Why do not they want to stand alone as Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses? Is it desirable for them to be called Christians?
2007-11-05 10:54:38 · 35 answers · asked by BaC Helen 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Mojo: Even Satan believes in Jesus.
Mormons do not believe Jesus is God of Abraham.
2007-11-05 14:35:55 · update #1
Where in the definition of "Christian" does it say that a Christian is someone who HAS to believe that Jesus is God?
Christian:
"of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings" -Dictionary.com
2007-11-05 11:01:27 · answer #1 · answered by tik_of_totg 3 · 13⤊ 6⤋
Believing Jesus is God is not a prerequisite of being a Christian. Any Dictionary will state a Christian is simply a follower of Jesus teachings.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a Christian as “a person professing belief in Jesus as the Christ or in the religion based on the teaching of Jesus.”
What did Jesus taught?
He taught and practiced the Jewish faith that is to worship Jehovah God which is exactly what Witnesses of Jehovah do.
Hebrews 5:7: "He truly worshiped God, and God listened to his prayers."
Do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus was the Christ/Messiah?
Yes they do.
Jhn 1:41 this one doth first find his own brother Simon, and saith to him, `We have found the Messiah,'
2007-11-06 03:17:28 · answer #2 · answered by keiichi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can only speak as an LDS member - but, we call ourselves christian because our teachings emphatically affirm Christ as the center of the Church. Our Latter-day Saint doctrines of Deity are well grounded in biblical teachings and confirmed by the witness of the Prophet(s).
The confusion (as almost always) comes in interpretation by different religious sects. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said that any criticism that the Church “does not hold the contemporary Christian view of God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost is not a comment about our commitment to Christ but rather a recognition (accurate, I might add) that our view of the Godhead breaks with post–New Testament Christian history and returns to the doctrine taught by Jesus Himself.”
The LDS believe that God and Jesus are concerned with us and are approachable, real beings.....not beyond all knowing.
President Hinckley observed that for Mormons, the post-biblical fourth-century Christian creeds present a complexity not found in the experience and witness of Joseph Smith: “They spoke to him with words that were audible, and he spoke to Them. They could see. They could speak. They could hear. They were personal. They were of substance. They were not imaginary beings. They were beings tabernacled in flesh. And out of that experience has come our unique and true understanding of the nature of Deity.”
For some, these distinctions may be “very different.” But the fact that Latter-day Saints accept as fellow Christians all who believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of all mankind, shows that there’s common ground for all Christians to occupy together.
2007-11-06 02:37:37 · answer #3 · answered by phrog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Our God is our Heavenly Father.
Jesus is God, but not Heavenly Father. He is God in that He is part of the Godhead.
We believe that Jesus is the Christ. That is the standard definition of Christian. However, the early church did not refer to themselves as Christian, but as Saints. That's why we are Latterday Saints.
We don't want to be mainstream, traditional Christianity. We just believe that Jesus is the Christ.
2007-11-05 22:33:41 · answer #4 · answered by mormon_4_jesus 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
where in the bible says you have to believe that Jesus is Jehovah instead of the son of Jehovah ? to be saved?
Very simple the same bible that have John 1:1 says in Job 1:6 and 2:1 that all angels are sons of God .
The same bible says that all the sons of God are gods (Psalms 82:1 and verse 6)
So if Jesus is a son of God according to John 3:16 then he could be an angel and still is a god.
but that is not all
the same bible says that the voice of Jesus is the voice of Archangel , why he has a voice of Archangel if he is not an archangel (By the way there is only one). in 1 Thessal 4:16
about Michael archangel the same bible says in Daniel 12:1 that is the great prince that will bring a great tribulation and will resurrect people that are dead in the future. why the bible says about an angel something that only Jesus does?
why the bible describe in Revelation 10:1-3 a powerful angel that match in every gingle detail with Jesus?
and why the bible call Jesus the angel of covenant in the book of Malachi?
Why Jesus was among the angels if he doesn´t belongs to that group? he is the higher one but God almighty talked wtih him when he was among the rest of the sons of God, by the way the bible call him the firstson in Colossians 1:15-17.
AT JOHN 8:58 a number of translations, for instance The Jerusalem Bible, have Jesus saying: "Before Abraham ever was, I Am." Was Jesus there teaching, as Trinitarians assert, that he was known by the title "I Am"? And, as they claim, does this mean that he was Jehovah of the Hebrew Scriptures, since the King James Version at Exodus 3:14 states: "God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM"?
