Update to the Statement of faith

 I am from a doctrinally orthodox, Baptist, Trinitarian background. I reject the Prosperity Gospel, Christian Nationalism, and any idea that the answer involves any kind of  political solution.   

    I periodically will make additions to and/or updates to this blog's Statement of Faith. Updates were made today (19 January 2026) to items 1, 5, and 15.  

    To view this page, scroll down until you see the white window labelled as Pages. Click on Statement of Faith. 

There Can Be No Racism or Bigotry in the Church. We Must Live healthy Lives.

             The Holy Spirit, who is fully God, indwells every believer. It is the responsibility of every believer to carefully maintain their personal health to the best of their ability because their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The totality of all those led by the Holy Spirit constitute the Church, the Bride of Christ. The members of the Church come from all nations, races, genders, ethnicities, ages, and Christian religious denominations. Absolute agreement on all points of discussion among Christians is not required. There is a small remnant of true Christians in every group. The Lord knows those who are his. Racism and bigotry are absolutely incompatible with a declaration of faith in the risen lord, Jesus Christ.

The First Three Letters of the Bible

 

In Genesis 1:1, the first word of the Bible, in Hebrew, is בְּרֵאשִׁית which is transliterated as bare sit or b'rei-sheeth.  The first letter is ב (bet), the second letter is ר (resh), and the third letter is א (alef). The English-language name of the book is Genesis, from its Greek name, Γένεσις. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, Bereshit, “in beginning.”

Some Christian commentators have noticed and commented on this as a statement of the Trinity in the first word of the Bible. Others see it as merely an interesting coincidence.

            בן         Ben (son)

            רִיחַ       Ruach (spirit, breath, wind)

            אֱלֹהִ֑ים    Elohim (God, a name in plural form)

            Religious Jews reject this understanding as heretical, believing that the very essence of their religion is monotheistic; God is one, not plural. They understand the plural name of God, Elohim, as expressing the majesty of God, as in the phrase "holy, holy, holy," with each "holy" adding to the emphasis or strength of the word.

            An objection to the idea of Jesus or the Trinity being mentioned in the Old Testament is seen here:  https://gsgriffin.com/2017/07/29/the-bereshit-jesus-in-genesis-argument-has-no-merit/#:~:text=Both%20assert%20the%20following%20meanings,covenant%2C%20mark%2C%20cross)

by writer Garrett S. Griffin. Griffin is a Democratic Socialist activist and political writer.

Book Comment: The 50 Most Important Teachings of the Bible

 

In his book, The 50 Most Important Teachings of the Bible, Jim George presents a Conservative Protestant Evangelical interpretation of fifty of the important doctrines of Christianity. When I first read it, I wrote on the title page: “The whole book quivers with the evangelistic impulse.”

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything George says. His stated purpose: “My goal for this book about what the Bible teaches is to help give you a better understanding of the key teachings that are critical for your growth as a Christian.”

Some of the topics discussed in this book:

God is both three, and one.

Satan is not as powerful as you think, but you ignore him at your own risk.

Look at Jesus to see what God is like.

How much water is enough?

Angels are not just something you put on the top of your Christmas tree.

You cannot surprise God

Information you will need to search for this book: George, Jim, The 50 Most Important Teachings of the Bible. What They Mean for You (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2015)

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Book Comment: Documents of the Christian Church.

 

In his book, Documents of the Christian Church, editor Henry Bettensen presents hundreds of the most important documents of Christianity from the earliest days up until the modern era. The latest, an Amendation to the Constitution of the World Council of Churches, is from 1961, in the second edition of the book.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. This one is not an easy read, but, if you have a more scholarly bent, it can be used to track the development of Christian ideas and doctrines such as ecumenism or the Trinity.

Some of the subjects, in no particular order, include: references to Christianity in classical writers, creeds, church councils, anti-heretical documents, writings of the Church Fathers, the Church in the Middle Ages, Anglican documents, Vatican Council documents, the World Council of Churches, scholasticism, doctrinal disputes, church-state relations, controversies, monasticism, the Reformation, and the Dissenters. This is not an exhaustive list.

