So we asked our class to rewrite doctrine. We gave them a short list of scriptures to work with, encouraged them to go wherever else in the scriptures they felt prompted (or inspired) to pursue, and to come up with a doctrinal statement. Here is what our class came up with:
Gospel of John: Sweet Breath of God
God, the triune God, fully existed as we know God now, from always, from before the beginning, each Person completely equal in every attribute, though distinct in personality and work.
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Gospel of John: Greater Works
So far, this last evening together had been troubling. Jesus washing their feet, the abrupt departure of Judas, Jesus predicting Peter's defection. Now to see Jesus was to see God? They were to do greater works than Jesus?
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Gospel of John: The Way, The Truth, The Life
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Revelation 19:9 (NRSV)
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Gospel of John: Many Mansions
"Many Mansions:" Jesus was also using a wedding motif so familiar, so embedded in their daily lives and way of thinking, so much a part of their culture, that it needed no introduction and no explanation.
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Gospel of John: Love One Another
If we were to combine Jesus’ words with how the disciples and the early church interpreted them, what would our fellowship and assemblies look like today?
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Gospel of John: Father of Lies
The antidote to Satan's deceptions and schemes is found in retraining our minds, renouncing the lies, reprogramming the way we think by renewing our minds daily through the study of scripture, prayer, and living out the truths we learn.
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Gospel of John: Is it I?
Inexorable fate had not predestined Judas to treachery. Judas did not have to betray Jesus. Instead, every step of the way, he was free to make a moral choice between good and evil.
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Gospel of John: Mutuality and Equality
If we as Christians operate from the worldly flow chart, where there are those who command and run the show, and there are those who only get to obey, then those at the top of the flow chart have made themselves to be greater than their Master.
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Gospel of John: Battling Beliefs
Jesus was teaching a completely new way of approaching how his disciples—and all who would come after them—were to understand authority: Tangible love, patient help, and mutuality.
