essential stuff

John Smulo, who always gets me thinking, has posted an intriguing series of thoughts called Down to the Core. The idea is to ask others which beliefs are absolutely essential to the faith. With a bit of hesitancy and (hopefully) a measure of openness, here are my thoughts:

I suppose, in one sense, the only thing that matters is that we “believe that he is, and that he rewards those who diligently seek him.” He’s there/here, after all–whatever our formulations and however accurate or inaccurate our thoughts may be.

On the other hand, the followers of Jesus must be able to come to at least some consensus about what we believe, which God we are referring to, and how humans might access him.

Before going down this path, however, I think I should state my basic dual presuppositions. (1) there is indeed, as just mentioned, a true and real and present God–he is, and he’s with us, not only to assist us personally but to guide us as we seek him and try to better comprehend what our “core beliefs” ought to be. (2) the historical basis of it all is Jesus, of course, but we really have no reasonable and reliable way to access these things apart from Scripture.

Thus, the God of truth and the truth of God are somehow joined, penetrating one another and flowing out to all of the other areas of life. Does this make sense? Many have approached God in an almost abstract way–he’s “out there” and we simply need to look to him. To be honest, I agree in some measure with this thought, for God is more than a formula or a doctrinal stance. But, and I do think this is crucial, we still at some level need to articulate something (for ourselves and for those we wish to serve–notice I said serve not hit on top of the head!).

The faith has never been a completely “pick and choose,” theological smorgasbord. There has always been–and we can trace it back to statements like that of Jude–“the faith once for all delivered.”

So, we need, in my view, a philosophical perspective that allows for a present God (a God who guides and is involved in even our “core belief” discussions) and a God who provides an adequate sphere for such discussions. This Sphere is located in the Christian Scriptures. What I’m saying, practically anyway, is that even our exchange of thoughts about core beliefs should take place within, how shall I say it, the parameters provided by God (i.e., Scripture) and with an active and ongoing trust in him. (God and his written revelation must be held together.)

Okay, that said, here are some tentative suggestions. (1) The trinity, as John says, is imperative. This does not mean that we understand it entirely, which of course we do not. Nor does it mean that we have to verbalize Trinitarian formulae in our efforts to point people to God. It’s just that, in my opinion, God wants to be known as a One-Many/One and Three/Triunity. So much of theology and soteriology flows out of this basis understanding of God. (2) I also agree with John that we must have some basic commitment to an orthodoxy of Jesus’ person and personality. He is the divine-human savior, the God-man, the theanthropos. Again, this does not mean that our witness must always include an articulation of these truths or even that we can enter into them completely (again, we cannot!). But it seems evident to me that this is the One depicted in Scripture. Clearly, he is unlike us in certain profound ways–being the Creator and Sustainor of all there is and possessing power that is even greater than Superman! :-) At the same time, he is also just like us in many ways; he feels, weeps, cares, etc. (3) This next one intertwines with the previous thought. Somehow, he died and conquered the grave on our behalf. Whether or not we know it or intellectually embrace it, he did something in his death and resurrection, and that something was Salvific (i.e., for us and our reconciliation with God). (4) To be honest with the New Testament emphasis, I think we need to mention faith as an essential. Now, to be honest, I am often uncertain what this faith entails, that is, what faith “looks and acts” like. Also, I am more convinced than ever that we must be very careful about how we go about identifying who does and does not have faith. Indeed, I think it is quite possible, even likely, that many people in this world who hold to faulty views of salvation, perhaps even assuming that we can earn God’s favor by our works, nevertheless possess genuine faith. Still, that said, the NT does make a big deal of faith–“Without it we cannot please God.” “If righteousness comes through works, Christ dies needlessly.” Etc. I might define faith on paper, and I may even be right about it, but I cannot locate it with precision. Still, though I cannot always understand it or the expression of it, I must proclaim faith as an integral aspect of what it means to connect with Jesus in the first place.

There you have it, some tentative and interrelated thoughts on core beliefs, or–as mentioned above– what Jude referred to as “the faith once for all delivered to the saints.”

Of course there are many other related beliefs, and some of these may warrant the “core belief” label. Whatever the details, there are certainly other important ideas that are tied into the ones I’ve listed here. As an aside, one of the difficult issues for me is to articulate the truth (as I see it) without allowing it to degenerate into either an “anything goes” mentality or a type of rigid fundamentalistic attitude. The “anything goes” view does not, in my view, do justice to the Old or New Testaments; these were people who knew some things and held them in common. Then again, the fundamentalist view leads to rigidity and close mindedness, which is a part of what happened with many of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. Lord, give us wisdom and balance.