Aside from that rebuke, Peter. Make no mistake. What I said to you earlier was not meant to raise a debate out of you, such as your reply for solo scripture makes out to be. But instead it was an invitation to share a theology that would be bible based. Surely you have studied one of these? Instead of your pet theologies that weaken the foundation of a Christian's faith, and lead nonChristians in a false direction. My suggestions were to offer subjects that could reach and save non-Christians, or at least encourage and strengthen Christians. (Hopefully both). So I gave examples of subjects that could go in that direction. Is this too much a task for you? Too hard to ask that instead you would rather try to reach non believers by saying "Christianity isn't really right?"

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Dear Peter,

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To describe Christianity (“the Church”) in terms of a conflict between Evangelicalism and Liberalism is a bit simplistic.

Conservatism and liberalism are to be found in all religions. In the broader sense they constitute two well-known forms of “weltanschauung” shared by individuals and communities throughout humanity since time immemorial. But they are not the only ones. There are many others.

Worldviews are often taken to operate at a conscious level, directly accessible to articulation and discussion. However, core worldview beliefs are often deeply rooted, and so are only rarely reflected on by individuals, and are brought to the surface only in moments of crises of faith.

A worldview, according to terror management theory (TMT), serves as a buffer against death anxiety. Here is the conclusion of a 2007 research paper titled “Is Death Really the Worm at the Core? Converging Evidence that Worldview Threat Increases Death-Thought Accessibility” – Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 92, No. 5 :

« According to TMT, cultural worldviews provide individuals with a sense of meaning, personal significance, and life continuity, which protect them from the terror resulting from an awareness of their mortality. The horrifying awareness that people may be nothing more than walking digestive tracts— ultimately insignificant, finite, and expendable—is a bleak view of reality that, despite all efforts of sublimation, can never be completely ruled out. To push this possibility out of consciousness, human beings have fabricated cultural meaning systems and complex social organizations to suggest that humans really are significant and that human existence is not finite. Nevertheless, every now and again, cherished values and beliefs are brought into question, causing absolute faith in people’s views of reality to wane. When this happens, people’s fundamental beliefs need to be fortified and safeguarded or else goal-directed action may, over time, bog down with chronic thoughts and concerns about human mortality ...

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In support of this theoretical view, the current research has shown that when people’s protective beliefs are damaged, thoughts about death do indeed creep closer to the surface. To put it in Jamesian terms, when absolute faith in the cultural conception of reality is weakened, the worm at the core of cultural prescriptions for happiness is revealed. »
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Clashes among worldviews cannot be ended by a simple appeal to facts. Even if rival sides agree on the facts, people may disagree on conclusions because of their different premises – which is why politicians often seem to talk past one another, or ascribe different meanings to the same events. Tribal or national wars are often the result of incompatible worldviews.

It is totally illusory to imagine that discussions on a forum such as OLO could possibly have the slightest influence on the “core beliefs” of anybody’s worldview.

Personally, if I had just one wish, it would be for a greater degree of tolerance among participants. But I fear that even that is quixotic.

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To Peter.

Here for you, I'll present a subject. Bring anything you want from your studies and understanding of theology, or of scripture. Either way this is a topic that can get the ball rolling. The topic is our value to God. I'll start with looking at Luke 15.

In Luke 15 we read that Jesus has tax collectors and sinners gathered around to hear what Jesus taught. Because of this the Pharisees and teachers of the law talked to each other against Jesus, saying that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them.

Jesus gives His explanation by giving three parables that are wildly know as the parable of the Lost Sheep, the parable of the Lost Coin, and the parable of the Lost Son. In these parables lies a clue of our value to God. How God considers us.

In the Parable of the lost Sheep Jesus explains that if a Shepard has 100 sheep and loses one of them, he will leave his other sheep in the open while he searches for the lost sheep until he finds it. Then after that the Shepard will return with the sheep and celebrate with his friends and neighbors because he found the lost sheep. Jesus explains that there is more rejoicing in Heaven over 1 sinner who repents then there is for 99 righteous people who have no need to repent. This is our value to God and is enough of an explanation for why Jesus was associating with sinners, but Jesus goes further in making the point.

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In the Parable of the Lost Coin. Jesus explains that woman who has 10 silver coins and loses one of them, will search carefully throughout her house to find it, and when she does, she will call her friend and neighbors to celebrate because she found the valuable coin. Jesus again explain this is like it is in heaven. Rejoicing in the presence of angels over a repentant sinner. So far Jesus has explained our value in a way that the herdsmen and the merchants will relate to. But his last parable relates to the lost sinners as a father rejoices over finding a lost son.

In the Parable of the Lost Son Jesus goes into more detail. A father with two sons, has the younger one demands his share of the estate, his inheritance, and leaves. The boy squanders the money and eventually has nothing left. The son ends up barely getting by feeding pigs while he is starving, before he comes to his senses to go back to his father and ask to be just a servant working instead of expecting to be a son who has rights of being in the family. What happens instead is that the father sees the son as he approaches and runs to greet him, and indeed makes a celebration of his return. Even with the bitterness of his brother involved, the father defends his love and welcoming for the younger brother. This shows greatly our value to God.

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On more theological points, these three parables can shape how we read the rest of the bible, and interpret it, as well as better understand difficult questions in life. The love of God for us, and the value we have to Him highlights on subjects of loving others, treating others kindly and trying to rescue and help them in their struggles. Whether it is morning after a funeral, food or assistance when they've lost their home, or any other activity to serve the community and be there for individuals. It also can be an understanding of some hardships (though not all hardships fit this) to either show us to look for God like the lost son finally realized what he lost and returned to his father, or to put us in a place to repent of our sins like the value told in the other two parables that one repentant person is a great reason to celebrate in heaven's kingdom.

Whether you believe in a culture of liberal loosening of faith, or of evangelical foundation of faith (or something besides either), there is a lot that can be talked about and learned from by what is actually in the bible. Theology I hope you have heard of and studied. And if not, perhaps something to look into.

There are many other topics that can be a theological discussion. And I'm sure many of them can be beneficial for reaching the secular world, while explaining aspects of Christian Faith or Christian culture. (Or even aspects that Christians as a culture and population need to work on). At least that's where I think your goals are directed to in your articles. To bridge the gap between Christian and non Christian, and explain it in a way that the world can relate to.