CHRISTIANITY DEFINED - (LDS Site Defining Christianity) OPEN

LDS site Foundation for Christian Studies ^

[greyfoxx39]

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CHRISTIAN DEFINED One might think that defining a Christian would be simple. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word Christian to mean “adherent of Christianity”, or “relating to or professing a belief in Christianity or Jesus Christ.” Simply put, a Christian is defined as one who believes in Jesus Christ. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: “…writers of Christian history normally begin phenomenologically when discussing Christian identity; that is, they do not bring norms or standards by which they have determined the truth of this or that branch of Christianity or even of the faith tradition as a whole but identify everyone as Christian who call themselves Christian.” According to Britannica, a revered source in continuous publication since 1768, a Christian is plainly defined as someone who calls themselves a Christian. Some Refute the Defining of a Christian Despite the simplicity of the aforementioned definitions, there are some individuals and institutions who sternly contend that there are self-described Christians, and in fact entire sects of self-proclaimed Christian religions, who should not be considered Christians at all. As odd as this may seem, such allegations are common and emotionally charged. The website religioustolerance.org attempted to define a Christian and described the exercise as a “lightning rod,” and that the conclusions they came up with generated “many emails from angry Christians who denounce it,” especially among “Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Protestants.” The FCS encourages visitors to examine the content generated by religioustolderance.org on the subject of defining a Christian . Reminiscent of the Pharisees of old, the contentious individuals and institutions who deny the Christianity of others often utilize their personal interpretation of scripture and synthetic dogma to support their assertions. They contend the privilege of earning the Christian label is dependent on such things as being born again, believing in the Triune God, accepting certain creeds, and/or belonging to a particular faith community. The absurdity of the dynamic reaches its pinnacle when those who bear testimony of their devotion to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Redeemer are rebuked and denied the Christian marker by those who disagree with their religion and/or theological beliefs. It causes one to ponder—what would Jesus do? Historical Perspective The word “Christian” appears three times in the scriptures, all three in the New Testament. Acts 11:26 reveals that the Disciples of Christ were first referred to as Christians in Antioch, indicating those who followed Christ were starting to be referred to as Christians. Before that time it was common for those who followed Christ to refer to one another as brothers (or brethren), disciples, or believers. In Acts 26:20 King Agrippa tells Paul “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,” likely indicating the term “Christian” was beginning to be used (perhaps even regularly) to refer to a believer in Christ. In 1 Peter 4:16, Peter refers to those who would “suffer as a Christian,” signifying that those who consider themselves Christian should be happy in their persecutions and trials. In all three scriptural references that use the term Christian, not one denotes any further requirement to be a Christian other than believing in and following Jesus Christ. In the Greek language (ancient and modern) it’s common to refer to a group of people by taking the root geographic location or ethnicity of that people and to add the suffix “anos.” For instance, those from the Cretan village of Spili are referred to as Spilianos, and a follower of Mohammed (Moameth in Greek) is referred to as Moamethanos. The reference to Christians in the original Greek translation of the New Testament is Christianos, meaning a follower of Christ. Although the term Christianos is historically believed to have been used in a derogatory sense by unbelievers, the meaning of the word remains. When one combines the three New Testament references to Christian, the historical context of the time, and the linguistics of the original Greek, one must conclude that a Christian is simply one who follows and/or believes in Christ. Should one desire to create a deeper definition of a Christian using 1 Peter 4:16, then the most far reaching conclusion that can be drawn is that a Christian is one who not only follows Christ, but more deeply puts their trust in him, is reliant upon him, and seeks to live a life that exemplifies him—all difficult traits to quantify and thus of little value in defining a Christian. The Testimony of an Apostle as a Litmus Test One would never doubt the testimony of the apostle Peter, despite the fact he had his own moments of weakness during the trial and Atonement of Christ. When asked by the Savior “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter boldly replied, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, ” to which Jesus Christ confirmed “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 16;15-17). Perhaps we can use Peter’s testimony as a litmus test for all prospective Christians: do they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God? If the answer is affirmative, then they are indeed a Christian. Jesus Christ in Humility was Inclusionary Jesus Christ never administered any theological exams to his disciplines, nor established any notable prerequisites to being a Christian other than to believe on him as the Son of