2007-02-12 03:28:49 · 26 answers · asked by God Still Speaks Through His Word! 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Susan J - so by your reasoning Catholics are Christians merely by tradition? In other words, there is absolutely no way that their belief and actions could have changed to the present so as to maintain the original intent of Christ's teachings?
2007-02-12 03:37:21 · update #1
Belief that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. That He is God and came to the earth, in the form of the man, Jesus. That He lived, suffered, died and rose again and now is living in Heaven with God, is the gospel story and the belief of Christians or followers of Christ. Also, Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to comfort and lead Christians, after His ascension to Heaven.
Jesus, God's Son, is the only way to God because of His sacrifice for us to take our place for our sins.
Any other belief, is not taught by God in His written word, the Bible.
The first Christian worship service, after the death and resurrection of Jesus was on the day of Pentecost. There, people learned about Jesus, worshiped God and Jesus and received His Holy Spirit. There were no Catholics, Baptist, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. there. The church is the people who are followers of Jesus not a building or a religion.
2007-02-12 03:46:33 · answer #1 · answered by 4HIM- Christians love 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Yes, I do think they all fall under the category of "Christians". They're simply different sects of the same religion. "Christianity", as the name implies, is a religion dealing with "Christ". More specificially, it refers to a religion directly based off of the story of Jesus Christ as told in the Gospels.
Granted JWs are strict literalists about the entire book, Mormons have some additional reading material, and Catholics lay claim to being the church that Peter (the first pope) was instructed by Jesus to construct. But the bottom line is that Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Greek Orthodox, Lutherans, and hundreds of others are all Christians because they ultimately follow a religion ultimately based on the Gospel stories. That is what distinctly separates Christianity from other religions.
People can argue all they want about how much their own sect is the "right" one, but that doesn't prove anything.
2007-02-12 11:40:07 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
I think so. I don't know the deep doctrines of each of these, but I do know they each believe in Salvation through Jesus Christ and in following His teachings. That to me is Christian. Those that state JWs or Mormons aren't Christian, because their beliefs differ from their own, or from THEIR interpretation of the Bible is just ludacris. Religion is faith based and individual. To argue someone isn't Christian because they don't believe as you do is silly. Haven't the Catholics and other protestant religions interpreted the Bible in their way? Didn't the Catholics create/make doctrine the Trinity in 325 A.D. (before most people believed they were seperate)? It wasn't until recently the Catholic church even wanted its members to read the Bible (they were discouraged). Transubstantiation is completely a new doctrine. All religions have beliefs that we could question, but we shouldn't. We should respect all people for what they believe.
2007-02-12 11:47:21 · answer #3 · answered by straightup 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
They believe that God had a creator, a series of gods with no ultimate sourse.
They have not heard of St Thomas Aquinas:
Nature of the Trinity
Aquinas argued that God, while perfectly united, is also perfectly described by three interrelated persons. These three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are constituted by their relations within the essence of God. The Father generates the Son (or the Word) by the relation of self-awareness. This eternal generation then produces an eternal Spirit "who enjoys the divine nature as the Love of God, the Love of the Father for the Word."
This Trinity does not exist in separation from the world. On the contrary, the Trinity serves to communicate God's self and God's goodness to human beings. This takes place through the Incarnation of the Word in the person of Jesus Christ and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (indeed, the very essence of the Trinity itself) within those who have experienced salvation by God .
They believe eleven men claim to have seen the original golden tablets on which The Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith.
But most of them took back their statements."
They left the Church .
The only Apostle who renounced Christ's testimony hanged himself. The others were all martyrs for Him.
They do not understand:
The LDS faith came out of Protestantism which came out of Catholicism.
2007-02-12 14:43:34 · answer #4 · answered by cashelmara 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
If a Mormon,JW,or a Catholic accept Jesus Christ as their savior, then they are Christians.
It's when you get into their doctrines that you have to question if the religion is Christian. I don't know anything about JW's, or Catholic's. Based on what I know about Mormonism. I can't say that's it's Christian.
