OpenDiscipleship.org

To be a Christian disciple, you must know what Christians believe. Contrary to popular opinion in churches today, contrary to the American individualistic way, we do not get to make up what we believe. Believing something isn't good enough, we must believe truth.

The following links are to parts four through six of William Lane Craig's teachings on The Doctrine of God:
The Doctrine of God (Part 4)
The Doctrine of God (Part 5)
The Doctrine of God (Part 6)

Lisa Robinson from Reclaiming the Mind Ministries writes:

I probably don’t need to explain what knee-jerk theology is. We all know it and we all do it, to varying degrees. Somebody makes a comment or pontification on some doctrinal point or passage in Scripture that is an affront to how we’ve understood it. The knee-jerk response instantly rebuts, refutes and refuses to acknowledge any of the merits. After all, if that person saw things as we see it, they wouldn’t hold that position, right?

But the reality is there is no such thing as two truths at the same time. Somebody is missing it. Somebody is wrong. I do believe in our human nature, we most likely will assign that blame on the other person and respond accordingly. But another reality is…we could be wrong.

So how do we overcome the knee-jerk reaction and treat each dissent fairly, objectively and with truth as the end goal. Here is a quick list that I think might help.

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Ten Steps to Avoiding Knee-Jerk Theology Read it!

To be a Christian disciple, you must know what Christians believe. Contrary to popular opinion in churches today, contrary to the American individualistic way, we do not get to make up what we believe. Believing something isn't good enough, we must believe truth.

The following links are to the first three part of William Lane Craig's teachings on The Doctrine of God:
The Doctrine of God (Part 1)
The Doctrine of God (Part 2)
The Doctrine of God (Part 3)

Mere Christianity Notes - Book 2, Chapter 1, "The Rival Concepts of God."

Tim Keller, of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, tells us about The Importance of Hell:
1. It is important because Jesus taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together.
2. It is important because it shows how infinitely dependent we are on God for everything.
3. It is important because it unveils the seriousness and danger of living life for yourself.
4. The doctrine of hell is important because it is the only way to know how much Jesus loved us and how much he did for us.

I enjoyed eavesdropping on this discussion of church membership between a group of Presbyterian (PCA) thinkers. I DO agree on the importance of membership in a local body. I agree on most of the points made. That said, I could never join a PCA body because they have codified some errors,then set fences around those errors which prevent them from being fixed. None the less, church membership is an important part of the life of the disciple: A discussion on church membership

The Principles of Christianity from PleaseconvinceMe.com:

"As a Christian, I am not trying to DEFINE what Christianity is, I'm simply trying to DISCOVER what Christianity is. After all, I am not the final authority here. But it seems fair to say that ANY belief, whether religious or otherwise, IS defined by some set of belief principles. And I think Christianity is no different. Our faith system can be described. It can be defined. It has basic principles. It has limits and ideas that it finds acceptable and unacceptable."

"Here is another case of the same kind. I felt that a strong case against Christianity lay in the charge that there is something timid, monkish, and unmanly about all that is called "Christian," especially in its attitude towards resistance and fighting. The great sceptics of the nineteenth century were largely virile. Bradlaugh in an expansive way, Huxley, in a reticent way, were decidedly men. In comparison, it did seem tenable that there was something weak and over patient about Christian counsels. The Gospel paradox about the other cheek, the fact that priests never fought, a hundred things made plausible the accusation that Christianity was an attempt to make a man too like a sheep. I read it and believed it, and if I had read nothing different, I should have gone on believing it. But I read something very different. I turned the next page in my agnostic manual, and my brain turned up-side down. Now I found that I was to hate Christianity not for fighting too little, but for fighting too much. Christianity, it seemed, was the mother of wars. Christianity had deluged the world with blood. I had got thoroughly angry with the Christian, because he never was angry. And now I was told to be angry with him because his anger had been the most huge and horrible thing in human history; because his anger had soaked the earth and smoked to the sun. The very people who reproached Christianity with the meekness and non-resistance of the monasteries were the very people who reproached it also with the violence and valour of the Crusades. It was the fault of poor old Christianity (somehow or other) both that Edward the Confessor did not fight and that Richard Coeur de Leon did. The Quakers (we were told) were the only characteristic Christians; and yet the massacres of Cromwell and Alva were characteristic Christian crimes. What could it all mean? What was this Christianity which always forbade war and always produced wars? What could be the nature of the thing which one could abuse first because it would not fight, and second because it was always fighting? In what world of riddles was born this monstrous murder and this monstrous meekness? The shape of Christianity grew a queerer shape every instant."

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

To be a Christian disciple, you must know what Christians believe. Contrary to popular opinion in churches today, contrary to the American individualistic way, we do not get to make up what we believe. Believing something isn't good enough, we must believe truth.

William Lane Craig introduces us to Christian doctrine in today's audio link, Introduction to Christian Doctrine

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis is a modern classic. It straddles the line between apologetics and discipleship. It answers the questions of unbelievers while continually grounding the believer. If you don't already have a copy of Mere Christianity, go get one. If your copy isn't well worn.... wear it out. I'm going to link weekly to the Mere Christianity study guides from OpenDiscipleship.org on Wednesdays.

Mere Christianity Book 1 Notes