Before the Beginning

The basic philosophical problem that faces us is the fact that something—rather than nothing—is there. Furthermore, it is also clear that this something-that-is-there has two parts: I am there and something in contrast to myself is there. Being is there. But the question immediately arises, “Has it always been there?”

There are relatively few answers. In almost any profound question, the number of final possibilities is very few indeed. Here there are four:

(1) Once there was absolutely nothing and now there is something.
(2) Everything began with an impersonal something.
(3) Everything began with a personal something.
(4) There is and always has been a dualism.

For the first explanation to be true, nothing must really be nothing—totally nothing—neither mass nor motion nor energy nor personality. Think, for example, of a circle that contains everything there is; and there is nothing in the circle. Then remove the circle. That is the concept of absolute nothing. I know no one who has propounded the concept that all that now is has come out of such absolute nothing.

The fourth notion, of eternal dualism, has never stood under close analysis, for men naturally press on behind the dualism and its particulars towards a unity by which to comprehend the duality.

The impersonal beginning, the notion that everything began with an impersonal something, is the consensus of the modern Western world and of almost all Eastern thinking. Eventually, if we go back far enough, we come to an impersonal source. This view is embodied in the notion of the uniformity of natural causes in a closed system.

However an impersonal beginning raises two overwhelming problems which neither the East nor modern man has come anywhere near solving.

First, there is no real explanation of the fact that the external world not only exists but has a specific form. As I look at the Being which is the external universe, it is obviously not just a handful of pebbles thrown out there. What is there has form. If we assert an impersonal beginning then we have no explanation for this.

Second, and more important, if we begin with an impersonal universe, there is no explanation of personality. The assumption of an impersonal beginning can never adequately explain the personal beings we see around us; and when men try to explain man on the basis of an original impersonal, man soon disappears.

But the Judeo-Christian tradition begins with the opposite answer. And it is upon this that our whole Western culture has been built. The universe had a personal beginning—a personal beginning on the high order of the Trinity. That is, before “in the beginning” the personal was already there. Love and thought and communication existed prior to the creation of the heavens and the earth,

Something was there before creation. God was there; love and communication were there; and therefore, prior even to Genesis 1:1, love and communication are intrinsic to what always has been.

(Summarized from Genesis in Space and Time, by Francis Schaeffer.)

Biography and History

Here's another set of book recommendations - this time tracing the influence of the King of Books in people's lives and its effect on history - again provided by Luke Jenner. No other book has had such an impact on people and nations, because no other book can show us what we're really like - and show us the remedy.

Sketches from Church History	S M Houghton	Banner of Truth
2,000 Years of Christ’s Power (3 volumes so far)	N R Needham	Grace Publications
Among God’s Giants (Aspects of Puritan Christianity)	J I Packer	Kingsway
Five Pioneer Missionaries	Iain Murray	Banner of Truth
Christian Leaders of the 18th Century	J C Ryle	Banner of Truth
God’s Outlaw (Tyndale)	Brian Edwards	Evangelical Press
The Forgotten Spurgeon	Iain Murray	Banner of Truth
Through Gates of Splendour	Elisabeth Elliot	Authentic Lifestyle
Shadow of the Almighty	Elisabeth Elliot	Authentic Lifestyle
History of Princeton Seminary (2 volumes)	David Calhoun	Banner of Truth
The Life of John Murray	Iain Murray	Banner of Truth

See also: Bible Introduction and Overview, Bible Commentaries, Systematic Theologies, Contemporary Issues, Devotional

Teaser 4

What is the next letter in this sequence?

O, T, T, F, F, S, ...

Hint

Try initials

Answer

S

Explanation

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven. Easy really!

Contemporary Issues

What does the King of Books say about ...? This set of books aim to provide Biblical answers to some issues of current concern to Christians and non-Christians alike. Thanks again to Luke Jenner for the initial list.

