Christianity
The Basics
Elgin L. Hushbeck, Jr.
Topical Line Drives
Volume 27
Energion Publications
Gonzalez, Florida
2017
Copyright © 1993, 2005, 2017, Elgin L. Hushbeck, Jr.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society, Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Scriptures marked NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
iBooks: 978-1-63199-449-4
Kindle: 978-1-63199-450-0
Google Play: 978-1-63199-451-7
Adobe Digital Editions: 978-1-63199-452-4
Print:
ISBN10: 1-63199-448-4
ISBN13: 978-1-63199-448-7
Energion Publications
P. O. Box 841
Gonzalez, FL 32560
energion.com
Acknowledgments
While this is a short book, it is based on my study and discussions spanning several decades. As a result, numerous people have influenced and shaped my views, starting long before I became a Christian. I want to thank all of them, those who supported me, and those who did not. Everyone played a role in shaping the views I express in this book. And of course, I must thank my friend and editor Henry Neufeld for his efforts and support.
Introduction
Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.
(Marcus Aurelius Antoninus A.D. 121-180)1
For the time will come when people will not tolerate healthy doctrine.
(2 Timothy 4:3)
THE DECADE OF the 1970s brought a great explosion of interest in the inner self. Spiritual awareness and enlightenment were diligently sought after. Many looked to eastern religions such as Zen and Taoism. Others looked to gurus. Some joined communes. Christianity saw a revival with the Jesus People and the Born-Again movement. With all this diversity, many people felt that it really didn’t matter which movement you followed as long as you were sincere. Everyone had to seek their own path, and all paths led to God.
One of these religious movements flourished in San Francisco under the guidance of a charismatic leader named Jim. Jim preached all the right things: concern for the sick and underprivileged, help for the poor, and support for minorities. Local politicians liked him because he could be counted on to bring large crowds to rallies. There was even some talk that he had done a few miracles.
In the midst of all the popularity, a few did voice concern. Jim may have started as a Christian minister back in Indiana, but somewhere along the way he moved away from the teachings found in the book that Christians consider to be inspired by God, and the foundation of their beliefs: The Bible. A few Christians complained about his unorthodox beliefs. Some relatives complained about his total control over family members. Some of those who had attended his church talked of abuse and pressure to raise funds. For the most part these charges were ignored. Jim continued to preach love and social concerns, and continued to attract followers.
All of this changed on November 18, 1978, when United States Congressman Leo Ryan and four others were murdered while investigating reports of abuse at Jonestown, the People’s Temple commune in Guyana. When Guyanese troops arrived at Jonestown the next day, they made a grisly discovery – the bodies of 913 people, over 200 of which were children. Most had died from drinking cyanide-laced punch. Jim Jones had been shot through the head, apparently by one of his inner circle.
Those who followed Jim Jones to their deaths in the jungles of Guyana may have been sincere, but their sincerity did not protect them from being wrong about their faith and their leader. Nor were they the only ones who may have been sincere, but wrong. In the middle of the 1990s a total of seventy-four members of The Order of the Solar Temple died in several mass suicides that ended with buildings being set on fire by remote control devices. On March 26, 1997, Marshall Applewhite, convinced thirty-eight of his follower to join him in getting their money together, packing their suitcases, and cleansing their body by drinking citrus juices. The males were castrated; everyone put on new, identical, Nike sneakers and then they committed suicide. All this so they could go to a spaceship that was supposed to be hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet.2 These people were certainly sincere – sincere enough to commit suicide for their beliefs – but sincerity is not enough.
Jim Jones may have preached about love, but he denounced the teachings of the Bible. The People’s Temple was not a Christian group, even though it was often labeled as such in the press. But if those in the media were wrong to label the People’s Temple a Christian group, why? What is a Christian group? In spite of the importance of Christianity to the historical development of Western civilization, many people are surprisingly unaware of even its most basic beliefs. This can be seen in the wide variety of groups that claim to be Christian even when they deny the central teachings that have historically defined Christianity.
For Christians, the foundation for what they believe, or their doctrine, is found in the Bible. In my book Evidence for the Bible, I examine the question of whether the Bible can be trusted to provide this foundation and concluded that it can. Here we will look at some of the key teachings, or doctrines. But before we look at the individual doctrines, we need to examine the charge that defining the basic teachings of the Bible is an impossible task.
1 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations VII, 22
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_suicide
A Matter of Interpretation
It is often claimed that nobody really knows what the Bible says. It is all just a matter of interpretation, with one interpretation being as good as another. While this belief is very common, it is nevertheless false. It is possible to read and understand what the Bible teaches. Yet, if this is true, then why are there so many churches, each claiming to be Christian?
Part of the problem is how one approaches this subject. There are issues and concerns with understanding the Bible, and it is very common to start by outlining all of these problems. When discussing individual teachings, often there is a greater focus on the areas of disagreement and this can leave the incorrect impression that, when it comes to understanding the Bible, there is nothing but problems and disagreements.
It must also be remembered that the Bible describes God’s dealings with his creation, and it covers a large number of topics. On the most important teachings, such as who is God, and how we can be saved, the Bible is pretty clear. On the core of these doctrines there is little dispute among Christians. On other teachings, the Bible is not as clear. Sometimes this is because we are dealing with God, and as created beings we cannot be expected to fully comprehend all that the Creator does. At other times, it is simply because the doctrines are not essential to salvation and are only briefly mentioned. There are also disagreements over how all these teachings fit together. It is on these non-essential doctrines that Christian churches differ.
The Bible is not an esoteric book teaching doctrines that only the initiated can understand. The apostle Paul stated, “We do not write you anything that you cannot read or understand” (2 Corinthians 1:13). If you accept the premise that words have a particular