At Exodus 3:14 (KJ) the phrase "I AM" is used as a title for God to indicate that he really existed and would do what he promised. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, edited by Dr. J. H. Hertz, says of the phrase: "To the Israelites in bondage, the meaning would be, 'Although He has not yet displayed His power towards you, He will do so; He is eternal and will certainly redeem you.' Most moderns follow Rashi [a French Bible and Talmud commentator] in rendering [Exodus 3:14] 'I will be what I will be.'"
The expression at John 8:58 is quite different from the one used at Exodus 3:14. Jesus did not use it as a name or a title but as a means of explaining his prehuman existence. Hence, note how some other Bible versions render John 8:58
Jesus is god but he is not Jehovah the almighty God according to John 14:28 unless Jesus lies to us and he is equal to his father.
2007-11-05 11:01:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 5⤋
Jesus Christ never said he was God. if we did not believe in Jesus Christ, why would we follow his command at Matthew 28 verse 19 and 20. why because we don't celebrate xmas. Jesus was not born in DEC. he said to celebrate his death, not his birth. we are Christians. learn what we are all about at www.watchtower.org. we are the only ones going door to door. Jesus is the son of the Most Holy Father Jehovah. he is seating at the right hand of God. who was Jesus praying to? not himself. who resurrected Jesus when he was on the stake????
2007-11-05 11:58:10 · answer #6 · answered by lover of Jehovah and Jesus 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Ya know...with everyone making all sorts of claims of what it means to be "Christian" and who can and cannot be considered "Christian" I'm of the opinion that it actually insults us to be called "Christian". If it wasn't for the fact that without the "title" people actually think that we don't believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God...I doubt we wouldn't care in the slightest. But since we do believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God, redeemer of the world, the way, the truth, and the light...as well as so much more that most "Christians" can't even comprehend...and the fact that we follow this Christ...we would like to have the title just to make it easier for people to understand.
As for me...I'll just take "Follower of Christ" for a title. To many "Christians" have put a foul taste in my mouth for that title...althought I do agree that we have every right to that title no matter what the gainsayers have to say about it.
2007-11-05 11:18:52 · answer #7 · answered by LDS~Tenshi~ 5 · 9⤊ 4⤋
I am Mormon. We believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that he is our Redeemer, as it says in the Bible. Christians are pretty much split on this, whether or not he is God, or the son of God. It doesn't define you as a Christian to think they are the same. It matters whether or not you follow his teachings and accept him as your Savior, which we do in our religion.
2007-11-05 13:23:36 · answer #8 · answered by Melissa 7 · 6⤊ 2⤋
We call ourselves Christians because we believe that Jesus Christ is God, the Divine Son of God the Father, just as it states in the Bible.
Anyway I will leave it up to Jesus Christ -- He can decide who is Christian and who is not.
D
2007-11-05 13:01:01 · answer #9 · answered by Dionysus 5 · 7⤊ 2⤋
I can't speak for Jehovah;s Witnesses, but I am a Mormon and we do believe Jesus is God. We believe that he is Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But we DO NOT believe that he is of the same substance as God the Father. Although they (and the Holy Spirit) are united in purpose and will, they are not one and the same person.
The Trinity doctrine does not appear anywhere in the Bible but is a fourth century construct. On the contrary, it seems very clear to me that Jesus and His Father are separate - otherwise Jesus talked to himself a lot, and was forsaken by himself on the cross. I believe this Trinity idea is the "other gospel" and "other Jesus" we are warned against in the New Testament.
To stretch this to a logical conclusion, I believe that those who believe in the trinity heresy should not be called Christians, and only those who reject it - Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, among others - are truly deserving of the title. The early apostles and St. Paul never believed in the Trinity - it wasn't invented until 300 years after they died!
2007-11-05 11:01:38 · answer #10 · answered by sunnyannie 5 · 13⤊ 6⤋
you spot in addition they have their scriptures that are quite convincing as nicely. every time a Trinitarian and a non-Trinitarian conflict it extremely is extremely them throwing scriptures at one yet another hoping to cancel the refuting scripture out. the single ingredient the non-Trinitarians have of their nook although is extra scriptures to assist their argument. which comprise direct costs from Jesus contained in the gospels asserting he isn't God and refusing the supplies of worship from human beings. such because of the fact the single in Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18 "And he reported unto him, Why callest thou me solid? there is none solid yet one, it is, God." and yet another direct quote from Jesus: John 14:28 My Father is larger than I. John 20:17 I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. in case you % to refute that, you will would desire to get a scripture the place Jesus himself says he's Almighty God and all would desire to worship him as God.
2016-09-28 10:05:58 · answer #11 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