Here are the rules for the Protestant Thread. They should be pretty self explanatory, however I'd be interested to hear discussion on them. Of course, forum wide rules apply here as well.
Protestant Forum Rules
1. There are a lot of differences in Protestant doctrine. These can be discussed in an orderly manner in this subforum. However, there is a common core of Biblical Christian beliefs that we will uphold in this subforum.
Core Biblically Christian Beliefs. No arguments can be presented against these things
1. The Trinity: God is one substance. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God
2. God created the heavens and the earth
3. The Bible is the Word of God.
4. Jesus Christ is both Human and Divine
5. Jesus was conceived by the holy spirit and born of the virgin Mary
6. Jesus was crucified, He died, and was buried
7. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he intercedes on our behalf
8. There is a heaven and a hell, and every person will end up in one or the other after death
9. Jesus will come again and bring heaven on Earth.
10. Every person is a sinner. Jesus offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He is the only way to God and salvation
11. To be saved we must trust Jesus as our savior, and obey his commands. By doing so, we are empowered by God to achieve His will. (John 15:5-6)
Beliefs that are out of bounds. No arguments can be presented in favor of these things
1. Female ordination
2. Promotion of homosexuality/transgenderism
3. Prosperity Gospel
4. Elevating Jews/the modern nation-state of Israel above the true spiritual nation of Israel (Christians)
5. BLM promotion/race issues/liberation theology
6. Mormonism/Jehovah's Witnesses
7. Snake handling
Protestant Forum Rules
1. There are a lot of differences in Protestant doctrine. These can be discussed in an orderly manner in this subforum. However, there is a common core of Biblical Christian beliefs that we will uphold in this subforum.
a. There are some liberal denominations that don’t believe in Christ’s virgin birth, his miracles, or his resurrection. We explicitly believe these things. A statement of acceptable Biblical Christian beliefs is presented below.
b. Some beliefs that are sometimes included as Protestant will be considered out of bounds here (listed below)
2. Accept and understand that you get to say your piece, but you can’t spam your opinions.a. You will not succeed in swinging everybody around to your doctrinal distinctives, so don’t expect that. You can only do your best to present them for others to consider.
b. Posters may be tempted to think that if everybody didn’t switch over to their position, they need to repost it again, relentlessly. If they are told to stop spamming they might say they were prevented entirely from presenting their position at all. They must have been prevented, because if they had been allowed to keep posting, everyone would have come around to agree with them. This is not true. You must accept that not everybody will agree with you. This is a critical part of maintaining a polite level of conversation.
c. Think of it like evangelism. Plan the seed by presenting your idea, and if it is not received, shake the dust off your feet, and move on. Leave it in God’s hands. Don’t feel that you can force them around to your position. That won’t work.
Core Biblically Christian Beliefs. No arguments can be presented against these things
1. The Trinity: God is one substance. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God
2. God created the heavens and the earth
3. The Bible is the Word of God.
4. Jesus Christ is both Human and Divine
5. Jesus was conceived by the holy spirit and born of the virgin Mary
6. Jesus was crucified, He died, and was buried
7. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he intercedes on our behalf
8. There is a heaven and a hell, and every person will end up in one or the other after death
9. Jesus will come again and bring heaven on Earth.
10. Every person is a sinner. Jesus offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He is the only way to God and salvation
11. To be saved we must trust Jesus as our savior, and obey his commands. By doing so, we are empowered by God to achieve His will. (John 15:5-6)
Beliefs that are out of bounds. No arguments can be presented in favor of these things
1. Female ordination
2. Promotion of homosexuality/transgenderism
3. Prosperity Gospel
4. Elevating Jews/the modern nation-state of Israel above the true spiritual nation of Israel (Christians)
5. BLM promotion/race issues/liberation theology
6. Mormonism/Jehovah's Witnesses
7. Snake handling