Christians of all sects, i.e. Catholics, Mormons, Protestants etc...?

Question

Why does each christian sect teach exclusivity? In other words, why does each religion teach that only members of their faith will be allowed to live in the actual presence of God in the next life?

Ex: I have been a practicing Mormon (LDS) most of my life and have only recently left the church. Throughout my youth I was taught that only people sealed (married) inside a mormon temple can go to the highest level of heaven and live with God. Everyone else has to live in a lower level of heaven and cannot go to the higher level. Other christian sects teach that only people baptized into their church will be in the presence of God. Why would God force his children to be apart from him cause they were not dunked in water?
I have thoughly studied the doctrine of most major christian sects and virtually every christian faith claims to be the only true church.
Would you keep your children away cause they weren't dunked in water or sealed? I would let mine be with me no matter what.

Beta Fish, I find your answer insulting. Having served a two year mission in the philippines (Marunong ka bang mag-Tagalog?) I am more than familiar with the LDS concept of salvation, baptisms for the dead, proxy sealings, and the idea of everyone getting the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel in this life or the next. Because of a lack of space I simplified the doctrine of ALL the religions insinuated. Thanks for insinuating I am stupid for not being able to understand my own religion after years of study. That was very christlike of you.

Thanks to many of you (Animal girl, Odd duck,Keyleigh, absent farmer, Fizzygurl1980, etc..) for the great, open minded answers.

Betafish,
again you surprise me, buddy. Why do you insist on ending your messages to me in ways that insinuate that I am an idiot? Where is the love?

Betafish,

Again, I appologize for oversimplifying, but you will just have to forgive me. The point here is claiming to be the "true church." Its like testimony meetings and conference talks where speakers and church leaders get up and say, with tears in their eyes, "I know this is the ONLY true and living church." That, in a nutshell, sends a message that other religions are not true. Also, why can't you respect me enough to let me think and feel as I wish? Are you going to end your next resonse with an insult again? Please don't. I didn't seek to offend anyone or any faith with this question. I storngly believe in peace and mutual respect.

Beta-fish,
WHat a great quote ;) ! In truth, the basis for my surprised reaction to your comments is that they genuinely reflect the response of many, many others. Leaving my faith (LDS) has been a studied and prayerful decision, but very painful. By far the hardest part has been the negative and hurtful reactions of many close friends, relatives, and ward-members. Upon hearing that I am leaving I thought that most of them would respond with love and understanding and try, with such kind actions, to bring me back to the fold. However, the vast majority have instead, like you, told me I am an idiot and stupid. This was not the love I was taught all my life. It doesn't matter, I am not bitter. My own quote is actually a reflection of my true feelings. You ended up being the unlucky guy experienceing the release for lots of hurtful things. I appologize. Bitterness is not the way. I do hope that anyone reading this remembers that love will make others see your way more than anger

Again, everyone, thanks for the fantastic answers and impressive array of viewpoints. Sometimes I am just as intolerant as everone else, but I am working on it.
Exclusivity, from a religion, club, family, etc...is extremely hurtful. Too many trying to leave their faith or change their life, beliefs, or even government, have been met with anger and hostiliy.
I find too many of us feel that, because of our beliefs, we are better than others. I have been there and genuinely regret it. This is the basis for my decision to be spiritual and non-religious.
I hope everyone who answered finds a little peace and a little more love and understanding in their lives. Kindess goes a long way.

Answer 1

Kory ...
You are corect in your thinking .
Many religions say that you can not be as close to god ( true saved ) in any other religion . This Includes Catholicism , Judism , LDS , Islam , Scientology , and several others .
Also ALL Christian religions teach that you must believe in the divinity ( Jesus is god ) in order to be saved .To them simply being a good person ( living sin-free and doing good works ) is not good enough .
If you study all the religions of the world you will find that they are truely man made organizations that :
1. Attempt to explain things that science would eventually explain .
2. Set down rules of conduct to make society run smoothly ( for better or worse) .
3. Provide rituals and spiritual rewards to differentiate themself from other religions , and attract converts .
4. Provide an organization and activities so members can feel secure and accepted .
5. Provide an organization for the leaders to gain power , control and wealth .

Comments on above : 1. Is obvious . Evolution vs Creation . World flood vs local flood . Flat world vs round world . etc.
2. e.g. Muslims keep the problems ( and perfectly good things) about homosexuality out of their society by beheading them !
3. As you stated in your question , each religion needs something to say "WE are better than the next guy ." !
4. People all get insecure at times . We need to turn to something , even if it is just a "lucky penny" . People who are brought up to turn to a religion whwn they feel insecure will feel insecure when they try to leave religion and think for themselves . But it CAN be done !
5. How many religious leaders do you know that live in near poverty ? The basis of Islam was to go out and conquer and gain wealth for Muhammed and military might for his organization . The Catholic Bishops and Cardinals and the Pope all live in luxury as provided by the power of the Catholic Church . It is only the lower members of the congregations of religious groups that live in povety .

Edit for Peace2A ( below)
Can't you SEE that your answer and attitude IS intolerent ! You are claiming that the Biblical God is the one true god and people who believe otherwise ( yet still may behave better than you do ) are all unworthy of going to heaven . This is very condesceding on your part . Especially since it is almost impossible to find even two people who will "interpet" the Bible exactly the same way . And that no one can prove that large parts of the Bible are myth , bad science ,and outright misrepresentation . In fact you can't even prove that the Biblical God exists anymore than Allah, Zeus, FSM , leprechauns , The Hindu Gods , and so on .