God. Many were healed of the vilest of infirmities by simply believing in Jesus Christ as one who had the authority to perform such healings. There is no mention in the scriptures that the healed were made whole because they embraced the doctrine of the trinity, nor because they were classified as born again, nor because they belonged to a particular sect of believers. They were healed because they believed, or were blessed to have a believer intercede on their behalf, that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus was never one to be exclusionary in his ministry, but rather inclusionary across a broad spectrum. This is beautifully illustrated in Luke 9:49-50 which reads: “And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.” Jesus did not ask about their specific belief system, nor what group of disciples they congregated with. Rather, Jesus proclaimed that those who act in His name are to be considered His disciples. Many Christians today would do well to understand this passage of scripture and apply it to their own actions towards others. The World in Pride is Exclusionary If Jesus was so inclusionary, why then do we have modern day Pharisees fighting so hard to narrow the definition of a Christian—even to the persecution of fellow Christians? Do these individuals, like the apostle John in the passage from Luke 9, seek for a more exclusive club and complain when others call themselves Christian but don’t practice the same rituals or beliefs as they do? The likely root of the reason for such passionate denials of Christianity upon others is pride and arrogance. Such pride can manifest itself into a fear of not clearly understanding the theological beliefs of others, nor taking the time to earnestly do so, thus resulting in the easier resolution of flatly denying to acknowledge another’s Christianity. There may be fear that such acknowledgement will lead to acceptance of another’s beliefs leading to a loss of membership or validity in their own religion. Greed may play a role in the denial of the Christian label by ecclesiastical leaders resisting the loss of tithe paying members by employing a strategy of quiet slander towards other denominations. Additionally, one cannot rule out the possibility of Saul’s Syndrome, where like Saul who persecuted the Christians of old out of his zeal for the law, well intentioned individuals seek to protect the faith—when in essence they are fighting against the true will of God. Excerpt from the article on Saul's Syndrome: in keeping others from the truth. Consider the Pharisee Saul before his radical conversion to the Lord when he afterwards became Paul. Through his disciplined spiritual education among the finest teachers in Jerusalem, and an unrivaled passion to protect the ways of the Lord as he knew it, Saul persecuted and fought against the spread of Christianity—even unto death among those he victimized. Paul was so blinded by his passion for what he believed to be right that he never considered that his interpretation of the scriptures and his spiritual belief system may be wrong. It wasn’t until the Lord himself appeared to Saul that he relinquished his incorrect interpretation of God’s doctrine and embraced the true gospel. How many millions today suffer from the same syndrome as Saul where religious passion overcomes the promptings of the Holy Ghost? No matter what the specific reasons are, the resulting fruits of such denials of Christianity are disunity in the body of Christ, the spread of misinformation, and the sowing of seeds of ”discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:19). Differences in Gospel Living, but all are Christians Beyond being identified as a Christian, there is an abundance of doctrine in the scriptures that helps explain true Christian beliefs and practices—even “the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2: 9-10). Some Christian theology is simple to understand, while other theological concepts are more difficult. Paul to the Corinthians and Hebrews used the metaphors of milk and meat to indicate there were simple doctrines (milk) and more complex doctrines (meat) (1 Cor. 3:2 and Heb. 5:12), and that one must be able to digest the milk before moving on to the more difficult to digest meat. Paul points out that there may be various stages of understanding of the doctrines of Christianity among Christians. This difference in doctrinal understanding, combined with the moral agency of mankind that can lead to good and bad choices, results in their being stronger Christians who live their lives according to the precepts espoused by Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:34-36), and weaker Christians who find it difficult to live their lives in accordance with the gospel (Matt. 7:21-23). Regardless of what stage there are in, both are Christians and both must individually exercise their moral agency to accept or reject the ordinances and principles of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Likewise, both must accept the consequences of their actions in the Day of Judgment. There will be Christians (valiant and less valiant) in all three kingdoms in the eternities—perhaps even some who will end up relegated into outer darkness. Conclusion It is the hope and prayer of the FCS that the Christian world can unite on the simple principle of allowing everyone who claims Jesus Christ as their Savior to be respectfully referred to as a Christian without caveats. We can peacefully and considerately coexist as brothers and sisters in Christ, while ascribing to different Christian beliefs and church affiliations. Imagine what we can accomplish as a diverse Christian family working together to fulfill God’s purposes on earth.

