of ideas of topics we can discuss. So have at it and let’s have a great discussion:)
 
If you had to sum up in one sentence the reason why you are a Protestant, what would you say ?

And welcome to the forums !
 
Very good, I do not normally participate in these threads, but we see thing similarly. I am not knowledgeable on panentheism to take a stand, but it does not seem too unreasonable. The other two points we agree.
So here are my questions:
Which denomination do you belong? You obviously have an interest in philosophy. I know some Protestants discourage philosophy, as it leads to errors, do you agree with the Catholic doctrine that there can be no contradiction between faith and reason?
What are your thoughts on the Church of the fathers,. Or the first 3 centuries or so?
What are you thoughts on John 17:21?
 
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Seekingthetruth said:
i would also consider myself to be a soft panentheist (not to be confusrd with a pantheist)
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First, welcome to the forum.

My question is, what makes panentheism different from simple theism? And are there two kinds of panentheism, one “soft” and the other “hard”? What is the difference?
 
Can you give a second grade definition of the 3 points you made of who you are? I looked them up but I’m not that smart… if not it’s cool thanks.
 
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Also are there any similarities in the beliefs between Catholics and Protestants? I mean besides the obvious ones, like our love for Jesus
 
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OddBird said:
f you had to sum up in one sentence the reason why you are a Protestant, what would you say ?
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Hmmmm, well if I’m being honest it’s because that’s how i was raised, and i stayed that way because when Jesus talked about “the church” i believe he meant the entire body of believers, not a single theocracy of bishops. That’s not the most exciting answer, i know.
OddBird said:
And welcome to the forums !
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Thanks!
 
Lenten_ashes said:
I had to google this. Can you tell me in your own words what it is? You say you are protestant – how does hylomorphic dualism differ from say, a Baptist? Thanks
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Of course! So hylomorphic dualism is basically that the body is composed of matter and form (soul), most Baptists believe in a form of substance dualism where the soul and body are two different things, i believe the soul and the body are two aspect of the same substance. 🙂
 
Hello seeking the truth,
There was a similar thread recently and I posted a question that I was curious about. I didn’t get a response so I’ll repost it here.
One thing I was sort of wondering about with regards to protestants, and I don’t necessarily want to argue about it, is the belief in the importance of accepting Jesus as your personal lord and savior. I know this belief is popular among evangelistic groups but I was wondering about more mainstream groups like Presbyterians and Episcopalians.
 
rom said:
First, welcome to the forum.
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Thanks!
rom said:
My question is, what makes panentheism different from simple theism?
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Panentheism simply put, by definition means all in God. So in classical theism you have God then you have everything else separately. Panentheism posits that everything is within and sustained by God. I can expand on that if need be 🙂
 
Of course! So simply put, hylomorphic dualism is the idea that the soul and the body are two expressions of the same substance. So instead of having a body that’s controlled by a soul, in essence i believe they are the intertwined.

Panentheism is just the belief that the world and everything in it are part of God but God transcends the universe. So the universe is a part of God but not all of God. So without God there couldn’t be anything because God sustains the universe. I can always clarify that:)

Being a theistic evolutionist just means i accept the evolutionary theories but i believe that its only made possible by God ordaining it to be.
annad347 said:
Also are there any similarities in the beliefs between Catholics and Protestants?
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Hmmm, i believe there are some similarities. However only in the older high church traditions such as Anglicans and Lutherans . However I believe there far more differences than similarities between the low church protestants, like Baptists and Methodists, and Roman Catholics
 
rom said:
are there two kinds of panentheism, one “soft” and the other “hard”? What is the difference?
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I forgot to answer this lol I’m sorry!

There are, so there is strong panentheism which basically says that God and the entire cosmos are completely one. Its like pantheism. I disagree with that notion

So I’m a weak panentheist which means i believe that God’s presence is prevalent throughout everything, but God’s identity is separate from the cosmos but the Cosmos is sustained through God.

I probably didn’t make any sense here’s a website that may explain it better than me haha
https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_panentheism.html
 
I can’t think of a single question I would want to ask. Thanks anyway. 🙂
 
tafan2 said:
Which denomination do you belong?
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Technically Baptist, but I don’t really like to label myself as any particular protestant denomination. Because i have many differences in beliefs than most protestants.
tafan2 said:
You obviously have an interest in philosophy.
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Yeah… lol I’m a philosophy major. Working towards getting a d.div in theology.
tafan2 said:
I know some Protestants discourage philosophy, as it leads to errors, do you agree with the Catholic doctrine that there can be no contradiction between faith and reason?
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Absolutely! I believe the only way we can reason is because of faith there is a God. Without God there can be no reason or uniformity in nature.
tafan2 said:
What are your thoughts on the Church of the fathers,. Or the first 3 centuries or so?
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I believe the church fathers are essential to correct Christian doctrine. They were great thinkers and theologians and they were extremely important to the church. I believe protestants don’t place a large enough importance on them.
tafan2 said:
What are you thoughts on John 17:21?
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I think Jesus is praying for the unity of all believers. That we would all be united with him as he is with the Father.
 
huck said:
belief in the importance of accepting Jesus as your personal lord and savior. I know this belief is popular among evangelistic groups but I was wondering about more mainstream groups like Presbyterians and Episcopalians.
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Hmmm i think this is the central belief binding all of Christianity, especially with all protestants denominations. Perhaps i may not understand the question, could you rephrase it please 🙂
 
Seekingthetruth said:
Panentheism simply put, by definition means all in God. So in classical theism you have God then you have everything else separately. Panentheism posits that everything is within and sustained by God. I can expand on that if need be 🙂
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In classical theism everything is in God’s Mind and Heart, and everything is sustained by His Power. However, classical theism maintains that God’s substance is distinct from the world and, in that sense, “separate” from Him. This does not mean that we do not exist “in” Him, because He is the one who sustains our being and our movements. As St. Paul said, “For in him we live, and move, and are” (Acts 17:28).

Now, you said that Panentheism posits that everything is within and sustained by God. Sustained by God? yes. Within God, how? God has no “inside,” because the Divine Substance is a simple substance. How can everything be “within” Him in any sense different from what the classical theist already believes? For, we classical theists believe that we are “in” God’s Mind and Heart, and are conserved by His Power as well. Now, if this is what Panentheism believes, then what makes it different from regular theism? Or, is it the case that Panentheism believes that the substances of creatures are somehow mixed with, and dissolved in, God’s substance? If this is the case, don’t you think that is problematic since God’s substance is simple and indivisible?
 
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