World Views	Does God Believe in Atheists?	John Blanchard	Evangelical Press
Evangelism	Today’s Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic	Walter J Chantry	Banner of Truth
Evangelism	Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God	J I Packer	IVP
Guidance	Discovering God’s Will	Sinclair B Ferguson	Banner of Truth
Charismatic gifts	The Final Word	O Palmer Robertson	Banner of Truth
Charismatic gifts	Perspectives on Pentecost	Richard Gaffin	P & R Publishing
Apologetics	Apologetics to the Glory of God: An Introduction	John M Frame	P & R Publishing
Evolution	Darwin on Trial	Phillip E Johnson	IVP
Evolution	Objections Sustained: Subversive Essays on Evolution, Law and Culture	Phillip E Johnson	IVP
World Views	The Divine Challenge	John Byl	Banner of Truth
Charismatic gifts	The Charismatics and the Word of God: A Biblical and Historic Perspective on the Charismatic Movement	Victor Budgen	Evangelical Press

See also: Bible Introduction and Overview, Bible Commentaries, Systematic Theologies, Biography and History, Devotional

Systematic Theologies

The Bible contains many different types of writing, including history, poetry, law, proverbs and letters. And these were written by many different sorts of people over a period of perhaps 2000 years or so. It can be difficult to track down what it teaches about a given subject. However, there are quite a few books that aim to present what the Bible teaches in a thematic and ordered way. These are generally called systematic theologies.

Wayne Grudem helpfully defines systematic theology as

... any study that answers the question, "What does the whole Bible teach us today?" about any given topic. This definition indicates that systematic theology involves collecting and understanding all the relevant passages in the Bible on various topics and then summarizing their teachings clearly so that we know what to believe about each topic.

As long as we don't put these books at a higher level than the King of Books they can be extremely useful.

The following are recommended. Thanks again to Luke Jenner for the initial list.

First some general volumes:

Ultimate Realities	Robert M Horn	IVP
Summary of Christian Doctrine	Louis Berkhoff	Banner of Truth
A Faith to Live By	Donald MacLeod	Mentor
Systematic Theology	Wayne Grudem	IVP
Bible Doctrine	Wayne Grudem	IVP
Foundations of the Christian Faith	James M Boice	IVP

Other books deal with particular aspects of the Bible's message. The following authors are also recommended. I've mentioned one each of their books, but their other titles are also worth exploring.

J I Packer	Knowing God	Hodder & Stoughton
John Murray	Redemption Accomplished and Applied	Banner of Truth
John Stott	The Cross of Christ	IVP
Stuart Olyott	The Three Are One: What the Bible Teaches About the Trinity	Evangelical Press
A W Pink	The Sovereignty of God	Banner of Truth
J Gresham Machen	What is Faith?	Banner of Truth
A W Tozer	The Knowledge of the Holy	Authentic Lifestyle
John Piper	The Pleasures of God	Christian Focus Publications
Edward Donnelly	Heaven and Hell	Banner of Truth

See also: Bible Introduction and Overview, Bible Commentaries, Contemporary Issues, Biography and History, Devotional

Creation in Schools

Another petition for you to sign.

There are various moves afoot to prevent creation being taught in UK schools on the spurious grounds that it is not science. Some of this hostility has been prompted by the recent (September 2006) distribution to secondary schools—by Truth in Science—of a resource pack that disparages the theory of evolution. One manifestation of this opposition is a petition calling on the government to abolish all faith schools and prohibit the teaching of creationism and "other religious mythology" in all UK schools. (Science Questions and Answers explores some of the reasons why trying to drive a wedge between creationism and science is misleading.)

In response, another petition has been started to request support for "faith schools" (horrible term!) and the teaching of creation alongside other views about origins. Please sign up. It's very simple and takes only a minute or so.

The full text is below. I'm not sure that I agree with all the sentiments expressed and would have preferred it if the two issues had been separated. However, the overall aims are laudable.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to continue the support for faith schools and to ensure that in all schools the teaching of traditional 'faith' views of origins is included alongside the more recent scientific 'theories' which many scientists 'believe'. Faith schools help to ensure that children develop mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and morally. As such faith schools ensure children are well placed to choose their own religious, philosophical and ethical beliefs. Schools should be places where children are given a full education, not centres where the spiritual and moral is excluded. Evolution and other scientific theories should not be taught as fact but instead along side other 'faith' views of origins. Supporting faith schools will provide children with a fuller education, parents with the choice of such for their children and help to promote a fully multi-cultural and peaceful society.

Christian Union Petition

Christian Unions in British universities and colleges often face opposition of one kind or another. Recently, Exeter CU was suspended from the list of official student societies, its student union bank account was frozen, and it was banned from using Student Guild premises for meetings. All this because the Guild claimed the CU's constitution and activities did not conform to its equal opportunities policies; that is, it objected to the CU requiring its leaders to sign a declaration of Christian faith. (See, for example, this Guardian report.)

