"Thinking Eternally, Acting Locally." - Neal August
My name is Nic. I am a believer and follower of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as the Christ. I am also referred to as a Christian.
I am an orthodox Christian, meaning that I take the Christian Scriptures (Old Testament and New Testament, though not the Apocrypha and a few passages in the Gospels of John and Mark) as authoritative. I am a conservative Christian, meaning that I take the Christian Scriptures as divinely inspired (“God-breathed” if you will). Because I am a conservative orthodox Christian who is not a part of the Roman Catholic Church, I am an evangelical. However, I am ecumenical in spirit, Baptist by conviction and Southern Baptist by tradition. I make my home in the evangelical Christian community and predominately fellowship with and minister with and for the evangelicals. However, because I am a member of the body of Christ which includes all believers in every tradition and culture from the first believer to the last, I will fellowship and minister with and for all Christian believers regardless of tradition, ecclesiology, and theology. The Church belongs to God in Christ and I believe that I have no authority to exclude others or myself from fellowship on account of tradition, ecclesiology, and theology.
I am a Baptist and thus hold to the traditional and Scriptural Baptist distinctives formulated under the greater doctrine of Soul Competency.
1) I believe in the freedom of religion.
2) I believe in the separation of church and state.
3) I believe in the autonomy of the local church.
4) I believe in believer’s baptism.
5) I believe in the priesthood of all believers.
2 comments:
Well-spoken. I trust that this was a valuable exercise for you. I am largely in agreement with you. However, I must take issue with the stark dichotomy you present, to wit: "Because I am a conservative orthodox Christian who is not a part of the Roman Catholic Church, I am an evangelical." Are there no other options? "Evangelical" is a term fraught with difficulty and laden with cultural baggage, and I admire your courage in your self-identification. Nevertheless, you forget that many "conservative, orthodox Christians" might find their home in other camps that would be most uncomfortable with the term "evangelical." This would include many Lutherans and Presbyterians, some Anabaptists, and not a few Anglicans (the actions and positions of the Episcopal heirarchy aside--I speak of the lay members, by and large). In my own eclectic religious journey, shuttling between Rome, Canterbury, and...er...Nashville, with regular stops in Antioch and Schleitheim (and one long ago admittedly un-Chrisitian dalliance in Lhasa and the mountains of Iga and Koga--that's another story), I have found many orthodox Chrisitians who would be horrified to be called evangelicals. Indeed, some of these Christians might arguably be considered more orthodox than some evangelicals, because they have a better sense of history. On the broad religious spectrum, I too am a "conservative, orthodox Chrisitian," but the word evangelical makes me squirm.
Always grateful for your insights and your work--blessings, brother.
Blessings,
Fr. Pat
Ah, Fr. Pat. It has been some time. How are things in the Diocese of Kallispell? How is everyone at North Valley Cathedral?
I certainly see what you are saying and agree with it. I’d also add that the term “evangelical” means different things to different people. The Evangelical Lutheran Church (both in North America and Europe) take the term differently than those in the SBC.
I humbly accede to your point. Further clarification and reference to particulars were needed. I certainly hope I did not offend my Greek Orthodox and Coptic readers. I’ll probably start receiving nasty emails from the Amish.
Have you read my discussion on the term “born-again”? It is right up this alley.
"Born-Again" Part One: Replies on Translating anothen
"Born-Again" Part Two: Connotations and Apathy
"Born-Again" Part Three: Subjective and Objective Truth
How is Kanga and family?
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