Information you will need to search for this book: Bettensen, Henry, ed., Documents of the Christian Church, 2^nd ed., (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975 paperbound reprint.)

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Why Isaiah Preached in the Nude for Three Years

Isaiah 20:1-4  “In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet." And he did so, going naked and barefoot. And the LORD said, "Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.” (The year spoken of in verse one is 711 BC.)

The Israelites feared attack by the mighty Assyrian Empire led by King Sargon and allied themselves with Egypt and Ethiopia instead of depending on God for their protection. For three years* Isaiah preached in a completely naked state to show to the Israelites that the Egyptians and Ethiopians would be carried away naked and barefoot by the Assyrians. They would be utterly humiliated and unable to defend themselves or Israel. 

*The number three occurs 467 times in the Bible. This number is believed by many Christians to be a reference to the Trinity. Three is the number of perfection or completion. To  repeat a word or idea sequentially is to emphasize it. In Isaiah 6:3 the Lord God Almighty is praised as “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Rick and Bubba Cut Ties With World Vision

Rick and Bubba are comedians, authors, and nationally syndicated radio personalities who are openly and outspokenly Christian.  They have been ardent supporters of World Vision, an international Christian charity which fights child poverty by sponsoring needy children.  They have abruptly cut ties with World Vision after their personal friend, the organization’s president Richard Stearns, told Christianity Today that World Vision is changing their employment policies.  They previously required employees to remain faithful within marriage, abstinent outside of marriage, and only recognized heterosexual marriages.  The new personnel policy does not overtly endorse same sex marriage but includes legal same sex marriages.

Readers of this blog understand that the blog is written from an orthodox Trinitarian Christian understanding based on a very high view of scripture.  The biblical standard for marriage is one man married to one woman.  It is clear that the Bible does not in any way condone the practice of homosexuality. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

What Rick and Bubba have done is not “hate speech” or “homophobia.”  Christians should not hate (1 John 3:15) and we do not have a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).  The historical orthodox position is admittedly absolutist.  The biblical claim is that God is the Absolute Truth and that He is the only arbiter of that truth.

Moral relativism, of which I have spoken before, is a very recent development which challenges the idea of Absolute Truth.  Advocates of moral relativism see traditional understandings of numerous issues to be repressive and oppressive.  They see Truth, if it exists at all, as being determined by the individual or by a community of agreeing individuals.

Several Christian denominations have been influenced by the philosophy of moral relativism and have adopted reinterpretations of historic doctrines in an effort to become more “relevant” to the modern world.  Some include openly homosexual members and a few have no problem with sexual relationships (heterosexual and homosexual) outside of marriage if the sexuality is in the concept of a “committed relationship.”

I personally know several homosexual Christians who are aware of my stand on this matter.  We do not hate or fear one another (“homophobia” is an insult word); we look at one another and are puzzled.  I am sure that this divide exists among readers of this blog as well.

Opponents of the traditional orthodox view on this matter must understand that our opposition to their view is not motivated by hate or fear.  They must also understand that we will not compromise.

………………………………………………………………………

* Luke 14:26 refers to loving no one more than Jesus.  The verse reflects an Aramaic understanding of love and hate.

Christian Heresies: In a book titled The Word's Way

I frequent used bookshops and one of my favorites is the enormous warehouse-sized 2^nd and Charles, the used book outlet for Books-a-Million.  I find many excellent older Christian books there in their religion section.  This is a secular national bookstore chain and they sell books.  Since the chain has no religious orientation or affiliation they do not screen the books they sell.  As they said in Latin, “Caveat emptor!”  (“Let the buyer beware!”)

I, for one, do not think there should be official censorship except for pornographic books and books which explicitly advocate pedophilia, and political or sexual violence (yes, books such as this exist).  Sometimes, you can learn things from people with whom you totally disagree.

