Question: If the church has been changing its views on what it considered dogma in the past (i.e. earth only 7000 years old, hell is literal fire, earth was created in seven 24 hours days, apostolic succession, works vs. faith, election). What assurance does anyone have that other church doctrines and creeds will withstand the test of time such as the trinity (not specifically stated in the Bible), two natures of Jesus (developed later in church history)? Though very popular today in the Christian theater, one thing is sure: Church doctrine has changed with the times throughout history.

Thanks for your time.

Adi

Answer: Dear Adi,

Good question. On the one hand, there is no guarantee that the universal body of Christ, as well as individual denominations, will not change their views of how the truth of the Bible ought to apply and be understood. History tells us that changes, modifications, and adaptations will continue to occur. In one sense, that is the nature of the church. Jesus founded the church, he is the head of the church, but apart from him the rest of the church is very human, definitely not divine, and therefore imperfect, subject to error, etc.

On the other hand, we might take comfort in understanding that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And as generations of humans come and go, church history shows us that many of the same ideas that the church encountered and rejected in history are still around today, with slight twists and variations. With this in mind, we can gain some stability and connection to what the book of Hebrews call the "great cloud of witnesses" – Christians who have gone before us – as we see what they have grappled and wrestled with.

In fact, some of the very errors that are made, and have been made this century by Christians are precisely because those Christians did not learn the lessons from history – and they did not for a variety of reasons. But the fact remains that while history is not our guide (the Bible is) there is a great deal we can and ought to learn from those who have gone before us.

The trinity and the nature of Jesus are core teachings of the faith, and have been part of the orthodox Christian church since the early history of the Christian church – they are certainly not innovations. The word "trinity" is not mentioned in the Bible, but neither is the word "Bible." The truth of the trinity is taught in the Bible, but that is another topic – we have questions and answers posted on our website about that topic, as well as the nature of Jesus.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht