And I say..........you go back to the Word of the Christian God to determine what it is the Christian God declares who it is that is Christian and how that process occurs. By you going back to what MAN says is a Christian, you get to "justify" your claim that Mormonism has a "right" to claim they are Christian. They ARE NOT. And that is not by MY definition, it is by God's definition as to what a Christian IS.
And each religion has its own little peculiarities, for want of a better word to use...I do not use this word ‘peculiarity’ in any sort of a demeaning manner...I use it to indicate a belief that a particular religion may embrace, which is not embraced by other religions...Catholics believe in transubstantiation, most other Christian religions do not...
And rejecting the deity of Christ, by definition, makes any sort of religion that does so, NOT Christian, not by peculiarities, but by THEIR OWN definition, which contradicts what GOD says, with PARTICULARITY, what is a Christian.
Many religions ‘preach’ that the earth is just 6000 years old, many other religions, find this claim ridiculous...some churches actually believe saved believers must handle snakes to prove their worthiness...now most ‘churches’ find this ridiculous, but those who handle snakes believe that those of us who dont, are risking our salvation...
And to the degree that these religions either reject Christ, or add to or take away from Scriptures....they are either NON Christian or in DEFIANCE of the Scriptures, rebelling against the Lord.
We can all read the Bible, we can all study various religions, we can all come to our best understanding of what the Bible says...and as we go about this, there will be arguments and disagreements...your opinion applies to you, but it does not apply to me, or anyone else...
Absolutely; but it always comes back to what is God's opinion? Not mine, not yours, not anothers. What does GOD say? And our understandings must align with what makes sense, within the context of Scripture. And even then, because of our inabilities, we will not have a perfect understanding....but God doesn't expect perfection. But He also clearly has made demands upon what it is we shall or shall not do. Those are His commands and there is no arguing or discussions concerning those things.
You may not think that Mormons are Christians, as you have come to define what that may mean...others are free to disagree with you and they do...
It's not what I think. It's what Joseph Smith thought. And he created his own religion, own bible, own stories, and these categorically contradict and/or REJECT what God has done, written, and said.
Of course, what it comes down to, is what God thinks...and since you dont know, about any particular individual within the Mormon Church, since you cannot possibly know their relationship with the Lord, you cannot possibly know what their future after death holds for them...you dont speak for how God will deal with this one of that one within the Mormon church...God will do as He will do...your opinion of those millions of Mormons is just only that ...your own opinion...God has his own opinion, and thankfully, we can all rely on that...
Excellent post, nic.