In the bookstores, there are “Christian” books which cause me to raise a skeptical eyebrow.  Some of the books advocate ideas like the heretical Prosperity Gospel, reincarnation, social justice as the meaning of the Gospel, viewing a religious group’s founder as a near deity, and even Marxist interpretations of Christian theology.

The Word’s Way, by Victor Paul Wierwille, published in 1971 by the American Christian Press, is one book which orthodox Christians should anathematize. ἀνάθεμα is a Greek word meaning “cursed” or “rejected.” A book which is anathematized can be read and understood but should never be the basis for any formulation about doctrinal matters.

You will not get far into The Word’s Way before you will see why this book is to be rejected.  On pages 26 and 28, this appears,

“God is eternal whereas Jesus was born. …How was Jesus with God in the beginning?  In the same way that the written Word was with Him – in God’s foreknowledge.  God knew that Jesus Christ would be born and that He would redeem man.”

This is classical Araianism.  Arius (ca 250 -336) was a Christian bishop in Alexandria, Egypt who denied the deity of Jesus.  He declared that Jesus was a created being (”born”) and not of the same nature and substance as the father.  Arius was excommunicated by his fellow bishops but had many followers and the doctrine he advocated was widely accepted by many for many years.  The controversy was one of the factors which led to the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity.  Roman Catholic Church councils rejected the doctrine of Arianism in 325, 360, and 431. In other Councils, they rejected other heterodox ideas about the nature of the relationship between God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.   Protestants do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity solely on the authority of the bishop’s councils, but we do agree with their decisions about the nature of the Trinity.  We believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is clearly taught in Scripture. 

Recent Comments by Pope Francis

For full disclosure: this blog is written from a Protestant, Trinitarian, Evangelical, and biblically orthodox position.

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 Pope Francis has roiled the waters within the Catholic Church with statements which some consider to be at odds with the emphases of his two immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Francis has said that the church has become too focused on homosexuality, abortion, and issues of religious faith and doubt.  What I hope that Francis is trying to say is that the church cannot and should not be defined by what it is against.  That is a sure way for the church to wither and die.

Marisol Bello and Eric J. Lyman in a USA Today article on the issue say that Francis is reminding the world of the “Catholic Church as a place of healing and mercy, not judgment and finger-pointing.”  Others are concerned that Francis is de-emphasizing adherence to traditional doctrine in favor of being “relevant.”

In the interview, Francis adds: “we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time."  Francis is not changing Catholic Church doctrine but appears to be trying to say that the church cannot be only “against,” it must also be “for.”

Read more about the controversy here:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/19/pope-francis-abortion-gays-interview/2837495/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/09/19/pope-francis-gays-abortion-contraception-column/2839493/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57603897/pope-francis-denounces-abortion-after-decrying-churchs-focus-on-rules/

(Pope Francis, in talking about these issues, is not speaking ex cathedra (“from the chair”). but as a spiritual leader.  Ex cathedra statements are considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be directly from God and are doctrinally binding on all Catholics. 

Since the Alpha

Three persons in One,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
One since the alpha.

Alice Cooper Has Become a Member of the Church of Satan?

Rock musician Alice Cooper has become a member of the Church of Satan?????  For years, he has claimed to be a “born-again Christian.”  Cooper’s actual religious heritage is Bickertonite.  The Bickertonites are a small Trinitarian Mormon sect named for Wlliam Bickerton, but actually formed by the fascinating Sidney Rigdon. (Rigdon was a ubiquitous American religious figure from the nineteenth century who was quite fractious, becoming involved in one religious argument after another and moving rapidly among religious denominations and then quickly becoming a prominent leader in each of them.  Rigdon was in rapid succession, a leader among the Baptists, the Campbellites (Disciples of Christ), the main Joseph Smith Mormon group, and several Mormon schismatic sects.  Rigdon usually ended up disassociated or excommunicated by his former affiliative groups.)

