[sword-devel] Doctrinal Statement

[Don A. Elbourne Jr.]

I agree. I see no need for the Sword Project to adopt an official doctrinal
statement. This does not mean that doctrine is not important. I believe
doctrine is extremely important. I believe every Christian should hammer out
their own doctrinal statement through careful study of God's Word. The Sword
Project is an excellent tool in the hands of an individual to do just that.

Doctrinal statements serve many purposes, not the least of which is to
define the acceptable boundaries within a group. Boundaries, by nature, are
exclusivistic. Having an official doctrinal statement, no matter how broad
it might be, would imply that "this is what we believe and if you do not
believe this and that, then you are not welcome to be included in our
endeavor." I do not believe anyone here wants to do that. Doing so would run
contrary to the "open" nature of the project IMHO. Even if we did, how would
we do it? The Sword Project does not even have an official membership, so I
am not sure how we would excommunicate someone even if we wanted to.

by grace alone,

Don A. Elbourne Jr.
http://elbourne.org





----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Freedman" <dannyza1981@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <sword-devel@crosswire.org>
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 3:36 PM
Subject: Re: [sword-devel] Doctrinal Statement


> Having doctrinal statements puts people off, I know, it would put me off
> sword. The fact that I'm Jewish and benefit from sword means a lot, and
> having doctrinal statements can be offensive to groups, especially those
> doing research, and coming from different backgrounds...
>
> If people want to discuss doctrine, let them do it on other lists, if
people
> want to discuss the failings of the church, let them do it on other
> christian lists...
>
> theres my 2 cents worth, take it or ignore it.
>
> DF
>
>
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