My Jewish boyfriend in college used to say Christianity was nothing but dogma. Though I argued with him back then, I’ve since realized he had a valid point.
For all the emphasis on preaching the right Gospel, and adhering to the correct doctrinal elements, many churches I’ve attended seemed to preach the wrong god. The god I was hearing preached was either so abusive or so indifferent, I wouldn’t want to know him, let alone spend all eternity with him. After leaving church week after week in tears, feeling emptier than when I walked in, I decided to seek God elsewhere.
A recent Pew poll suggests I’m not alone. A fairly high percentage of Americans, including over half of evangelical Christians, believe there’s many ways to find God.
Back when I was in college, several Christians I knew were approached by a local church whose doctrine was based on a Bible verse claiming that it was necessary to be baptized in order to be saved. The church twisted this doctrine still further, saying it was necessary to be baptized in their church to be saved. The Navigators representative on my college campus explained that one sign of a heresy was basing beliefs too heavily on a single verse, while overlooking the totality of the message in the entire Bible.
Many Christians insist there’s only one way to God, a dogma they base on a single verse. But Jesus promised, “Seek and you shall find.” He never stipulated anything about doctrinal beliefs. Those most adamant they’ve found the one true way to God often hold such a negative concept of God, they might as well worship the devil.
If you read the Gospels in their entirety, you see that Jesus was fairly inclusive in his approach to people, often acknowledging faith in people who wouldn’t have been considered to belong to any faith tradition at all. The Apostle Paul was so inclusive Orthodox Jews to this day consider him to be a heretic. Though the Bible prophecies false Christ’s, it never says says they’ll be false because they’re lacking in dogma.
For all the emphasis on preaching the right Gospel, and adhering to the correct doctrinal elements, many churches I’ve attended seemed to preach the wrong god. The god I was hearing preached was either so abusive or so indifferent, I wouldn’t want to know him, let alone spend all eternity with him. After leaving church week after week in tears, feeling emptier than when I walked in, I decided to seek God elsewhere.
A recent Pew poll suggests I’m not alone. A fairly high percentage of Americans, including over half of evangelical Christians, believe there’s many ways to find God.
Back when I was in college, several Christians I knew were approached by a local church whose doctrine was based on a Bible verse claiming that it was necessary to be baptized in order to be saved. The church twisted this doctrine still further, saying it was necessary to be baptized in their church to be saved. The Navigators representative on my college campus explained that one sign of a heresy was basing beliefs too heavily on a single verse, while overlooking the totality of the message in the entire Bible.
Many Christians insist there’s only one way to God, a dogma they base on a single verse. But Jesus promised, “Seek and you shall find.” He never stipulated anything about doctrinal beliefs. Those most adamant they’ve found the one true way to God often hold such a negative concept of God, they might as well worship the devil.
If you read the Gospels in their entirety, you see that Jesus was fairly inclusive in his approach to people, often acknowledging faith in people who wouldn’t have been considered to belong to any faith tradition at all. The Apostle Paul was so inclusive Orthodox Jews to this day consider him to be a heretic. Though the Bible prophecies false Christ’s, it never says says they’ll be false because they’re lacking in dogma.
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