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Post by JohnnyRansom on Dec 24, 2002 23:44:59 GMT -5
yes...i think Mormonism is considered a Christian faith but i think the borders on that are quite grey...i would consider it quite distinct from Christianity. i would consider Islam and Christianity quite close. although i dont know enough about various religions as i would like and i dont think i could argue about them properly
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SallyStalker
Go Away
Every step you take, every move you make...
Posts: 164
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Post by SallyStalker on Dec 26, 2002 18:02:14 GMT -5
Chris·tian ( P ) Pronunciation Key (krschn) n. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.
According this this definition (www.dictionary.com), Mormons are Christians. Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, that he died to rescue us from physical death and that he atoned for our sins in the garden of Gethsemane. The actual name of the faith that everyone calls "Mormonism" is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The becoming gods part is true, but the rest is not doctrine. The "spirit vessels" thing is not contained in any scripture and has never been declared as truth. Perhaps there are some who speculate things like that, but it seems like an awfully myopic idea to me. And if you give some thought to the idea of people becoming gods, it makes perfect sense. We are children of our Heavenly Father, so it is only natural that our spiritually mature state would be that of a being like Him, just as children grow into adults like their parents.
This whole phenomenon is called continued revelation. We see it in the Bible, so it is only natural that it would continue in the present day. In the beginning, there are no commandments from God, other than the two given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Then later, the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses are given to the Jews. However, Christ brings in the higher law, to replace the Law of Moses. It's not that God changed his mind, he was just building upon earlier revelations. The lesser laws served their purpose as preparatory steps to the higher law, the gospel of Christ. It should be obvious that we do not know everything that God knows and therefore, there is a huge amount of information that he could still reveal to us if he saw fit. This does not constitute a lack of ability to decide.
You can say Mormons are not Christians if it makes you feel good. It doesn't change anything. I just don't see telling someone they are not Christian as a very Christian thing to do.
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Post by Roju on Dec 27, 2002 3:28:12 GMT -5
uhhh.... you'd think that becoming a GOD would take a little more importance in scripture if it were true! I don't see how you can just believe that out of speculation and "common sense? ?"
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Post by Steve M on Dec 27, 2002 13:11:02 GMT -5
not being a christian, i find it easy to say that mormans are not christians. i dont care what xians are supposed to be. they are not. dont rant or lecture me though kindrgarten thruogh grade 12 i learned the bible every day
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Post by JohnnyRansom on Dec 27, 2002 17:46:18 GMT -5
from how you described mormonism, it sounds a lot closer to hinduism than christianity. sorry, those should all be capitalized, huh? well too bad.
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Post by Steve M on Jan 2, 2003 15:23:50 GMT -5
so... uh/..... do hindus have sunday school?
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Post by JohnnyRansom on Jan 2, 2003 16:08:44 GMT -5
i dunno...do they have sunday?
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Post by JohnnyRansom on Jan 2, 2003 16:12:19 GMT -5
roju, i think you misunderstood me about the whole sunday school thing. basically, it traps kids into one religion their entire life, and by the time they are old enough to make a decision about what religion they really want to be a part of or even complete lack of religion, they are often convinced that the religion they were raised on is the one true one and are ignorant of other religions. thats more or less what i was trying to say, but i dont know if i still have said it clearly or not
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Post by Steve M on Jan 2, 2003 17:05:19 GMT -5
at my old suday school we were taught about almost all religions.
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Post by Roju on Jan 2, 2003 22:31:59 GMT -5
traps them?? Hmm.. I doubt that. I agree that it presents them with biased view of other religions.. but even if they didn't go to sunday school.. little kids would most likely believe what ever their parents do. I don't think most small children can make educated decisions as to which is the "true" faith. Parents, who hopefully have a strong, secure faith would want to share it with their kids. as people grow up, i don't think sunday school is what "traps" them into a religion.... it's their own insecurities about their faith that stops them from asking questions about it.. possibly affraid of what they might hear. I know that as a Christian, I am called to question everything and hold fast to what is good and true. I don't base my faith on the fact that my mom is a Christian.. although I know that it played a large role in me becoming a Christian. I am greatful for being given an insight into religion as a young child. It supplied me with reasons (beyond common sense) as to why something is good or bad. But as an adult I can choose for myself.
Mormonism is not close to Hinduism as Mormons are not polytheists... but mono theists. the Hindu faith has many many gods, where as religions that came from Jews, Christians, and Muslims generally have one. The Mormons believe that each world has one god. They don't worship the gods of other worlds.
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Post by vanessa murder. on Jan 3, 2003 0:10:37 GMT -5
i have nothing against mormons.. i have really good friends who are mormons, but i'm not too fond of the catholic faith. my dad was basically excommunicated when he was a teenager because he started a club so that young people in the church could learn and talk about other religions. let's just say the guys in charge weren't too pleased. woohoo! go opression!
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Post by Roju on Jan 3, 2003 18:49:30 GMT -5
I wouldn't exactly blame the whole Catholic Faith for something that one church or one person did or said to your father.. I'm sure that it was the act of an individual or a small group...and not the collective body of the Catholic Faith. It's like saying "One time, the Christian was mean to me... Christians are all mean."
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Post by JohnnyRansom on Jan 3, 2003 21:56:34 GMT -5
thats true, parents do play a big role in a childs upbringing and religion. its just sad for me to see many people who are ignorant of most other religions because of the way they were brought up. to me, its on a par with racism and sexism
and what i meant about the hindu thing is that they believe that after youve achieved ultimate karma or whatever it is you die and become part of a big spirit kinda thing. i dont know much about it, though. it was a while ago i learnt about that stuff
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Post by Your mom on Jan 5, 2003 16:41:25 GMT -5
I think the best thing is when Parents themselves aren't ignorant to otehr religions...and teach their children about other religions. Then they aren't ignorant to them. But I think me and Roju talked about this before. I was raised mennonite...and at this point I still am a mennoite. But the thing is, it's weird to think that if I was raised catholic...its like 99% chance that I would believe in transubstantiation, and in the other 5 or 7 books as being inspired in the bible. But since I wasn't raised that way, it's hard for me to grasp it. It makes you wonder about alot of stuff...if I was raised Jewish, would I ever come to a Christian faith? The christian faith that I see as right and the only way to eternal life?
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Post by JohnnyRansom on Jan 5, 2003 20:21:39 GMT -5
thats very true. i was born and raised a mennonite, but i wouldnt call myself that anymore. i would maybe call myself christian, but i wouldnt specify further than that
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