What Christians Agree About

What all Christians believe, without exception:
By this I mean, if you call yourself a "Christian" of any shape, this is the minimum belief. Some may call themselves "christian" but if they don't believe these minimum items then they are a Christian in name only, not a real one. I don't mean this to limit, it's just that a definition has to be set up some where, and this seems to me to be the minimum.

What we believe is important.

The Bible—both the Hebrew and the Greek Canonical Scriptures—is significant for the believer to understand truth and morality.

There is a world of the Spirit which is more powerful than our world.

There is one God and he is the creator of all things.

Jesus is Lord.

Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

There is life after death.




Where there is room for disagreement.
A main characteristic of Christians is not just that what they believe is important, but that it is important enough to argue with others. And so we discuss, disagree and debate about many points of doctrine. And we can accuse many others, who don't share our point of view, as being heretics or heterodox, at least. Here are some of the main points Christians have never been able to come to agreement on:

What we believe. All Christians say belief is important, which separates Christians from almost all other religions. Other religions emphasize action, or morality, or ritual, or tradition, but for Christians religion is about belief. Whether that belief is intellectual or moral, about facts or life realities is up to debate. But we all agree that belief is the significant thing.

What the Canon is: Well, for the most part Christians believe in the Old and New Testaments as found in most bound Bibles. However, some groups want to add this or that book and other groups (especially in the past) wanted to expel this or that book, but generally the 66 books of the Bible are agreed upon.

Why the Bible is important: We all agree there is some truth and morality in the Bible, but we often can’t agree on what that truth or morality is. It is interesting that different Christians can use the Bible to uphold opposite ethical systems.

What the Spirit world is made up of: Yes, the spirit world is important, and it is different than the world we live in, but the nature of it is not agreed on. Some say the Spirit world is only God and his servants. Others say the spirit world is ethereal, completely unphysical. Others think that the Spirit world is super-physical.

How creation came about: We all agree that God did the creation, but how He did it is up to debate by Christians. Did God create all the universe in seven 24 hour periods of time, or over eons? Did he do it directly by His word, or indirectly through mediators? And we disagree as to how much control God has over the universe. Some think that every action in the physical world was planned by God ahead of time. Others think that God directs certain actions, but has surrendered at least part of his control to others, especially humans.

What it means that Jesus is Lord: “Jesus is Lord” is the earliest, simplest of Christian creeds, the basic belief that makes one a Christian. However, we can’t even agree as to what that means. Is Jesus the historic personage or the resurrected spirit-being at the right hand of the Father? Does “lord” mean king or God, is it personal or universal? Is Jesus of the same essence of God, the same nature as God or just of the same will? Lots of discussion there.

How does it work that Jesus died for our sins: We all agree with the statement, but we disagree with about everything about it. Why did Jesus die? What is a sin? How does it work that we have a “fresh start” because of Jesus’ death? Thousands of years of discussion there.

How Jesus rose from the dead: Was Jesus risen physically or spiritually? Was Jesus risen historically or outside of space/time? What is the significance of Jesus’ rising? That’s all debated.

Many of the same questions about Jesus’ resurrection surrounds life after death: Is it spiritual or physical? Is the future set in stone, or do we already live in the end times? Is there a judgment day and what is the judgment based on?

Needless to say, to be a Christian is pretty vague. Sure there’s a foundation, but that foundation has been picked apart for 2000 years in almost every possible way so that to be a Christian pretty much doesn’t mean anything specifically.