Comments on: Statements of Faith – Do You Know What Your Church Believes?: A Second Life Story.

By: ThirstyJon

ThirstyJon — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:58:19 +0000

That is the first time I have heard those terms used in a Statement of Belief! Usually the statements are more general where I have visited.

I once visited a very popular ministry and was really surprised by some of the things in their Statement of Belief.

It makes one wonder.

ThirstyJon
freedomthirst.com

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:38:22 +0000

Well, I can surely say that my curiosity regarding Second Life is peaked. I am going to spend some time this weekend exploring that topic.

As far as Statements of Faith. I read rcently that the churches who require new membership classes prior to actually becoming a member have the largest growth rate and tend to keep members longer. People want to know that they are not being led into something false or that they may later discover some alterior motive.

The church that I attend utilizes such a policy and I completely agree with it.

Anyway, I have recently found your page and will undoubtedly enjoy reading some of your past and future posts.

May your roots grow down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love! (Eph 3:16)

Michael

By: Casey

Casey — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:07:21 +0000

I always make it a point to check now, because I once accidentally attended a cult service. (International Church of Christ)

By: Nobody Fugazi/Taran Rampersad

Nobody Fugazi/Taran Rampersad — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:33:08 +0000

This was an intriguing read; I’m a Buddhist but I’m always interested in what others believe (it lends to more polite conversation when you can find common ground). I looked up the references that you gave through the Wikipedia (yours gave a history but not much else), and came up with:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalism

This was interesting; both Pelagianism and Modalism represent very Eastern belief structures. Some may even be surprised that Hinduism, to be explained in a Western context, is almost exactly the same as modalism – there is a Hindu Trinity, and the different ‘gods’ are actually aspects of the same supreme being (this, unfortunately, isn’t as well known as it should be).

It is actually very interesting when these were recognized by as ‘isms’; at that time the very borders of Roman civilization could have allowed transference either way. Very, very, very interesting – thank you for this post. I learned a lot.

By: Vanessa Rodriguez

Vanessa Rodriguez — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:11:56 +0000

Unfortunately this is something that happens often. I would go further and say: READ YOUR CHURCH BY-LAWS. You might be surprised. I once attended a church that actually refused to give me a copy of their by-laws, yet they still wanted me to become a member.