Bickertonites  http://www.thechurchofjesuschrist.org/index.cfm

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=113546

http://www.mormonwiki.com/Bickertonites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_(Bickertonite)

http://graceforgrace.com/2008/02/18/lds-church-vs-church-of-jesus-christ-bickertonites-vs-rlds-community-of-christ/

For the record, many people believe that this is an elaborate April Fools Joke being perpetrated by Alice Cooper for the publicity it will engender.

Blogger Rankings of Saints on the Loose

In each Blogger users profile is a list of the writer's interests.  Those who post about these interests are ranked by the number of their posts.  Here are the Blogger Post rankings for Saints on the Loose! and the number of persons who have listed each interest.

genealogy: #1 of 64,700
baseball: #1 of 51,500
Christianity: #1 of 42,700
grandchildren: #1 of 8700
grace: #1 of 1000
biography: #1 of 603
inventions: #1 of 579
doctrine: #1 of 134
Baptist: #1 of 128
Trinity: #1 of 98
competitive sports: #1 of 89
medical technology: #1 of 87
hematology: #1 of 35
literary agents: #1 of 32
Christian blogs: #1 of 10
Evangelical theology:  #1 of 7
Christian writers: #1 of 4
Christian Publishing: #1 of 1
films: #2 of 238,000
theology: #2 of 42,100
football: #3 of 210,000
religion: #3 of 103,000
comedy: #3 of 31,300
science fiction: #4 of 49,600
philosophy: #5 of 402,000
sport: #5 of 221,000
humor: #5 of 112,000
history: #10 of 246,000
art: not in top 10
books: not in top 10
writing: not in top 10

Can You Respond to These Criticisms?

Christian Apologetics is the study of defending the faith against intellectual attacks and explaining biblical truths and concepts to non-believers in ways which they can understand.  It also attempts to give believers a rational footing on which to base their faith.  Some of the attacks are quite harsh.  See how you would respond to these ten criticisms … if you can.  If you cannot, don’t expect that our critics will be swayed by “because the Bible says so.”

The link has been pirated by someone and so, has been deleted from this post on 12 September 2026.

The Voice of the Bible

The process of understanding films is like the process of understanding any other human knowledge.  The key is repetition and quantity of exposure until one begins to see patterns.  This is why a skilled physician sometimes knows what is wrong with you before you finish describing your symptoms.  The offensive tackle on the line of scrimmage in an American football game knows the play the other team is about to run by the way in which the opposing team’s players are standing.   The chess master knows the next six moves you are about to make and how he will respond to each.

In film theory, a theory popularized by director/actor Francois Truffaut is the auteur theory.   The theory posits that the author of a film is the true author of a film, putting his or her unmistakable stamp on the final product.  The theory holds that while great actors or producers can, and occasionally do, elevate films, the major artist of a film is the director.  The “voice” of a director is discernable when viewing the director’s output as a whole over the course of their career.

When you listen to Mozart every piece of music is different but every piece is also the same, and every piece yells “Mozart!”  It is the same with film directors: Alfred Hitchcock (an innocent is caught up in events outside of his control), Akira Kurosawa (the master and disciple, heroic champions, and cycles of extreme violence), Jean-Luc Goddard (Marxist themes), Luis Bunuel (opposition to organized religion and to traditional morality),  Naruse Mikio (female protagonists caught in bleak and pessimistic situations, with emotions raging under a calm surface), Martin Scorscese (morally ambiguous protagonists who are often prone to violence and feelings of guilt),  Ingmar Bergman (mortality, loneliness, sexual desire, religious faith),  Tim Burton (the misunderstood outsider who unintentionally hurts those for whom he cares),  David Cronenberg (the uncomfortable merging of mankind and technology),  Jacques Tati (the humor in normal everyday events), etc.

Just like a film director's body of work, the Bible has an identifiable voice, even though it was written by at least forty different people.  It is remarkably self-consistent.  Doctrine derived from the Bible can be judged as to its orthodoxy by its consistency with the total body of scripture.  It truly can be said that the Bible has multiple authors and one author.

