In any subject, there are things that matter, and things that don’t. So where do we draw that line in Christianity? How do we know what matters, and what doesn’t? I believe that there are two foundational facts for our faith. All other details rest on these two irrevocable facts and any such details must not violate these two facts.
- God is the omnipotent deity, responsible for the creation of the universe, and all that it contains.
- Jesus was sent from Heaven by God, lived a sinless life as a man, was condemned, beaten, and killed for our crimes, rose from death, and will return.
Everything else is detail.
I will grant you that some details are more important than others. For example, I don’t think anyone would argue against the idea that “do not murder” is more important than whether creation was completed in six literal 24-hour periods or over a much longer timespan.
Humor me for a minute. If Creation were achieved over the course of many, many years, it would not violate either of our foundational principles, so long as we recognize God as the Creator. So, if God created the universe, then what difference does it make how long He took to do it? Would you live your life differently if you found out that God created the universe over the course of many years, instead of 6 24-hour periods? Or vice-versa? I doubt it. If you would live your life differently, I really would like to hear about it.
On the other hand, when asked which was the greatest commandment, Jesus responded “Love God and love people” – Matthew 22:37-40 (my paraphrase). Which means that “do not murder” is a pretty important concept.
There is any number of issues that are not important in the grand scheme of our faith: dunking vs sprinkling, traditional vs contemporary, wine vs grape juice, and the list goes on. That is not to say that you are not entitled to your opinion and/or preference – God granted you free will, and it is a terrible gift to waste. The problem is that we have gotten so caught up in insisting that our opinion/preference is correct, and rejecting anyone who disagrees, that we are destroying the Church.
I would hate to get to the Pearly Gates and have to answer the question “One of mine tried to come to me through you, and you turned them away for WHAT reason?”
What I’m trying to convey here is that there are things that matter, and things that don’t. What if we all committed to focusing more on the things that matter, and less on the things that don’t?
