What are the common fundamental beliefs found in most churches?

When an outsider looks at the many different churches across our country, he or she can view the church in various ways, depending on his or her perception.  He or she can easily focus on all of the major disagreements among the churches and perceive that church is a potentially divisive place, not necessarily welcoming to anyone who may be an independent thinker.  Conversely, if a person focuses on the commonalities in the churches, he or she can see how beautifully intertwined God is with the entire process.  Nevertheless, as long as a person keeps his or her focus on God and the overall purpose of the church, he or she can easily look beyond the divisiveness and see the positive attributes that each church has to offer.
 

When it comes to the basic tenets of faith, most churches would find it difficult to argue against the infallibility of the Bible or the triune nature of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  These basically follow the long-standing teachings found in the Apostle’s Creed and Nicene Creed.  Likewise, the same goes for human destiny – when it comes to death, either we spend eternity with God or without God.  In like manner, salvation is an essential doctrine of the faith which determines our final destiny.  The same applies for overall purpose of the church – reaching out to people and teaching them to be fully dedicated followers of Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying God.

Interestingly, a lot of the issues that separate churches are the very same issues that make them alike.  Most people would agree that the true apostolic, universal church consists of all who have salvation through Jesus Christ.  In similar fashion, most churches can agree on the fundamental beliefs that their followers come together for worship, prayer, teaching of the Word of God, fellowship, and observing communion and baptism, building up the body of believers by use of spiritual gifts and individual talents, and ultimately reaching out to the world in glorifying God.  Unfortunately, many of these tenets of faith – or the interpretations thereof – end up becoming points of dissension, rather than unifying.  In summary, our focus needs to stay on God in order that our perception of the church and its fundamental teachings stay aligned with God’s overall purpose.