Statement of Faith

John Shepard

I Believe

I am a devout, orthodox, on-fire-for-Jesus Catholic Christian.
I believe that there have been some unholy popes, bishops, and priests throughout church history and into modern times. I also believe that Catholics should be outraged by wicked deeds performed by their church leaders and should have zero-tolerance.
I believe I will spend eternity with God in heaven (and the new heavens and new earth) after I die.
I believe the truthfulness of the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed (minus the filioque).
I believe that we must live a holy, moral, righteous life to enter heaven.
I believe that we must avoid sin and vice, and that we can lose our salvation if we don't.
I believe the essentials of Christianity.
I believe that the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) is the inerrant, inspired, infallible word of God. However, I do not believe in Sola Scriptura (scripture only).
I believe we are saved by grace only.
I believe we are saved by faith, but not by faith only (sola fide). I believe that works have a role in salvation.
I believe that Christians should have a devotional life and a prayer life.
I believe Christians should practice charity and works of mercy.
I believe that hell exists and that some (many) will spend eternity there.
I believe the earth and universe are old and that the earth was not created in six 24-hour days — but I consider this to be a non-essential.
I believe that Noah's flood was local, not global — but I consider this to be a non-essential.
I am ammillennial, meaning that I don't believe there will be such a thing as the rapture nor a literal 1,000 year earthly kingdom on earth.
I am not a Charismatic. However I believe that miracles do occur; that the power of the Holy Spirit operates moment-by-moment in the faith life of believers; and that the Holy Spirit guides the church into all truth.
I believe in the teaching authority of the church.
I believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist in churches that believe this (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran).
I accept the doctrine of sacraments as taught by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. I believe that we can bless objects and that these blessings will "stick". (This is because the blessing occurs in the spiritual realm and is associated with the object.) Wicked spirits are repulsed by these blessed objects, and people receive these blessings when they come into contact with the blessed objects.
I reject liberal Christianity in all its forms (Bible is myth, modern day critical theories, non-literal).
I reject the word/faith, health/wealth teaching.
I reject astrology.
I have the utmost respect for other religions (but I believe that only Christianity is the true religion).
My work ethic is that we should work hard for our living.
I believe that sexual acts outside of marriage (between one man and one woman) are seriously sinful because they are exploitive (sex is only appropriate in the context of a lifelong commitment).
I am not convinced that homosexual relations in the context of a lifelong commitment are forbidden by the Bible.
I believe abortion is the murder of an innocent life but I am not convinced that it is mortally sinful when the embryo or fetus is not yet conscious and cannot yet experience pain.
I believe that contraception is not inherently sinful but that there are no good methods of contraception available — all have side-effects such as mutilation of the body (surgical), health risks (the pill, IUD's), and extreme inconvenience.
I believe that divorce in a marriage (between one man and one woman) is immoral.
Other things I believe . . .