Divisive Theology among Biblical Christians

Again, the list above represents what I would respectfully consider important, but secondary Biblical Christian theology. I have intentionally glossed over the details of each as my objective was not to either define or defend one view over another. Unfortunately, many Christians hold systematic theology that includes some of these components, interlocking within their dogma, making it difficult to separate core from the less-essential. My dividing line is two-fold. First, what is clear from Scripture without the need to significantly reconcile competing verses. Second, what dogma is, and is not dependent on Salvation. The less-essential can be debated by believers for eternity in Heaven as we sit and worship the Father.

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Welcome to Biblical Christian Worldview's Selective Article Podcast. So let's get started. Divisive theology among biblical Christians. Over the last year and a half, I've written nearly 200 articles on various topics from a traditional Christian perspective. These have been published both on our Medium platform as well as our website. Much of the work has revolved around defining and defending viewpoints of a biblical Christian worldview. The list I'm about to provide represents a brief compilation of those articles which were geared toward clarifying what a biblical Christian is and is not. The first one was Christian versus Biblical Christian Tolerance. Transmitted on April 22nd. The next one was The Main Thing for a Biblical Christian in March of this year. The next one was Defending the Bible from Christians, also in March of this year. The next was 21 Tips for Hiding Your Christian Faith, which was January of this year. The next is What is a Worldview, which was December of last year. Progressive versus Biblical Christianity, September of last year. All of those are available by podcast. The most important article in this above list was the one that was entitled The Main Thing for a Biblical Christian, because it offers a statement of faith that lists what I consider to be the eight most important dogma for a Christian. Those points involve the inerrancy of the Bible, the supremacy of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the importance of the resurrection of Christ, and the need for evangelism by the believer, and God's offer of eternal salvation for the lost. So what's missing? That's the question of what's missing from the eight points summarized above that I just mentioned is the main topic of this podcast. The fact that there is a list sadly speaks to the continuing divisiveness within our shrinking group of born-again believers. The following represents what I consider valuable topics for constructive theological discussion, but secondary to core systematic theology that should be unifying us as biblical Christians. This is particularly true as we face an increasingly secular world. To be clear, these are not the issues those who oppose us dwell on, such as gay lifestyles, sin in the church, anti-vaxxers, trump lovers, and world domination by Christians and so forth. It's also not a list that includes the extreme fringes of evangelicals, such as no dancing or movies, no music or makeup, and so forth. The list below represents areas where traditional biblical Christians differ, and sadly, there are probably many more. In my view, our quote unquote family arguments should not be divisive nor on public display. Denominationalism is not to be discounted, as Paul said using a broader context, quote, we need to be all things to all people in order to save some. However, when these denominational or even sub-denominational differences further isolate believers into smaller and smaller tribes, it only hurts our unity, our fellowship, and our testimony to a lost and dying world. So here's that list of secondary theological dogma. First is creation versus evolution. Many Christians believe that God used the process of evolution over billions of years to bring our world and mankind to its present state. They consider Genesis one through thirty one to be an allegory or a story not to be taken at all literally. Many other Christians believe that evolution and the Bible cannot be reconciled, and as such they believe God created the world and mankind as fully formed, looking pretty much as we are today. Further complicating these views are Christians who believe that God created the universe in six literal twenty four hour days, while others believe that each day was actually a period of a thousand years or more, desiring to reconcile creation and evolution into a unified theology. The second topic is the sign gifts. In the Old Testament and through early formation of the Church, the Bible records several gifts given to the apostles as they went out and spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all who would listen. Some of these gifts are accepted by all Christians as evident today in the life of the believers. Some believe that when one was saved, they received a specific gift from the Holy Spirit, and that in part represents a component of a changed life of someone who was lost and now saved. However, there is a group of gifts which are referred to as assigned gifts for which Christians differ on whether they remain available past the apostolic era or in the books of Book of Acts. Those gifts include speaking in tongues, miraculous healing, and casting out of evil spirits. Further, some biblical Christians believe there is a time when one has an emotional moment, typically in public, where the Holy Spirit enters their lives, quote unquote receiving the Spirit, or some say slain in the Spirit. This is considered a separate event from salvation and is the point when one received their spirit receives their spiritual gifts. Other Christians believe the Holy Spirit indwells a believer at the moment of salvation and they receive their gifts at that time. The next point of secondary theology in my view is salvation as it relates to predestination versus free will. Some biblical Christians believe that God, being all knowing and all powerful, knows who will come to him and be saved. Those Christians believe one is, quote unquote, predestined to receive Christ, even though no human knows who the quote unquote elect are. Others believe we are given the quote unquote free will to decide if one wants to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior or not. Further, there is a disagreement among Christians on whether a believer once saved can walk away from God and lose their salvation or not. One final complexity regarding salvation is the question of those who have not yet gained the capacity to understand and accept Christ. This would include babies, young children, and those without the mental capacity to understand the gift of salvation. Some believe that since God knew in advance who would come to him, those who were born into original sin or endemic sin do not need an opportunity to profess their faith. Others believe there's an age of accountability where those not yet able to understand the decision they have to make will not be held accountable for their own sin or Adam's original sin until they reach this age. The next one is method of baptism. Baptism follows a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There are two basic kinds of baptism, sprinkling and immersion. Some promote a ceremony where the believer is fully immersed in water as a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Other denominations believe the early church used a tree branch dipped in water to sprinkle on the new believer. The next one is Bible translations. There are likely more than a hundred Bible translations of the original Greek and Hebrew. However, for all practical purposes, there are nine or fewer which are in regular use. A major part of the differences between translations has to do with a personal preference of whether the reader desires to use a quote unquote word for word translation versus a more of a quote thought for thought translation of the original languages. The controversy in translations comes from those biblical Christians who see King James Version of the Bible, and in some cases the New King James Version as the only acceptable source. Others believe that more contemporary versions are easier to understand and therefore more receptive to their use. Next, ordination of women. Some denominations believe that the textural verses in the Bible which address women teaching men were not intended to be carried forward to today. Others believe God was making a broader point regarding his view of the complementary nature of men and women. Next, use of alcohol. Some biblical Christians see alcohol as a vice that should not be used under under cer any under any circumstances. Others believe that moderation is acceptable and only drunkenness is to be avoided. Finally, eschatology. End times prophecy can be a stumbling block for internal strife between biblical Christians, all having to do with the rapture of believers and the seven-year tribulation period and millennial reign. The major categories of pre tr are pre-tribulation, which is the rapture taking place before the tribulation, mid-tribulation rapture, where it's taking place in the middle of the seven years, and post-tribulation rapture, obviously taking place at the end of the tribulation period of seven years. Further, there are views of the thousand year reign of Christ, which include amillennialists that believe there is no reign at the end of the age, and premillennialists who believe that Christ will return to establish his kingdom on earth for a thousand years. So in summary, again, the list above represents what I would respectfully consider important, but secondary biblical Christian theology. I've intentionally glossed over the details of each as my objective was not to either define or defend one view or another. Unfortunately, many Christians hold systematic theology that includes some of the components interlocking within their dogma, making it difficult to separate core from less essential. My dividing line is twofold. First, what is clear from Scripture without competing verses? Second, what is and is not dependent on salvation, since we can debate for eternity in heaven theology that does not impact our final home. God bless you as you serve Him today. Today's podcast article was brought to you by BCworldview.org, providing honest reporting and analysis on the intersection of contemporary issues and theology based on a biblical Christian worldview. May God bless you as you continue to walk through this life with our Savior and Lord.