Foundational Christian Beliefs

For many people the idea of “theology” conjures up images of dry and deathly boring concepts that are completely detached from real life. Sadly, sometimes that reputation is well-deserved. But theology should not be like that. The puritan theologian William Ames described theology as “the knowledge of how to live in the presence of God.” Another theologian, Petrus van Mastricht, that it is “the doctrine of living for God through Christ.” Fundamentally, theology is about knowing God so that we can love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

But just as in a human relationship loving someone means knowing who they really are not just who we think they are or should be, so in order to love God fully we need to know who he really is not just who we think he is. In this unit, we’ll be seeking to do exactly that. We’ll cover the key Christian beliefs about God, Scripture, creation, humankind, sin, salvation, church and God’s ultimate rule, so that we can think rightly about ourselves, the world and God; and so that thinking rightly, we can love and live rightly.