Those who claim that the Bible contains contradictions fail to understand a basic principle: God's ways are not our ways.  Our understanding is limited; God's is infinite.  Rather than contradictions, the Bible is full of paradoxes in which both answers are true.  The Bible has multiple authors and one author. True freedom comes from submitting oneself as a slave to the Lord.  Both free will and predestination are clearly taught in the Bible.  Christians are strict monotheists but God exists as Three Persons.  Jesus is fully human and fully divine.  Jesus was at the same time a poor man and also the king of the universe.  God demands perfection but we are incapable on our own of ever fulfilling the demand. We are to be in the world but not of the world.

Book Comment: Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die

Pastor John Piper, in Fifty  Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die (2006), uses Biblical citations to show that “to die for our sins” is only one of the many reasons Jesus chose to die.  This is a point which Piper points out repeatedly; Jesus chose to die and God the Father was pleased.  The death of Jesus should not be blamed on a particular group of people;  Yes, the Jews killed Jesus,  and the Romans killed Jesus, but so did you and I.  Ultimately, God killed Jesus, and it was God’s idea.

The death of Jesus was planned from the instant of the Creation.  It did not surprise God or interfere with His Plan.  It was His Plan.  It should not surprise us that God  had multiple purposes with His plan.

Piper finds fifty reasons from scripture for the voluntary death of Jesus.  There are probably more.  Using the chapter titles from John  Piper’s book, here are a few which may surprise you:

To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation:  Galatians 5:11,  6:12

To Give Marriage Its Deepest Meaning: Ephesians 5:25

To Destroy the Hostility Between Races: Ephesians 2: 14-16

So That He Would be Crowned With Glory and Honor: Hebrews 2:9,  Philippians 2: 7-9, Revelation 5:12

To Show That the Worst Evil Is Meant By God for Good: Acts 4:27-28

 

As smart as we pride ourselves on being, we are very limited in our intelligence.  Look at the doctrine of the Trinity, which is clearly taught in Scripture and which we clearly struggle to understand.  God thinks on a cosmic level not bounded by space or time.  Read the series of questions He put forth in the book of Job.  “My ways are not your ways.”  Isaiah 55:8

The Only Dream I Remember

I had a dream two nights ago and I remembered it.  This is remarkable because I have never remembered any of my dreams.  This is the only one …  ever.   I know this is not normal, but it is true.

In the dream, I was eating barbecue sandwiches with three people, an older man and two women, none of whom I knew, but who clearly knew and loved me.  They expressed their pleasure with me, told me I was on the right track, and that I should continue what I was doing.  The older man noticed that I had barbecue sauce on my cheek and reached over to wipe it off with his napkin.  For this to be the only dream I have ever remembered was puzzling.

I am definitely not a believer in occultism or “the science of dream interpretation.”  It is said that dreams speak in the language of symbols and that they may be an avenue for us to work out problems in our lives which we cannot address on a conscious level.  Many non-Christians see dreams as a place where they receive “guidance” from “somebody.”  Others see dreams as a series of archetypal human images produced when our minds are in neutral gear.   Still others feel that dreams have no meaning whatsoever.

In the Bible, God often used dreams to speak to his people (Matthew 1:20-24;  Acts 10: 1-48) and, sometimes, to those who were not his. (Genesis 40:8-19)  I have no idea if my dream was from God or not, but nothing in it is contradictory to a Christian understanding.

The archetypal symbols present in my dream are, to me, quite obvious.  While I place absolutely no credence in the “science of dream interpretation,” I thought it would be interesting to see what a dream interpretation dictionary would have to say about this dream.  I was not surprised at what I found.

The most obvious element of the dream is the presence of three people.  Three is the number of the Trinity, the number of divine perfection.

The older man is a symbol of wisdom, kindness, and forgiveness; the women, of nurturance and love.  Eating with others is taken to symbolize harmony and intimacy.  Eating or cooking meat is seen as getting to the heart of a matter. I have absolutely no idea what that matter would be.

