Justified Saint Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Yeah... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 You've gotta know who you're worshipping, so the study of God is of course vital to an active Christian faith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willguy Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I think you may want to clarify your question. What do you mean by "Does it matter"? Yes, it is important. Yes, errors should be corrected, and there can be only one correct answer. Does it matter to the extent that it changes the state of salvation? Well, it depends on what is being disagreed on, but I would say, under most inter-denominational disagreements, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary's Knight, La Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 i chose the top one because theology is by definition the study of God and/or knowledge of God therefore since there is One God there is similarly only one set of correct knowledge and in that light increasing theology and living that theology is the main goal of a christian (e.g. to know and love God) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulls Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 gotta know how to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.SIGGA Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I agree with the 2nd one, but theology alone doesn't make a Christian - like I believed Jesus of Nazareth was the Savior (the Christ) long before I understood the Immaculate Conception, Blessed Sacrament, etc... Also, theology is meant to define the Truth, or just discuss it? This sort of stems from my first answer, but doesn't the Truth stand totally alone, like it wouldn't matter if a Christian was ignorant about something? - like for example wasn't the Church made up of total Christians long before specific Dogmas were realized and defined - can't the same can be applied to a child? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeenaBobba Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I chose the first one b/c only one theology can be [i]fully[/i] correct. Other Christian denominations contain some Truth, but not the fullness of the Truth that is contained in Catholicism alone. Other non-Christian religions, for the most part, contain varying degrees of truth. Among some Protestant denominations, I've noticed a trend in which some Protestants, typically Evangelicals, will say that it doesn't matter which denomination you belong to so long as you love, worship, and follow Jesus. This, of course, is not the Catholic view, since we Catholics believe that God is Truth, so to be in the fullness of the Truth is to have the potential to know and love God more fully. Not only that, but division among Christians is unbiblical -- and historically, Catholicism is the true Church that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against, that is, the one Church that has remained unchanged and undivided for 2,000 years. A nondenominational Christian friend of mine argues that since Jesus healed with mud sometimes and at other times used nothing, it therefore doesn't matter what someone uses (or which denomination one belongs to) so long as they love and follow Jesus. What would you say to refute this? God bless, Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I think your question may be a bit limiting. Theology is important, provided that Theology is ordered towards its right end. In other words, that it truly becomes a Theos Logos, study of the Word of God. The Word of God, in this sense, not stricly limited to the Bible alone. Granted, the vast majority don't even know what theology is, but for those that do, they can definitely help in what seems to be a very great need for catechetics among all. Theology must always remember that it seeks to understand and speak about God, and that, try as one might, it can never become prayer, in the strictest sense of to word, since prayer is more than just trying to understand God. Just my .02 God Bless Alelluia!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dairygirl4u2c Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 This doesn't give a good answer for me to click so: Yes, there is only one theology that is correct I would agree. Yes, theology defines the Christian faith and its followers I would agree. Yes, but not at the expense of Christian unity I disagree. Should be, "yes, and.." Theology should create christian unity. I suppose someone somewhere is going to be dividers no matter how you look at it. The Catholic Church teaches prots are the dividers, but I believe the Catholic Church is one of the biggest. "Decieveth thyself not, for in excommunicating them, thou hast excommunicated thyself from all." Theology should focus only on what unites not what divides No. It should *stress* what it unites, but it should also relay what it divides. Fellowship, not theology, defines who we are as Christians Fellowship is my theology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justified Saint Posted April 13, 2004 Author Share Posted April 13, 2004 Interesting responses. I had trouble phrasing the questions so I expected some confusion. I think most of you understood what I was trying to ask though. I did phrase the question as theology among different Christians. Basically, what kind of ramifications and complications are created by the nature of having differing theologies among Christians? How important are these differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonk Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 [quote name='dairygirl4u2c' date='Apr 13 2004, 02:47 PM'] This doesn't give a good answer for me to click so: Yes, there is only one theology that is correct I would agree. Yes, theology defines the Christian faith and its followers I would agree. Yes, but not at the expense of Christian unity I disagree. Should be, "yes, and.." Theology should create christian unity. I suppose someone somewhere is going to be dividers no matter how you look at it. The Catholic Church teaches prots are the dividers, but I believe the Catholic Church is one of the biggest. "Decieveth thyself not, for in excommunicating them, thou hast excommunicated thyself from all." Theology should focus only on what unites not what divides No. It should *stress* what it unites, but it should also relay what it divides. Fellowship, not theology, defines who we are as Christians Fellowship is my theology. [/quote] Excommunication does NOT divide. Those who are excommunicated, choose to do what they do. They are NOT kicked out of the Church, the excommunicated are still required to go to Mass. What defines who we are as Christians is following Christ's Way. What I think the major issue that you fail to realize is that God is real. Things that are real have real answers; not philosophical ones. Where has your theology been for the last 2000 years? Is it Christ's Way or is it your way? Please stop assuming and start studying. Before you comment on something like excommunication, why not look it up from a Catholic source? - That would be the smart thing to do. [url="http://www.NewAdvent.org"]http://www.NewAdvent.org[/url] [url="http://www.Catholic-Pages.com"]http://www.Catholic-Pages.com[/url] [url="http://www.Catholic.com"]http://www.Catholic.com[/url] -ironmonk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willguy Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 [quote]Those who are excommunicated, choose to do what they do. They are NOT kicked out of the Church, the excommunicated are still required to go to Mass.[/quote] Very good point, and often misunderstood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livin_the_MASS Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 [quote name='M.SIGGA' date='Apr 12 2004, 10:51 PM'] I agree with the 2nd one, but theology alone doesn't make a Christian - like I believed Jesus of Nazareth was the Savior (the Christ) long before I understood the Immaculate Conception, Blessed Sacrament, etc... Also, theology is meant to define the Truth, or just discuss it? This sort of stems from my first answer, but doesn't the Truth stand totally alone, like it wouldn't matter if a Christian was ignorant about something? - like for example wasn't the Church made up of total Christians long before specific Dogmas were realized and defined - can't the same can be applied to a child? [/quote] I agree with you M.SIGGA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homestarlover85 Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 i love polls ..is there away to just search for them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeenaBobba Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Jesus even said that there'd be division among some who couldn't accept some of His teachings. The Bible condemns division (Phil. 2:2), but the Protestants broke away from us on their own accord and were wrong for doing so. I mean, I don't mean that offensively to Protestants, but that's the deal. The Church, as the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim. 3:15), must speak the Truth even if some don't like it. The Truth is more important than trying to please others. I don't believe it's ever necessary to compromise the Truth for the sake of "unity." After all, unity not based in the Truth isn't true unity at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now