Articles of Faith
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Articles of faith are formal creeds, or lists of beliefs, sometimes numbered, and often beginning with "We believe...", which attempt to more or less define the fundamental theology of a given religion and/or church. Articles of faith are common in both Christianity and Islam.
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[edit] Christianity
[edit] Catholicism
The Nicene Creed and the shorter Apostles' Creed are articles, or professions of Faith said by members of the Catholic Church. The Nicene is predominantly recited during the Catholic mass while the Apostle's is typically used for other occasions.
[edit] Protestantism
So named because they 'protested' against the authority of the Pope causing the Reformation) believe in general that: 1. The Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God and as such is infallible, in the original autographs.
2. There is one God manifest in three persons, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity received a corporeal body, was born of a virgin (Mary didn't remain a virgin, she was married and had other children), he lived a sinless life, performed miracles, was crucified (prompted by his own people because of religious differences, performed by the Roman rulers, but died of his own accord giving up life as opposed to being killed per se), was ceremoniously wrapped, laid in a tomb, the tomb was sealed, a Roman Guard, or "watch" was stationed in front of that tomb, the tomb was sealed by the Romans, on the third day (buried late on day 1, that is before sunset of the Sabbath before Passover), rose early morning on day three (likely in the grave for about 30 hours), he was resurrected from the dead. He was seen by many over the next month, then ascended into heaven.
3. The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity (of course the Father is the first member), an indwells a person who, of his/her own free will accepts the freely offered gift of salvation, that is, payment for their sin (Jesus death satisfies the requirement of a righteous God for a perfect blood sacrifice for sins committed).
4. The resurrection of Jesus prefigures the resurrection of the believer after Jesus return. From here there are thousands of variants on particulars.
Calvinism and Arminianism disagree on when God knew everything else that was going to happen, Openness theology disagrees with both and disagree that God’s prescience (foreknowledge) extends to what free will beings will choose in the future, rather believe that God learns as man acts, and God, through prophesy, informs man of what he will do when the time comes, not predicts the future per se. Pentecostals believe God gives certain gifts such as speaking in tongues, miraculous healings, etc. The apologetic for the basic beliefs is extensive and sound. It is based on evidence and all major accusations of the last two centuries have been soundly defeated by evidence often revealed by non-Christians. This belief is not to be taken lightly.
[edit] Latter Day Saint movement
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Articles of Faith are a list composed by Joseph Smith, Jr. as part of a 1842 letter sent to "Long" John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat. It is a concise listing of thirteen fundamental doctrines of Latter Day Saint theology.
Most Latter Day Saint denominations view the articles as an authoritative statement of basic theology. Some denominations, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have adopted the articles as scripture (see Pearl of Great Price (Latter Day Saints)).
[edit] Islam
Traditionally, there are six basic beliefs of Muslims, of which include a belief in:
- One God
- Angels
- Prophets
- Scriptures
- The Day of Judgment and the Akhirah or afterlife
- Predestination
In Sahih Al-Muslim and Al-Bukhari, Muhammad explains, "It (Al-Iman/faith) is to affirm your faith in God, His angels, His Books His Messengers and the Last Day, and to believe in the Divine Destiny whether it be good or bad."
Retrieved from Aqidah
Prophets in here refer to previous prohets such as Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jacob, David, Salomon and so on all the way until Jesus and Muhammed, may the peace and blessings of God be upon all of them.
The word "scriptures" refers to the original scriptures that were given to certain prophets. Moses received the Torah, David received the Psalms, Jesus received the Gospel, and Muhammed received the Qur'an.
