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christians do you really believe
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:24 pm
by _Rambo
that if I don't except your definition of Jesus that I won't be saved?
Also what about the people that have never had a chance to hear of Jesus or the Bible on this life. What happens to them? I know this is a Mormon question and they have the "answer" for it but I can't find any christians that have a good answer.
in the earth being 6000 years old?
man being around for 6000 years?
a global flood?
that you need to be baptized?
that sex before marriage is a sin?
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:42 pm
by _Aristotle Smith
Rambo wrote:that if I don't except your definition of Jesus that I won't be saved?
This is probably the question deserving of the most nuanced answer. To keep it simple I'll just say "No."
Rambo wrote:Also what about the people that have never had a chance to hear of Jesus or the Bible on this life. What happens to them? I know this is a Mormon question and they have the "answer" for it but I can't find any christians that have a good answer.
I believe there will be plenty of people in heaven who never heard of Jesus.
Rambo wrote:in the earth being 6000 years old?
No.
Rambo wrote:man being around for 6000 years?
I assume you mean man being around for only 6,000 years, but not more. No.
Rambo wrote:a global flood?
No.
Rambo wrote:that you need to be baptized?
No.
Rambo wrote:that sex before marriage is a sin?
Yes.
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:54 pm
by _Rambo
Thanks AS.
Would you be able to expand on some of your answers?
Like how am I able to make it to heaven without your Jesus? Don't I need to except him?
How do other people make it to heaven without excepting Jesus?
Isn't your doctrine that you must except Jesus to make it to heaven?
How come you don't believe in a global flood when it says it in the Bible?
Why don't you believe in humans being around for 6000 years when according to the Bible the first humans Adam and Eve were born/created 6000 years ago?
These are all surprising answers to me.
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:56 pm
by _son of Ishmael
There is no heaven
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 10:28 pm
by _Rambo
son of Ishmael wrote:There is no heaven
Thank God.
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 1:16 am
by _Aristotle Smith
Rambo wrote:Like how am I able to make it to heaven without your Jesus? Don't I need to except him?
How do other people make it to heaven without excepting Jesus?
There are lots of ways to approach this question. One that is reasonably easy to understand and also pretty approachable for Mormons is the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIXs5wOSVk4There are also various approaches that fall under the rubric of Christian Inclusivism (try a Google search). Some approach this as Christian exclusivists, they just see various forms of "crypto-Christians" in other traditions. Calvinists can point out the the elect were foreordained from before creation, and who is saved is in a very real sense a mystery. Plus there are versions of Christian universalism. Karl Barth seemed to hold to a version of this idea.
Rambo wrote:Isn't your doctrine that you must except Jesus to make it to heaven?
No, the doctrine is that salvation comes through Jesus. Saying you much accept Jesus is simply one way of putting that idea into practical terms, and one that my tradition (Methodists) doesn't emphasize much.
I think one thing that Mormons may tend to miss is that having a much different view of God and mankind makes Christians see this problem differently and give different answers.
Rambo wrote:How come you don't believe in a global flood when it says it in the Bible?
Evidence, both internal to the text and external to it, leads me to conclude there was no global flood. I simply don't think that Genesis 1-11 is meant to be history or science in the way we use those terms. You are asking a historical and scientific question, and I don't think those chapters of Genesis are addressing those concerns.
Rambo wrote:Why don't you believe in humans being around for 6000 years when according to the Bible the first humans Adam and Eve were born/created 6000 years ago?
Again, for both internal and external reasons. For two good books on how best to make sense of Genesis 1-2 I recommend John Walton's
The Lost World of Genesis One and Peter Enns'
The Evolution of Adam.
Rambo wrote:These are all surprising answers to me.
I don't doubt it. I think one thing most Mormons need to realize is that lived Mormonism is a brand of Fundamentalism. Unfortunately, many conclude that all religion is Fundamentalism. There is a very large world out there of people who are both faithful believers and don't feel a need to chuck history and science out the window.
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 1:52 am
by _moksha
is the earth being 6000 years old?
Give or take 4.49997 billion years.
man being around for 6000 years?
Modern Man (a.k.a. Pre-Nibley Man) has been around for over 200,000 years.
a global flood?
Not enough water and no drain plug.
that you need to be baptized?
Cleansing is always a good idea.
that sex before marriage is a sin?
Depends on how badly they are doing it.
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 2:01 am
by _Quasimodo
moksha wrote:that sex before marriage is a sin?
Depends on how badly they are doing it.

Could a sexual offender be defined as someone who is just bad in bed?
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 3:23 am
by _KevinSim
Aristotle Smith wrote:Calvinists can point out the the elect were foreordained from before creation, and who is saved is in a very real sense a mystery. Plus there are versions of Christian universalism.
Aristotle, what do you think about Christian universalism? Do you think it's possible that every person on Earth might end up saved, or do you think that some people will end up suffering in Hell forever?
Re: christians do you really believe
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 8:40 am
by _Drifting
KevinSim wrote:Aristotle Smith wrote:Calvinists can point out the the elect were foreordained from before creation, and who is saved is in a very real sense a mystery. Plus there are versions of Christian universalism.
Aristotle, what do you think about Christian universalism? Do you think it's possible that every person on Earth might end up saved, or do you think that some people will end up suffering in Hell forever?
Well Mormon scripture tells us that there are only two Church's.
1. The Church of the Lamb of God.
2. The Church of the devil.
The question becomes who is included in the Church of the Lamb of God?
Just Mormons, or anyone with a belief in God. If the Latter, then it kind of diminishes Mormonism's claim to be the one and only true Church on earth today.