Attached is Apologia's follow-up post after the strong reaction they received from writing their original post titled:
I find much about this post quite sad, I also find it mighty interesting that Comments are Closed on this...why not allow others to Comment??? I'll be quiet and not go there...
In fact, I'll try to be as quiet as possible and let you draw your own feelings and thoughts from all of this...
I would like to share just a few of the paragraphs within the body of their post:
An important key to this discussion is how the word “Christian” is defined. A Christian is anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ and is His follower. The word Christian means “follower of Christ.” Therefore, we must consider this question: Which “Jesus Christ” does the person claim to follow? If the historic Christian definition and the Mormon definition of Jesus Christ are different from each other, then our definitions of Christian must naturally and logically mean something different. So even though we may be using the same words, how we define those words is key to the discussion.
SORRY...CANNOT BE QUIET HERE!!!!
"Which Jesus Christ does the person claim to follow?" What the heck kind of question is that??? To my knowledge there is ONE AND ONLY ONE JESUS CHRIST! There is not a choice of which one to follow if there is only one (and by the way, there is only one Jesus Christ!)
Okay, climbing down off my box ~ back to their post:
Christians believe that Jesus Christ (i.e., Messiah) is the only begotten Son of God, is one in divine essence with the Father, was born of a virgin (i.e., not sired by a God-man), lived a sinless life, died on the cross to save us from our sins (i.e., we cannot save ourselves by doing good works), rose on the third day, ascended into heaven, and will return to claim His own (i.e., not everyone) to live with Him forever and serve Him in a new heaven and new earth (i.e., we will not become gods ourselves). However, official Mormon doctrine defines Jesus in a way that doesn’t match the strict monotheistic and Messianic exactness accepted by orthodox Christianity. I am not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings with this statement. But it is crucial that we define our terms precisely in order to carry out a reasoned and rational discussion.
Sired? Really??? What are we ~ Horses? Come on!
Okay, whatever...I'm just biting my tongue at this point!
Now allow me to directly address some of the feedback we’ve received.
A few people have stated that their responses and comments were censored and/or deleted. Those posts that were removed were simply attacks with messages such as “haters,” “lovers of money,” and “doom on you.” I hope we can all agree that comments like these are unnecessary and unproductive. We welcome a discussion of faith and doctrine and believe it to be healthy for anyone to consider how his or her faith stacks up against the truth of God’s Word. We know that the Word of God will not return void and that by hearing the truth, people can come to faith in the true Jesus Christ and enjoy eternity with Him in heaven, thereby avoiding eternal condemnation, which is the unfortunate destiny for those who deny Christ and for those who put their faith in a false Christ.
Okay, kinda wishing I hadn't have gone here this morning...
I'm not very good at remaining quiet!
Maybe it's just me, but I find this rather insulting!
How does my faith stack up against the truth?
And furthermore, IF I am reading this correctly, I should assume that Apologia is implying my unfortunate destiny of eternal condemnation by believing in a false Christ??? WOW!!!
I think I am back to my original thought with these people ~ Jesus Christ (THE ONLY JESUS CHRIST!) cannot be pleased by all of this...how Christlike is this behavior? Not so much, if you ask me.
...
And, just a little more for you ~
My one primary goal for this article is to express my sincere love for members of the Mormon church. I honestly pray that you hear the heart in these words. My greatest desire is to stand on the solid foundation of God’s Word, love God, and love all people because they are made in His image.
My theology may be quite different from yours, but a good debate about issues (without slander or abuse) can be healthy. It is not hateful to state that a particular worldview is false or to give reasons why another is true, especially when backed up with evidence. The Mormon community has worked tirelessly to defend the conservative position on many of the important social issues of our time, and we applaud and support their efforts in these areas. Is it hateful for Mormons to give reasons for their positions and point out the errors of the opposing view? Certainly not.
Truth does exist, it can be found, and I hope we can all strive to seek God with all our hearts and consider carefully what is said by man and what is revealed from and inspired by God.
I'm not going to spend any more energy on this...It just makes me too sad, so instead I will focus on who I am and what I believe and live my life the very best I can each and every day!
I know where I stand...
I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.
I know that He loves me.
I know that I am not facing eternal condemnation,
in fact, that is laughable to me...
I know that I will see the face of my Savior one day...I know He will embrace me in His arms. I know that I will stand next to my Heavenly Father and that I will know Him and He will smile down on me pleased with the way I have lived and loved.
Of these things, I am confident, I am peaceful, I await the day I will see them and know it will be a day of rejoicing!
Now, I will be moving on to happier things!
Happy Thursday to you!!!
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