Posted on 11/08/2010 3:37:09 PM PST by delacoert
With all embarrassment at my apparent error, I apologize.
With embarrassment at my apparent error, I apologize.
You are familiar with the passage in the Bible where Paul commends the Bereans. The above two questions are phrased in such a way as to support another way unlike the Berean way, a way that is not backed up by the Bible, and that is by design. Well, not backed up by the Bible in context, because we have witnessed the twisting of single verses and portions of verses in order to support a non-Christian assertion.
The Bereans made it their personal experience to study the scriptures to find the passages which would support or refute Paul's teaching their 'personal experience'. The Bereans didn't rely on mere feelings. Paul admonished Timothy to study the scriptures, to show himself, rightly dividing the scriptures. The foolish Galatians used feelings in the moment and were led astray soon after Paul left their community.
Let's return to Doctor Luke's scene as recorded in Acts; Luke was an eyewitness to these events about which he wrote:
Acts 16: 16-18 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
This time when we look at that passage, let's find a few more morsels of data. Recognize that this girl with a spirit of divination was offering that 'These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation'.
Your questions were: "Why would any demon want a person to believe in the reality of Jesus Christ? Would a demon inspire a person to repent of their sins and follow Jesus?"
Look at the scene, carefully. This demon possessed girl was doing exactly what your questions imply was not possible! BY telling people that Paul and his small band were servants of God, she is vouching for their position of truth deliverers. By her past use in earning certain men money over her divination, she is lending credulity and thus some people would be --even if only in a small way-- more inclined to listen and follow the teachings from Paul and the small group of evangelists. The girl specifies that these men, these servants of the most High God are showing the way to salvation!
So in answer to your specific questions, yes, this demon inspired girl was doing what your questions try to assert would not be done by a demon! Her speaking out the way she did is equivalent to Mormons' claims of 'a testimony', yet we have the Bible explanation that she was not inspired by the Holy Spirit else Paul would not have been grieved and sent the demon out of her!
But let's go a bit deeper into the statement by the demon possessed girl. Whom is making the assertion regarding Paul and the small band of Christian evangelists? If it were the girl speaking, I doubt Paul would have been so bothered as to after 'many days' turn and send the demon out of her. The demon was speaking through the girl!
And there at least two ther things in the telling, things very subtle Luke records: "These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." What is inferred by 'most high God'? Why that there is more than one god! And I'm sure Mormons want desperately to believe that, so would Mormons ignore that the girl spoke by inspiration of a demon, not by inspiration of the Holy Spirit?
You further offered: "How did Peter learn the Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God? : “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in Heaven” The Bible is replete with examples of prophets and apostles having personal experiences in which God transmitted truth to them — which they then went on to teach to others."
Find one, just one passage in the Bible where something revealed to the Apostles was not or is not backed up by scripture? You can't. The Bereans tried and were commended by Paul since he knew Whom was author of their pursuit.
I can point to a myriad of things taught by Momronism's founding false prophet and subsequent leadership of Mormonism which contradict the Bible ... CONTRADICT! Is the god of Mormonism the author of confusion? Yes, absolutely. The god of Mormonism is the same inspiration which drove the girl in the scene in acts to speak out on whom these men were, and she repeated her proclamation for many days.
Knowing human nature, I have no doubt that she turned some away from listening to Paul and the other Christians because of the nuisance of her incessant shouting it out following them around. Some people want to ask their questions in a quiet, peaceful setting, not open to public scrutiny. The demon possessed girl was making a nuisance of herself and making the band of evangelists seem like a typical traveling circus of the day. A more current example are the private freepmails some of us get, asking for clarifications on scripture and the Gospel.
And just when the focus might have become the efficacy of what these evangelists were offering, the men who lost revenue due to the demon being sent from the girl diverted attention onto the loss of their revenues! Oddly, we see that exact tactic repeated on this thread when the focus is falling upon the lies and heresies exposed in Mormonism!
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
More whining.
As if you haven't been repeatedly and effectively informed about the damnable error of Mormon doctrine and the continuous history of lying within it by its fathers and leaders.
Keep it up and face the judgment of the one and only God of All Creation.
Let's just take one of those quotes and review it:
Lds "apostle" Bruce R. McConkie: "The church of the devil is...EVERY church except the true church, whether parading under a Christian or a pagan banner." (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:551)
McConkie says here that every non-Mormon church is the "church of the devil" -- doesn't matter if they're "Parading" under a Christian banner or a pagan one...McConkie labels us devilish.
Now this specific quotation was published second hand at:
The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Seminaries and Institutes of Religion: Book of Mormon Student Manual: Chapter 4: 1Nephi 11–14: Notes and Commentary
Are telling us, Restornu that your Lds Institutes are teaching the mere "opinions" of men in their Lds Institute curricula aimed at impressionable college students? They're not teaching "doctrine?" Do you realize this comes direct from the Lds church curricula department...and is published at Lds.org?
Will you go on the record, Resty, and tell us that you have shot off an e-mail to Lds.org -- where this quote is found -- and tell them to stop teaching what you seem to claim is the doctrine of mere men?
You are good...
Jesus IS truth. Now that he has come and abolished the priesthood, we need nobody to tell us what is true except God's Word, The Bible.
Yes, I believe in personal revelation. And it's just that - PERSONAL. God may put it in your heart to do or not do something. That's for YOU! I know Christians who feel called by God to not drink for example, but that's just for them.