Other CUs are also facing similar opposition (see this Times article). For example, Edinburgh CU was banned from running a course teaching the orthodox Christian view of sex and relationships because of opposition from homosexuals. Birmingham CU has been suspended because it refuses to allow its meetings to be led by anyone who refuses to sign up to its statement of beliefs and because it refused to alter its constitution to pander to the homosexual lobby.

A petition on the Downing Street web site asks for some sanity to be restored:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to defend the right of Christian Unions to control who may come into leadership of them. Just as one would not expect a left wing political party to welcome people of a right wing persuasion into their leadership a Christian Union should be able to expect leaders to share the declared beliefs of that CU and that the CU has the right to control who may be admitted into leadership; this right should not exclude CUs' access to premises in universities, colleges, schools etc. on a par with other societies in those establishments.

Please sign it.

Am I an Atheist?

There are several web sites that give you the opportunity of taking a quiz to find out if you are an atheist. They have questions along the lines of, "Do you believe in Christ?", "Do you believe in Krishna?", "Do you believe in Allah?", etc. Of course, if you are a religious person, you will probably answer "Yes" to one ore more of these, and "No" to several others. "Ah ha!", the site says when you've finished, "You're 83% [or whatever] an atheist!"

A similar argument was made to me recently during a discussion about the Bible over at ID in the UK: "An atheist only disbelieves in the sacred books of one more (out of many) religions than you do. How is his disbelief more unreasonable than yours?"

The falsity of this approach can be demonstrated with a simple story.

Suppose you had a terrible illness. 10 doctors come to you—each with a medicine that they claim will heal you. You investigate thoroughly and come to realise that 9 of them are charlatans. In fact, you discover that—far from doing you good—their medicine would kill you.

The other one is clearly a man of integrity; he is able to show you evidence that he has several medical degrees; he is able to point to a lifetime studying the disease you have and helping people with it; and he can produce many testimonies from people who have taken his medicine—all of whom claim that it has done them good. In fact, you interview a few of these and find that they back the doctor up. They are enthusiastic about his cure. So you take the medicine and immediately start to feel its beneficial effects.

Now suppose someone comes to you with a questionnaire. "Do you think medicine 1 is effective?", "Do you think medicine 2 is effective?", etc. Of course, you will answer "No" to 9 of these. "Ah ha!", they proclaim, "You are 90% against medicine". No, all you are saying is that you are 100% against false medicine.

In the same way, when I answer one of these quizzes, I am not saying I'm 90% against religion, I'm saying I'm 100% against false man-made religions that don't stand up to careful scrutiny and are, in the end, worthless.

But here is Jesus Christ. He is someone even his enemies could find no fault with. He has demonstrated—by his life, by his words, by the miracles he did and, especially, by his resurrection—that he is the Son of God. His teaching is helpful and loving. More than that, there are many people who can testify that faith in him has transformed their lives. He is able to take the worst sinners and make them fit for heaven.

So don't be taken in by these false arguments. Weigh up the considerable claims of Christ for yourself. By all means throw out the hogwash associated with man-made religions, but don't reject Christ in the same breath.

Bible Commentaries

Sometimes it can be hard to understand what a particular Bible passage is about. This is where a good commentary can be invaluable. Here are some useful ones. But don't take what they say at face value—always check them against what the King of Books says. Thanks again to Luke Jenner for the initial list.

New Bible Commentary	G Wenham, J Motyer, D Carson, R France (editors)	IVP
New Bible Dictionary	I H Marshall, A R Millard, J I Packer, D J Wiseman (editors)	IVP
Welwyn Commentary Series (especially Romans)		Evangelical Press
Bible Speaks Today Series		IVP
Tyndale Commentaries Series		IVP
New Testament Commentaries	Geoffrey B Wilson	Banner of Truth
Focus on the Bible Commentaries		Christian Focus Publications
Reading the Bible	Geoffrey Thomas	Banner of Truth
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible	James Strong
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels	J C Ryle	Banner of Truth
New Testament Commentaries (including More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation)	William Hendriksen	Baker

See also: Bible Introduction and Overview, Systematic Theologies, Contemporary Issues, Biography and History, Devotional

Bible Introduction and Overview

Search for "Bible Introduction" in Amazon and you're presented with a list of several hundred titles. How can you sort out the trivial from the profound, the rubbish from the pearls of wisdom? Well, here's a start at least. Here are a few basic reference works that will help you discover something of the background to the King of Books. With grateful thanks to Luke Jenner.

