Essential Christian confessions. "The Augsburg Confessions".

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Dirtman

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2022
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#1
Article I. Of God.
1 Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; 2 that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and 3 yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And the term “person” 4 they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.

5 They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil: also the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Mohammedans, and all such. 6 They condemn also the Samosatenes, old and new, who, contending that there is but one Person, sophistically and impiously argue that the Word and the Holy Ghost are not distinct Persons, but that “Word” signifies a spoken word, and “Spirit” signifies motion created in things.
 

ResidentAlien

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2021
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#2
Lutheran's are big on "confessions." I've heard them say there's not a single thing in their confessions that don't come straight form the Bible. If that's the case, why not cut out the middle man and go straight to the source? I'll tell you why: Because men think they know better than God.

I'm a firm believer in the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Confessions create unnecessary mazes.
 

Dirtman

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2022
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#3
Lutheran's are big on "confessions." I've heard them say there's not a single thing in their confessions that don't come straight form the Bible. If that's the case, why not cut out the middle man and go straight to the source? I'll tell you why: Because men think they know better than God.

I'm a firm believer in the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Confessions create unnecessary mazes.
Maybe because that list of folks listed as their practices are condemned also said they took their practices straight from the Bible. As do the many heretics of today. Summarizing the bible into early digestible faith statements clarifies our understanding to others, outside of our faith.
Also if you are any kind of a student of history then you know that King Charles demanded it.
As there was conflict between Luther and the bishop of Rome.
 

Dirtman

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Jul 19, 2022
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#4
Also these hearings and the contents of these documents are the reformation.
 

Cameron143

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Mar 1, 2022
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#5
Lutheran's are big on "confessions." I've heard them say there's not a single thing in their confessions that don't come straight form the Bible. If that's the case, why not cut out the middle man and go straight to the source? I'll tell you why: Because men think they know better than God.

I'm a firm believer in the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Confessions create unnecessary mazes.
It's unfortunate that you are not blessed by confessions...which is their purpose. They are intended to consolidate articles of the faith that they might be more easily understood. Like the scripture we are to be good Bereans and contend for truth. But reciting or studying creeds can be quite helpful.
Perhaps in this light you might find them more appealing.
 

Komentaja

Active member
Jul 29, 2022
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#6
Article I. Of God.
1 Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; 2 that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and 3 yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And the term “person” 4 they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.

5 They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil: also the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Mohammedans, and all such. 6 They condemn also the Samosatenes, old and new, who, contending that there is but one Person, sophistically and impiously argue that the Word and the Holy Ghost are not distinct Persons, but that “Word” signifies a spoken word, and “Spirit” signifies motion created in things.
The golden calf of Christianity. Nothing about divine essence or persons in the Bible.

In the Bible, it is very simple, no need to be a professor or philosophy.

Jesus is the son of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God.

Easy.
 

Dirtman

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2022
1,151
441
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#7
The golden calf of Christianity. Nothing about divine essence or persons in the Bible.

In the Bible, it is very simple, no need to be a professor or philosophy.

Jesus is the son of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God.

Easy.
So what does it mean for Jesus to be the Son of God?

The problem is the number of heresies that have cropped up, like modalism, partialism, and a denial of the divinity of Jesus or that Jesus is another lesser God, or that Jesus is a created being.

This faith statement lays down a definition of what Father, Son, and Spirit means, and how they are one God.
 

Dirtman

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Jul 19, 2022
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#8
Article II. Of Original Sin.
1 Also they teach that since the fall of Adam all men begotten in the natural way are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with 2 concupiscence; and that this disease, or vice of origin, is truly sin, even now condemning and bringing eternal death upon those not born again through Baptism and the Holy Ghost.

3 They condemn the Pelagians and others who deny that original depravity is sin, and who, to obscure the glory of Christ’s merit and benefits, argue that man can be justified before God by his own strength and reason
 

ResidentAlien

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2021
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#9
It's unfortunate that you are not blessed by confessions...which is their purpose.
I consider myself blessed never to have become enslaved to confessions. If you want to dabble in the mumbo-jumbo, go ahead, knock yourself out. I'll pass.

Confessions are little more than man's theology. I prefer the Holy Spirit's theology; the living water.
 

arthurfleminger

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Aug 18, 2021
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#10
Personally, I shy away from anything that has to do with Luther. Luther was filled with hate for the Jews and his writings in "The Jews and Their Lies' became a lynchpin for Hitler's propaganda against the Jews. Luther was Hitler's theologian, albeit he lived centuries before Hitler. But Luther's hate lived beyond his lifetime: Anti-semitism: Martin Luther And Adolf Hitler - Free Essay Example - Edubirdie

You can tell a tree by it's fruit and Luther was filled with hate.
 

Dirtman

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Jul 19, 2022
1,151
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#11
I consider myself blessed never to have become enslaved to confessions. If you want to dabble in the mumbo-jumbo, go ahead, knock yourself out. I'll pass.

Confessions are little more than man's theology. I prefer the Holy Spirit's theology; the living water.
So you dont think the Holy Spirit lead the reformation? Or Philip Melanchthon to write these confessions to King Charles as he demanded and explanation.
 