[Tennessee Nana]

“Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for FLESH and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 16;15-17).
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Did the webmaster dare write this scripture with a straight face ???

And yet mormons worship and believe Joey Smith who claims that God the Father DOES have a body of FLESH and bone...

So which is it ????

Jesus is right and Smith is a liar...

Or ?????????????

And remember...

JeSus is God...

And God does not lie...

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19

And the liar is..........

[Tennessee Nana]

Despite the simplicity of the aforementioned definitions, there are some individuals and institutions who sternly contend that there are self-described Christians, and in fact entire sects of self-proclaimed Christian religions, who should not be considered Christians at all.
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That would include mormons...

[Tennessee Nana]

THE MORMON CHURCH ITSELF REJECTS CHRISTIANITY
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Let’s see what the moermons have to say about Christians and Christianity....

Mormon Criticism of Christianity

What is it that inspires professors of Christianity generally with a hope of salvation? It is that smooth, sophisticated influence of the devil, by which he deceives the whole world” - (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.270)

“...all the priests who adhere to the sectarian religions of the day with all their followers, without one exception, receive their portion with the devil and his angels.” - The Elders Journal, Joseph Smith, Jr., editor, vol.1, no.4, p.60

“The old Catholic church traditions are worth more than all you have said. Here is a principle of logic that most men have no more sense than to adopt. I will illustrate it by an old apple tree. Here jumps off a branch and says, I am the true tree, and you are corrupt. If the whole tree is corrupt, are not its branches corrupt? If the Catholic religion is a false religion, how can any true religion come out of it? If the Catholic church is bad, how can any good thing come out of it? The character of the old churches have always been slandered by all apostates since the world began.” - Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p. 375

“Brother Taylor has just said that the religions of the day were hatched in hell. The eggs were laid in hell, hatched on its borders, and then kicked on to the earth.” -Journal of Discourses 6:176

“The Christian world, so-called, are heathens as to the knowledge of the salvation of God” - Journal of Discourses 8:171

“When the light came to me I saw that all the so-called Christian world was grovelling in darkness.” - Journal of Discourses 5:73

“With a regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world.” - Journal of Discourses 8:199

“And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this (Mormon) church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth...” - D&C 1:30

“What! Are Christians ignorant? Yes, as ignorant of the things of God as the brute best.” - Mormon Prophet John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 13:225

“What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing... Why so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God.” - John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 13:225

“Where shall we look for the true order or authority of God? It cannot be found in any nation of Christendom.” - Mormon Prophet John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, 10:127

“Doctrines were corrupted, authority lost, and a false order of religion took the place of the gospel of Jesus Christ, just as it had been the case in former dispensations, and the people were left in spiritual darkness.” (Mormon Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p. 266).

“For hundreds of years the world was wrapped in a veil of spiritual darkness, until there was not one fundamental truth belonging to the place of salvation ...Joseph Smith declared that in the year 1820 the Lord revealed to him that all the ‘Christian’ churches were in error, teaching for commandments the doctrines of men.” - Mormon Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p.282

“The Gospel of modern Christendom shuts up the Lord, and stops all communication with Him. I want nothing to do with such a Gospel, I would rather prefer the Gospel of the dark ages, so called” - Mormon Prophet Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 196

“Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the ‘whore of Babylon’ whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. Any person who shall be so corrupt as to receive a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent” - Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 255

“Christianity...is a perfect pack of nonsense...the devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work than the Christianity of the nineteenth century.” - Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p.167

“Christians—those poor, miserable priests brother Brigham was speaking about—some of them are the biggest whoremasters there are on the earth, and at the same time preaching righteousness to the children of men. The poor devils, they could not get up here and preach an oral discourse, to save themselves from hell; they are preaching their fathers’ sermons —preaching sermons that were written a hundred years before they were born. ...You may get a Methodist priest to pour water on you, or sprinkle it on you, and baptize you face foremost, or lay you down the other way, and whatever mode you please, and you will be damned with your priest. - Mormon Apostle Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, 5:89

“Though Mahometan institutions are corrupt enough, and need reforming by the Gospel, I am inclined to think, upon the whole, leaving out the corruptions of men in high places among them, that they have better morals and better institutions than many Christian nations; and in many localities there have been high standards of morals. So far as that one point is concerned, of worshipping the one true God under the name of Mahometanism, together with many moral precepts, and in war only acting on the defensive, I think they have exceeded in righteousness and truthfulness of religion, the idolatrous and corrupt church that has borne the name of Christianity.” - Mormon Apostle Parley P. Pratt, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, p.41

“When you went through a Christian minister was portrayed as a hireling of Satan, not a pope or padre but a Christian minister.” (Temple ceremony)

“This is not just another Church. This is not just one of a family of Christian churches. This is the Church and kingdom of God, the only true Church upon the face of the earth...” - (Mormon Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.164-165)

“...virtually all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ...” - (Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, “False Christs,” page 269)

“In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ.’ ‘No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. He together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages.’” -(Mormon Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Church News, June 20, 1998, p.7)

“The Lord said that this is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth with which He is well pleased [see D&C 1:30]. I didn’t say that. Those are His words. The Prophet Joseph was told that the other sects were wrong [see Joseph Smith—History 1:19]. Those are not my words. Those are the Lord’s words.” - (Mormon Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, (June 2004), p. 3)

[Tennessee Nana]

And what Joey Smith thought of Jeus Christ the Lord...

