Quote:
Originally posted by Fljotsdale:
Trinity You are correct. They do not accept the trinity teaching, since it is unbiblical and gleaned from much older 'pagan' beliefs. You will quote me chapter and verse here, but till you do, I will not go into details, lol!
I hope that clears up a few things, my friend! (I feel you ARE a friend - hope you don't mind!) 
[/B]
|
Hey Fjlotsdale, thanks for clearing that up. I guess it comes down to the Trinity aspect then which is I suppose the more central anyhow. What defines a Christian is the belief in Christ as God-become-man who enables relationship with the creator. Other world religions can accept Jesus, but not Jesus as God. In Islam he is the greatest prophet - greater even than Mohammad. In Buddhism he can be reinterpreted as a Guru of sorts, and there are some sections of the Jewish Rabbi community that regard Jesus as a reformer (though quite clearly not all agree
of course) What defines a Christian is the belief in God becoming human, experiencing all the crap we go through, and taking on the consequences of our failings himself. Additionally we believe we have the third part of the Trinity - The Spirit - inside us. The concept certainly isn't "unbiblical".... do the JWs use the same bible? I heard it was very different. I heard this years and years ago from a family friend who joined a JW church for a little while as a counter-missionary??!! Yep....
There was a movement in the early church called Arianism which was the first schism - earlier even than the Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox schism - which the Germanic tribes converted to. Using various biblical interpretaions, Arianism refuted the concept of the trinity, but died out.
Perhaps this is the main reason why the Christian Church does not embrace the JWs. I actually have a book about the differences at home (Sydney) I'll read it when I get back.
Oh re. the old testament, Pentecostal Churches give a lot of time and importance to the old testament. For example "Prosperity Doctrine" (a pet hate of mine BTW) can only draw credance from the old testament. It is the belief that Gods "Blessings" are material and financial, rather than mental and spiritual/psychological. Brrrrr
I've never heard of a Third world Prosperity Preacher, only Rich American or American influenced ones (yes we have them in Oz)
Oh it is in "James" that works are spoken of. Martin Luther argued against James' inclusion because of that very concept and how it could be misinterpreted.
Finally, yeah I'd consider you a friend....
Wulfwere, supression of expression is not always the best option, rather folks should learn the art of debating passionately, yet respecting others views. The Gun debate inspires much passion everywhere it is discussed. Simply brushing it under the carpet or withdrawing from discussion does nothing, the issue will still be there. Better to find a way to be concilliatory yet firm about an issue. We can agree to disagree.
I for one believe the gun is responsible for terrible evils that will not stop until they are removed. I accept that there are those - largely in America, but also in rural Australia (read Queenslanders
) - who believe owning a gun to be a right, necessary, and get quite angry at the prospect of losing that priveliege. I believe people need to make a choice about whether losing a civil liberty for the sake of a reduction in crime is worth the cost.
The argument using Nazi Germany as an example is quite fanciful, as Nazi Germany was an enigma created out of a certain period of turbulance and insecurity, and founded on an entirely different national collective psychology.
Put simply, it simply wouldn't happen in the same way - if at all - because the circumstances are/were totally different.
We should all feel able to discuss an extremely important issue however. The American gun-culture and mass-murder infamy propogated by the media creates copycats all over the world. Australia handled a tough decision very well. We still have a "Shooters Party" and a gun lobby, but these grow further marginalised each year.
------------------
I am the walrus!.... er, no hang on....
A fair dinkum laughing Hyena!
[This message has been edited by Yorick (edited 06-17-2001).]