Different and Difficult

What makes this study different? It is about doctrine, which has many voices and views. The aim of the study is to understand the tradition first – not to talk people into it. Doubt is natural and perhaps inevitable. “I believe; help my unbelief” is part of the Christian life; and what one accepts, doubts, or denies varies throughout life.

What makes this study difficult? It is not foremost a sharing of opinions, but what the church teaches, which requires moving from what “I believe” into the “we believe” of the Christian community. In some cases participants may discover that some of their personal beliefs are outside ‘classical’ Christian teaching.

What makes this study hard is that it first asks the question what do we teach ‘church universal’ before looking at our own beliefs.