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Disclaimer

‘Let no one who is not eager for truth and peace enter here’ (Plato)

Articles on this site express varying points of view, to encourage mature thinking on serious issues. The assumption is that you will want to study a controversial topic from various angles before you arrive at a conclusion, rather than simply believe what someone told you when you were impressionable! (So some stuff here is ‘hot’. Proceed at your own risk!). See the Statement of Faith for John Mark Ministries' theological stance.

Take the Evangelical Quotient Test!

By and others ⋅ February 6, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

How Evangelical Are You? Welcome to the EQ test, a preview of A FIELD GUIDE TO EVANGELICALS AND THEIR HABITAT by Joel Kilpatrick, available March 14 in bookstores. Before reading the Field Guide, it will be useful to determine how evangelical you are: 1. In the last election you: a. Made MoveOn.org your homepage. b. […]

Trinity

By and others ⋅ February 3, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

I wrote:>> 1. The NT does ‘teach’ the doctrine of the Trinity, but doesn’t use the word Another responded: Hi Rowland. Where does it teach a Trinity, _as_opposed_ to say, a Duality, a Quarternity or (let’s get reckless) a Singularity? My response: To make it simple: 1. Authority: why do people believe what they believe? […]

Distinguishing Features Of A Fundamentalist

By and others ⋅ February 3, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

From Mark: DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF A FUNDAMENTALIST … quoting from James Barr’s book “Fundamentalism” on the three distinguishing features of the Fundamentalist: ‘Firstly, a fundamentalist has a very strong emphasis on the inerrancy of the Bible, and believes in the absence from it of any sort of error. Two, a strong hostility to modern theology […]

Exiled Believers

By and others ⋅ January 31, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

From Mark: A post sent elsewhere by me trying to explain what an “Exiled Believer” is. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I can only answer from my own point of view. 1. What do you “believers in exile” believe? Major premises The term comes from John Shelby Spong in “Why Christianity Must Change Or Die” (HarperSanFrancisco : 1998)p. 20 […]

Orthodoxy and heaven/hell

By and others ⋅ January 30, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

From an Orthodox priest-friend: Eastern Orthodox theology does not consider Heaven to be a static state. Mankind will be restored to a state of perfection in which he retains his individuality and personality, yet he is devoid of all adverse traits which limit his unending progression towards God (i.e. Since God’s love and wisdom are […]

Hell

By and others ⋅ January 30, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hell_eva2.htm ~ Shifting viewpoints: ~ Decades ago, many preachers were famous for their hellfire and ~ damnation sermons. They terrified their congregations. During ~ these “fire and brimstone” speeches, they warned their ~ parishioners about the horrors of Hell. Theologians of the past ~ literally interpreted the Bible’s descriptions of bindings, ~ whippings, intolerable heat, […]

The Orthodox Churches’ View of Hell

By and others ⋅ January 30, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

http://www.bible.ca/cr-Orthodox.htm Orthodox Creed Orthodox Catechism HELL HELL, unpopular as it is to modern people, is real. The Orthodox Church understands hell as a place of eternal torment for those who willfully reject the grace of God. Our Lord once said, “If your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to […]

Infallibility tax?

By and others ⋅ January 27, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

Found somewhere on the Net: Well, not an infallibility ‘tax’ as much as a ‘charge’. Well, not so much a ‘charge’ as a ‘payment’… for use of copyright material. But, they are definitely words of weight and tone, and, infallible. The Pope’s speeches are copyright to the Vatican’s own publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. It […]

Are Catholics and Evangelicals cut from the same cloth?

By and others ⋅ January 24, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

by David Batstone Wheaton College pulled a shocker last spring by terminating the teaching contract of a professor following his conversion to Catholicism. Though popular among students and highly respected by his peers, The Wall Street Journal reported, assistant professor Joshua Hochschild became controversial once he shifted theological camps. I do not question the right […]

Evangelicals to Orthodoxy

By and others ⋅ January 23, 2006 ⋅ Post a comment

His Novels By Frank Schaeffer I abandoned Protestant Christian fundamentalism many years ago for Greek Orthodoxy. I converted because the Orthodox tradition embraces paradox and mystery. ~~~ Now from an orthodox priest: Thousands of former Protestants have seen the Light and done the same, including very many evangelical “born again” believers. A few stories of […]

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