Comments on: Did Joseph Start a Religion, or Simply a Denomination?

By: Bishop Rick

Bishop Rick — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:53:50 +0000

Seth, do you consider Paul a Christian heretic or a Jewish heretic?

By: MH

MH — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:16:48 +0000

Seth, what makes you say that Paul was the first heretic? Was it mostly his advocacy to preach to the gentiles, and have them be baptized without circumcision?

By: Seth R.

Seth R. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:21:40 +0000

Bishop Rick,

I’ve personally entertained the possibility that Paul may have been Christianity’s first “heretic.” He certainly seemed to take the Gospel in a unique direction from other Christian sources – including Jesus himself.

But I’ve seen people misinterpret his words too often to feel really confident in labeling him a force of Apostasy or anything like that.

By: Bishop Rick

Bishop Rick — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:08:24 +0000

Personally, I think he started a new religion, but I stand by my earlier statement that if Mormonism is true, then I believe he would have restored reformed Judaism.

By: FireTag

FireTag — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:38:31 +0000

I’m about half way through with Sorenson, so we’ll have some interesting things to say on Meso when we gat finished with the two books, I’m sure.

By: MH

MH — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:12:30 +0000

So I just started Terryl Givens book called By the Hand of Mormon. The subtitle of the book is “The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion”. I guess we know where Brother Givens stands on this issue.

By: FireTag

FireTag — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:17:09 +0000

BR: I’m ultimately intellectually committed to the notion of a “xosmic Christ” whose role in human form among the Jews is part of what he’s doing throughout all of time and space (and maybe a few other realms we don’t grok yet!) But I think I can readily adjust to the idea that his earthly focus gave first shot to reforming Judaism (whatever he felt the odds of success were).

By: Bishop Rick

Bishop Rick — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 08:38:21 +0000

MH, doesn’t Mormonism fly in the face of conventional definitions?

FT, I really think this is the case. Why would Jesus want to start a new religion? The original religion was wrong? This doesn’t make sense to me. Now fulfilling / reforming does make sense to me.

Doesn’t mean I’m right, but it makes sense…to me.

By: FireTag

FireTag — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:18:16 +0000

BR; The reformed Jadaism idea is VERY interesting.

By: Andrew S.

Andrew S. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:13:42 +0000

MH,

LOL, not *that* kind of limited atonement. Calvinist interpretation isn’t that the actual act of the atonement is limited in power and efficacy (and therefore needs something like the shedding of blood to augment it), but rather that if predestination is true, then it follows that God obviously limits his scope of atonement. Jesus saves his sheep. Not a single sheep will be lost. But some people will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Conclusion? Some people were never sheep to begin with.