These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
~ JOHN 20:31 ~
While there are various denominations that each bring their own unique perspective to the Christian faith (all of which are welcome here), there are some essential beliefs that define the boundaries of orthodoxy and what it means to “Think Christianly.” Authors on this site adhere to the historical tenets of the Christian faith as defined in the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Christian, what do you believe?
The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
GOD & MATH: Thinking Christianly About Math Education 
Hello Josh! I just stumbled across your site (in trying to find the origin of the quote “2+2=5 for very large values of 2”). I am also a Christian and a lover of math, so I am thrilled to find a kindred spirit!
I just wanted to add my two cents, from what I think is a somewhat different theological perspective (I’m a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). I would agree with numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 4b and 6 of your list of essentials. However, I think one can certainly be a Christian without agreeing with 4a or 7 – at the very least, I hope so. There are a lot of other ways of understanding the cross than substitutionary atonement, and I personally find substitutionary atonement to be a deeply problematic theological position. Likewise, I think a Christian should accept the authority of scripture, but that’s a long way (in my mind) from inerrancy.
In any case, thanks for the blog. I’m going to have some fun procrastinating my seminary homework and reading about math instead.
Jen,
Thanks for joining the conversation. It is always great to have someone offer a different perspective!
In reference to your view of the atonement: first let me say that I realize there are many diverse views on the subject, but I fail to see how substitutionary atonement is a deeply problematic theological position. In all honesty, it seems to be the biblical position. Here is a great summary of the view courtesy of Bob Pyne. Statements like this make it hard for me to ignore this position:
By bearing the anger that we deserved, Jesus Christ served as our substitute. He experienced the wrath that was meant for us.
In reference to your position on inerrancy, I will refer you the Chicago Statement on Biblical Innerancy which was agreed on by people of various denominations. In short, I would argue for inerrancy on these grounds:
This definition of inspiration/inerrancy applies to the original, autographic manuscripts. In God’s providence, the manuscripts, copies and translations available today reflect the original text with great accuracy and these writings are said to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.
Hi, I just came across this site while doing some research for a lecture I am preparing. I’m very excited to use this site for future reading!
Thank you for your comment! I hope you find the site useful.