Atheoligical Tendency ~Open~

One Living Truth Ministries ^ | Oct 2006 | Ministry news letter

[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."

[Elsie]

The ‘LI’ works better for me....

[ejonesie22]

Details, Details...

[Elsie]

Let me ask you a question, if you don't mind. How can you reconcile modern "Christianity" after almost 2000 years after the resurrection of Christ not able to add one new piece of information about the kingdom of God? That's a big red flag to me.

 

 

Here's a 'question':  WHY did the Founder of Mormonism and the following leaders of it...

 

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Smith, Young, Taylor, Pratt, Snow, Kimball, Woodruff ...

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IGNORE what the Bible said as well as what the BoM said?

 

THIS is a BIG RED FLAG to Christians!

 

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 1 Timothy 3:2-3
 2.  Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
 3.  not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

 

 

1 Timothy 3:12
   A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.

 

 

 Titus 1:6
   An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

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BEHOLD!!!!  The Restorative Power  of the Book of Mormon!!

 

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THE BOOK OF JACOB
THE BROTHER OF NEPHI

CHAPTER 2

 

  24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
  25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
  26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
  27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
  28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
  29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
  30 For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.
  31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.
  32 And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.

 

 

[Elsie]

So you actually read the Book of Mormon? Or did your preacher tell you there were contradiction?

It appears that JS and his followers did NOT READ the Bible or the Book of MORMON!!

[Tennessee Nana]

With that typical mormonesque mischaracterization you have IDed yourself as a mormonism apologist.
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Stourme, the Trinity means One God...

Three persons...

Joseph Smith never saw two personages...

[Godzilla]

A ‘yellow submarine’ ... not to be confused with ‘yellow’ as in cowardly.

Nor to be confused with the secret codes the submarines represent.

[Godzilla]

Details, Details...

[ejonesie22]

Particle Physics to Pygmies...

But we are called to try...

John 1:1 (King James Version)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 (King James Version)
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

So endeth the lesson for today...

[Tennessee Nana]

DUH ????

[ejonesie22]

Ya know, I got to wonder, if Jesus and or God were going to go spread the word around on their own, then why did they instruct us to “Go ye into all the world”

We could have saved a lot of travel expense...

[ejonesie22]

I know you know that, it was for the “others”...

[MHGinTN]

I should know better thanb to put food out for the ...

[who_would_fardels_bear]

What percentage of committed religious folk, of any religion or denomination, have had any formal training in philosophy?

Not many I imagine. If the average religious person doesn't even know how he would go about proving his own existence, or the existence of the world around him, or the existence of an infinite God that created the whole enchilada, then why should we care what he has to say about whether this book or that book is more authoritative or correct?

If you make the claim that the average person can't be expected to follow detailed philosophical arguments, but must instead rely upon common sense, then Mormonism seems to work pretty much better than anything else as far as supporting American traditions, the family, the business ethic, etc.

It may be an affront to our intellect to admit that one of the most sensible communities has a religion founded on such an odd and unimaginable occurence as the reading of gold tablets with special glasses, but there it is.

Only in America!

[ejonesie22]

Oh feed them anyways, they are fun to watch...

[Cronos]

How can you reconcile modern "Christianity" after almost 2000 years after the resurrection of Christ not able to add one new piece of information about the kingdom of God?

What do you mean? Do you want the Bible to be edited or added to?

[Godzilla]

Aawh, but they are just soooooo cute and fuzzy.

[Tennessee Nana]

The troll has been busy in the threads this morning...

Probably is hungry...

Needs to be fed the Word of God...

Jesus saith unto Joseph Smith, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

[Cronos]

The first collection of scripture wasn't put together until 325 AD. And it's not complete. It's only the writings they elected to include. This is why you find references to other scripture with in the writings of the bible but they are no where to be found. 1 Cor is actually Paul's 2nd letter to Corith. There were three...we only have two of them.

Ok, I'll bite. Let's take your first assumption that it's not complete -- it is an assumption and everything else you say is built on that, so let's not decry it initially. If it wasn't "complete", the books would only have been those dating from that point in time, not from the 1800s.

The way in which J Smith got his "revelation" is suspiciously similar to the way Mohammed is supposed to have got his...

[ejonesie22]

The evil one goes by many names, wears many disguises...

[Tennessee Nana]

Joseph Smith, no man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 1:18