Mormonism not Christian...

[_lulu]

1. Pray to Google.
2. When quoting, please include the name of the person you are quoting.
3. When responding, please include a quote of what you are responding to.

[_MCB]

I will ask the google god.

Just lazy today.

[_lulu]

I will ask the google god.

Just lazy today.

Click on the "quote" button, it will do the work for you.

Now if someone would tell me how to enable PM.

[_MCB]

Go to user CP, under options, go to edit global settings, then

Allow users to send you private messages:

and click in the circle. then on the blue band below, submit.

[_lulu]

Go to user CP, under options, go to edit global settings, then

Allow users to send you private messages:

and click in the circle. then on the blue band below, submit.

Not seeing "edit global settings" under "options." But at least I found "options."

[_MCB]

Missed a step. Under options, board preferences. Then edit global.

[_Samantabhadra]

Please define and provide 2 examples of each:

1. heretic
2. infidel
3. pagan
4. heathen

1. Heretic -- The word heretic comes from the Greek herein, which means "to choose." Literally "heresy" is when you "choose" what to believe in, over and above established orthodoxy and/or the instructions of your spiritual father. Heresies involve specific errors regarding doctrine. Notable examples include the Arian heresy, that God the Son was created by God the Father, and the Pelagian heresy, that the mortal will is not corrupted by original sin.

2. Infidel -- non-Christian monotheists, particularly ones who have been baptized but reject ("are unfaithful to") their baptism. Most commonly this would include converts to Islam or Judaism, although it is often applied to atheists as well.

3. Pagan -- from Latin paganus, "country folk." Followers of indigenous, frequently polytheistic or animistic, religious traditions such as Shinto. Classically, the word was applied to adherents of the various Mediterranean and Egyptian mystery cults. Since the turn of the 20th century the term is also used to describe individuals who believe themselves to be continuing those polytheistic/animistic indigenous traditions.

4. Heathen -- same as pagan. However, these days Germanic Neopagans (Wotanists/Odinists) will often refer to themselves as "heathen" and to their religion as "heathenry." Generally speaking, then, "pagan" is perhaps better applied to followers of Egyptian and Mediterranean mystery cults, while "heathen" refers to followers of Nordic mystery cults; this is reflected in their respective (Latin vs. Norse/Gothic) etymologies.

[_lulu]

Please define and provide 2 examples of each:

1. heretic
2. infidel
3. pagan
4. heathen

1. Heretic -- The word heretic comes from the Greek herein, which means "to choose." Literally "heresy" is when you "choose" what to believe in, over and above established orthodoxy and/or the instructions of your spiritual father. Heresies involve specific errors regarding doctrine. Notable examples include the Arian heresy, that God the Son was created by God the Father, and the Pelagian heresy, that the mortal will is not corrupted by original sin.

2. Infidel -- non-Christian monotheists, particularly ones who have been baptized but reject ("are unfaithful to") their baptism. Most commonly this would include converts to Islam or Judaism, although it is often applied to atheists as well.

3. Pagan -- from Latin paganus, "country folk." Followers of indigenous, frequently polytheistic or animistic, religious traditions such as Shinto. Classically, the word was applied to adherents of the various Mediterranean and Egyptian mystery cults. Since the turn of the 20th century the term is also used to describe individuals who believe themselves to be continuing those polytheistic/animistic indigenous traditions.

4. Heathen -- same as pagan. However, these days Germanic Neopagans (Wotanists/Odinists) will often refer to themselves as "heathen" and to their religion as "heathenry." Generally speaking, then, "pagan" is perhaps better applied to followers of Egyptian and Mediterranean mystery cults, while "heathen" refers to followers of Nordic mystery cults; this is reflected in their respective (Latin vs. Norse/Gothic) etymologies.

Are Mormons heretics, infidels, pagans or heathens?
Why or why not?

[_Samantabhadra]

Are Mormons heretics, infidels, pagans or heathens?
Why or why not?

Mormonism is a modern re-appraisal of the Hermetic Christian tradition, refracted through the lens of the European Enlightenment via the quintessential Enlightenment religion of Freemasonry. As such, Mormonism is a combination of paganism and heresy, but is not strictly delimited to either. (Mormons cannot be infidels, since they were never baptized in a proper Christian church, and the non-Christian elements are Egyptian, not Norse).

Hermetic Christianity identified Christ with the Greek god Hermes, who was further understood as a manifestation of the Egyptian god Thoth. Egyptian ritual practice centered around the idea of becoming an immortal god. Hermes/Thoth was also identified with quicksilver or Mercury (his name in Latin) and the practice of alchemy, with the stated goal of transmuting base metal--equivalently, our own base instincts--into the most highly refined form of metal, i.e. gold--equivalently, our own eternal innermost perfection.

Around the start of the 18th century, a group that we now call the Freemasons revived the study and practice of Hermetic magical rituals, wedded to the so-called "Enlightenment" ideology of rationalism and individual liberation. They claimed that their secret knowledge had always existed and that their practices were a direct continuation of Egyptian ritual practices. Personally, I am inclined to accept the idea that there is a literal link between the Masons and Egyptian death magic; the Masons claim to have received their esoteric knowledge from the Knights Templar, who encountered hidden traditions along the way the Crusades. Whether or not this is factual, though, it is indisputable that Freemasons understand their own ritual practice as an extension of Egyptian forms (the stuff about Solomon's Temple is deliberately misleading; Masonic magic is Egyptian magic, hence all the hieroglyphics in Masonic temples).

Joseph Smith was a Master Mason. His writings are full of overt references to Masonic ideas and symbolism, for those with eyes to see them. The idea of "becoming your own god" with your own planet is, essentially, the symbolism of the pyramid, and (once you've been introduced into the higher circles) the explicit goal of Masonic ritual practice. Why do you think there is such an Egyptophilic fetish among Mormons, particularly regarding the so-called "Book of Abraham," even to this day? And why do you think Amway and similar pyramid schemes thrive among Mormons? The pyramidal structure is deeply ingrained in Mormon culture. Essentially, he re-adapted the Masonic interpretation of Egyptian immortality rituals within a supposedly Christian framework.

This is why it cannot be said that Mormons are simply pagans: they can also be understood as heretics, in the sense that they consider themselves Christian, but choose to turn away from Christian orthodoxy. Mormonism must be understood with reference to Christianity; it is not simply or exclusively a form of Egyptian religion, but combines elements of both paganism and heresy. In effect, their pagan ritual practice informs their heretical theology, as for instance when they choose to reject the Trinity or choose to assert that God the Father has a physical body. In the latter case, the commitment to the Masonic/Egyptian schema of the pyramid--there is a god at the top, who is not THE god but received his divinity from A prior god, and if you follow him you too can become a god at the top of your very own pyramid--necessitates the construction of a decidedly heretical theology wherein God the Father is understood to have more or less exactly the same properties as Zeus or Hermes or Thoth.

[_lulu]

they can also be understood as heretics, in the sense that they consider themselves Christian, but choose to turn away from Christian orthodoxy.

Well stated and that's my point.
You are a scholar and a gentleperson.