What are the essentials?

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runandsew

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I hear people like Hank Hanegraaff say that the Protestant churches need to agree on the essentials, but can debate on the non-essentials. What are the essentials? I’m not looking for an answer like “well, they are things in scripture that pertain to your salvation.” I want to know what exactly the essentials are. Things like infant baptism, adult baptism only, baptismal regeneration, losing ones salvation, saved by faith alone, scripture alone, being born again ect. Is there a set list of essentials, or are the essentials one of the non-essential things that Protestants can debate on?
 
Well, I know that the Catholic list of essentials are about 800 pages long.:o (Catechism), but what about the Protestants?
 
runandsew said:
I hear people like Hank Hanegraaff say that the Protestant churches need to agree on the essentials, but can debate on the non-essentials. What are the essentials? I’m not looking for an answer like “well, they are things in scripture that pertain to your salvation.” I want to know what exactly the essentials are. Things like infant baptism, adult baptism only, baptismal regeneration, losing ones salvation, saved by faith alone, scripture alone, being born again ect. Is there a set list of essentials, or are the essentials one of the non-essential things that Protestants can debate on?
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I think Hank would say:

Essential:

Divine Creation of the Universe (not necessarily in 6 days)
Virgin Birth
Resurrection
Ascension
Second Coming of Christ/judgment: reality of heaven & hell
Trinity
Baptism: essential – infant or believer’s: an in-house debate, not a matter for division)
Inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture
Sola fide
Sola Scriptura
I think Hank would say that OSAS is essential
Rapture stuff, to him, is off-the-wall but not something to divide over.
Church government is non-essential.

Not sure what else.

Great list. Catholics go along with most of it. Trouble is, who gets to decide the essentials? Hmmmm? Oh. I know! Someone who knows how to “read the Bible for all it’s worth.” That would be Hank, of course.
 
But how can the Trinity be on the list, it is not is scripture, and therefore violates the scripture alone essential.:confused:
 
runandsew said:
Is there a set list of essentials, or are the essentials one of the non-essential things that Protestants can debate on?
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I’ve often wondered the same thing.

Being cynical for a moment -

I’m guessing that if we get two Protestants in this thread, we will see three different lists of “essentials” - the first that each of the two came in with, and then the compromise list that they put together after they each read each other’s list. 😛
 
As a former Protestant I am aware of what we were taught about the essentials.

The Trinity-the word doesn’t appear but the teaching certainly does.
The Virgin Birth
The Deity of Jesus Christ
A literal physical resurrection
A literal heaven and hell

Non essentials would include; The rapture and a few others which escape me right now. Anyway, its been a while since I ran in those circles. Hope this helps
 
The essentials would be found in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

Edwin
 
as Edwin says, the essentials for most “mainline” Protestant bodies with roots in the Reformation would be the Apostle’s Creed, but there are many denominations, going back as far as the Puritans, maybe further, who reject fromal credal statements and emphasize personal conscience over them.
 
Run and Sew,

On another religious forum (a rather anti-Catholic forum, by the way) I started a series of threads titled “Essential Christianity, Part (fill in).” I started from Hank Hanegraaf’s list of “Christian essentials” and showed that they were all in accordance with Catholic teaching. The response that I got from many non-Catholics there was that Hank Hanegraaf’s list was not authoritative. So I will agree with the respondent who said that essentially there was no such list.

Incidentally, you need to be VERY careful with terminology. For example, I have just established that for several Evangelical members on that forum, “faith alone” includes repentance from sin, “a full surrender to the lordship of Christ, and a sincere acceptance of His commandments.”
  • Liberian
 
The Nicene creed is accepted by every protestant denomination as essential wether or not they officially say so. I was a member of a no creed but christ church for many years and they believe everything within this creed.Everything outside of the Nicene creed is non essential.This view is held by every minister i have talked to from coC,AOG,baptist,CRC and uniting churches and i have had alot of contact with these denominations through the non denominational Bible college i attended.
 
How can protestants believe the Trinity is essential is easy, many people misunderstand sola scriptura and solo scriptura,sola scriptura does not mean the Bible alone, it means that it has the first position followed by tradition,when reading the Bible the historical context is looked at, followed by other authors of the Bible views on the topic, then by the way christians have viewed the subject now and in the past.
 
Damo73 said:
How can protestants believe the Trinity is essential is easy, …
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Apparently not that easy since innumerable sects throughout history, including some otherwise holy, sane and intelligent folks using the Bible alone, have managed to deny it. 🙂
…many people misunderstand sola scriptura and solo scriptura,sola scriptura does not mean the Bible alone, it means that it has the first position followed by tradition,when reading the Bible the historical context is looked at, followed by other authors of the Bible views on the topic, then by the way christians have viewed the subject now and in the past.
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This “solo” scriptura argument in mainstream Protestantism is a pretty much a recent innovation by Protestant apologists who have been hammered by Catholic apologist’s exposing of the inherent weakness of the historical “sola” Scriptura position. Aside from one or two obscure Protestant theologians, the distinctions between “Sola” and “Solo” Scriptura have not been made since recently, and, practically speaking, is unknown to the average serious Protestant. And, practically speaking, that’s where it counts.

It must be admitted that Protestants can have no list of essentials. This is not the fault of Sola Scriptura so much (because the Bible is inerrant), as it is because of the Protestant icon of private interpretation. In this scheme of things, any Bible reader can hold dear his own theology by saying to another, “Well, that’s just your interpretation.” :rolleyes:
 
runandsew said:
But how can the Trinity be on the list, it is not is scripture, and therefore violates the scripture alone essential.:confused:
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The word Trinity may not be found in the Bible but Matthew 28:18-19: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 3:16 and John 10-38 a just a few examples. God Bless.

The Authority of the Church teaches the Trinity based on sound scripture and Fathers of the Church.
 
Damo73 said:
The Nicene creed is accepted by every protestant denomination as essential wether or not they officially say so. I was a member of a no creed but christ church for many years and they believe everything within this creed.
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Do they believe in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church?

Jeremy
 
jemfinch said:
Do they believe in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church?

Jeremy
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I imagine they believe in it by their interpretation. Every Protestant church I’ve ever attended that uses that creed believes that the catholic in that line means universal and does not refer to the Catholic Church. Thus they would have no qualms with stating that they believe in “one, holy, catholic, apostolic church”.
 
CRW said:
The word Trinity may not be found in the Bible but Matthew 28:18-19: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 3:16 and John 10-38 a just a few examples. God Bless.

The Authority of the Church teaches the Trinity based on sound scripture and Fathers of the Church.
Click to expand...
Yes, the very basic idea of the Trinity is in the Bible, but I was thinking more of how Christians have defined it since the council of Nicea.(or I think that is where it was formally defined) You know the three persons in one God. Jesus being one Devine person, while having a fully Devine nature, and a fully human nature. that meaning of the Trinity. (If I got it wrong sorry, I am trying to type faster than I think.
 
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