Most threads appear to get off topic. This question will not be answered anytime soon no matter what anyone involved says. There are at least a half dozen similar threads elsewhere on the forums dealing with Mormons and whether or not they are Christians. Those threads are not making any progress either.
I stand by my original position when it comes to most of the views given in this thread. Many of us have differing beliefs when it comes to Jesus. Many are easily offended when their worldview is violated. That's o.k. Debate is necessary many times in order to discover truth. The apostle Paul never seemed to be afraid to speak his mind when he encountered those who were in error concerning Jesus. In fact he was quite bold about it. We cannot ignore the fact that Jesus was quite bold in many instances as well. Attacking a worldview or idea shouldn't be that big of a problem. We should have convictions and not compromise them until they are proven false. Most times when we hear ideas that are in opposition to our own then it becomes personal. It rattles our cage. Sadly, arguing about these things rarely changes anything if our minds are not open. People are more closed minded than not. An honest skeptic may not believe but he or she is open to all possibilities. We do not see many honest skeptics these days.
My feeling is that Mormons along with several other groups hold to a picture of Jesus that may be partially true but not entirely true. If you start off with the wrong concept of Jesus then you end up with the wrong idea of Jesus. Just because you say that you believe in Jesus doesn't tell us the entire story. One must ask, "Which Jesus do you believe in?" I didn't know there was more than one Jesus but when you begin evaluating the beliefs of those who claim to be Christian you start to see several different ideas emerge about who and what Jesus was and is. We cannot discuss the topic at hand because we cannot get past the biggest issue concerning the person we all claim to believe in. Who is this Jesus? What does it mean to believe in Jesus? Those answers also vary from person to person. I do not believe that two opposing answers can be correctat the same time. Either one is right and the rest are wrong. Or we are all wrong and the truth is still out there waiting to be discovered. I believe God is powerful enough to have given us the truth.
You can ask me what kind of car I drive. My response may be a Porsche. But soon you become puzzled because everytime you see me I am driving a Honda. You ask me again, "What kind of car do you drive?" Again I say "A Porsche". Eventually you find out that I never really had a Porsche. I only have a Honda. But in my mind I drive a Porsche. And since I believe it that is all that matters to me. When I sit behind the wheel of the Honda I have re-interpreted it into sitting behind the wheel of a Porsche. The only problem is that no matter how convinced I am that I am driving a Porsche I am still driving a Honda.
This is how I view the way others see Jesus. They say, "I believe in Jesus. I follow the teachings of Jesus. I am a Christian." But they do not appear to really even know who Jesus is according to the revelation we have been given. You can call it Christianity all you want or you can say we all believe in the same Jesus all you want but in reality it may not be Jesus anymore than I have a Porsche. Calling Jesus something that He is not even if you are sincere doesn't change who He really is or what He really taught.
A Porsche is a Porsche. A Honda is a Honda. No matter what we perceive them to be. There is only one Jesus who taught truth. He is not the author of confusion so I submit that the reason so many are confused is because they do not know the true Jesus.
You're not a Porsche owner if you only have a Honda. You're not a Christian if you do not "take up your cross" and follow the real Jesus. A counterfeit concept of Jesus doesn't count.
I stand by my original position when it comes to most of the views given in this thread. Many of us have differing beliefs when it comes to Jesus. Many are easily offended when their worldview is violated. That's o.k. Debate is necessary many times in order to discover truth. The apostle Paul never seemed to be afraid to speak his mind when he encountered those who were in error concerning Jesus. In fact he was quite bold about it. We cannot ignore the fact that Jesus was quite bold in many instances as well. Attacking a worldview or idea shouldn't be that big of a problem. We should have convictions and not compromise them until they are proven false. Most times when we hear ideas that are in opposition to our own then it becomes personal. It rattles our cage. Sadly, arguing about these things rarely changes anything if our minds are not open. People are more closed minded than not. An honest skeptic may not believe but he or she is open to all possibilities. We do not see many honest skeptics these days.
My feeling is that Mormons along with several other groups hold to a picture of Jesus that may be partially true but not entirely true. If you start off with the wrong concept of Jesus then you end up with the wrong idea of Jesus. Just because you say that you believe in Jesus doesn't tell us the entire story. One must ask, "Which Jesus do you believe in?" I didn't know there was more than one Jesus but when you begin evaluating the beliefs of those who claim to be Christian you start to see several different ideas emerge about who and what Jesus was and is. We cannot discuss the topic at hand because we cannot get past the biggest issue concerning the person we all claim to believe in. Who is this Jesus? What does it mean to believe in Jesus? Those answers also vary from person to person. I do not believe that two opposing answers can be correctat the same time. Either one is right and the rest are wrong. Or we are all wrong and the truth is still out there waiting to be discovered. I believe God is powerful enough to have given us the truth.
You can ask me what kind of car I drive. My response may be a Porsche. But soon you become puzzled because everytime you see me I am driving a Honda. You ask me again, "What kind of car do you drive?" Again I say "A Porsche". Eventually you find out that I never really had a Porsche. I only have a Honda. But in my mind I drive a Porsche. And since I believe it that is all that matters to me. When I sit behind the wheel of the Honda I have re-interpreted it into sitting behind the wheel of a Porsche. The only problem is that no matter how convinced I am that I am driving a Porsche I am still driving a Honda.
This is how I view the way others see Jesus. They say, "I believe in Jesus. I follow the teachings of Jesus. I am a Christian." But they do not appear to really even know who Jesus is according to the revelation we have been given. You can call it Christianity all you want or you can say we all believe in the same Jesus all you want but in reality it may not be Jesus anymore than I have a Porsche. Calling Jesus something that He is not even if you are sincere doesn't change who He really is or what He really taught.
A Porsche is a Porsche. A Honda is a Honda. No matter what we perceive them to be. There is only one Jesus who taught truth. He is not the author of confusion so I submit that the reason so many are confused is because they do not know the true Jesus.
You're not a Porsche owner if you only have a Honda. You're not a Christian if you do not "take up your cross" and follow the real Jesus. A counterfeit concept of Jesus doesn't count.
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