(This question is not the best worded.... my apologies, I hope you understand what I'm asking)
Your talking about God here also including talk about man. Is that necessity? Or, in other words, is God defined by contrasting to man?
I think I know what you are trying to say. When we discuss God, we end up comparing each other's constructs that we think are most likely true. If we conceptualize God according to a traditional construct then those are sized up and the whole thing boils down to a 'my God is bigger than your God" fiasco.
If you mean a more emotional spiritual discussion about God doing this in my life or how this person or that one sees God moving in the world and such, those discussions are so subjective and conceptually dependent on a personal view of God it's almost imperative that God be of a shared belief system. If not you'll inevitably hear " My god wouldn't do that".
There can be a constructive discussion if all participants are cognizant of this characteristic of Truth. Truth exposes error by contrast. If that is recognized, error doesn't have to be verbally pointed out because error will systematically lose it's voice as it's proponent comprehends it's exposed.
Your gist is correct here. An epistemological note here though: LDS theology isn't decided by theologians, rather received via revelation (speaking from the LDS perspective). It is a fundamental tenet of LDS beliefs that God has many great things He hasn't revealed. It's a very different approach than Creedal Christianity.
Well we all have a theology even if it's a theology that negates the reality of God. The Mormon guy I talked to said that theology wasn't formalized but the Mormon Church did have theologians and a theology that is studied. At the time, DNA research was hitting them hard relative to J. Smith's teaching that all the indigenous people of South america were the lost tribe of Israel.
Thank you for sharing your perspective here. From my own view, I find Creedal Trinitarianism views to be incredibly confusing, despite studying it for many years. I just... with all due respect the discussions all seem to eventually come down to me being told something along the lines of "it's a mystery, it's not supposed to be understood- just accept it" or reaching beyond scripture's words.
Yeah that threshold is often a variable that adjusts to how much that person understands. You can usually tell too that the conversation was based, at least partly, on an emotional need to convince.
Still, despite this confusion on both parties here, I'm happy to celebrate love of Christ with other Christians as brothers/sisters. I love visiting other churches- like last Easter was spent at an Evangelical church. That's actually why I joined CF in the first place: to celebrate Christ and have respectful interfaith dialogue.
That sounds nice. I hope you are able to do that. You'll need intellectual honesty, transparency, some emotional detachment and the ability transcend personified identity attached to faith. Which goes like this;You're not Jane you are Mormon. I'm not Eloy I'm Catholicism. I hope you know what I mean.
Neither does scripture mention the substance of God but the Nicene Creed does. They say Joseph Smith made things up, but many of their beliefs are not Biblical. Where did the belief come from that God created the universe out of nothing? It is not in the Bible.
you are right it's not explicit, the idea is implied such as
John 1:3
3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being.
God's name as revealed to Moses " I am that I am." God is existence. This concept of God leads to the act of creation out of nothing or God created everything from his own....stuff.. Hindu theology is based on that idea which leads to Pantheism. Believing everything is God. Creation ex nihilo allows for God to be present everywhere without everything being God. It stands to reason that by definition creation is out of nothing. If it is creating out of stuff that already exists it's just refashioning stuff.
Jane, thank you so much for asking those questions and I wish you the Lord's choicest blessings.
To you as well!
