I agree with your political opinion, apparently, and also with your religious opinion about Lutherans, Mormons, etc. I do have a friend who is a Lutheran pastor, and he's actually really good. You can't judge all fish by a school of sick ones. Mormonism is a heretical Christian cult. They are externally Christian and biblical. But they interpret the Christian Scriptures differently, and with a different, exclusivistic spirit. Don't be fooled by them--apparently you're not.
I don't like the idea of "try it to see how good it is," instead of studying things against the Scripture first. Apparently you're good at beginning with Scripture only to start with? So I agree with much of what you say.
I don't really think Michael was Jesus. But I don't have a problem with Christians who may think so.
I do think you would do well to keep reading in these forums, and do independent research when a subject comes up that concerns you. I fell into a Christian cult many years ago, even though I was pretty well-established in the faith. But I was not particularly educated.
Fortunately, I moved to a city where one of the most effective apologists for the Christian faith in the US taught, and was particularly adept at dealing with cults. His name was Dr. Walter Martin. He wrote "Kingdom of the Cults," a classic work on the Christian cults in America. But he was capable of answering any question from a knowledgeable pov. His style, in particularly, spoke to me. On radio he was pretty strong. On Sunday mornings he was one of the funniest guys I ever heard!
Thanks for your input!
I don't like the idea of "try it to see how good it is," instead of studying things against the Scripture first. Apparently you're good at beginning with Scripture only to start with? So I agree with much of what you say.
I don't really think Michael was Jesus. But I don't have a problem with Christians who may think so.
I do think you would do well to keep reading in these forums, and do independent research when a subject comes up that concerns you. I fell into a Christian cult many years ago, even though I was pretty well-established in the faith. But I was not particularly educated.
Fortunately, I moved to a city where one of the most effective apologists for the Christian faith in the US taught, and was particularly adept at dealing with cults. His name was Dr. Walter Martin. He wrote "Kingdom of the Cults," a classic work on the Christian cults in America. But he was capable of answering any question from a knowledgeable pov. His style, in particularly, spoke to me. On radio he was pretty strong. On Sunday mornings he was one of the funniest guys I ever heard!
Thanks for your input!
I get your point about try it to see how good it is. There's a couple lines of OT scripture read. There's a couple verses of NT scripture read. There's some hymns. There's some recitation of creeds. There's a sermon that doesn't connect me to God's word or understanding its mysteries. Some community announcements. It seems like faith by rote. And always, in most churches, some graven image or idol somewhere in view.
People used to dress up in their "Sunday best" when going to church. Now there are t-shirts, jeans and unruly children. Not all. The older folks still come with their most polished and elegant appearance.