When we went to the Philips, Craig, and Dean concert, there was a young man standing in the rain screaming at the top of his lungs that PCD were preaching a different gospel. He did so with fervor and desperation.
My kind of guy. If it weren't raining, I would have engaged him to find out what he was blathering about.
Instead, I looked it up.
They believe that we are sinners saved by grace imputed upon us by Christ's sacrifice on the cross if we repent and believe.
That's the same gospel I believe.
What my fervent friend was frothing about was their understanding of the Trinity. We believe God is three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit; PCD believe God is three manifestations, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
That is a different doctrine (barely), not a different gospel. If we have to have doctrine down perfectly, we're all doomed. I don't think anyone can truly grasp the Trinity (partially because while it is strongly implied in the Bible, it is not directly addressed, and ultimately because it is beyond our physics).
If you get the boiled down gospel above, but are off on doctrine (an understanding of the details of how it all works), I'm thinking you'll be okay, though possibly not as effective. I don't need to know how a cellphone works to use it.
A different gospel would be salvation through works (Jehovah's Witnesses, I think Mormons), salvation through a being other than Jesus Christ (Norse Mythology, Moonies, Muslims), stuff like that. (Catholics believe in the "candy bar" approach, as I've termed it. They wrap grace and works all up in one bar whereas we separate them; I'm guessing they're okay.)
And, y'know, I bet there are individuals in JW and Mormonism who are going to be okay because they just don't get what's being taught and believe the gospel anyway.
As someone pointed out to me, when we get to Eternity, we'll be less surprised by who's there than by who's not.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
How Much Do You Have To Have Right?
Posted by Rob at 8:02 AM
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2 comments:
Another thing: I'm not doubting it, however NONE of us REALLY know what is true...PCD could be right, either way they're just a milimeter different than SGM, so, there's nothing wrong. Even the JW's could be right, but I DO doubt that. If you're brought up in whatever you were brought up, either way it's going to be hard to change what you believe in.
The Catholics believe that in Communion, the bread actually becomes his body, the wine actually becomes his blood. To me, that sounds like cannibalistic to me. He wasn't literally supposed to be our food and our drink, it's a remembering situation that we are to be DEPENDENT on Jesus, NOT EATING HIM.
Sorry for leaving a comment completely irrelevant to a thought-provoking post, but you did ask.
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