What are The fundamentals of Christianity That All Christians Agree With?

[yermanyonda]

Considering that all Christians profess to follow the teachings of Christ, what are The Fundamentals that all Mainstream Lay- Christians agree with; in the interests of Ecumenism I will start this off and maybe ye would like to add to it:

1. Jesus is The Son Of God, Our Lord and Saviour, Who came on Earth via The Holy Spirit
   and The Virgin Mary; was crucified, died for our sins and Salvation and rose, again, from
   the dead.
2. A Christian must be Baptised in The Faith.
3. A Christian believes in The Three persons in one God; Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit.
4. A Christian must follow The Ten Commandments.
5. A Christian must repent of One’s sins to inherit Eternal Life.
6. A Christian must love thy neighbour as thyself.

There may be some committed Christians out there who would disagree with that list already and others who would like to add to it.

 

[Tomster]

Considering that all Christians profess to follow the teachings of Christ, what are The Fundamentals that all Mainstream Lay- Christians agree with; in the interests of Ecumenism I will start this off and maybe ye would like to add to it:

1. Jesus is The Son Of God, Our Lord and Saviour, Who came on Earth via The Holy Spirit
   and The Virgin Mary; was crucified, died for our sins and Salvation and rose, again, from
   the dead.
2. A Christian must be Baptised in The Faith.
3. A Christian believes in The Three persons in one God; Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit.
4. A Christian must follow The Ten Commandments.
5. A Christian must repent of One’s sins to inherit Eternal Life.
6. A Christian must love thy neighbour as thyself.

There may be some committed Christians out there who would disagree with that list already and others who would like to add to it.

Good luck in your search, no sarcasm intended. Protestantism has been trying to figure this out for over 500 years. To this day there is still no concensus among them.

 

[yermanyonda]

Good luck in your search, no sarcasm intended. Protestantism has been trying to figure this out for over 500 years. To this day there is still no concensus among them.

Yes:indeed; but you have to start somewhere and if Christ came back tomorrow He would sort everyone out in a couple of minutes; I believe!

 

[NotTooSmart]

OK. Then I am curious who is not Christian by this. Not saying that I agree or disagree, just want to eliminate.

Considering that all Christians profess to follow the teachings of Christ, what are The Fundamentals that all Mainstream Lay- Christians agree with; in the interests of Ecumenism I will start this off and maybe ye would like to add to it:

1. Jesus is The Son Of God, Our Lord and Saviour, Who came on Earth via The Holy Spirit
   and The Virgin Mary; was crucified, died for our sins and Salvation and rose, again, from
   the dead.

Some liberal Protestant groups who deny the bodily resurrection are not Christian.

What if we have a new convert (like the thief on the cross) and the message that was presented to him missed some details, like say forgot the part where He was born of Mary who oh-by-the-way was virgin at the time? Are you saying we don’t have a Christian until these gaps are filled in?

1. A Christian must be Baptised in The Faith.

Then (again) the thief on the cross and anybody who dies prior to baptism is not Christian. Also some groups that do not baptize (Friends?) are not Christian.

1. A Christian believes in The Three persons in one God; Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit.

JW and mormons are not Christian as well as other smaller groups. And again what about a new convert who wasn’t filled in on the trinity completely?

1. A Christian must follow The Ten Commandments.

Then I am not a Christian because I do not follow the 10 commandments per Jesus’s standard in the sermon on the mount.

And anybody who worships on Sunday and not Saturday is not technically keeping the Sabbath.

1. A Christian must repent of One’s sins to inherit Eternal Life.

Then small children and babies can not be Christian.

And to what extent? When I became a Christian my biggie sin was smoking weed. I was not aware of many other sins.

1. A Christian must love thy neighbour as thyself.

Then I am not a Christian because I do not do this consistently.

