Subject: need for a bible-anyone |
Bible Note: Raven, hello. Well, I'm one of those sheep who has been thrown to the wolves that inhabit the Southern Baptist Church! My parents were both of them loyal members of the Church of Christ and strict believers that theirs was THE Church and all other communions were merely man-made organizations having no more to do with being a church than an aardvark does with being a rocket scientist. Raven, in my user profile I state that I subscribe to the doctrine found in the 'Baptist Faith and Message.' It is available on-line at the Southern Baptist Convention web site. I challenge anyone to prove that this statement of faith has been, to use your terminology, added to or subtracted from the teaching of the Bible. The Baptist position, by the way, on other communions is not nearly so guarded as the Church of Christ position. That is to say, Baptists don't teach or believe that the Baptist Church holds the exclusive key to heaven or has squatter's rights on the truth of God's word. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation is in Christ, not in church affiliaton... As for denominations, well we do have a bunch these days, but the differences among many of them are no more divisive or pronounced than were the differences that plagued the apostolic churches during the early beginnings of Christianity.... And by the way, the verses you cited in support of your position as a member of the Church of Christ, the Baptists also use in support of theirs! I'll end my post as you did yours: I respect your viewpoint and I would hope that you will do the same for me. --Hank |