Paula

not about one doctrine

Christians, and even a pastor had what I secretly disdained as superstitious and animistic beliefs. I thought my faith was superior…. Nowadays I know better. They were onto something.

Charis, these are very disturbing statements, because they contradict basics of the Christian faith grounded in the Bible.

The first one, “not about doctrine”, is countered by:

1 Timothy 1:3
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
1 Timothy 1:10
…for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
1 Timothy 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 6:3
If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,…
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Titus 1:9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Titus 2:1
You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

There are many more, but clearly doctrine matters. Much of the NT was written to combat false doctrine.

But Christians do not have anything to do with “animistic beliefs” and superstition:

You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans. (Isaiah 2:6)

They are not Christians who add to the gospel or subtract from it. That’s what the Bible says, not me. They are not Christians who have what the Bible clearly says are pagan beliefs, even if combined with the gospel. No, the lost are not “on to something”, they are lost, and we have nothing to learn from them except the “ways of death”.

Last, whenever you argue that quoting others means taking them out of context, the burden of proof is on you to prove that the person has changed the meaning of the quotes. You’d have to go to the original writing to check the context, and then prove that the meaning is different. The charge must be proved, not merely asserted.

Charis, we’re all trying to warn you about compromise. It is deadly. If anyone believes that Jesus is God in the flesh who died for us and rose again, that person is a sister or brother in Christ. But anyone who considers the gospel only part of the answer has not accepted Jesus as the **only** Way, Truth, and Life. “There is salvation in no other name.” So additions and subtractions are not part of the gospel; they make Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection inadequate, and his Word defective or untrustworthy. The animists, the superstitious, are not saved because they add to the gospel.

Cheryl, thanks for providing pinklight’s answer.