 

[Will_B]

Considering that all Christians profess to follow the teachings of Christ, what are The Fundamentals that all Mainstream Lay- Christians agree with; in the interests of Ecumenism I will start this off and maybe ye would like to add to it:

1. Jesus is The Son Of God, Our Lord and Saviour, Who came on Earth via The Holy Spirit
   and The Virgin Mary; was crucified, died for our sins and Salvation and rose, again, from
   the dead. (I would say almost 100% agree)
2. A Christian must be Baptised in The Faith. ( I would say almost 90% agree… Some don’t believe in any sacraments.)
3. A Christian believes in The Three persons in one God; Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit. ( I would say almost 100% agree, but this mystery has different interpretations)
4. A Christian must follow The Ten Commandments. (Now you are getting into the Grace and works argument, as well as the “Once Saved, Always Saved” argument)
5. A Christian must repent of One’s sins to inherit Eternal Life. (Yes almost 100%, but how is the debate)
6. A Christian must love thy neighbour as thyself. (Again 100%, almost, agree with the summery of the Law… You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul… And you must love your neighbor as yourself)

There may be some committed Christians out there who would disagree with that list already and others who would like to add to it.

This should be a very interesting study.

 

[yermanyonda]

OK. Then I am curious who is not Christian by this. Not saying that I agree or disagree, just want to eliminate.

Some liberal Protestant groups who deny the bodily resurrection are not Christian.

Then the thief on the cross and anybody who dies prior to baptism is not Christian. Also some groups that do not baptize (Friends?) are not Christian.

JW and mormons are not Christian as well as other smaller groups.

Then I am not a Christian because I do not follow the 10 commandments per Jesus’s standard in the sermon on the mount.

And anybody who worships on Sunday and not Saturday is not technically keeping the Sabbath.

Then small children and babies can not be Christian.

Then I am not a Christian because I do not do this consistently.

Actually, with respect, the question was what was the list that ALL agree with. Out of six of my propositions you have eliminated six; so start a new list!

I am not suggesting that, if you disagree with my list, you are not Christian. The extent of my own PERSONAL ’ hot topics’ would go much further than this.

 

[NotTooSmart]

Actually, with respect, the question was what was the list that ALL agree with. Out of six of my propositions you have eliminated six; so start a new list!

I am not suggesting that, if you disagree with my list, you are not Christian. The extent of my own PERSONAL ’ hot topics’ would go much further than this.

OK.

All I am really interested is in analyzing this and asking silly questions. If you don’t wish me to, that is fine.

Even though I am NotTooSmart, I am smart enough to know when to back off some things.

When somebody says a Christian must “do this thing” or “believe this thing” the first question that pops into my head is “how well”? The next question is when does this happen? The follow on question is “are you saying that the new convert is not a Christian until he starts to ‘practice this’ or ‘believe this’”.

Anyway, that is how my mind works on questions like this. Yours may e different.

 

[JOHNONEVI]

Greetings,

This is a topic that greatly interests me. I am Roman Catholic. I find myself drawn to an Eastern Orthadox Monastic Order. The Monks of New Skete located in Connecticut. Would I be able to maintain my devotion to the doctrines and practices I beleive in because I would never leave Rome without it.
Johnonevi

 

[Paul3144]

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost
of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
and he shall come again, with glory,
to judge both the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Life,
who proceedeth from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together
is worshipped and glorified;
who spake by the Prophets.
And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church;
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;
and I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

 

[apromisemade]

If CAF has taught me anything it’s that pretty much every person within every faith is going to think something a little bit different, but generally speaking, it’s true there are an awful lot of things all the denominations have in common.

Heck, there are even a surprising number of things other religions besides Christianity have in common with it. A while back I was reading an excerpt from something the Dali Lama wrote about how hatred and grudges really hurt the person holding them more than the one they’re aimed against, and marvelled and how similar it was to the Scriptures when Jesus talked about how it’s important to forgive from the bottom of your heart, not just avoid doing harm to that person.

I my very personal and modest opinion about the thousands of religions and denominations of Christianity, when it comes right down to it and the parts of them that are most important; love, peace, humility, faith, courage, Jesus, family and so forth…

honestly, I really don’t see that much difference.

 

[Jolly_Joe]

First you need to define things. As I would define it fundamental doctrines are those required for salvation.

Now of course right out of the gate, you have to decide on a source for the fundamental doctrines. I would say the bible others chose other sources to trust.