The New Testament: An Introduction to Its Literature and History	J Gresham Machen	Banner of Truth
An Introduction to the Old Testament	E J Young	Eerdmans
Survey of the Bible	William Hendriksen	Evangelical Press
The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands	Barry J Beitzel	Moody Press

See also: Bible Commentaries, Systematic Theologies, Contemporary Issues, Biography and History, Devotional

Hand Painting

This is clever. I originally came across it (and more like it) at Mighty Optical Illusions .

It's one of a number of hand and body paintings by Italian artist Guido Daniele of Milan.

It Has to Stop

Marks and Spencer killed nearly 6,000 children at 9 stores in the UK during January 2007.

No, it's not true, but imagine the public outcry there would be if it were.

The truth is that Marie Stopes International provided nearly 6,000 (5,992) abortions to women at its nine UK centres last month—the most in its 32-year history, and 13 per cent more than January last year. (See, e.g., the BBC news report)

The silent killing goes on, vulnerable women continue to be traumatized, and society is not perturbed.

The response from the so-called pro-choice lobby is to campaign for greater access to the "morning after pill", to encourage the distribution of condoms, for greater "education", …. The same arguments have been used time and time again in the 40 years since the 1967 Abortion Act, yet the number of abortions keeps rising (in England and Wales: 163,638 in 1995, 185,375 in 2000, 186,400 in 2005). There are even now demands to make access to abortion even easier, for example by removing the "two doctor" rule.

It's time to stop this killing spree. The complacent attitude to human life needs to be challenged. Abortion should not be promoted as a "back-up" method of birth control. More support must be given to women in difficult situations who want to keep their babies. The beauties of sex only within marriage should be extolled and encouraged.

Sea More

An earlier post concerned the Sea in Solomon's temple and the value of pi. That got me thinking about whether we can deduce anything about the shape of the Sea from the further description in 1 Kings 7. This says that the Sea was 5 cubits high and 10 cubits in diameter, and that it held 2000 baths. (Incidentally, 2 Chronicles 4:5 says that it held 3000 baths. This may have been a copyist's error at some point, although there are other possibilities. Perhaps I will post about that another time.)

The immediate problem is that we don't know for sure how cubits and baths map on to the measurements we use today. It seems that there were at least two, possibly more, types of cubit in use in ancient Israel, and different scholars have come up with their own values. A scan of various web sites and the commentaries I have suggests that the length of a cubit could have been anything between about 44.7cm/17.6in and 55.4cm/21.8in. Similarly, various possibilities for the size of a bath have been suggested, ranging from 20.1 litres/4.4 gallons to 48 litres/10.6 gallons.

Assume for the moment that 1 cubit = 48cm. That's about average.

Let's also assume that the Sea was a cylinder with an internal radius of 4.8 cubits (giving a circumference of about 30.2 cubits) and height 5 cubits. (When these values are rounded to the nearest integer, we obtain the measurements quoted in the text.) The volume of this cylinder is given by the formula πr²h, where r=4.8 and h=5. This comes to about 362 cubits³, which (conveniently!) is about 40.0m³. This would suggest that a bath is about 20 litres, which is at the lower end of the range of possibilities suggested.

Starting from this cylinder, we can generate a couple of other possible shapes with similar volumes. In both cases we have to assume that the writer, rather than rounding to the nearest integer, rounded off at least the circumference to 1 significant digit (i.e. to 30, rather than to 29 or 31, cubits). If we allow the internal radius at the top of the Sea to be 5 cubits, reducing to 4.8 cubits in the middle and 4.5 cubits at the bottom, then we end up with a beaker-shaped vessel with the same volume. The circumference ranges from 31.4 cubits at the top to 28.0 cubits at the bottom.

Finally, it may have been more pot-shaped, with a bulge towards the middle. In the example illustrated, the top and bottom have a radius of 4.83m; this reduces to 4.62 at the neck of the pot and then bulges out to 5.01m in the middle. The circumference of this pot is 29.0 cubits at the narrowest part and 31.5 cubits at the widest.

It seems possible that the Sea could have had any of these three shapes, given the scant knowledge we have of the measurements in use at the time.

In closing, let's consider Josephus's statement that the Sea was a hemisphere: Antiquities of the Jews, 8.3.5. This appears unlikely unless a bath was much smaller than research generally indicates. The volume of a sphere is given by the formula (4/3)πr³. So the volume of a hemisphere with a radius of 4.8 cubits is (2/3)π4.8³, which is about 232 cubic cubits, or about 25.6m³. This would make a bath about 12.8 litres - much smaller than the "minimum" value of 20.1 litres. Indeed Josephus himself said a bath was equal to 72 sextarii (Antiquities of the Jews, 8.2.9) or xestes; this would make it equal to 1 Attic metretes, which is usually taken to be equivalent to 39.4 litres.

