Question about Christianity please!

[jmick]

Originally Posted by Jerthunter
Well I am not Mormon but many people in my extended family are and I also have friends who are Mormon so I can say that it is my experience that they had very similar beliefs to other other forms of christianity I have been exposed to, (i.e. Baptist, Catholic, and Luthern)
I guess that doesn't anwer any specific question about them but that is what I know. Oh, one thing I do know is that Mormon men are expected to devote two years to missonary work. (I believe it is two years since one of my friends just recently got back from S America.)
All I really know about Mormons is that Joseph Smith was lynched in southern IL and the South Park mockery...which, I think is fairly accurate.

 

[1journeyman]

Mormonism is not a "Christian" denomination. The bulk of their teachings come from a book other than the Bible and therefore are probably beyond the scope of this thread.

 

[jmick]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Mormonism is not a "Christian" denomination. The bulk of their teachings come from a book other than the Bible and therefore are probably beyond the scope of this thread.
Well according to them and their prophet J Smith they are. They are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

[jerthunter]

Originally Posted by Jmick
All I really know about Mormons is that Joseph Smith was lynched in southern IL and the South Park mockery...which, I think is fairly accurate.
I saw the South Park episode that you mentioned. I cannot say that I feel it is an 'accurate' account of what Mormons believe but it probably is 'accurate' in some of the details used in the episode. What I mean is that I do not believe the episode gives an accurate portrait of Mormons however it seemed relatively accurate in the description of the events that started the church.

 

[rylan1]

Mormons are in my opinion very different. They believe that Christ came to the Americas after his ressurection and ascention in to heaven. They also do not believe in the Trinity. Here's some information I found and I hope someone will let me know if it is accurate or not. But the
book of Morman is not an orginal work and only incorporates some pieces and parts from the Bible. In my opinion mormans are not christian. But here is what some info I read said.
There are three major differences between the Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of the Mormon church. Here's what Mormons believe:
Instead of the eternal Jesus co-equal with the Father, the Mormon Jesus was once a man who achieved godhood by his own virtuousness during a preincarnate existence. His spirit was then impregnated into the virgin Mary by the "Eternal Father" who came from the planet Kolob for the physical union with her.
Mormonism teaches that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers who competed for the opportunity to become the savior of planet earth. Jesus' plan won approval and Lucifer rebelled and became the tempter and deceiver of planet Earth.
Mormonism teaches that Jesus is only one of many saviors who are each responsible for the salvation of the population of other planets like Earth. Mormon men are working with the promise that they, too, will eventually become gods and be given a planet of their own to populate. This will be accomplished by their intercourse with many wives who will bear millions of spirit children to inhabit the bodies of the people on their planet.
The Jesus of the Bible taught that salvation is a free gift anyone can receive by accepting Him as your personal Savior, not by works (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:6 & 11:6; Philippians 3:9). The LDS Jesus taught that your level of exaltation was based on faith plus works determined by men. Thus, the Jesus of the Bible and the LDS Jesus can't be the same Jesus, as they taught mutually exclusive doctrine.

 

[jerthunter]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Mormonism is not a "Christian" denomination. The bulk of their teachings come from a book other than the Bible and therefore are probably beyond the scope of this thread.
Perhaps you do no believe them to be a Christian denomination however the people I know who are Mormons consider themselves to be Christians. I believe it was you who said a 'Christian' was someone who followed the teachings of Christ which would include all the Mormons I know.

 

[jerthunter]

Originally Posted by Rylan1
Mormons are in my opinion very different. They believe that Christ came to the Americas after his ressurection and ascention in to heaven. They also do not believe in the Trinity. Here's some information I found and I hope someone will let me know if it is accurate or not. But the
book of Morman is not an orginal work and only incorporates some pieces and parts from the Bible. In my opinion mormans are not christian. But here is what some info I read said.
There are three major differences between the Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of the Mormon church. Here's what Mormons believe:
Instead of the eternal Jesus co-equal with the Father, the Mormon Jesus was once a man who achieved godhood by his own virtuousness during a preincarnate existence. His spirit was then impregnated into the virgin Mary by the "Eternal Father" who came from the planet Kolob for the physical union with her.
Mormonism teaches that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers who competed for the opportunity to become the savior of planet earth. Jesus' plan won approval and Lucifer rebelled and became the tempter and deceiver of planet Earth.
Mormonism teaches that Jesus is only one of many saviors who are each responsible for the salvation of the population of other planets like Earth. Mormon men are working with the promise that they, too, will eventually become gods and be given a planet of their own to populate. This will be accomplished by their intercourse with many wives who will bear millions of spirit children to inhabit the bodies of the people on their planet.
The Jesus of the Bible taught that salvation is a free gift anyone can receive by accepting Him as your personal Savior, not by works (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:6 & 11:6; Philippians 3:9). The LDS Jesus taught that your level of exaltation was based on faith plus works determined by men. Thus, the Jesus of the Bible and the LDS Jesus can't be the same Jesus, as they taught mutually exclusive doctrine.
That does not appear to be accurate information that you found. I cannot say for sure it is inaccurate since my knowledge of the Chuch of LDS is mostly second hand, but I would bet that the above information is atleast partially inaccurate.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Jmick
Well according to them and their prophet J Smith they are. They are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Do a bit of googling. You can easily find enough information to see why their church falls outside the scope of this thread. The Book of Mormon teaches a theology diametrically different than the Bible.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Jerthunter
That does not appear to be accurate information that you found. I cannot say for sure it is inaccurate since my knowledge of the Chuch of LDS is mostly second hand, but I would bet that the above information is atleast partially inaccurate.
And sadly that's because, like many who call themselves Christian, not all mormons know all of their theology.