2007-02-12 17:02:48 · answer #5 · answered by MistyAnn 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I do not agree with much of Catholic theology, but yes, they are Chrsitians. They place their faith in Jesus. They believe and confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead.
Mormons.. no. They are some of the best people I know and they make the best neighbors, friends and members of community. But they believe that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers and that Jesus was just a good guy who was rewarded for exceptional works. Scripture says we have been saved by grace through faith, and not by works. They likewise believe that if they do well in life, they will be gods in the afterlife.
JW- I can't get a straight answer about what they believe and have never taken the initiative to read up on them. All I know is the negative perceptions of others. I understand that Jesus can not be preached in their meetings, so if that's true, that would disqualify them as Christians. I'm not informed enough to make a statement I could really stand by though.
2007-02-12 11:40:02 · answer #6 · answered by lizardmama 6 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Catholics are Christians, for sure, because even though they worship Mary, most Catholics I know accept Jesus as their Saviour. The main difference is that they believe doing good works helps people get to Heaven.
Mormon is based on Christianity, and they do teach Jesus is their Saviour as well, even though most people think they don't. They don't believe in original sin, and they have the Book of Mormon. So I guess they're Christian, but not quite?
I don't know about Jehova's Witness, no idea.
2007-02-12 11:38:08 · answer #7 · answered by Jay 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Absolutely not, although there may be a few individual Christians among them.
there is only one true Christianity.
the requirements are;
belief that Jesus Christ is God.
belief that we are all sinners and fall short of the Glory of God.
belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and arose again from the dead.
belief that, if we confess our sins and ask Jesus Christ into our life as our personal Lord and Savior, we are saved and will spend eternity with God.
belief that Jesus is the only intersessor between mankind and God.
belief that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of the Living God Jehovah.
any person, group, church, religion that does not teach and believe in all those things is not truly Christian.
2007-02-12 12:15:00 · answer #8 · answered by Chef Bob 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋
What makes someone a Christian is following Jesus Christ and His teachings of the Holy Bible.
Salvation is a free gift. You can not earn it.
2007-02-12 11:50:45 · answer #9 · answered by Salvation is a gift, Eph 2:8-9 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses are Christian.
They believe the entire bible is the inspired Word of God, and instead of adhering to a creed based on human tradition, they hold to the Bible as the standard for all their beliefs.
They worship Jehovah as the only true God. Ps. 83:18 He is the God of the Israelites, who were at one time his chosen people. They believe, not that Jesus Christ is part of a trinity, but that, as the Bible says, he is the Son of God, the first of God's creations; that he had a prehuman existence and that his lfe was transferred from heaven to the womb of a virgin, Mary; that his perfect human life laid down in sacrifice makes possible salvation to eternal life for those who exercise faith; that Christ is actively ruling as King, with God-given authority over all the earth since 1914.
They believe that God's Kingdom is the only hope for mankind; that it is a real government; that will soon destroy the present wicked system of things, including all human governments, and that it will produce a new system in which righteousness will dwell.
They endeavor to be no part of the world, as Jesus said would be true of his followers. They show genuine Christian love for their neighbor, but they do not share in the politics or the wars of any nation. They provide for the material needs of their families, but shun the world's avid pursuit of material things and personal fame and its excessive indulgence in pleasure.
A cult is a religion that is said to be unorthodox or that emphasizes devotion according to prescribed ritual . Many cults follow a living human leader, and often their adherents live in groups apart from the rest of society. The standard for what is orthodox, however, should be God's Word, and Jehovah's Witnesses strictly adhere to the Bible. Their worship is a way of life, not a ritual devotion. They neither follow a human nor isolate themselves from the rest of society. They live and work in the midst of other people. I have a book on world religions, JW's and Mormans are not under the cult section, but under modern day movements. Cults are Jim Jones, Waco etc..
There are over 6.5 million witnesses worldwide in 236 lands.
They are a true brotherhood without predjuice due to race or country.
Comment to Chef Bob: By you saying that Jesus is God. I assume believe in the Trinity. Later you say that Jesus is the only intercessor to God and that the bible is the living word of Jehovah God? That seems to contradict each other?
2007-02-12 12:06:59 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