DAVEH: Most everybody (nonM)I've chatted with on TT has felt the need to save me from Mormonism. I have repeatedly said that I did not come to TT to change, and many seem to have disbelieved my intentions and apparently take offense that I am so stubbornly unwilling to change the way I perceive and understand the Bible. Yet I, looking from the other side of the fence, see those same TTers being equally stubborn in their inherited Bible beliefs.
There are some deeply rooted Protestant ideas that simply cannot be compromised for some reason, which I find curious. (Again.....that is why I tend to categorize most TTers as being Protestants despite some protesting of such.) After being in TT for well over 4 years now, I have seen enough petty squabbles amongst TTers who go to great lengths to explain their understanding of things found in the Bible, yet I think few change their views. So, why be hypocritical about it.....why not just say I'm not here to change and then enjoy TT for what it is. Yet it seems I am one of the few who thinks this way. Everybody else apparently supposes they are going to be able to persuade the others to think like them.......and, when it doesn't happen that way.....everybody gets their noses bent out of shape.
DavidH,
Pardon me for interjecting into your conversation with Lance, but you must consider that to the average TT'r you are on the other side of the FAR fence. Almost ALL on TT consider you well outside of orthodoxy, and many probably believe you are in a cult. So, while we Christians might disagree among the TT family about doctrinal differences, I believe we all respect one another as brothers in Christ. Hank Hanegraaf calls these differences "in-house debates"; i.e., debates that are interesting from a theological standpoint, but are not outside of "the pale of orthodoxy". It is natural for Christians to want to convert non-christians...I think even you will agree with that, having been a missionary yourself at one time (I am assuming this is true...let me know if I have assumed in error.)
You use the term "protestant" to refer to anyone that is a Christian, but not Roman Catholic. I guess that is like using the word "Kleenex" to refer to tissues, or "Coke" to refer to cola soft drinks. However, in many cases it is inaccurate.
While there are some groups that still refer to themselves as "Protestant", i.e., they trace the lineage of the denomination to which they "belong" back to the reformation, many today do not. The Baptists, for example, claim to have descended from the Ana-baptists, who never where a part of the RCC, so never needed to protest it or "come out of it".
I sometimes use the word "protestant" to refer to myself when indicating that I am non-RCC, but in general I do not view myself as a "protestant", per se. I do not belong to any tradition or "denomination" that claims to trace itself to the reformation. (Not that I think that is a necessarily bad thing, by the way).
But I consider true believers to be "members of the body of Christ", that is, those who follow Christ REGARDLESS of the tradition from which they come, be it "protestant", or whatever. That they may fellowship with a group that has a particular name or tradition does not change that thaey are a member of the body of Christ. The key is that the individual is a believer in Christ, and that the Bible is their source of authority.
If you would like to use a more accurate term for those you call "Protestants", you could use the term "believer", or just "Christian", or even "followers of the way" (not "The Way Internatioanal"). But, to use the term "protestant" lumps everyone that is non-RCC into the same classification, which, in many cases on TT, is not accurate.
A question to TT'rs (who bothered to read this far) ... what term or name do you use to refer to yourself, or the group to which you consider yourself a member, relative to your beliefs, be it organized or not? For myself, I am a "member of the body of Christ". My doctrine may not not perfect, my theology may be flawed, and my walk may be imperfect, but it is in Him, and none other, that I place my faith for my salvation, the Holy Spirit for my guidance, and God, as revealed through His word, as my source of authority.
Have you ever wondered if I consider Mormons to be members of the body of Christ? If they reject the teachings of the LDS church about the false Mormon god and jesus, and embrace the God and Jesus of the Bible, then I believe they are. But, as long as they continue to place their faith in the wrong god and wrong jesus, they are not.
Perry
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