Posted on 07/20/2008 9:36:13 PM PDT by Graybeard58
Mormons focus on accessible, social aspects of their religion. Although the Mormon system of doctrine is genuinely attractive to many of its members, many have argued that the primary "glue" of Mormonism is the heritage, culture, and family ties, not the doctrine and theology.
In other words, the typical allegiance to the Mormon organization primarily stems from something other than doctrinal concerns. The average Mormon sitting in a pew does not care how or why their religion works, they only care that it works for them.
They are not concerned with the real character of Joseph Smith or how the LDS scriptures coincide with biblical teachings. A common element often overlooked when Christians share their faith with Latter-day Saints is that many Mormons are not Mormon merely for doctrinal reasons. This view of not being concerned with theology is considered to be atheological. If a person does not care about their theology, they miss the importance of rooting their entire life in the true knowledge of God and a coherent, rational, theological worldview.
A person's relationship with God is built on the foundation of what one believes about God and what it means to be right with God. This is the most important determining factor in shaping the way a person lives.
An atheological person does not seriously reflect on their own foundational worldview assumptions (e.g., what is truth, who is God, does this matter?), nor do they see how doing so would be relevant to everyday life.
South Park, a fictional, satirical cartoon, depicted a Mormon named "Gary" with the following words:
"Look, maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense. And maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up. But I have a great life and a great family and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that. The truth is, I don’t care if Joseph Smith made it all up. Because what the church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people. And even though people in this town might think that’s stupid, I still choose to believe in it."
Grey Echols, a Mormon, writes the following in a review of By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus:
"This is a well written book which manages to not push an 'anti-Mormon' agenda. However as an LDS I do not think others should read it. Why? Because it could destroy your faith in the church. I am not trying to be clever. If you enjoy all of the good things the church has brought into your life, do you care where it came from?
No other church has so short a history that it can be examined so closely by science. Otherwise we would find that they are all created on the backs of con-artist. I am willing to bet every religion was founded by a fraud. So who cares. Does religion bring us together? Does it bond a nation, a town, a family? If so then let it be.
The truth is fleeting, and life is short. If believing in Santa makes children smile then believing in God makes adults smile. When children find out Santa isn't real, you kill a certain spark you can never get back. When you expose a church as a fraud, you kill a little spark in all of us."
Damn, just damn...
This entire time I didn't know, I just didn't know...
LOL! I figured it was something like that — just couldn’t resist a bit of teasing! :)
I can only hope that my own character measures up in any way to his.
___________________________________
If you plan to live an unrighteous life, practice the occult, be a conman-money digger, pretend you saw Jesus in order to make some money, defraud your own followers in a bank scam, print worthless $3 bills, persecute and murder Christians, deny your followers their civil rights under the 1st Amendment, claim you are bigger than Jesus, make yourself a unauthorized general of a vigilante militia, make ytourself a king of America, prophecy that you will be the president of the United states in 1844, and then die 6 months before the election, sell booze from your own bar, sleep with other mens wives, (adultery) have multiple one night stands, (adultery) cheat repeatedly on your faithful legal wife and threaten her with destruction if she objects, claim that people live on the moon, claim that Christians Churches are of the devil, start your own religion and claim you want to be like Mohammad and make people join your religion at the point of a sword, and have a shoot out and kill 2 other guys, you just might...
Wish I had used the same discretion ... I’m tired of playing straightman to the lies and heresies of mormonism spewed across FR.
Welcome to FR, n00bie.
First, as far as God and the rest of the world, he left that as our task:
Mark 16:15-16 (King James Version)
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
As far as why there has been nothing "new" to date, two things, one, God works in his own time, not yours or mine and he is working among us now, though not through false prophets or those who seek to change his nature or his word, nor change the path of salvation or add to it, that is work left to the evil one, who has much success in that endeavor.
Also there is this: John 19:28-31 (King James Version)
28After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost
Jesus was finished, the scriptures fulfilled, all that remain were stories to build on what he taught and the examples of his apostles to set in motion the formation of his church.
When the time comes God and Christ will reveal themselves again as promised, and the book shall be reopened, the legacy and historic linage carried foreword as it always has been, in very linear and uniform fashion, with no harsh turns to the improbable...
Oh, and as far as "Not adding or taking away from the Bible" no being discussed, again, nice try but I suggest a few verses for you, and read then from a proper bible, not one corrected by your fellows:
Deuteronomy 4:2
Deuteronomy 12:32
Proverbs 30:5-6
Revelation 22:18-19
Galatians 1:6-12
I suspect you're not a n00bie, just a stealth retread with more than one 'history' at FR.
I'd agree with that.
Peter refers to the writings of Paul as being scripture, that is in the early to mid first century. The heritic Marcion put a list together as early as 85AD. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, refers to 'The Gospel' as an authoritative writing in 115 AD. The corpus Paulinum, or collection of Paul's writings, was brought together about the same time as the collecting of the fourfold Gospel, around 100 - 115 AD. Other formal lists include:
The Muratorian Fragment (c. 170).
Melito (c. 170).
Origen (c. 240).
Finally, regarding your claim that the first collection wasn't put together, FF Bruce makes it plain that _
One thing must be emphatically stated. The New Testament books did not become authoritative for the Church because they were formally included in a canonical list; on the contrary, the Church included them in her canon because she already regarded them as divinely inspired, recognising their innate worth and general apostolic authority, direct or indirect. The first ecclesiastical councils to classify the canonical books were both held in North Africa — at Hippo Regius in 393 and at Carthage in 397 — but what these councils did was not to impose something new upon the Christian communities but to codify what was already the general practice of those communities.
The bible was put together from writings created in all different ages in the area around Palestine.... What about God's dealings with the rest of the world?
1. Because the Jewish nation were the ones chosen to be the witness to the world
2. Christianity began there and spread outward.
3. The events listed in the bom never occured and its history has been disproven by DNA studies, archaeology, linguistic studies and anthropology.
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I’m denser than usual today. What is that in number 24?
A ‘yellow submarine’ ... not to be confused with ‘yellow’ as in cowardly.
Trying to tell unknowning folks WHAT we believe!
--MormonDude(I fully trust the KJV Bible - as long as it's translated correctly.)
--MormonDude(Warm and fuzzy - that's MY standard!)
They are ALL liars and BIGOTS!!!
(And, probably hiding GREAT sins!!
--MormonDude(I'm glad that I don't do those things!)
WHICH one??
It's gettin' close!!
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