Adiaphora

Adiaphora was the ancient term for theological beliefs that, while important, were not central to the Christian faith. These are beliefs on which Christians historically have "agreed to disagree;" they are not matters of salvation.



It is not always easy to determine which doctrines fall into the realm of adiaphora. We all hold to many beliefs that are dear and important to us, but a key question to ask when confronting any theological claim is, "If someone disagrees with me on this point, will they still spend eternity in heaven?" "Are they still a true follower of Jesus Christ?"



Following is a list of important theological topics over which we at BiblicalTraining have agreed to disagree.

 

• Order of salvation (i.e., which comes first, faith or regeneration)


• Eternal Security and Perseverance of the Saints


• Election


• Communion (Eucharist) and Baptism (except when it comes to the issue of salvation, i.e., neither ordinance accomplishes salvation)


• Dispensationalism, Reformed Theology, Covenantal Theology


• Church structure


• Spiritual gifts (except when it comes to the issue of salvation)


• Women's role in ministry


• Eschatology (except to affirm that Jesus is coming again, personally, visibly, publicly). So for example, Preterism is disallowed; it can be described but it cannot be advanced as a viable alternative. But we will not make pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation, or amillenialism a matter of core doctrine.