some theology

[apreacherboy]

A theology outline for understanding William Jesse

1. There is One true God, ultimately unknowable and all powerful, who chooses to show Himself through divine revelation, which is recorded by man in the Bible and can be experienced within our daily lives through the grace of the holy spirit.
   1. Unconscious bias: God as ‘male.’
   2. We are not alone. God is in everything and thus is always with us.
   3. God can be known through the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, also called, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. God is three and one.
2. Through Jesus the Christ, God became both human and divine, and lived and died upon us in order to be in closer relationship with us. Through choosing to die upon the cross, Christ provides both an example of the ideal Christian and altered the covenant between man and God. Christ’s sacrifice was a gift, freely given, as a redemption for all of mankind.
3. Mankind is created in the image of God, endowed with reason and creative power.
   1. After the fall of Eden, mankind is fundamentally sinful, living in a world where life requires death, and our creative power is also a destructive power.
   2. The apple in the garden gave us freewill, and thus the capacity to commit evil, but also the capacity to do good. It was our shame over eating the apple that separated us from God.
   3. Because we have free will, we can choose whether to embrace God or not. Therefore, our free embrace of God is more valuable.
4. We are incapable of saving ourselves; Only by God’s redeeming Grace is Heaven possible. No matter how good and virtuous we are, we can never be good enough.
   1. We are saved because Christ died on the cross to reconcile us with God by demonstrating such great love for mankind as to suffer and die for our sins.
   2. That act of love applies to everyone, past, present and future, and God’s overwhelming love and forgiveness is available to everyone. (Universal Salvation)

                                                               i.      This is not official Doctrine of the Methodist Church, but is an allowed Doctrine, since there is nothing sinful in praying to God for mercy.

1. We are saved in our earthly lives when we experience an assurance of pardon that comes from accepting the Gospel as truth. Knowing that God forgives us allows us to live our inherently sinful lives with the hope of Heaven. We no longer need to fear Hell.
1. The concept of a punitive Hell is inconsistent with that of a loving and forgiving God.
   1. Hell might or might not exist, but if it does exist, God does not send us there. We damn ourselves by putting distance between God and ourselves, through our anger, hate, fear, doubt and shame. The assurance of forgiveness allows us to reach past those toward the God that is always waiting.
2. Concerning the Bible
   1. Scripture contains everything that we need to know in order to be saved.
   2. The Bible needs to be interpreted through reason, tradition and experience.
   3. It is not a literal recording, and should be read theologically and critically
   4. William Jesse’s canon within the canon consists primarily of Genesis and Exodus and Psalms, and of course, the Four Gospels.
3. Love, Justice, and Mercy are the most important attributes of God and the Church.
   1. Love. We are called to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are called to love our enemy. To love means to value the exist of something.

                                                               i.      Since everything is Created by a Loving God, everything is loved and worthy of love.

ii.      “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment”

1. Justice. We are called to act with justice, which means to be morally upright, responsible for what we say and do, to oppose oppression, defend the weak, stand up for the truth.

                                                               i.      Justice accepts that people have a responsibility for their actions and their effects, which stems out of a context of free will.

ii.      Methodists are in particular called to social justice, which includes opposition to slavery, drug abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and the degradation of man by man, because we have the ability to improve the lives of others and reduce their suffering.

1. Mercy. Mercy is what makes forgiveness possible, because mercy is empathy and taking pity, offering kindness even to those who have wronged you.

                                                               i.      Justice and Mercy are often in opposition. Only God can be both at the same time. Christians are called to choose mercy wherever possible.

ii.      A Christian ought always to assume the best of strangers, and not assume evil unless it is demonstrated. And even then, forgiveness and offering of second chances requires accepting the risk that evil will occur again in the hopes of finding redemption of evil instead. That trust can be enough to turn a soul toward the light and without that trust, there can be no forgiveness.

1. saving grace
   1. All human beings are imbued with the holy spirit of God, a prevalent grace that calls even the non-believer to strive toward God and goodness.
   2. When a person is willing to embrace that piece of God within them, then they are ready to be saved
   3. The duty of a Christian is to spread the good news, but it is not the responsibility of the preacher to save a person, merely to show that it is possible to be saved. Saving is God’s job.
2. Good works: We can not be saved by our good works, but we can use them to demonstrate to God and to the World that we are saved.
   1. Any good deed done for the purposes of gaining salvation/getting into heaven are inherently selfish acts; they are allowable, but they are not redemptive.
   2. Good deeds are private affairs and should be handled with humility and not pride, and done because they are what God wants us to do.
   3. When we act in God’s name and do God’s work, we make God real in the world
3.  The role of the church
   1. The Church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ’s life and ministry in the world, and th emission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The church is called to worship God and to support those who seek to grow in faith
   2. You do not need to be in a church to worship God; you do not need a priest in order to speak to God.  The sacraments are expressions of faith
4. The End of the World
   1. When all the world is living in a goodly way, then we create Heaven on Earth, and then, death and time will hold no sway and we all will walk with God.
   2. Where ever the will og God is done, then the kingdom of God is present
   3. The promise of the rainbow and the dove swear that God will never again destroy his creation. The reign of God is both personal and social. Personally, we display the kingdom of God as our hearts and minds are transformed and we become more Christ-like. Socially, God’s vision for the kingdom includes the restoration and transformation of all creation.