On May 26, 1844, Joseph Smith made the following statement in a public sermon (Brodie p 374, HC 6:408-412):

“Come on, ye persecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! For I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.”

[swmobuffalo]

Mormons aren’t Christians. They’re adherents of a cult.

[Tennessee Nana]

It it such a haughty post.
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Smith was “haughted” by spooky by beings...

So would it not be part of the ritual for his followers to get the “haughts” too ???

Kinda like Horton saw a WHO ????

[svcw]

Oh, snap!

[Tennessee Nana]

Just for clarification the LDS believes that this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and NOT another denomination
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Well, that’s right

The mormon cult is NOT a denomination of the Christian Churches...

Mormonism has nothing to do with Christianity...

[Tennessee Nana]

:)

[Tennessee Nana]

11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
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And yet Smith started a murderous gang he called the Avenging Angels and later “Danites” to murder innocent people who did not want to belong to the mormon cult but worshipped and believed differently...

Also members who wanted to leave were hunted down and slaughtered hideously...

Young continued the practice and was a despot over a theocracy...

Even in the temple rites, mormons promise to murder people who dont believe as they do and to take revenge for the death of Smith...

Smith declared that he wanted to be like Mohammad and convert people to mormonism at the point of a sword....convert or die...

[Tennessee Nana]

that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent;
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Romney announced in a radio interview in Iowa, that Jesus was coming back to Missouri

[delacoert]

Caucus and devotional threads often include chapters from Holy writings, doctrines, sermons, etc. And many are posted daily or weekly.

True, but

On Saturday, February 21, 2009 there were:

• 9 prayer, caucus, devotional threads with a total of 94 replies
• 12 open threads with a total of 193 replies

On Friday, February 20, 2009 there were:

• 9 prayer, caucus, devotional threads with a total of 180 replies
• 12 open threads with a total of 136 replies

On Thursday, February 19, 2009 there were:

• 6 prayer, caucus, devotional threads with a total of 23 replies
• 11 open threads with a total of 595 replies

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Just for clarification the LDS believes that this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and NOT another denomination or spawns from a previous one, it is the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ that was taken from the earth after the last apostle.”

Would you please share the specific verse/s in the BIBLE
where God says he will EVER take the Church of Jesus Christ
from the earth before the rapture?

I see none (cause there aren’t any).

Also, would you please LIST what was restored in the LDS
restoration, along with the specific verse/s from the BIBLE
showing that those “restored things” are Biblical?

Thanks in advance. I’ll get the popcorn ready!

ampu

[Tennessee Nana]

Please keep breathing during the Overture..

[Religion Moderator]

Clearly the "open" threads are more popular - people love a train wreck, if it bleeds it leads, and many are drawn like moths to a flame, putting more blood in the water, attracting more sharks and so it spirals. (How about that for mixing metaphors?)

But by weight - word count plus image size, sheer bandwidth - I'm confident in my original assertion that the caucus, devotional and prayer threads own more 'real estate' on the Religion Forum.

Imagine how short the "open" threads would be if the thin-skinned posters actually ignored them.

[restornu]

The LDS Devotionals and Caucus are mainly to share information more than discussion.

Many LDS appreciate the news updates or reading something up lifting.

for some reason we get those who insist on disrupting to find ways to disparage our closed bulletins.

[Tennessee Nana]

11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience,
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Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

That would be the collective conscienceness of the celestial being Smith

mormons dont get to think for themselves or have a separate conscience thought that is not controlled by the central governing body in Temple Square...

Non-conformity in thought is grounds for excommunication...

[restornu]

Would you please show me where the word rapture appears in the Bible?:)

[Tennessee Nana]

The LDS Devotionals and Caucus are mainly to share information more than discussion.
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Unlike the Bible, whose author is God who is not afraid of challenges to His words...

the mormons fear any scrutiny because the writings of Smith are fictious and easily proven to be fraudulant and unBiblical...

[delacoert]