The sacraments get to be an area of confusion because they are forms of the gospel. Now as forms of the gospel they save, but one does not need to receive the gospel in all possible forms in order to be saved. So as such it is useful to call them secondary fundamental doctrines. Doctrines linked to salvation by the bible but not absolutely necessary.

Do all agree? No, of course people don’t agree. But if for instance the bible says there is no way to be saved but through Christ, are we to throw that away because someone doesn’t agree? Of course not.

And so one can then instead of starting with these people are Christians and what do they agree on, see that there are things that are indeed necessary to be saved, and those therefore who believe them are Christians.

Now one can also get into intellectual quicksand with things like the Trinity. The bible again links the Father and the Holy Spirit in addition to Christ with salvation, it makes it clear that you cannot have one without the others. But do we need a full mental understanding of the Trinity in order to be saved? No, of course not. Full understanding is not required, but that’s a lot different from teaching against the Trinity as groups like the Mormons do.

So that’s how I’d go about it.

You, as Catholic may want to take the clear list that the Catholic Church takes as necessary for salvation. I, as a Lutheran would take those things the Bible links to salvation.

 

[Evan]

Maybe we should start more slowly. Try to find something that all Christians believe.

maybe…

Jesus appeared around 2000 years ago (either spiritually (eg JWs) or physically). I know some deny his existence, but do any Christians deny his existence?

 

[dianaiad]

Considering that all Christians profess to follow the teachings of Christ, what are The Fundamentals that all Mainstream Lay- Christians agree with; in the interests of Ecumenism I will start this off and maybe ye would like to add to it:

1. Jesus is The Son Of God, Our Lord and Saviour, Who came on Earth via The Holy Spirit
   and The Virgin Mary; was crucified, died for our sins and Salvation and rose, again, from
   the dead.
2. A Christian must be Baptised in The Faith.
3. A Christian believes in The Three persons in one God; Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit.
4. A Christian must follow The Ten Commandments.
5. A Christian must repent of One’s sins to inherit Eternal Life.
6. A Christian must love thy neighbour as thyself.

There may be some committed Christians out there who would disagree with that list already and others who would like to add to it.

Man, oh man, this is the most classic "True Scott’ fallacy imaginable.

You do realize that this is a completely untenable question, right?

 

[dianaiad]

Maybe we should start more slowly. Try to find something that all Christians believe.

maybe…

Jesus appeared around 2000 years ago (either spiritually (eg JWs) or physically). I know some deny his existence, but do any Christians deny his existence?

Actually, I have heard at least two people who claim to be Christian who have had doubts.

I think we have to retrench even further: is there anyone who claims to be Christian who does not believe in the teachings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth? (Well, at least as interpreted by the believer, anyway)

 

[yermanyonda]

Man, oh man, this is the most classic "True Scott’ fallacy imaginable.

You do realize that this is a completely untenable question, right?

Why? Isn’t there anything at all that we ALL agree on?

Remember that we are all the followers of the teachings of one person; Our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

[jblake]

yermanyonda;:

Why? Isn’t there anything at all that we ALL agree on?
Remember that we are all the followers of the teachings of one person; Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Issue # 1 is what were the teachings of Jesus;
Issue # 2 is what texts contain His Teachings;
Issue # 3 is which manuscripts of those texts contain His Teachings;
Issue # 4 is which translations of those manuscripts faithfully present the meaning of the text of the manuscript;

jonathon

 

[dianaiad]

Issue # 1 is what were the teachings of Jesus;
Issue # 2 is what texts contain His Teachings;
Issue # 3 is which manuscripts of those texts contain His Teachings;
Issue # 4 is which translations of those manuscripts faithfully present the meaning of the text of the manuscript;

jonathon

I rather thought that the question was…what are the fundamentals that all Christians agree on?

I guess the first question is, what makes someone a Christian?

Once you have defined that, then you can look to see what else all of those people agree on.

The problem, of course, is three- fold:
1.what belief is it that, if held or not held, would cause a group that thinks it IS Christian to not be Christian,
2.who gets to decide what that belief would be, and
3.why in the name of all that is holy would anybody expect someone who thinks he is Christian to agree that he isn’t, because someone with whose doctrine he disagrees, says he’s not?

