Comments on: Christianity in a Nutshell

By: Cannie

Cannie — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:52:21 +0000

Michael, what do you mean by the phrase “as they fight for the Kingdom”?

I love this nutshell, by the way, and have passed it on to others over the past few months!

By: Radical Legacy » A Condensed Overview of Christianity

Radical Legacy » A Condensed Overview of Christianity — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:05:37 +0000

[...] Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen attempts a difficult task. He gives an overview of Christianity without negating its [...]

By: Around the Web - 9/17/2008 at Ray Fowler .org

Around the Web - 9/17/2008 at Ray Fowler .org — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:28:19 +0000

[...] Christianity in a Nutshell. Michael Patton gives a good summary of Christianity in seven brief paragraphs. [...]

By: C Michael Patton

C Michael Patton — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:36:14 +0000

Glad you all have enjoyed this…I will try to get more “…in a nutshell” posts soon.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:32:46 +0000

I like this. Maybe I can show it to those not-yet-saved whom I’m having conversations with, as well as new believers. I appreciate the way you conclude with the responsibility of belivers to share the Gospel, as we are impowered by the Holy Spirit to do so…. and also include that this is the mission of the church.

By: Aaron C. Rathburn

Aaron C. Rathburn — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:38:13 +0000

I’m working on a similar synopsis, but mine is “Genesis to Jesus: An Introduction to the Bible and its Message.” I started the draft many months ago but never finished it!

-ACR

By: bethyada

bethyada — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:46:04 +0000

Exactly!

Creation, Fall, Redemption.

This is foundational to my reading of Scripture. This is exactly how both the Bible and nature are to be understood. It is the only way they can be understood.

By: Sid

Sid — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:14:49 +0000

We can call this the Cliff notes translation. hahahahaha

By: Ruben

Ruben — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:51:31 +0000

This is a good summary of God’s redeeming plan, I think one thing is missing
about the Lord Jesus, He did not come only to die for us, He also came to
reveal God (Hebrews 1). What appealed to me when I first heard the Gospel
and what most appeals to me still is the person of Jesus, His teachings and the
way He lived with us (John 1). I think this is part of God’s plan, to reveal
Himself to us more fully, to be one of us (the incarnation), to show us His
heart.

Part of this revelation is to show us the terrifying consequences of sin and
separation from God, eternal suffering. He also shows us His heart aching
at our rejection of Him (Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem), how this separation
causes Him anguish.

By: C. Barton

C. Barton — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:58:25 +0000

This is great; I’m beginning to believe that there is really no divide between the “Old” and “New” testaments: they are both a testimony to God’s miraculous rescue mission for us and for his pleasure and glory.
I had to ask myself one day: What does God really want from me? Is it obedience? For me to attempt obedience would be like lying at the bottom of the ocean and saying, “If only I stretch out my hand as far as it can go, I can reach the surface . . .”.
Is it companionship with him? This sounds more likely, because the Bible says he created us partly for his pleasure, but we absolutely NEED him in every way, so this is probably not the biggest reason, maybe.
Is it to bear witness, to give testimony? This one ranks high with me as a Christian, because, “It is not I who do these things, but Christ within me . . .”, so I have no claim to fame, in a sense, except that I can give testimony as to what God is doing in my life and in the rest of the world, and what he wants to do for all.
And this is maybe the most important: God wants a one-on-one personal relationship with each individual, but a lot of the world has completely tuned him out. We need to bear witness about this story-in-a-nutshell so the darkness in the world is swept away.