Talk with Carolyn Boles and Father Mario
Below is my working belief about:
- God,
- Jesus the Christ,
- the Holy Spirit,
- the Bible,
- Salvation,
- the Sacraments,
- and the Christian church.
(Click on the links above to take you to each specific section.)
God
Creation
I believe…
- In the Triune God, revealed in the Holy Parent/Creator, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit
- God is neither male nor female but a spirit who we can loosely refer to, but not limit by human gender. Though referred to by the masculine, paternal pronoun in Scripture, it is descriptive, not prescriptive, meaning that we do not have to just view God as Father. The “I AM” can be whatever we need “I AM” to be.
- God is limitless. Anything we say about God is too small. We will never fully understand everything about God. God goes beyond anything we can comprehend.
- No human religion has complete control over God. Traces of The Divine can be seen in various religious traditions.
- God is with us and God is in us. We are made in the image of God. God is not some entity sitting on a throne far away but resides within us.
- God is contextual. God behaves differently based on the context. This is why the God of the Old Testament differs from the God of the New Testament. In the same token, God in the United States differs from God in Saudi Arabia, in example. We also project our own images, needs, etc. on God which allows everyone’s God to be slightly different from another persons.
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Jesus the Christ
Jesus Christ in Cherokee Nation
I believe…
- Jesus is the Son of God who physically walked this earth, died, and resurrected for the sin of the entire world
- Jesus will return to restore order and establish his kingdom forever.
- We learn about portions of the life of Jesus through the Gospels, seen through the perspective and rhetoric of the authors.
- Jesus is the ultimate “Good News” of the Bible. Through his love outpoured, our communion with God has been re-established.
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The Holy Spirit
I believe…
- The Holy Spirit is actively working in and through our lives and world today
- Speaking in tongues and the gift of Prophesy was not just a tradition of old that ended during the biblical era but remains active today.
- I believe God still speaks today through various methods (The Bible, Prophesy, Intuition, Thoughts, Dreams, etc.)
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The Bible
Illustrated Bible at Berea College
I believe…
- The Bible is not completely God’s Word, though it contains “God Speech,” but it is human (fallible) perspectives and theologies.
- The Bible serves as a Testament or testimony of the works of God throughout the generations. Though influenced by the Holy Spirit, testimonies are subjective and contain imperfections.
- The Bible is a beginning foundation for us to begin to learn about God but is not the final Word or authority of God in the life of the Believer. It is a glimpse of who God is and what God can do. It is up to the believer to craft his or her own belief about God based on, among other things, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Tradition, Reason, Experience, and Scripture).
- The testimonies of believers today about God can hold as much merit as the testimonies of those in the Holy Writ.
- Human theology and tradition written in the Bible helps us better understand what people in the past believed about God, thus serving as a framework by which we can shape our own faith.
- The Bible is a sword; one can use it for good or for evil
- The Spirit of the Law exceeds the Letter of the Law. As such, the Bible should not serve as a device to tear people down nor to condemn them but to show them the need for a loving God.
- The Bible is a combination of various writing styles over various years. Some elements are historical while others express the contextual theology of the writer(s).
- The Bible should not be blindly or completely taken literally. Doing this has been harmful to many throughout the years and has not promoted the Spirit of a Loving God.
- The Bible should cause us to see our own flaws more than the flaws of others as expressed in Matthew 7:5, “Get the beam out of your own eyes” and John 8:7, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
- The Bible points to a God who is on the side of the marginalized “least of these” (Matt. 25:40)
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Salvation
I believe…
- Romans 10:9 – If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
- We are justified by faith ALONE. Though faith without works is dead, we cannot do anything to earn our salvation. The Bible gives numerous examples of people in the Hebrew Bible working to receive salvation by offering sacrifices but their works were temporary. Ultimately, Jesus finished the work. If we could earn salvation, there would be no need for Jesus’ sacrifice. Our good is as filthy rags to God (Isa. 64:6). Good works are merely an outcome of our love and devotion to God but is not a measurement of the level of our faith or salvation.
- [Note: Though I believe Jesus is the way to eternal life, I do not know the measure of his reach, meaning; I do not know if his death covered the sins of believers AND non-believers. I am certain that we are not saved by works, yet even salvation by profession might be seen as a “work” in which we have to perform. As such, I do not profess that ONLY Christians who profess Jesus Christ shall receive the gift of salvation. I am not opposed to other religions receiving the gift of salvation through their faith tradition. This is a gray area, based upon God’s judgment and not mine. My role is to love, not to judge. ]
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Sacraments
Chalice with wine and bread.
I believe…
- It is good to be baptized in water, in whatever manner is native to your faith tradition (i.e. sprinkling, full immersion), but it is not a requirement for salvation
- The sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist are outward signs, reminding us of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Because it is a sign, which does not lead to salvation, infant and/or adult baptism are equally permissible.
- All are welcome to the Communion Table as they proclaim faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ
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Christian Church
Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA
I believe…
- The role of Five-fold ministry (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers) is still active in the life of the Christian church today (Eph. 4:11).
- The True church is not a building but a community or aggregate of believers, which crosses denominational and religious lines.
- One can get to God outside of the church, but it is helpful in the life of the believer to have people with whom to walk along the journey. There is strength when we are together. Thus, fellowship with other like-minded believers is encouraged.
- The effective church should not blindly tell people what to believe about God but equip them to think for themselves; nurturing their own faith. Otherwise, church does not differ from a cult.
- It is not the churches job to judge people but to merely serve as a witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Christians should seek peace and pursue justice as we continue to grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
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“Love is the litmus. If not done in love, it is not done in God.”