 

[jerthunter]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
And sadly that's because, like many who call themselves Christian, not all mormons know all of their theology.
I would have to disagree with you. I believe everyone knows their own theology. Perhaps they do not believe what you think they believe but if they follow the teachings of Christ how are they not Christians?

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Jerthunter
I would have to disagree with you. I believe everyone knows their own theology. Perhaps they do not believe what you think they believe but if they follow the teachings of Christ how are they not Christians?
I have taught students in churches for 15 years. Trust me, not everyone knows their own theology.

 

[jerthunter]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
I have taught students in churches for 15 years. Trust me, not everyone knows their own theology.
Perhaps you mean they do not know the theology of their church, which is completely different than their own theology. Only one's self, and God (if you believe in God) can know their own mind. So saying that someone does not know their own theology is basically saying that they do not know what they know.

 

[rylan1]

If someone claims to be Christian or of any other faith, then they should learn the theology of the religion they practice or believe in. I agree w/ journeyman.. No one can truly claim to know another person's "relationship" with God; however; through evidences or behaviors that one may express definetely shines a light on what is really in their heart.
But back to my point...there are many people who say they are christians but they have yet to grasp the concept of the Trinity and many other key foundations of Christianity. I think that there is infinite knowledge out there about God, but many people who say they are christians don't even know the basic fundementals of their faith.

 

[rylan1]

Originally Posted by Jerthunter
That does not appear to be accurate information that you found. I cannot say for sure it is inaccurate since my knowledge of the Chuch of LDS is mostly second hand, but I would bet that the above information is atleast partially inaccurate.
Only part I was unaware of is the part about populating another planet part. But the other parts seem accuarte to me. And I am only unsure of the part that mentioned above.

 

[rylan1]

A question I have is why do Catholics need "intermediates" to confess their sins, such as confessionals and praying to Mary to intercede? I don't mean any disrespect...but I just simply don't know... I attend a non-demoninational church that basically has its roots in Baptist and Pentecostal but is a progressive church or a some possibably consider it a mega-church...anyways.. We have communion, but other than that I am foreign to Mass, Lent, Confessionals, asking Mary or other Saints to intercede. Can someone please explain?

 

[jerthunter]

Originally Posted by Rylan1
If someone claims to be Christian or of any other faith, then they should learn the theology of the religion they practice or believe in. I agree w/ journeyman.. No one can truly claim to know another person's "relationship" with God; however; through evidences or behaviors that one may express definetely shines a light on what is really in their heart.
But back to my point...there are many people who say they are christians but they have yet to grasp the concept of the Trinity and many other key foundations of Christianity. I think that there is infinite knowledge out there about God, but many people who say they are christians don't even know the basic fundementals of their faith.
I suppose it comes down to what your defination of a Christian is. Someone else claimed it meant anyone who followed the teachings of Christ. So by that definition Christians would include all the Mormons that I know since they follow the teachings of Christ.

 

[darknes]

Originally Posted by Rylan1
A question I have is why do Catholics need "intermediates" to confess their sins, such as confessionals and praying to Mary to intercede? I don't mean any disrespect...but I just simply don't know... I attend a non-demoninational church that basically has its roots in Baptist and Pentecostal but is a progressive church or a some possibably consider it a mega-church...anyways.. We have communion, but other than that I am foreign to Mass, Lent, Confessionals, asking Mary or other Saints to intercede. Can someone please explain?
I'll try to explain:
One misconception many Protestants have is thinking Catholics worship Mary and other saints. We worship God only, but we do honor the saints. We have statues and paintings of them to honor them, just as we do of George Washington or other historical figures. Asking them to pray for our souls is no different than asking a friend to pray for your sick relative. If your mother lived a very good life and you believed she was in heaven, wouldn't you ask her to pray for you as well? We feel that the saints went through the same things on earth as we do, and they understand our predicaments, so we ask them to pray for us.
As far as having a priest for confession of our sins, I don't know the Traditional history behind it, but I think it's a much more sincere way to confess to God. Anyone can say in their mind that they're sorry for what they've done, but I feel it takes much more sincerity and humility to be able to say this in front of another human being. It's not that God cannot forgive sins without a priest. You also get a great sense of joy in your soul after confession, much like the refreshness you feel after apologizing to someone personally. A priest also gives a penance that you do (usually a set of prayers) after confession as a form of absolution. Confession is not required for all venial sins, but is required for mortal sins. Catholics also have a type of forgiveness for those on their deathbed or in a coma called "Annointing of the Sick". The priest will annoint the person and absolve them of their sins if they aren't in the capacity to be able to do it freely.

 

[mr. guitar]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
That's where the denominations vary. Many denominations beleive speaking in tongues is a gift, but that it should only be done in church under very specific circumstances (as outlined in 1 Cor. Chpt 14). For instance: "27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God...."
Yeah that's the major issue. The part in 1 Corinthians 14 where it says to interpret the tongues is talking about prophetic messages in tongues. Praying in tongues you don't have to translate.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Mr. Guitar
Yeah that's the major issue. The part in 1 Corinthians 14 where it says to interpret the tongues is talking about prophetic messages in tongues. Praying in tongues you don't have to translate.
Do you have any scripture reference for that differentiation?

 

[reefraff]

My dads family was all Mormon. The stuff Rylan posted is pretty much accurate. Mormons might follow the teachings of Christ but if they have a different understanding of who Christ is than every other "Christian" church are they really Christians? They created the book of mormon which added to the bible.
At best The LDS church could be considered a christian cult and as a matter of fact many members of the church are ignorant as to some of the church's teachings. I'm still trying to figure out the magic underware thing