About Saint Paul Lutheran Church
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Many of you who are visiting this page already know Jesus, and are familiar with the precepts of Christianity. If, however, the language of formal "doctrinal creeds" seems a bit strange or foreign to you, please be reassured - your uncertainty, doubt and skepticism are openly received here at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Batavia, New York. As an expression of that welcome, we have outlined below some of the core concepts of our faith, in order to provide you with some simple reference points as you visit among us. We hope these will be 'conversation starters' and that you will halp us move the Christian conversation forwards.
We believe that the goal of the faith community is not to make people more religious; instead, we want to help people learn to love God more and therefore become more fully human. At Saint Paul Lutheran Church, we believe that we are called to reach out to our neighbors. We want to do this both locally and globally, serving them in ways that make a difference.
About God's Word: We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative Word of God. We believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the original writings of Scripture and that the original writings are without error.
About Separation of Church and State: We believe that each local church is self-governing, and must be free from interference by any external ecclesiastical or political authority; that every human being is ultimately responsible to God in matters of faith and life; and that each person is free to worship God according to the dictates of his/her conscience. We further believe that governments are established by God; that Christians, as good citizens, should be subject to governing authorities insofar as possible, recognizing our greater allegiance to God and His kingdom in matters wherein human authorities conflict with clear, biblical mandates.