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On May 20, 2005, at 3:09 PM, Michael Edmiston wrote:--------------------------------------------------------------------
I am absolutely sure there are Christian seminaries, training future
Christian pastors, that do not teach literal virgin birth, do not
teach
literal resurrection, and do not teach the deity of Jesus. The
faculty
and graduates of these institutions will be very shocked to learn they
are not Christians.
Jack wrote regarding the earliest creed:
This is a surprise to me. What is the document you are referring
to?
I already agreed that there are people who refer to themselves as
"Christians" when in fact they reject the tenets upon which the
Christian faith was birthed in the first century. The earliest creed
comes from a letter by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth (1
Cor. 15:3-7). Supposedly this creed predates the writing of Paul's
letter (55 AD) since it was passed down to him. This creed was likely
passed down among people in the faith to Paul who actually later
converted after an encounter with the resurrected Christ, though
after Christ's ascension (again, the only evidence of this is his own
account of the event, though he mentions that others were present at
the event; obviously this is another supernatural event).
(I'm not an expert on these things, so you'll have to check out the
information from other sources if you want more credibility.)
The creed is the following: (from 1 Cor. 15)
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,
which you
received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you
are saved, if you
hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have
believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]:
that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that
he was raised on the
third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,
[b] and then to the
Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the
brothers at the same
time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
7Then he appeared
to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to
me also, as to one
abnormally born.
The resurrection of Christ was essential to the faith of the early
followers. Without it, then "they believed in vain."
Paul goes on to say (v. 14-15) "And if Christ has not been raised,
our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we
are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified
about God that he raised Christ from the dead."
He adds (v 17), "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
futile."
There are many things that distinguish between denominations within
the Christian religion. However, take away the resurrection of
Christ, and you take away the foundation of Christianity, according
to Paul. He freely admits that their faith is useless and he is a
lier if Christ was not raised from the dead.