I don’t remember ever attending a church that didn’t have some printed Statement of Faith that they handed out to visitors — along with, somewhat distressingly, a plethora of Mission Statements, Core Values affirmations, Visions envisioned, and Goals To Be Achieved Via The Integration Of Core Values And Corporate Visions.
Whew. It makes “Prayer, Praise, and Proclamation” seem almost, well, quaint. But I’m a quaint kind of gal, and I do like to see a Statement of Faith, even if the other Dilbert-speak makes my head spin.
Most of my readers don’t know me personally, and many are convinced that a woman who identifies as a feminist and an egalitarian cannot, then, be an evangelical, Bible-honoring Christian. That is truly tragic; I’m an egalitarian and a feminist because of the egalitarian and women-empowering message of the Christian Gospel. Nonetheless, some will still doubt, and so I offer to them the following Statement Of Faith, whose only Core Value and Ultimately Realized Goal is that you, dear reader, understand that I am a convinced, committed, theologically conservative Christian, a sinner saved by the grace of God.
1. I believe in the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-equal and co-eternal, existing, apart from Christ’s Incarnation, in full mutuality and equality, with no subordination in eternity of Christ and the Spirit to the Father, whose title, along with that of the Son, is a metaphor, an accommodation to our limited language and understanding. I believe that God is not gendered and that we are saved by Jesus’ humanity and not his maleness.
2. I affirm the doctrines of Christ’s divinity, his full and effective substitutionary atonement on the cross, his death and resurrection, his virgin birth, and his personal return in time to this world. I believe that Christ desires the salvation of all humankind, and I am an annihilationist, which means I reject the doctrine of eternal conscious torment for those who reject him at the end.
3. I believe the Bible to be God’s word, and I take it and read it devoutly and soberly, understanding it literally where literalism is clearly indicated, recognizing hyperbole, allegory, and metaphor when present, and seeking to understand that the first and easiest reading of any part of the Word may not reveal the intention of the Author. The Spirit promises to guide my understanding, and I believe he will.
4. I take Galatians 3:28 literally. I wonder why so many “Biblical literalists” don’t.
5. My understanding of the Christian Gospel and its expression in the life of my Savior, Jesus Christ, results in my believing in things that the secular world identifies as “feminist” and “egalitarian.” I gladly embrace those labels to describe myself, and do so because I honor the message of the Gospel as revealed in Scripture.
6. I lament the effect that right-wing, conservative Christianity has had on both Christian culture and secular culture, and I decry the absurd, simpering, and foolish “tolerance” of the Christian Left that often results in a message lacking in both potency and prophecy. I seek in my own ministry and witness to shed cultural trappings that compromise or, worse, contaminate the message of Jesus Christ. I can’t tell you how unconcerned I am about being “on the Left” or “on the Right;” I’m utterly devoted to walking in the Way. That Way is defined far above and independent from any political spectrum. Still, very little of it is reflected in what we see from the Christian Right in the U.S.
7. I am completely certain that the mystery of who God saves is information generally unavailable to me, and that a humble acknowledgment that both his ways and his love are infinitely beyond our unshakable understanding is not a weakness nor a failure. “I just don’t know, but I trust the love and justice of God” may be the most powerful confession I have to offer to skeptics. Humility is the most important component of evangelism. Eternity is in the hearts of all humankind, and as I go about preaching the Gospel, the Spirit goes all around us, drawing people to the Light.
8. I’m not entirely Arminian, but I am not at all Reformed.
9. One of the great tragedies to have befallen the Church is its persistent disregard for the poor, the lost, the lonely, the outcast, and the marginalized. In his justice, God sides with the oppressed; all too often, his people have cast their lot and joined forces with the oppressors. This is a grievous sin.
10. I can argue fairly effectively for a pre-pre, a pre-post, a post-only, and an a-millennial eschatology, which means that I don’t know exactly how it will all end, and neither does anyone who tells you they do. What I do know is that the Prince of Peace will eliminate all evil in the end, and justice will finally roll down like a mighty flood. I long for Christians to begin to tear down the dams that prevent the flourishing of righteousness and justice for the poor.
Obviously, this is not a comprehensive, all-encompassing Statement. But it does illustrate what I believe, which I believe is consistent with the revealed message of the Word. As always, I welcome your comments and your challenges.
Keely,
Thanks. While we don’t see eye to eye on all these points, I find it very helpful to have a written statement of faith. It’s easy for someone to criticize someone else’s position, but not hold a firm position personally. I appreciate this statement of faith.
I should probably write one, though mine would be fairly well summed up in the Westminster Confession (with a few exceptions).
Comment by Daniel Foucachon — March 1, 2011 @ 7:09 pm
Daniel, it’s nice to hear from you! Thanks for your comments, and of course I’d be interested both in your Statement and in any areas of disagreement the two of us have. I appreciate your generous words. Please give my regards to your parents; your father and mother blessed me greatly this summer when my dog was attacked outside of the restaurant.
Keely
Comment by Keely Emerine-Mix — March 2, 2011 @ 4:23 pm
I’m glad to have read this.
A couple of questions:
1)It appears that you believe the manifold injustice in the world to be economic in nature, viz, the oppression of the poor by the rich, and Christians too often enlisting themselves conveniently on the side of wealth/power for its own sake. Certainly one could multiply instances of either, I agree.
But do you think that economic justice stands in straits more desperate than, say sexual justice? Certainly our culture broadly endorses any number of sexual practices for which one can find no warrant, and plenty of condemnation in the either scriptures or the fathers.
For example, suppose an believing employee of Salvation Army
were to see a homeless man on the street, and, passing by him, a woman who looked to be about six months pregnant walking towards an abortion clinic? Now it’s obvious that both cases demand the love and witness of the Christian who encounters them, but isn’t the woman (even more to the point, her child) in a more desperate case? I think the answer must be a definite yes.
Comment by Anonymous — March 2, 2011 @ 11:56 pm
Oh, my name’s Thomas Banks by the way. Sorry not to have signed the last one.
Thomas
Comment by Anonymous — March 2, 2011 @ 11:57 pm