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From: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (Dan Boskovich)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Mormons
Message-ID: <338@scgvaxd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Jun-85 15:25:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: scgvaxd.338
Posted: Thu Jun  6 15:25:41 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Jun-85 04:04:13 EDT
References: <1922@decwrl.UUCP> <80@zinfan.UUCP> <322@scgvaxd.UUCP> <953@trwatf.UUCP>
Reply-To: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE)
Organization: Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 69
Summary: 

In article <953@trwatf.UUCP> root@trwatf.UUCP (Lord Frith) writes:
>
>Confusion?  Just the opposite I should think!  If God spoke to each man
>and then confirmed his word with some specific sign or wonder then each
>man would be his own revelation and his own prophet.  The truth would
>be known!  In fact, that's how God seems to work today.  It just takes
>some perception to "see" God and his personal revelation.  Sorry if
>that sounds like an electronic preacher talking.

  And if I ask God to confirm that what I am doing is right (lets say I
  want to divorce my wife) by a specific sign (make the lights go off)
  and there is suddenly a power outage......   Yes, Confusion!
  I could have looked in Gods word to find that God hates divorce but
  allows it under specific circumstances. And that men are to love their
  wives as Christ loved the church...that is, UNCONDITIONALY! etc. etc.
  But rather, I sought personal revelation which ended up in confusion!

>Personal revelation is the only sure-fire way for each man to confirm, for
>himself, that there is indeed a God.  And what if one cannot believe his
>own perceptions?  Just talk to your fellow man and compare notes with him.
>If you find similarities in experiences, then you will have adequate
>justification and evidence.
>

  This opens the door to every nut with a so-called revelation from God.
  Using this logic, how could we dispute a Jim Jones or the nut who
  killed his child because God told him the child would rise from the
  dead.

  Every modern prophet has a new revelation that completly contradicts
  the others. Are you saying that God actually gave personal revelation
  to Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, Watchtower, Armstrong, etc.

  Which one is right? Are they all right?

  I think there is a better way. God gave us all the Revelation we need
  in the Bible. The Holy Spirit confirms this to us and leads us along
  using Gods written word as a guideline. We don't need revelation from
  God to tell us which house to buy or which job to take. We are capable
  of making rational decisions for ourselves with the mind that God gave us.
  The scriptures can serve as a guideline for all of our daily decisions.
  For example, I wouldn't take a job as a male stripper because I believe
  God's word clearly teaches that that would be sinful. He doesn't have
  to tell me that in a dream!

>Looking at the proliferation of religious sects and interpretations
>within Christianity today I see a lot more confusion than there needs
>to be.  That's what happens when you have a revelation given to a
>specific few...  differing interpretations of "THE TRVTH."  Why it's
>the Tower of Babel all over again!

 Wrong! Thats what happens when you add to that Revelation!
 Denominational difference are minute compared to those who have subscribed
 to another source of authority.

>Indeed the best justification is the method scientists use today to confirm
>their findings.  Instead of the tests being repeatable and verifiable, we
>have experience with God being a daily occurance that is verifiable amongst
>ourselves.  But woe unto he that interprets his own needs and concerns as
>those of God.

  The best way to confirm Christianity is to read God's word, believe it,
  then experience it in your own life. The bible talks about man's spiritual
  longing, his guilt over sin, and Gods forgiveness in Christ. What better
  way to confirm Gods word than to experience all of these in your own
  life.


					      Dan