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From: arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Ken Arnold%CGL)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.flame
Subject: Re: Mormons are not Christians.
Message-ID: <432@ucsfcgl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 1-Feb-85 18:49:22 EST
Article-I.D.: ucsfcgl.432
Posted: Fri Feb  1 18:49:22 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 4-Feb-85 04:11:51 EST
References: <319@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP>
Reply-To: arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE)
Organization: UCSF Computer Graphics Lab
Lines: 41
Xref: watmath net.religion:5480 net.flame:8195
Summary: 

In article <319@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP> scott@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP (Scott Deerwester) writes:
>"The Mormon Papers", by H. Ropp, published by IVP.
>
>Mormons believe that salvation is earned by the things that
>you do (salvation by works).
>
>Christians believe that salvation is a free gift and was
>accomplished once and for all by Jesus' death on the cross.
>The works are a result of faith.  (If you don't understand what
>I just wrote, at least recognize that it's not the same thing
>at what Mormons believe).

This is hardly correct.  Historically there have been great differences
of opinion among various Christian beliefs as to whether good works were
necessary or sufficient for salvation.  Catholicism, for example, has
made people saints for their good works alone, because their works made
them holy.  And to accept Jesus as faith is not sufficient; one must
confess ones sins, do proper penance for them (these sometimes also take
to form of good works), and generally act in a Christian fashion.  The
question of "good works" is not settled in the universal fashion H. Ropp
indicates; there is a complete range of belief.

If H. Ropp can't even get his description of Christianity right, why should
I care about his analysis "showing" Mormons aren't Christian?

>Mormons believe that only Mormons are 'true Christians', and that
>*everybody* else is apostate (look it up).
>
>Christians of many different backgrounds accept the basic validity
>of each other's faith and doctrine.

Yeah?  Christians may accept "each other's faith and doctrine", but first
they have to exclude people they think aren't Christian, and then this
becomes a tautology: I accept as Christian the beliefs of people I accept
as Christian.
-- 

		Ken Arnold
=================================================================
Of COURSE we can implement your algorithm.  We've got this Turing
machine emulator...