Dirtman

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2022
1,151
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#12
Personally, I shy away from anything that has to do with Luther. Luther was filled with hate for the Jews and his writings in "The Jews and Their Lies' became a lynchpin for Hitler's propaganda against the Jews. Luther was Hitler's theologian, albeit he lived centuries before Hitler. But Luther's hate lived beyond his lifetime: Anti-semitism: Martin Luther And Adolf Hitler - Free Essay Example - Edubirdie

You can tell a tree by it's fruit and Luther was filled with hate.
Polemics. Have ya ever read why he wrote what he wrote, or the History behind it? How about other things he wrote about jew and Judaism?
Also people have twisted the words of the Bible to commit evil crimes against humanity. In fact many atheists will site these crimes as to why they are against Christianity.
 

ResidentAlien

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2021
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#13
So you dont think the Holy Spirit lead the reformation? Or Philip Melanchthon to write these confessions to King Charles as he demanded and explanation.
I think the Holy Spirit led some aspects of the Reformation, but then men got involved and ruined it.
 

Dirtman

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Jul 19, 2022
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#14
I think the Holy Spirit led some aspects of the Reformation, but then men got involved and ruined it.
Please elaborate as to what parts were lead by The Holy Spirit and what was ruined by man. I know this is a tall order, so I understand if you use what ever brevity possible. I will gladly discuss this with you.
 
Jan 14, 2021
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#15
Personally, I shy away from anything that has to do with Luther. Luther was filled with hate for the Jews and his writings in "The Jews and Their Lies'
If I remember correctly, Luther originally liked the Jews that lived around him. Luther naively thought that Jews of his day just followed the Old Testament. But then, a Jewish apostate came to Luther and translated what the Talmud says. Luther was angry at those that followed the Talmud.

Read the Talmud for yourself, you'll understand why. He clearly wasn't talking about all Jews. The context in "Jews and their Lies" is about unrepentant Talmudic Jews that believe it is OK to withold wages, to not save nonJews from danger, and other detestable things that show up in the Talmud. The Talmud promotes a two-tier system where Jews are humans and nonJews are cattle.

I'm not a spokesman for Luther, he may have gone off the deep end, but context is important. It was the Talmud that triggered Luther, and it was the teachings in Talmudic synagogues that made him angry. If you study the Talmud and then look at Luther's beliefs, you will understand why he reacted the way he did. It wasn't an ethnicity thing it was because of the teachings of the Talmud.
 

ResidentAlien

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2021
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#16
Please elaborate as to what parts were lead by The Holy Spirit and what was ruined by man. I know this is a tall order, so I understand if you use what ever brevity possible. I will gladly discuss this with you.
I don't have time to discuss it. If confessions work you, great; they don't work for me. We'll just have to leave it there.
 

JaumeJ

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2011
21,409
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#17
There are many denominations . Each has it very own doctrine or doctrines, however they all claim to believe the Bible,most amyway, excluding sects..
I believe the Bible is the Word of God, God Himslef, howver from what it writes of itself, it is swritten in dead text which kills.
Again, according to it, it is alive when one is guided by th Holy Spirit.
Jesus Yeshua has declared we are all made children of Abraham by our gift of faith in Him I like this very much, and I believe all who believe Him, knowing it or not, are my brothers and sisters.
I do my best to believe Him always and do as He teaches, and I believe all who believe Him do the same wondering why their churches ' doctrines never coincide. Perhaps the Father will soon call His children out of he.
Yes, many believers are in all the denominations, and oft time I believe they are temporarily deceived in order for all to be fulfilled.
Praise God, He is worthy, not we.
 

Dirtman

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2022
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#18
If I remember correctly, Luther originally liked the Jews that lived around him. Luther naively thought that Jews of his day just followed the Old Testament. But then, a Jewish apostate came to Luther and translated what the Talmud says. Luther was angry at those that followed the Talmud.

Read the Talmud for yourself, you'll understand why. He clearly wasn't talking about all Jews. The context in "Jews and their Lies" is about unrepentant Talmudic Jews that believe it is OK to withold wages, to not save nonJews from danger, and other detestable things that show up in the Talmud. The Talmud promotes a two-tier system where Jews are humans and nonJews are cattle.

I'm not a spokesman for Luther, he may have gone off the deep end, but context is important. It was the Talmud that triggered Luther, and it was the teachings in Talmudic synagogues that made him angry. If you study the Talmud and then look at Luther's beliefs, you will understand why he reacted the way he did. It wasn't an ethnicity thing it was because of the teachings of the Talmud.
People of today look back at Luther through the lens of how Nazi Germany misused his words.
They for get there is a lot more to the story than a single pamphlet.
They also forget the harsh words of Paul in the scriptures about how they should further mutilate themselves.
 

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
11,887
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#19
1 Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; 2 that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and 3 yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And the term “person” 4 they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.
I am so glad that some blessed soul finally invented the word Trinity.

5 They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil:
Me despises 'dem wicked Munchkins also. Only one source from which all things flow forth: Creator God.

Isaiah 45:7

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”

.
 

Cameron143

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Mar 1, 2022
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#20
I consider myself blessed never to have become enslaved to confessions. If you want to dabble in the mumbo-jumbo, go ahead, knock yourself out. I'll pass.

Confessions are little more than man's theology. I prefer the Holy Spirit's theology; the living water.
I wonder do you listen to sermons or read books written concerning the Bible. Does anyone other than you receive this living water? If not you are completely justified in your position. If, however, this isn't the case, using spiritual discernment can help us learn a durth of information in a much less random and more productive way.
Your terminology "slave" is counterproductive in your argument and serves to characterize all those who read and enjoy the work of spirit filled men incorrectly. It also does injustice to the character of the work of those who sought diligently to contend for the faith. Perhaps that actually was your aim or just a byproduct of lumping so many into one basket.