So I suggest that first, we find the ONE thing that everybody who claims to be Christian agrees on. Not '“the one thing I think they should agree on,” but the one thing everybody who claims to be Christian actually does agree on.

I suggested that the first thing, the one every Christian would have to agree on (because of the name…) would be that all Christians believe in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, called Christ.

I think all Christians would share this belief. Can you think of any that would not? Even the most extreme groups?

…but a belief in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth isn’t exclusive to Christians, is it? Jews and Muslims both believe that He is a prophet, and taught some very important things. I know atheists and agnostics who think He taught some very valuable things. They don’t call themselves Christians as a result, though.

So I think item #2 would be…all Christians would claim to BE Christians; this is the belief they identify with.

They identify with Jesus the Christ as the most important Man (or leader/teacher/somebody) next only to God, if, that is, they don’t identify Him AS God. That is why they call themselves Christians, not “Jews” or Muslims or something else. It is the Christ that is central to their beliefs.

Can anyone think of anything else that every Christian would agree on–and I do mean EVERY Christian?

 

[peakpilgrim]

IN MY OPINION: What all of the above proves is that if you give a Bible to 50 different people and ask them to interpret it then you will get 50 different interpretations; there is a need for a central authority to interpret Scripture correctly for all Christians; otherwise you get ‘Pick ‘n’ Mix’ Christianity.

But, of course that authority exists already. It is The Magisterium of The Roman Catholic Church with The Pope as Chairman in succession to The Apostle Saint Peter.

Peter was given a mandate as Leader of the Church in Mathew 16:18-19: ‘…Thou art Peter and on this ROCK I will build my Church and the gates of the underworld will never hold out against it and I will give unto thee the KEYS of The Kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven…’ The important words here: ROCK: the name given by Jesus to Peter was ‘Cephas’ which means rock; KEYS: most cities in ancient times had walls and a main gate to prevent invasion; anyone given the Key to that gate was, indeed, very special.

 

[jblake]

dianaiad;:

of the name…) would be that all Christians believe in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, called Christ.

I think all Christians would share this belief. Can you think of any that would not? Even the most extreme groups?

If Esoteric Christianity is branch of Christianity, then yes, there are groups that deny the existence of Jesus, but endorse the teachings attributed to Jesus.(They usually are more aligned with a variant of the Perennial Philosophy, rather than strictly Christian theology.)

So I think item #2 would be…all Christians would claim to BE Christians; this is the belief they identify with.

“Identify with”, or “aspire to identify with”. If the latter, there are several medieval examples. (This position is also found in mystics. They’d like to be Christian, but they feel that they are so far from God, and Christian living that the best they feel they can achieve is to aspire to a belief in Christianity.)

They identify with Jesus the Christ as the most important Man (or leader/teacher/somebody) next only to God, if, that is, they don’t identify Him AS God.

One of the branches of Pentecostal Christianity ignores Jesus as God. (I’ve forgotten which one it is, but it is one of the branches that is not modalist.)

jonathon

 

[yermanyonda]

IN MY OPINION: What all of the above proves is that if you give a Bible to 50 different people and ask them to interpret it then you will get 50 different interpretations; there is a need for a central authority to interpret Scripture correctly for all Christians; otherwise you get ‘Pick ‘n’ Mix’ Christianity.

But, of course that authority exists already. It is The Magisterium of The Roman Catholic Church with The Pope as Chairman in succession to The Apostle Saint Peter.

Peter was given a mandate as Leader of the Church in Mathew 16:18-19: ‘…Thou art Peter and on this ROCK I will build my Church and the gates of the underworld will never hold out against it and I will give unto thee the KEYS of The Kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven…’ The important words here: ROCK: the name given by Jesus to Peter was ‘Cephas’ which means rock; KEYS: most cities in ancient times had walls and a main gate to prevent invasion; anyone given the Key to that gate was, indeed, very special.

Yes, personally I would largely agree with you, but what are the fundamentals on which ALL Christians agree; regardless. With respect to you, that WAS the question