frosbel:
Or is he/she supposed to tow the line of the church without any argument or debate ?

frosbel:
He/she is supposed to tow the line of the church without any argument or debate

ATMC:
Is judgement on a personal level? If yes then you have the answer to your question. Otherwise, bring it on...tow the doctrinal line of your church.

frosbel:
Or is he/she supposed to tow the line of the church without any argument or debate ?

anukulapo:

Not if the doctrine is a commandment of men that makes the word of God of no effect.

Scholar8200:
Let she/he just follow the path of the Bereans: subject any claim by a pulpiteer to an objective,intense and balanced cross-examination with Scripture with diligent respect to context and dispensation, with a childlike dependence on the Holy Spirit. (I wont advise or urge a recourse to Greek etc because I fear many are getting deceived when they choose the most self-serving of the many synonyms given by Language dictionaries)

ATMC:
Can anything make God's word of no effect? I doubt.

frosbel:
Or is he/she supposed to tow the line of the church without any argument or debate ?

johnydon22:
If you believe what you like in your gospels and scriptures and reject the ones you don't like. . . its not the gospels/scriptures you believe but yourself

italo:
How did the early Christians determine the truth in Acts 15?

Paul and Barnabas, as blessed and knowledgeable as they were, didn't take their personal stance.

The went to the leaders of the Church. They went to Peter, James etc.

Listen to the Pope and the bishops of the Catholic Church as they teach you God's doctrine.

It is refusal to listen to them that lead to the confusion you now see in Christendom.

What I'm saying will disturb your minds, but it is the truth.

"This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"--John 6:60

JMAN05:


Gullibility is dangerous. It does not even show love for truth. So its good to scrutinize what you are told. However, this must not be done thru debate with ur religion. You can ask appropriate questions, make your research to see whether what you are told is true, then make your decision.

You need to rely on God's lead thru prayer. Patience is good cos some truths take time to be understood Dan 12;4

anukulapo:

Sometimes the issues end up like "as for me (and my house)..."
If you're sure your personal stance is not against the will of God. Yes!

hahn:


And pay tithe as often as possible

frosbel:


But what if what I heard from God is different to what you heard and we then go off on two different tangents with respect to a particular doctrine , how do we know which one is the right one ?

johnydon22:
If you both hear different opposing things from one God.

It is either that God is confused, or no God said anything at all and you both only listened and made conclusions that are in coincide with your reason, emotion and sentimental tilt

frosbel:


Well said !

But my question to the religious is this : can one take a contrary position to the pastor of a church and still be correct or is the church/pastor the final authority on all doctrinal matters ?

frosbel:


In other words a believer is expected to tow the line of the church on matters of doctrine with no recourse to personal assessment and conclusion ?

frosbel:


But what if what I heard from God is different to what you heard and we then go off on two different tangents with respect to a particular doctrine , how do we know which one is the right one ?

frosbel:


In other words a believer is expected to tow the line of the church on matters of doctrine with no recourse to personal assessment and conclusion ?

frosbel:
Or is he/she supposed to tow the line of the church without any argument or debate ?

socrateez:
One challenge I have noticed in all these contributions is the use of the word "doctrine". What is a doctrine? Many of the allusions in the contributions are dogmas not doctrine.

A doctrine is a clear teaching in the Bible which Christians have been instructed to follow. For a teaching to be a doctrine, it must be practicable in any circumstances in any part of the world. That will include (but not limited to):

i. Accept the free gift of salvation (some will refer to it as accepting Jesus Christ into your life)
ii. Partaking in the Holy Communion.
iii. Evangelism. etc

Dogmas on the other hand are practices or traditions of each denomination. They are not necessarily ungodly because many of them indicate acceptance and give identity to members. The problem is the elevation of dogmas over the teachings of the Bible.

socrateez:
One challenge I have noticed in all these contributions is the use of the word "doctrine". What is a doctrine? Many of the allusions in the contributions are dogmas not doctrine.

A doctrine is a clear teaching in the Bible which Christians have been instructed to follow. For a teaching to be a doctrine, it must be practicable in any circumstances in any part of the world. That will include (but not limited to):

i. Accept the free gift of salvation (some will refer to it as accepting Jesus Christ into your life)
ii. Partaking in the Holy Communion.
iii. Evangelism. etc

Dogmas on the other hand are practices or traditions of each denomination. They are not necessarily ungodly because many of them indicate acceptance and give identity to members. The problem is the elevation of dogmas over the teachings of the Bible.

italo:


Where the Church has defined a teaching, all personal assessment and conclusion must fall in line with Church teaching, otherwise they must be discarded.

Where the Church has not defined a teaching, e.g on evolution, individuals are free to have their personal opinions.

anukulapo:

I thought " We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29).


.

anukulapo:

I believe that the "church's" defined teachings are not ALWAYS superior to personal assessment. This is evident in the OT levitical order and in our own time hence "aligning" with such all in the name of "church" will be error and sin.
.

anukulapo:


The issue see here is:
Is it possible to have different opinions (and stands) about an issue?

.
Can one hold circumcision true while another believe otherwise? (Like Peter's group and Paul's)

If there are cases like this,does that mean God is causing confusion? I think not.

frosbel:
Or is he/she supposed to tow the line of the church without any argument or debate ?

frosbel:


But what if what I heard from God is different to what you heard and we then go off on two different tangents with respect to a particular doctrine , how do we know which one is the right one ?