Quote:
Originally Posted by RunningOnMT
Wow. I've been away for a couple months and see people are still attempting to have the same discussion. There is nothing wrong with that, but some seem to feel that truth must yield to ignorance to spare injury to the delicate sensibilities of a few among us. I've been down this road before on this forum, and yet I still can't understand why people are so thin skinned about what others believe.
Any false religious teaching is apostasy, so naturally if there is a belief that doesn't square with my understanding of scripture, I will believe it is from an apostate religion. What's so wrong with stating it? I know for a fact that many wont agree with my beliefs, and if they want to label me apostate it wont hurt me a bit. Why should it? My faith is not damaged by the opinion of others. The thing is, to stifle such discussions may be doing a grave disservice to some. Do not doubt for a minute that many people in this world will spend eternity in hell. With so many conflicting beliefs, some beliefs must be false. Discussions like this may be the vehicle by which someone might see the truth.
With all that in mind, let me just say that a prerequisite of being a born again follower of Jesus Christ is knowing His Father. If you don't know the Father, you don't know the Son. His Father is the one eternal, omnipotent, omnicient, and omnipresent creator of all that is. To believe otherwise is to disqualify oneself as a Christian. Many believe in the man Jesus Christ, but deny His divinity, such as Muslims. Obviously Muslims are not Christian. Likewise, many claim a belief in God but deny His attributes as revealed in His Word. GOD THE FATHER WAS NOT A CREATED BEING. Teaching that He was, is heresy and blasphemy.
I will not pronounce damnation or salvation on any individual, but I will proclaim the truth of holy scriptures and the curse it places on any teaching which denies that truth. Anyone following a 19th century false prophet/science fiction writer is not a Christian. I don't care what label they place on themselves. This is my belief. If you disagree, that's fine. It's your right. No reason to be offended.
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ROMT;
We agree that many Mormons, JWs, and many other self-proclaimed Christian groups teach "a gospel other than the one" taught by Christ's apostles. (Cf.
Galatians 1:8-9)
It is not the official policy of TFF that you cannot say that it is a different gospel. If it weren't different, they wouldn't come to forums and such to try to argue that theirs is a mainstream Christian belief system
because they wouldn't have to. Does anyone here know my denominational background? Terry may remember it because I've told him, but I'm not sure anyone would otherwise know. Any idea if I'm Baptist or a Mennonite? Lutheran? Calvinist? Pentecostal or Anglican? Among those groups, practices and understandings are sometimes a bit different, but we all believe the same core stuff.
The LDS church has some different core. It is a different gospel. They know it and admit it openly. They tell us that the gospel that has been presented to us has been corrupted and is different than what Jesus taught, that the Bible has been mistranslated and misinterpreted for centuries. They believe that our gospel is a bit off.
It's not surprising, then, that we would believe their gospel is off. We all agree that there are differences.
The policy here at TFF is that you can't tell anyone that their religion is a "cult" or that they themselves are "not Christian." That's when it moves from a discussion of differences to a condemnation of people. That's what is not allowed.
Seems like a minor difference, perhaps, but it is a major thing in sustaining a community.