RE: [TruthTalk] Why the Eternal Sonship of Christ Matters to Me

[Jonathan Hughes]

Hi Izzy,   The reason I have not replied to you was because of what you said at the end of your first request to me on why my belief in the ‘eternal sonship’ matters.  I will quote the ending:   How has it made you a better person?  (I can’t imagine.)   The sarcastic nature of the ‘I can’t imagine part’ is what kept me from replying.  You see there is no doctrine that makes us more godly.  Your own beliefs have not made you mode godly.  God Himself makes us more godly.  A clearer understanding of doctrines can help us repent of our false beliefs and move closer to the God that works within us.  Faith always seeks understanding.  Having correct beliefs aids the relationship as it moves from falsehood to truth.  Note beliefs do help people become more moralistic but I don’t think you want to go down that road again J   There is a problem with email forums in that most people act like jerks (both of us included).  If we had a godly scale for TT none of us would be higher than a 3.  Now if we had a godly scale for how we participate outside the forum our godly scale would be much higher.   My post was entitled why the eternal sonship matters to me, not why it has made me a better person.  If you read my post you would notice that I do not detach the sonship of Christ from His Person, or who God is inherently in His Being.  Does having a proper view of the Trinity make me a better father, husband, and friend?  I hope so but just like Moses was not aware that his face was shining after spending time on the mountain with God we are not aware of our own godliness aside from when others point it out to us.  I can tell you that my wife believes that what I hold to be true about God cements our relationship with each other and our son and allows me to live in grace much more than I used to.  I acknowledge that God has a long way to go with me.  Thankfully He is patient.   Regarding the Roman Catholic church.  There is a reason I use the words church catholic instead of catholic church.  One is the universal body of believers.  It is them that hold to the patristic views of our faith.  However, in your attempts to disassociate yourself from the RCC, I would suggest that you have very few beliefs that are not shared by our Roman Catholic brethren.  Grab your statement of faith from your church and compare it to the latest catechism of the RCC.   You will be surprised at how close they are on the integral beliefs.    Orthodoxy is defined by the ancient creeds.  The basic ones are the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed although there are many others.  It is to these creeds that the church catholic has constantly appealed to as orthodoxy.  David is correct in asserting that there was much conflict in the creation of these creeds.  Conflict follows any who attempt to identify with the God of scripture.   Jonathan   Jonathan, You continue to ignore my repeated requests to know how/why your belief in the "eternal sonship" matters one whit in living a godly life.  Please explain if you are able so that I do not have to conclude that you have logical answer or that you are being evasive, as I have had to do with others on TT.)   If you never noticed, Protestants left the RCC a very long time ago.  We don't rely on the RCC for our beliefs, as the RCC has a very wicked and non-biblical history in our opinion.  Therefore it is NOT the definer of “orthodox”. This is perhaps one reason why we value God's word enough to believe what it says, just as it says it. We have not been taught to allow someone else to (mis)interpret it for us. Please explain the essential doctrines which you believe that we hold in error. Izzy --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.818 / Virus Database: 556 - Release Date: 12/17/2004 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.818 / Virus Database: 556 - Release Date: 12/17/2004