Christian Apologetic Index
David G. Nesbitt - Kelowna, British Columbia
Sola Gratia, Sola Fide... Sola Scriptura, Tota Scriptura... Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria
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† Confession of Faith

I am mirroring this Confession of Faith in the same style as those found within most evangelical Christian denominations, in part so that I am found to address the most fundamental beliefs but also in part for organizational purposes. However I am not going to provide the scriptural basis for each and every point of belief in this confession simply because that is not the aim of this website. It is enough that I make it known what I believe and what I stand for. If there are any contentious beliefs listed in this confession, you can be sure I either have or will address it somewhere on the main website, detailing why I possess a belief that deviates from mainstream Christianity.
 

Article 1: God
I ) I am a monotheist, in that I believe there is only one true God.
(a) While I acknowledge and respect the fact that there are other religions out there that promote belief in and worship of a deity (or deities) of a different name or nature, I personally do not recognize any other but the one true God revealed in scriptures. "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it," as Aristotle said.

(b) The reasons for this are extensive and may one day be addressed on my website. Suffice it to say, however, that as a student of religion I have discovered in my journey that no other enjoys the philosophical credibility, textual verifiability, logical consistency, and cohesive rationality of the God of scriptures. All arguments to the contrary that I have heard during my three years of active debate with skeptics have been either spurious or uninformed, or both. As time permits around my family life and work life, I'll start publishing my material on this.

II ) I believe that the essense or being of God is expressed in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To elaborate on this concept: the Father is a distinct person, the Son is a distinct person, and the Holy Spirit is a distinct person, but they are all God in being.
(a) Understand that this is not a subtle form of polytheism, because polytheism is the belief in more than one God. I do not believe in three Gods; I believe in one God.

(b) I also do not believe that they are each one-third of God; they are each fully God in being. As an illustration, both my wife and I are distinct persons but we are each, both individually or together, fully human in being -- when I am alone I am still fully human. Similarly, the Son is not one-third God but fully God, along with the Father and Holy Spirit.

(c) Confusion arises when someone conflates the being of God and the person of God. This confusion is easily clarified if one understands that God is not a person. God is a metaphysical essense, a theological ontology that three persons uniformly share. It is ontological equality yet functional subordination. The view that God is a person must inevitably lead towards modalism, henotheism, or polytheism.


Article 2: Man
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2003 by David G. Nesbitt. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Inquiries should be addressed to Christian Apologetic Index, 1424 Bertram Street, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1Y-2G2