Good analogy.

I would add that this is necessary politically. Even tho there are denominations, for the most part we all agree that we are first and foremost, Christians. No need for Trump to be a specific denomination while in his position.

I love your explanation! 🙏

So basically it's all about the scripture? He can go to any church he wants, but he doesn't even necessarily have to go to church, so long as he follows the book?

I agree as well. To me, it’s dropping the Presbyterian specific dogma, and saying “I believe in God and Christian values.” It also implies being less exclusionary: “If you don’t believe THIS, then you’re going to hell”... It allows for other belief systems to be equally valid.

There's nothing wrong with dogma per se, just so long as the dogma is veridical. 2+2 = 4 is also dogma, lest we forget. Though it also means this:

God's existence is a mathematical theorem within standard physics. Standard physics is the known laws of physics, viz., the Second Law of Thermodynamics, General Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics. This theorem has been given in the form of physicist and mathematician Prof. Frank J. Tipler's Omega Point cosmology. These aforestated known physical laws have been confirmed by every experiment conducted to date. Hence, the only way to avoid Tipler's Omega Point Theorem is to reject empirical science. As Prof. Stephen Hawking wrote, "one cannot really argue with a mathematical theorem." (From p. 67 of Stephen Hawking, The Illustrated A Brief History of Time [New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1996; 1st ed., 1988].)

Prof. Tipler's Omega Point cosmology has been extensively peer-reviewed and published in a number of the world's leading physics and science journals, such as Reports on Progress in Physics (the leading journal of the Institute of Physics, Britain's main professional organization for physicists), Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (one of the world's leading astrophysics journals), the International Journal of Theoretical Physics (a journal that Nobel Prize in Physics winner Richard Feynman also published in), and Physics Letters, among other journals.

Prof. Tipler's Ph.D. is in the field of Global General Relativity, which is the field created by Profs. Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose during the formulation of their Singularity Theorems in the 1960s. Global General Relativity is General Relativity applied on the scale of the entire universe as a whole, and is the most elite and rarefied field of physics. Tipler is also an expert in quantum field theory (i.e., Quantum Mechanics combined with special-relativistic particle physics) and computer theory.

For much more on Prof. Tipler's Omega Point cosmology and the details on how it uniquely conforms to, and precisely matches, the cosmology described in the New Testament, see my following article, which also addresses the societal implications of the Omega Point cosmology:

• James Redford, "The Physics of God and the Quantum Gravity Theory of Everything", Social Science Research Network (SSRN), Sept. 10, 2012 (orig. pub. Dec. 19, 2011), 186 pp., doi:10.2139/ssrn.1974708, archive.org/download/ThePhysicsOfGodAndTheQuantumGravityTheoryOfEverything/Redford-Physics-of-God.pdf , webcitation.org/74HMsJGbP , www.freezepage.com/1560446695DXLEZNRPJS .

Additionally, in the below resource are different sections which contain some helpful notes and commentary by me pertaining to multimedia wherein Prof. Tipler explains the Omega Point cosmology and the Feynman-DeWitt-Weinberg quantum gravity/Standard Model Theory of Everything (TOE).

• James Redford, "Video of Profs. Frank Tipler and Lawrence Krauss's Debate at Caltech: Can Physics Prove God and Christianity?", Apr. 18, 2019, pastebin.com/6bZDc7rB , archive.is/uHEyL , megalodon.jp/2019-0423-0435-52/pastebin.com/6bZDc7rB .

Also, to here point out, Profs. Hawking and Penrose's aforementioned Singularity Theorems are themselves completely valid proofs of God's existence in the First Cause aspect of Him.

