Mordy

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction of how I would go about finding statements of faith over time historically? Or if anyone has any information they can post from centuries old or longer statements of faith of say one group (say baptists) and compare them to todays? I would think that: Shouldn't the baptists of centuries ago believe what the baptists of today believe in their statements of faith?

So if anyone can post doctrines from those statements of faith over time and compare them to modern faith groups of the same name, i.e. baptists, catholics, etc. I'd think that would be fantastic.

I'm interested in seeing how peoples interpretations of the bible through time change, and whether or not this is the pen-ultimate disqualifier of religion being true because the fact that groups of the same name have actually changed and revised their teachings/beliefs.

Crucifiction

Well, I can name a few examples of the Catholic church changing it's position; although I'm unsure of their {or any other} churches statements of faith.

The Catholic church used to allow its preists to marry, used to deny the theory of evolution, used to teach the Earth was flat, etc.

Mordy

Yeah I know that, and thats interesting and kind of associated with what I'm getting at so thumbs up for you! :thumbs: But I think it would be great seeing statements of faith by/from the descedents of baptists and catholics and different faith groups. It would make for very pertinent atheist arguments, especially when you can find them from the earliest christian groups. In theory since it's closer to the source, it should be more likely to be authoritative interpretation for say baptists of today vs. baptists of 300 or 1000 years ago, yes?

Toto

This should keep you busy for a while:

Creeds of Christendom

andrewcriddle

FWIW The Catholic Church never taught officially that the earth was flat. It did teach that the earth is stationary in the centre of the universe and that the stars and sun go around it but that is a different matter.

(OK a small number of early Christian teachers like Cosmas Indicopleustes did teach a flat earth but it was never official teaching of the church.)

Andrew Criddle

Clivedurdle

Toto, the link you give is fascinating, especially the discussion about the "role"(?) of the Holy Spirit as a subset of the dispute between Eastern and Western churches.

Is a reason for the huge number of different sects in christianity because there is not actually any common ground?

I am from an Assemblies of God, Elim and Apostolic background, these groups as I understand it only exist because of various interpretations of key texts especiaaly about the Holy Spirit and an alleged connection with the gifts of the spirit.

My gut reaction to the concept of the Holy Spirit "proceeding" is that that is rubbish. I have been taught a very equal concept of the Trinity - for example, begotten means becoming human, not a first creation!

I have always understood "God" as having three equal facets - all have always existed equally - father and son are human relationships - somehow God pops into history, gets deaded and resurrected and then the memory of all this is kept going through the work of the other facet of God - the Holy Spirit - but that again is our thinking!

I've probably created or reproduced a well known heresy here, but the reality is do any christians actually agree about anything or is it all a useful fiction?