If he wants to tell me something, he will tell me, not tell you to tell me.
Get it? You may of course see me wandering away and point me back to the bible and prayer and try to help guide me.
But God is not going to tell you, or any other man, that everyone must now wear this, or eat that, or go here. Sorry. Jesus is my priest, not any man. I have a direct line.
The god of Mormonism, the source of divination 'testimonies' is an author of confusion, as proven with the myriad of contradictions to 'The Word made book'. How many of the following assertions by your Mormon leadership do you endorse? And do these endorsed assertions tell you anything about the author of such foolishness? ... Can you really endorse this rot, or do you , like my friend who is a Momron, just ignore the offered quotes so you don't have to consider the rot at the heart of Mormonism?
"I learned a testimony concerning Abraham, and he reasoned concerning the Gods of heaven. '...Intelligences exist one above another, so that there is no end to them.' If Abraham reasoned thus--If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way. Paul says that which is earthly is in the likeness of that which is heavenly. Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that He had a Father also? I despise the idea of being scared to death at such a doctrine, for the Bible is full of it. I want you to pay particular attention to what I am saying. Jesus said that the Father wrought precisely in the same way as His Father had done before Him. As the Father had done before? He laid down His life, and took it up the same as His Father had done before. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 373)
"I will go back to the beginning, before the world was, to show what kind of a being God is. What sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth; for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why he interferes with the affairs of man. God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. That is the great secret. (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 3, 1844)
"In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it." (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 5, 1844)
"In the very beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of Gods beyond the power of refutation. It is a great subject I am dwelling on. … The heads of the Gods appointed ONE God for us ..." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 372
"We were begotten by our Father in Heaven; the person of our Father in Heaven was begotten on a previous heavenly world by His Father; and again, He was begotten by a still more ancient Father; and so on, from generation to generation, ... we wonder in our minds, how far back the genealogy extends, and how the first world was formed, and the first father was begotten" (Orson Pratt, The Seer, p.132).
"Some people are troubled over the statements of the Prophet Joseph Smith.... The matter that seems such a mystery is the statement that our Father in heaven at one time passed through a life and death and is an exalted man. This is one of the mysteries.... The Prophet taught that our Father had a Father and so on. Is not this a reasonable thought, especially when we remember that the promises are made to us that we may become like him?" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp.10, 12).
"Those who gain exaltation, having thus enjoyed the fullness of eternal progression, become like God. It should be realized that God is not progressing in knowledge, truth, virtue, wisdom, or any of the attributes of godliness. He has already gained these things in their fullness. But he is progressing in the sense that his creations increase, his dominions expand, his spirit offspring multiply, and more kingdoms are added to his domains." (Mormon Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp. 5-10.)
Resty, given that 1 of 7 people are not religious/unaffiliated...I should be fair and exclude these from the figures I gave you...
So LDS is 1/43rd of the American religious population -- and less than 1/40th of the American Christian population, which reduces that $72 billion to $62 billion -- $1.4 stolen by Mormons. Tell us, have Christians criminally stolen almost $60 bllion the past two years from victims?
That's what Christians would have to do...is to rip off others at a pace of around $25 billion per year to try to keep pace with the Mormon con artists.
I would agree that Jesus is truth. I don’t agree that revelation from God to his authorized servants ceased following Christ’s resurrection.
In the New Testament we find the apostles receiving revelations and declaring it to the world following Christ’s ascension.
Also, I’m not here to tell people what to do. My purpose for posting here is to share what I have come to know for myself.
Best,
Normandy
That’s what Christians would have to do...is to rip off others at a pace of around $25 billion per year to try to keep pace with the Mormon con artists.
***
Did you ever hear of wolf in sheep clothing enter into the flock to get gain some of them are now x Mormons!
(Oh, sure...your leaders finally receive God's discernment about who they are...after the fact...shades of Hofmann the "antiquities" finder & bomber all over again...Here Hofmann dealt directly at times with your "living prophet"...and the promises that God "would never lead our prophet astray" simply evaporates...along with Mormon hard-earned $)
You got problems all of your own please stop trying to visit it upon the LDS!
I’m surprised SOMEone hasn’t come along to claim that all of them are now ex-mormon Freepers.
Yes, the "formula" is:
"lightbulb-suddenly-turns-on-for-the-bishop"
+ general authority run PRism
=a lot of "sudden" ex-Mormon criminals.
Imagine that.
...again flocks are being fleece in other groups too.
When a LDS gets excommuicated for fleecing
then most likely end up in the Christian flock...
should they get excommunicated from one denomination they can always move to another....
I’m surprised SOMEone hasn’t come along to claim that all of them are now ex-mormon Freepers.
***
That is inane there is a different between a thief and an annoying boor!
Did you ever hear of wolf in sheep clothing enter into the flock to get gain some of them are now x Mormons!
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Oakes, peterson, et all are wolfs in sheeps clothing ???
Tommy Monson is a wolf in sheeps clothing ???
Gordo Hinckley was a wolf in sheeps clothing ???
Briffie Young was a wolf in Sheeps clothing ???
Joey Smith was a wolf in sheeps clothing ???
Yeppers I believe they are too...
should they get excommunicated from one denomination they can always move to another....
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Yeah thats what Joey Smith and his family did when they were excommunicated from the Presbyterians in March, 1830...
But Joey Smith started a whole new religion...
so thats a bit different...
That's right. The thieves are excommunicate - the annoying boors are still in Mormonism.
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