Teaser 3

What is the next number in this sequence?

4, 2, 3, 4, 6, 2, 4, ...

Hint

What is the next digit in this sequence?

4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 4, ...

Answer

8

Explanation

What has 4 letters, is has 2, the has 3, etc.

All at Sea about Pi

The otherwise excellent Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers states that, “In the Old Testament, 1 Kings 7:23 implies that π is equal to 3”. Since I first read that, I have come across several internet sites that say, either implicitly or explicitly, “The Bible says π = 3, therefore it cannot be trusted.”

1 Kings 7:23-26 describes the Sea in Solomon’s temple that was used by the priests for washing: “He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. … It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom.”

π is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle. Here the circumference is given as 30 cubits and the diameter as 10. So the ancient Jews must have thought that π = 30/10 = 3, mustn’t they? Well, no … as I shall try to explain.

First, what is described is a very large, thick basin with a kind of lip to it, “like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom”. It’s about 4½ metres in diameter, and about 8 centimetres thick. It’s not clear whether the rim-to-rim measurement was internal, or if it included the lip, or somewhere between. Similarly, it’s not stated whether the measurement around it included the lip or not. In fact, the “line … around it” may have been measured round the widest part of the Sea—which may not have been around rim at all: it may have bulged below the rim.

Secondly, the measurements here—and elsewhere in the description of the temple—are approximate. In fact, in the 140 or so verses in the Bible that mention cubits, most only ever refer to whole numbers of them. The remaining dozen or so refer to half-cubit measurements, but that’s the smallest fraction ever used. These are not exact measurements taken from the architect’s drawings.

So even if the measurements are both taken as referring to the same part of the rim, all we can confidently say about π from this passage is that it lies somewhere between about 29½/10½ (≈ 2.81) and 30½/9½ (≈ 3.21).

Justice Down Under

It's not so long ago that an Australian court found Pastor Daniel Scot and a colleague guilty of religious vilification after he criticised Islam in a church seminar - even though his criticisms appear to have been calm, reasonable and based on his considerable knowledge and experience. After two years that case has now been thrown out and a retrial has been ordered: Free speech victory for Australian Pastor.

The experience has been frustrating and exhausting for the pastors involved. As the Herald Sun reports (Pastors' toil and trouble), despite winning their appeal, the pastors must still pay half the costs of their challenge. They have been "harassed, threatened, denounced as bigots and flayed in the papers and on the ABC, and are now deep in debt".

The fallout from that case continues, with John Howard, the Australian prime minster now becoming involved. He has been condemned for sending a taped goodwill message to the group to which the two pastors belong: Group won't reveal PM's message and PM moves to defuse hate row.

The press is now reporting that an Australian Muslim cleric, Sheikh Feiz Mohammed, is distributing DVDs that incite jihad. See, for example, the International Herald Tribune and Herald Sun. Sheikh Mohammed is reported as stating that, "We want to have children and offer them as soldiers defending Islam", and of referring to Jews as "pigs".

It will be interesting to see how the Australian authorities deal with these allegations. On the one hand, I trust that he will be judged fairly. On the other, it must be obvious that these accusations are much more serious than those levelled at Daniel Scot.

Driven Mad

According to UK Government statistics, deaths from road accidents are decreasing. For example, in 2002 there were 3,431 deaths of road users in accidents, compared with an annual average figure of 3,578 in 1994-98, and 5,846 in 1981. The number of pedestrians killed each year has fallen steadily since the mid-1990s, although the number of car users killed was little changed over the same period.

Nevertheless, in my experience, driving standards seem to be slipping. For example, in the relatively short distance I walk during my daily commute, I noticed in just one week the following minor infringements:

• A driver on the phone, his car swaying around a roundabout.
• A taxi overtaking a queue of cars (including one police car) on the inside.
• A car overtaking a bus on the pavement.
• A motorbike turning left from a right-turn only lane (with no indicators).
• A car turning left at a crossroads across traffic from a right-turn only lane.
• A driver in a queue leaning on the horn after a red light just changed.
• A van driver on the phone.
• A car stopping well past the line at traffic lights.
• Four cars turning right from a straight-on-or-left-turn lane.
• A van going through a red light.

