Tag Archives: salvation
Salvation: More than a ticket to Heaven?
When someone says, “I’m Saved!” There is always the contextual question, “Saved from what?” Except if its said at Church. Within Christianity Salvation has become synonymous with Eternal Life. Yet, should Salvation always mean being rescued to Heaven? Continue reading
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Wonderful cross or place of death?
We often sing of the wonderful beautiful cross. And because our mind cannot handle the intensity or cruelty of the cross we grow numb to the brutality of the cross. Yet, we have to remember the cross was torture leading to death. Jesus experienced pain at the highest levels of the human experience. Continue reading
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Speaking of the Trinity
The trinity is something unique to Christian thought. It is one of the great mysteries of God. In this doctrine alone, one can see how truly transcendent God is from our way of thinking. Roger E. Olson and Christopher A. Hall write in their book, The Trinity, “According to the Church Father Augustine anyone who denies the Trinity is in danger of losing their salvation, but anyone who tries to understand the Trinity is in danger of losing their mind (pg 1).”
The assertion that the doctrine of the Trinity is core to receiving Salvation seems hard to swallow. However, as one begins to look at the development of the Doctrine of the Trinity, it becomes clear why the Church placed such a strong emphasis on clarifying this divine mystery represented in Scripture.
The doctrine of the Trinity was developed as an apologetic against the many forms of heresy arising in the Church. The basic problem the doctrine tried to address was the tension between monotheistic worship one God, the Father, with the New Testament president that Jesus was worthy of worship as well. The doctrine of the Trinity really tried to answer how it was that Jesus was “one with the Father?” Was he one in essence or substance, or was Jesus some kind of divine “offspring” which leached a part of the Fathers being when he was created, or was he a separate deity? Continue reading
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