What Do Christians Have To Believe?

There are plenty of people out there who will tell you that if you don't believe such and such then you're not a real Christian. Depending on what the 'such and such' is, they could be very wrong.

Here's a brief rundown of needs and don't needs to believe:

Need to Believe:

• God exists.
• God is transcendent.
• God is the most powerful being that exists.
• God is good.
•  God created us.
• Jesus was God incarnate on Earth.
• Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected.
• Jesus is our role model.

Don't Need to Believe:

• Whether or not the Earth is thousands or millions of years old.
• Whether or not Darwinian evolution is true.
• Whether or not homosexuality is a sin.
• Whether or not we have free will.
•  Whether or not we have an immaterial soul.
• Whether or not extra-terrestrials exist.
• Whether or not there was a historical Adam and Eve.
• Whether Hell is a fiery pit, an empty wasteland, a mental state, or complete destruction.

The 'need' list is what many would call 'Mere Christianity'. The basic stuff that's needed to call yourself a Christian. All this stuff in the 'don't need' list is stuff that is debated by Christians but doesn't have any bearing on the truth of Mere Christianity. You can take it or leave it. 

"Don't Impose Your Views On Me"

Here's one you hear a lot. When you try to preach something because it's in the Bible that people might not agree with, it's quote "shoving it down their throat".

For some reason that's meant to put an end to it. You're meant to say "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Carry on!"
But that's nonsense.

Where it comes up a lot is on the subject of homosexuality. A lot of Christians believe that the Bible teaches that gay love is wrong. Most will say that it's the physical act, not the sexual orientation that's a sin, but either way it's besides the point. Christians will say that homosexuality is a sin and those that hear it will insist they stop shoving their 2,000 year old beliefs down their throat.

I'll just interject here and state for the record that I personally don't think that the Bible teaches against homosexuality. I'm pretty certain that those passages refer to paedophilia and/or keeping slaves for sex. They're specific things that involve same gender sex, but don't mean the entire scope of what homosexuality is. Like how banning tutti fruiti wouldn't be the same as banning all ice cream. (Had to pick the campest sounding example didn't I? Oh boy...)