Answer 2

The majority of "mainstream" denominations I'm familiar with do not teach "exclusivity" - most Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Assembly of God, Messianic, etc - while acknowledging their doctrinal differences - also acknowledge legitimacy of one anothers faith.
There are a few Protestants and Catholics that would deny the one anothers right to claim citizenship in the Kingdom - but those - along with groups that do claim to be the ONLY true church - are the exception rather than the rule.

Answer 3

It isn't a matter of being in the presence of God, it's a matter of what you are comfortable with. God isn't going to put you somewhere you aren't comfortable. If, in this life, you didn't live up to what you could have, then you aren't comfortable going that extra mile, so you aren't comfortable to be in the full presence of God.

Since you grew up LDS, you know our views on baptism for the dead and doing temple work for the dead. This allows them the opportunity to accept or reject those ordinances. We aren't going to force anyone to do something they don't want to do, but those people now have the option of accepting those ordinances.

Whether we are right or wrong, we will all find out after we die. I'm sure at that point, we will have the option of accepting whatever is really right. I'm sure He won't send us somewhere if we didn't have the chance to learn the right way, or didn't know for sure what the right way was.

Answer 4

Y'know, that is my biggest issue with organized religion. I think all religions, Christian or otherwise, basically are trying to preach the same message- love, peace, tolerance, etc. And I think that is a very nice message; however, I take issue with these "tolerant" religious people then teaching their young congregation members that the only "real" God is the one they believe in, and the only "true path" to heaven is that of the beliefs of their church. It seems to me that if all these religions really believed in tolerance, they would teach their congregants to be open-minded about all faiths, because if they even spent one minute considering other religions and beliefs, I think they would all see that they're all pretty much saying the same thing- be a good person, love one another, and live the best life you can live.

Answer 5

I'm really not sure what kind of research you have done, but I don't belong to a church that teaches what you are saying. We believe there is only One God, One Truth, and One Baptism. No where in the Bible does it say that Baptism is for membership into a church. Baptism is for the Remission of sins and is a turning point in your walk with God. Baptism is important, and it is laid out as part of the plan of salvation. I don't believe that every person that sits on a pew is saved. We also do not believe that we are the only 'sect' going to heaven. There are many denominations that are starting to practice what we've been teaching from the beginning. The best way to know what God wants from you is for you to go to Him in prayer. Open the Bible and read it with the intention of hearing God speak His Truth to you. Christianity is based on Faith in God and His Word (The Bible). God does not contradict himself and he is not the author of confusion. If you are sincerely seeking Him, he will reveal himself to you. I will be praying for you. If you are interested, I may be able to help you find someone to talk to in your area. You can email me thru my profile and I will do my best to answer any questions you have. God Bless!

Answer 6

You were a member of the LDS church and you misunderstand the basic doctrine of salvation that much?

That's disheartening.

EDIT: You don't understand LDS doctrine of salvation or you wouldn't have posted what you posted. LDS beliefs are that God is loving and merciful and that as many people as accept Jesus's sacrifice for them will be able to live in God's kingdom. There's nothing exclusive about it.

You also misunderstand the concept of who will be able to enter the Celestial Kingdom and live with God for eternity. Temple marriage is NOT the requirement. The requirement is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and Gift of the Holy Ghost. Sure, those who have been eternally sealed in marriage can achieve the highest glory, but nobody is barred from God's presence because they are not married in the temple.

If you were a missionary for two years, I have to wonder what gospel you were studying...

EDIT: I calls em like I sees em, buddy. You were wrong. I corrected you. Perhaps you shouldn't take offense so easily? I mean, you were challenging my beliefs. Don't I have a right to defend them and push back on things that are incorrect? Perhaps these words from a wise person will help: "We live in a society that is terrified of offending people. The problem is, a person is only offended if they CHOOSE to be offended. If someone says something rude to me I have two options:
1) I can be mad and angry and make everyone's life worse, or 2) I can go on and forget about it and not make a big deal."

Answer 7

It's truthfully not up to us to say who is or isn't going to heaven. God is the Perfect & righteous judge. As a Christian I grew up Lutheran (Do not agree with all teachings) I married & divoriced a Mormon (Do not agree with teachings but most nice people)my children are sealed with thier dad & step-mom(I do not believe in sealing as the bible does not say anything) I go to a Baptist church now (probaly don't agree with everything here either)
What I know is that there is only one God (Of the Bible) & there is Repentance & faith! You do not have to be baptized to go to heaven you have to be Born Again! I believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God. I do not accept anyones word without consulting the bible, if the bible is silent on a subject then it is probably not important!

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
What is born again? It is the understanding of how sin seperated us from God and how Jesus came to reconcile us to him. Recognizing that we are sinners, always repenting and trusting in the Savior!

Answer 8

I believe it was Jesus who forbade sectarianism. If we are all for God, and following the Truth...the Holy Spirit, we should not be against each other. I am only against those sects who choose to follow the traditions of man over the doctrines of God's Word.

Answer 9

Lets stop the arguing and I'll just tell it to you like it is.

All sects believe something different, otherwise they wouldn't be separate. Correct? Ok. All of these differences contradict the others, again otherwise they wouldn't be separate. Since they all contradict each other, only one can be correct. I won't argue about which is correct, that's immaterial to this. But the fact remains, but only one can be correct, thus making it by its very nature exclusionary.

Answer 10

May God continue to bless your spiritual eye!! The kingdom of God is within us, and doesn't come with observation. John 4:24, Jesus tells us that "God is a Spirit" and we must worship Him in Spirit & in truth.

Those who worship in Spirit are those mentioned in Hebrews 12:22, "But ye ARE come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem...". This is that kingdom which is within you, and we can enter that place when we are completely alone, through the Spirit.