Further, due to Liouville's Theorem in complex analysis, it doesn't matter what form of physics one resorts to, as any physically-realistic cosmology (e.g., one capable of incorporating Quantum Mechanics, since the complex number field is intrinsic to the mathematical formulations of Quantum Mechanics) must begin at an initial singularity and end at a final singularity. (As Barrow and Tipler wrote, "Initial and final cosmological curvature singularities are required to avoid a universal action singularity." See John D. Barrow and Frank J. Tipler, "Action principles in nature", Nature, Vol. 331, No. 6151 [Jan. 7, 1988], pp. 31-34; see also Frank J. Tipler, "The Structure of the Classical Cosmological Singularity", in Origin and Early History of the Universe: Proceedings of the 26th Liège International Astrophyscial Colloquium, July 1-4, 1986 [Cointe-Ougree, Belgium: Universite de Liege, Institut d'Astrophysique, 1987], pp. 339-359; "Discussion", pp. 360-361.)

⁂

For the historical reliability of Jesus Christ's bodily resurrection and the untenability of theories which deny his resurrection, see:

• Prof. William Lane Craig, "Contemporary Scholarship and the Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ", Truth: A Journal of Modern Thought, Vol. 1 (1985), pp. 89-95, webcitation.org/69KCm4WtO , archive.is/8ypeB .

For more on the historicity of Jesus Christ's resurrection, see William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 3rd ed., 2008), Ch. 8: "The Resurrection of Jesus", pp. 333-404, particularly pp. 360 ff.

Regarding the Christ myth theory, virtually all the items which the Christ myth theorists claim as facts which show the parallels of Christianity with earlier pagan religions are completely fabricated modern claims that can't be found in the historical record. For an excellent discussion on this, see the following video:

• "Shattering the Christ Myth", DrCraigJohnson (YouTube), Apr. 17, 2009, www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA843654F0F6D4DA8 . Mirror: "Veritas Forum: Shattering the Christ Myth", Bethel Christian Fellowship, 26:39 min:sec, www.bitchute.com/video/Uo1HFlDMDhtS/ , bethelchristianfellowship.info/flash_media/jp3ChristMythCopyCat.m4v , bit.ly/2PzXxtV .

The above video is an interview of James Patrick Holding (editor of Shattering the Christ Myth: Did Jesus Not Exist? [Maitland, Fla.: Xulon Press, 2008], amazon.com/dp/1606472712 ) by Dr. Craig Johnson on the topic of the Christ myth theory. See also the below resources regarding the Christ myth theory on J. P. Holding's website:

• "Were Bible stories and characters stolen from pagan myths?", Tekton Education and Apologetics Ministry, www.tektonics.org/copycathub.html , web.archive.org/web/20190111041306/www.tektonics.org/copycathub.html .

• "Did Jesus exist?", op. cit., www.tektonics.org/jesusexisthub.html , web.archive.org/web/20190611232716/www.tektonics.org/jesusexisthub.html .

⁂

The below is an excellent lecture by neuroscientist Dr. Sam Harris, one of the main leaders of the New Atheist movement, at a June 2016 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference.

• "Can we build AI without losing control over it? | Sam Harris", TED (TEDtalksDirector), Oct. 19, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nt3edWLgIg . Mirror: www.ted.com/talks/sam_harris_can_we_build_ai_without_losing_control_over_it .

As Dr. Harris points out, unless there is something literally magic about the operations of the brain, then it is a purely physical process that can be replicated via advanced-enough technology. Harris further points out that given any rate of progress, it is inevitable that superintelligent godlike machines will one day be constructed. So Harris believes in the existence of gods, it's just that he knows--as do I--that they exist in the future; and the not-so-distant future, at that. Therefore we come to the ironic insight that materialistic atheism, consistently applied, unavoidably results in theism. Consistent scientific atheism turns out to be theism.

When I asked my father, which version of God I was supposed to believe in, he said I wasnt baptised or christened, so I could choose for myself.

I know more about theology than anyone I know.

I know about ancient religions and ones that started last month.

I have become a student of the phenomenon of shared belief systems.

This drives you away from the churches, as they chase agendas, it does not however, necessarily exclude one from faith.

I'm not socialist, I'm literally just asking because I don't understand what it means is all.

the Bible (God) is the authority.

The Bible isn't God. It's a book. There's a difference.

Ahh that makes sense. Thanks anon!

What about the holy Trinity? Does the play into it at all as well?

^ This.

Eloquent. Well said.