blundin

973 reputation

116

bio	website	brianlundin.com
	location	Austin, TX
	age	35
visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
	seen	Feb 8 at 17:00
stats	profile views	19

Christ follower, husband, storyteller, writer, and IT strategist

	973 reputation	bio	website	brianlundin.com	visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
116 badges		location	Austin, TX		seen	Feb 8 at 17:00

summary answers questions tags badges favorites bounties reputation activity

24 Comments

suggestions reviews revisions comments badges posts accepts all

Oct 3	comment	How do Christians justify their belief and how do they convince others of their belief? Great clarification question. I mean that there is a logical framework which rests upon faith in the claims of the Bible to its own nature and the belief that a God exists. If you believe there is a divine God and that the Bible is our sole source of His revealed truth then the Bible in its inherent truth covers everything thing else from there.
Oct 1	comment	How do Christians justify their belief and how do they convince others of their belief? I will add to the chorus one comment. I think the question you asked is incredibly useful and would be very useful to the community and our later visitors, if it was not so broad. I would happily on more detailed questions that lie within the scope of this one. Stick around, this could be good for you and for us!
Sep 29	comment	Must a Christian accept the Bible to be infallible and/or inerrant? That definitely clears it up. While I don't agree with the approach of your answer it is more understandable and sets up a full examination of the question at hand.
Sep 29	comment	Must a Christian accept the Bible to be infallible and/or inerrant? Summation of the chat for those interested. It comes down to this, my point of view is that being saved and being a Christian are the same thing, @Flimzy thinks they are separate. We have agreed to disagree. :)
Sep 29	comment	Is the Qur'an compatible with Christianity? @JamesBlack I don't think it matters how I see the Trinity. The Bible is clear on its trinitarian claims and all of the orthodox creeds attest to it. The Qu'ran on the other hand insists in the quote I posted it that there cannot be three persons in the Godhead. This isn't about an individual view, it's about what the two faiths say in their own texts about the other. How you or I view it does not change what the texts state.
Sep 29	comment	Can you be a Christian and not go to church? Great succinct answer.
Sep 29	comment	Is the Qur'an compatible with Christianity? @JamesBlack I think the Qu'ran quote from another answer deals with the topic you raise. It says, "So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, 'Three'; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God." From a plain reading that is a rejection of the idea of the three persons of the Godhead while the historic Christian creeds explicitly affirm the triune nature of the Godhead. One explicitly affirms what the other explicitly rejects. I do not seem anyway to bring these two different views into alignment.
Sep 29	comment	Is the Qur'an compatible with Christianity? My definition includes faiths that recognize the three great ecumenical Christian creeds -- the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. All of these explicitly endorse the Trinitarian view and reject non-Trinitariansim and have been used to define the Christian faith by all mainstream Western denominations over time. Since the time of the Arian controversies (3rd century) the churches have ruled that teachings contrary to the Trinity are heresy. That is the historical, orthodox position as I understand it.
Sep 28	comment	How does the Arminian view of salvation account for God's sovereignty? That is correct and intended. The question is not meant to argue against the Arminian view but seek a well reasoned and supported answer to the question that is representative of the school of thought. Starting an argument wouldn't be constructive and helpful for future users.
Sep 28	comment	What is the difference between “infallible” and “inerrant”? You may be right, the use of the word mainstream may be imprecise. But, while many may disagree many Evangelical churches point directly to this statement as part of their view on the doctrines of scripture. 'Mainstream' was meant to imply many Evangelicals agree with the document. I will edit this answer to be more precise.
Sep 28	comment	Why does Catholicism have priests but Protestantism does not? @DJClayworth Thanks for the clarificaiton. Do you have a source for which ones? I'd honestly like to know as I am not certain of the subtleties between denominations on this one.
Sep 28	comment	Why does Catholicism have priests but Protestantism does not? GREAT post explaining the theology behind the Protestant position.
Sep 28	comment	Is the Qur'an compatible with Christianity? Fair point, and I do agree with the overall point of your answer. However I feel like for someone not familiar with all the details removing that point in simplifying the answer (which is a good thing on here) can cause confusion on a very important fundamental belief. I think there can be some significant negative consequences if someone approaches either text with the basic idea that we worship the same God.
Sep 28	comment	Why does Catholicism have priests but Protestantism does not? Good distinction. The term is applied differently here by Protestants. We Protestants (I think universally but the Anglicans may have a different take) reject the idea that there is a priestly class or people set apart.
Sep 28	comment	Is the Qur'an compatible with Christianity? "Muslims and Christians both originate from Judaism, all believe in the same God." I hope I am not picking on too fine a point here, but I would argue pretty strongly that we do not believe in the "same" God. The Qu'ran makes contradictory claims to the Bible in reference to the Godhead. It's not simply about Christ's divinity, we have different conception of God. Christian believe in a triune Godhead and the Qu'ran denies this explicitly. This is such a fundamental characteristic of God that I would argue changes 'which' God we are talking about.
Sep 28	comment	Is the Qur'an compatible with Christianity? I know that this is a broad forum in terms of the backgrounds and doctrines represented so I want to be careful. Just because a denomination or church claims to be 'Christian' does not make it so. There are agreed upon fundamental beliefs that have developed across denominations and carry the force of church councils and previous agreements. If these orthodox beliefs are not upheld then the claim to Christianity is questionable. For example, the Arian controversy was dealt with centuries ago and the church has held Arian beliefs on the nature of the Trinity as heresy ever since.
Sep 28	comment	Could Jesus have been married? @Mason Wheeler Can you cite a source for your claim? I am unfamiliar with that.
Sep 28	comment	Could Jesus have been married? As far as I am aware no orthodox (note the little 'o') Christian faiths teach this. That belief has been declared heresy since the days of the early church.
Sep 28	comment	Did Jesus teach separation of church and state? I would say that based on Paul's statement that "whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed," the governments in place in this world are the ones that God has ordained. I guess you could call it 'impartial', but I would prefer to say that God's overarching will brings a diverse assortment of government structures into our world and that separation of church and state is only one comparative facet.
Sep 27	comment	Do angels pray for us? @Caleb If I may offer an answer, I think the difference lies in the God-created differences between angels and ourselves. Angels were created by God for specific purposes, as messengers, worshipers and heavenly beings. This differs from the purpose humanity serves in the great story of redemption. We are not analogous. Ultimately we need an intercessor in heaven as we cannot directly approach God, and Paul tells us that Jesus is the only one. Whether I am praying for you, or you are praying for me, for our prayers to be heard someone must intercede for us. That is where Christ comes in.