Why is this? Here are some possible reasons:

• People always seem to be in a hurry to get to work, to get to the shops, to get home again...
• Perhaps it can be put down to general selfishness; maybe there is less regard for others than there should be.
• There's a less visible police presence now than I remember in the past.
• Do the police now turn a blind eye to minor infringements anyway?
• There seems to be less respect for law in general.
• Perhaps better car design gives drivers a greater sense of security.
• With roads generally more crowded than in the past, there's probably a temptation to take extra risks just to make progress.
• Drivers forget that other vehicles contain real, flesh and blood, people.

It certainly wouldn't hurt drivers to remember the so-called Golden Rule as they get into their cars: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you …

Thermodynamics and Evolution

The ID in the United Kingdom blog has an interesting post that includes Andy Macintosh's comments about the laws of thermodynamics and their relevance to the creation/evolution debate. Some argue that the second law of thermodynamics is irrelevant to the creation/evolution debate because the earth is not a closed system; energy is being continually pumped into it by the sun. However, as Andy points out, energy alone is not sufficient to produce new information. Here's an extract from the quote:

The reason of course why this subject of origins will not go away is that there is a scientific case, whether Dawkins likes it or not, which is a challenge to the neo-Darwinian attempts to explain life in terms of common descent. It is a straightforward case of testable science versus the modern evolutionary ‘just-so’ story telling. Scientists like myself who believe in Creation have no problem with natural selection. It is simply the natural equivalent of artificial selection. But natural selection has no power to create new functional structures. It does not increase information and does not build machines which are not there already (either fully developed or in embryonic form).

The principles of thermodynamics even in open systems do not allow a new function using raised free energy levels to be achieved without new machinery. And new machines are not made by simply adding energy to existing machines. This was the point at issue in the programme of Dec 10th. Intelligence is needed.

And this thesis is falsifiable. If anyone was to take an existing chemical machine and produce a different chemical machine which was not there before (either as a sub part or latently coded for in the DNA template) then this argument would have been falsified. No one has ever achieved this.

Teaser 2

This has been one of my favourites for a while…  If you built a monorail around the equator, 1 mile above the ground, how much longer than the earth's circumference would it be?

Answer

2π (that's just over 6¼) miles. (Of course, I've assumed the earth is a perfect sphere.)

Explanation

At first, it looks as though some crucial information is missing: for example, the radius or diameter of the earth. As it happens, though, the answer is the same however big the planet is.

Suppose the radius of the earth is r miles. Then its circumference is 2πr miles.

The radius of the monorail will be r+1 miles, so its circumference is 2π(r+1) miles. This can be expanded to 2πr + 2π miles.

So, the difference between the two circumferences is 2πr + 2π − 2πr, i.e. 2π, miles.

The Essentials?

What are the most basic Christian beliefs? If you were describing the Christian faith to someone, what are the most important truths you would want to explain? A few of us discussed these questions recently. We suggested a list of subjects; then each picked the 4 or 5 that we felt were the most important. Here's the final list. The figures give the number of votes each received. I know it's not perfect, but is not bad for a half an hour or so discussion:

9	Adam fell (Genesis 3, Romans 5:12)
8	Jesus died (Romans 5:8, The Gospels)
7	God made us (Genesis 1:27)
7	Sacrifice (1 John 4:10, Isaiah 33:10)
7	Everlasting life, heaven (Matthew 25:46)
5	We need forgiveness (Romans 3:10-12)
5	Repentance (Acts 3:19)
5	Jesus paid the price - ransom, redemption, rescue (1 Timothy 2:6)
4	We sinned (Romans 3:23)
3	Jesus was without sin (Isaiah 53:9)
3	Hell (Romans 6:23)
3	God is holy (Revelation 4:8, Isaiah 6:3)
3	Faith (Hebrews 11:1, Acts 16:31)
2	The Bible: authoritative, infallible, inerrant (2 Timothy 3:16, Revelation 22:18)
2	Resurrection (Romans 6:5, John 20:8-9)
2	Jesus was born (Luke 2:6, Matthew 1:25)
2	Trust and obey
1	God is ... Spirit, love, just, almighty, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, three in one, infinite, creator
1	Justification
1	Sanctification
1	Adoption
1	Jesus is the messiah
1	The kingdom of God
1	The church, the body of Christ, universal, catholic, victorious
1	Prayer
1	Mediator
1	Judgment day
1	Grace not works