Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: cms@dragon.uucp Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Christian view of homosexuality Message-ID: Date: 13 Jul 90 09:06:04 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Computer Projects Unlimited Lines: 72 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , credmond@watmath.waterloo.edu (Chris Redmond) writes: > In article tp0x+@andrew.cmu.edu (Thomas Carl Price) writes: >>The core of Christianity is not the teachings of Jesus but the identity of >>Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, the Savior promised to Adam and >>Eve in Genesis 3:15, to Abraham, to David, and so forth. Paul's writings >>are (with the rest of the epistles) an elaboration of this role, after the >>fact, and instructions for the formation of ecclesias. [deleted] > in order for me to make my point. I consider myself a Christian, > and I do not agree with any part of this statement. Nor do I > think that I might as well be Zen Buddhist; if I were, I would > lose the truths that God is offering me through Christianity. > > In particular, I do not believe that "the core of Christianity" > is some theological formulation about the "identity" of Jesus. > I believe that the core of Christianity is the message which Jesus > brought, and expressed in his teachings. The author's point seems to be that the Eucharist is central to Christian theology, a position with which I agree. Who Jesus Christ is, the Son of God and Saviour, is central to Christian worship and belief, at least as Catholics understand it, in a way that His teachings are not, although many of His teachings contain Eucharistic and Baptismal elements. We follow the teachings of Jesus because we believe that the Son of God has saved us by His redemptive work on the Cross. First, we believe in the Man, then we believe in His teachings. There are many people who believe in Jesus Christ who couldn't begin to tell you who gave the Sermon on the Mount. > Let's not get into another fruitless argument about whether the > Bible is inspired (let alone about what "inspired" means), but let's > also not make the mistake of thinking that all Christians believe > the same things and express them in the same way! There are certain things you *must* believe in order to be a Christian. Acknowledgement of the truth of the contents of the Apostles Creed is one, although one may not necessarily use it in worship services. All of His teachings lead to the Cross. You must believe that He died on the Cross for our sins, was buried, rose on the third day, in fulfillment of the Scriptures. This, of course, is paramount, the point I'm making. To say "Jesus Christ is Lord" is another way of saying "Jesus Christ is God" since "Lord" is used in reference to the God of Israel. If one confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord (God) then once speaks by the Holy Spirit; otherwise, one does not speak by the Holy Spirit. It's as simple as that. > CAR > credmond@watmath > > [Traditionally Christianity has based itself on *both* the teachings > *of* Jesus and the teachings *about* Jesus. ... > Without the teachings of Jesus, it becomes sort of a mystery religion: > much of the meat of what it means to live a Christian life is in the > Sermon on the Mount, the parables, etc. Without the teachings about > Jesus, it becomes a society for ethical enlightenment, without the > salvation that comes through Christ's atonement. I hate to see these > two aspects of Christianity made into competitors, as these two > messages seem to be doing. --clh] Amen. -- Sincerely, Cindy Smith _///_ // SPAWN OF A JEWISH _///_ // _///_ // <`)= _<< CARPENTER _///_ //<`)= _<< <`)= _<< _///_ // \\\ \\ \\ _\\\_ <`)= _<< \\\ \\ \\\ \\ <`)= _<< >IXOYE=('> \\\ \\ \\\ \\_///_ // // /// _///_ // _///_ // emory!dragon!cms <`)= _<< _///_ // <`)= _<< <`)= _<< \\\ \\<`)= _<< \\\ \\ \\\ \\ GO AGAINST THE FLOW! \\\ \\ A Real Live Catholic in Georgia