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Dave:You've been reading TT'ers for a looooooong
time. To my knowledge there are no Roman Catholic or Orthodox
participants.
You ask 'how many Protestants do think alike?"
I believe I've witnessed more than a touch of humour on your part from time
to time sooooo, is this one of those times?
I'd simply say that I wish I could tell you, from
my 18 years of experience interacting with the 'non-catholic, non-ordox'
"believers", that what you've witnessed on TT is atypical but I
CANNOT!
By the by I believe that the same level of
diversity exists withink the Mormon community.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: March 30, 2005 09:52
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Loving and
Merciful God of Justice
In a message dated 3/29/2005 10:00:42 PM
Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
If the length of this exchange caused some to move on
without reading the full exchange, perhaps a second look will be worth the
effort. Much food for thought regarding hell, torture,
the singleness of the sin event contrasted with the eternity of the
punishment.
My only frustration with Dave's response is that
it includes an insistence that (1) "protestants" are those who are not
Mormon
DAVEH: Nonsense, John. Well, I stand
corrected. I guess my may concern, here, is that Mormons see
Catholics and Protestant and the "true church," the
Mormons. I've never thought that way at all. My
primary interest is in Protestantism, as I view Catholicism as having a
reasonable claim to the priesthood, yet Protestantism has sprung from that
framework by rejecting their authority. You make this statement and
include all who are not Catholic. Close but no cigar. Here is a
specific definition that catches it for me -- a member
of any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of
the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith
alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the
only source of revealed truth. To me that is a curious
perspective that is fascinating and the reason I am trying to learn how
Protestants believe and think. More than I have complained about
your use of the word "protestant." If you are trying to
understand, why not include in the fascinating search an understanding of
those who are not attached to the Reformation? Who teach grace
as it stands against those who preach legalism (whether of the Mormon
variety or of the Miller brand0, who reject the notion that membership in
the "right church" counts for anything at all, in an eternal
sense. You have the KJV of the bible. It teaches
these things -- your problem, of course, is that your KJV does
not have a supportive text (a Greek text). Do I
mis-stpeak? Your views of the biblical message are fashioned and
shaped by the dictates of the True Church -----
something I find to be somewhat nonsensical. Care to discuss/defend
agains that claim? It would seem to me that, sense the biblical
message was here long before the Mormon message -- the
bibilical account would be the place to begin and defend. Shall
we?
and (2) that all "protestants" think alike.
DAVEH: I realize that all "protestants"
don't necessarily think alike. However, I am interested in knowing
how many do think alike. What is of interest in that
!!??
It seems to me that if we are going to borrow a word from the
non-Mormon world, we should include the attached definition instead of
making up our own --- it is confusing to those of us who
are not "protestant" by historic definition.
DAVEH: So, how do you define Protestantism,
John? From my perspective, it is those who accept the Trinity
Doctrine, yet reject Catholicism. While that may be a bit simplistic,
it seems to work for me. Do you view my definition as flawed? Dave,
this is YOUR definition. It is not a historical
definition. Shall we use yours or that which grows out of the
history of the circumstance. If
so....how?
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