Understanding the Levels of Doctrinal Differences

The following is a very helpful post from Justin Taylor regarding doctrinal differences and how to view them. In the post, how refers to Erik Thoenne's essay, Doctrine in the ESV Study Bible:

The ability to discern the relative importance of theological beliefs is vital for effective Christian life and ministry. Both the purity and unity of the church are at stake in this matter. The relative importance of theological issues can fall within four categories:

1. absolutes define the core beliefs of the Christian faith;
2. convictions, while not core beliefs, may have significant impact on the health and effectiveness of the church;
3. opinions are less-clear issues that generally are not worth dividing over; and
4. questions are currently unsettled issues.

These categories can be best visualized as concentric circles, similar to those on a dart board, with the absolutes as the “bull’s-eye”:

Levels of Doctrine


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