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An update on 20 July 2026: I have just this year become aware that I have a rare neurodivergent condition known as aphantasia, the complete inability to call up mental visual images. I have never been able to do this but I did not realize that it was neurodivergent. Apparently most people with aphantasia can experience visual dreams. I still cannot.

Christian Translation

Christian missions and organizations which have international reach often have need of translation services.  Christian-Translation.com is a Christian-run internet translation service which utilizes only Native Speakers, never a computer translation.  They believe that this helps preserve the meaning of their customer's messages.  They see their service as a ministry which helps others spread the Gospel.

The company will translate "writings, books, teaching materials, bible studies, sermons, messages," and other ministry materials.  The list of languages numbers in the hundreds. and "if at certain point you don't find here the language you're looking for, just contact us and we'll get that language translator for you."

The Dominican Republic based company views itself as a ministry and so, keeps its service costs as low as possible.  Their Statement of Faith on their website shows them to be a traditionally orthodox Trinitarian organization.

God's Farthest Limit

"Imagine what you think might be God's farthest limit, and you will find Him present there." Hilary of Poitiers (ca. 315-367) in On the Trinity 2.6.

Arguments Within the Church Over Homosexuality

Yesterday, I posted about newspaper columnist Leonard Post having insulted conservative, traditional Christians by, at least indirectly, saying that they are bigots for opposing same-sex marriage.  Homosexuality is one of the many subjects which cause intense arguments within the Church.  My understanding is that the subject of homosexuality falls under the category of a Persuasion.  Very few doctrines should fall under the category of Conviction, doctrines over which we should utterly break all fellowship and, in effect, to use an old theological term, declare anathema (ἀνάθεμα, Greek for "cursed" or "accursed.").  Anathema applies to the doctrine or attitude, not to the person, who, of couse, can change their mind.

Convictions: Examples include the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith; matters crucial to salvation. Acts 10:1-35 is an example of a conviction level argument, over the doctrine of salvation by grace and not by works.  These are matters over which Christians must be willing to fight and permanently separate if necessary.


Persuasions: Examples include millenial views, the age of the Earth, the exact nature of Heaven and Hell.  In Romans 14:5, Paul talks about Persuasion level beliefs, in which each man may "be fully persuaded in his own mind" but remain in unity with other believers who disagree. "Persuaded" or "convinced" is a translation of plerophoreistho (πληροφορείσθω), from the verb plerophoreisthein, "to be fufilled," "to be fully convinced." The believers may choose to worship separately while recognizing that the others are also Christian, because we "all stand before the judgement seat of God." 


Opinions: Individual preference. Examples include the best Bible translation, the proper model for church government, whether or not to use music in church services, whether or not women should "cover" their heads in church, whether or not to use real wine in the Lord's Supper, where Cain got his wife, should Christians smoke. Paul speaks of this level of belief in 1 Corinthians 7.

Book Comment: What Christianity is All About

What Christianity Is All About. How You Can Know and Enjoy God (1999) is a highly readable book of apologetics which talks about God, revelation, the Bible, Jesus, salvation, man, the Holy Spirit, the Church, Satan, and eschatology.  The main thing I took from the book is the idea of categories of belief, which the author defines using biblical references.  To quote the author, Alan Scholes, "The New Testament writers themselves held more than one category of belief.  They held some beliefs as non-negotiable for all Christians, others as matters of individual conscience on which believers could have diversity of understanding without disunity, and other beliefs as solely matters of personal preference or style."

The three categories of belief outlined by Scholes are convictions, persuasions, and opinions.  He gives several examples.

Convictions: the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith.
Persuasions: millenial views, the age of the Earth, the exact nature of Heaven and Hell.
Opinions: the best Bible translation, the proper model for church government.

Holding every belief on a conviction level is divisive and unbiblical; it may even be idolatrous and heretical.  Understanding that Christians may disagree on some subjects and still be recognized as legitimate Christians is one basis for Christian unity.