The apostle Paul sums it up in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." It's the most simple expression of the Christian creed. A more elaborate version is the Apostles' Creed, also known as Symbol of the Apostles:
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (i.e. universal) Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
Christians believe this and live in the light of it. Those are the essentials, the fundamentals. If a Christian questioned the existence of God, the divinity of Jesus, his death for our sins and his resurrection, I would question whether that person really understands what it means to be a Christian.
However, there are also a number of issues on which not all Christians agree. None of these issues are core to the Gospel, they're what I'd call peripheral issues. I learnt a wonderful word while I was translating a Christian book on ethics: irenic. Irenic means favouring peace and conciliation, especially in light of disagreements on Christian doctrine. How I wish Christians could be irenic when it comes to issues that are not core to the Christian message!
Some Christians believe God created the world in 6 days about 6,000 years ago, while some others don't see any contradiction between the scientific theory of evolution and the Bible (they believe God could have used and directed the evolutionary process).
Some Christians believe that spectacular gifts of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues, prophesy, or healing only occured in apostolic times, while others think they still happen today.
Some Christians believe they should abstain from alcohol.
Some Christians believe women should not teach men in the church, whereas other churches let gifted women preach, teach and lead services.
Some Christians believe that those called to ministry ought to remain single, while others see no problem with married ministers.
Some Christians believe they should tithe (give 10% of all your income to charity), others believe they should just give what they have resolved in their hearts to give.
Some Christians are staunch pacifists while others feel in some cases, it is right and just to fight.
Some Christians couples believe having children is a biblical mandate and that therefore, they should not use any form of contraception. Others believe there is nothing wrong with planning how many children, if any, they want to have.
... Some Christians believe that homosexuality is always a sin, whereas others believe that loving, committed relationships between two partners of the same sex are approved by God.
And there's the rub. This has become a non-negotiable issue for many Christians: believing anything else than the inherent sinfulness of homosexuality, whatever the circumstances, is seen as nothing short of heresy.
I think differently. I believe this is one of many issues over which Christians ought to agree to disagree. I believe we need to be irenic about it!
PS: The purpose of this post is not to defend my personal position on any of those issues, but to aknowledge the existence of doctrinal differences within the Christian faith that do not threaten or put into question the basics of the Gospel.
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