Any so-called Christian that reads from the NIV should stop going to church... stop calling themselves Christian and just accept Satan as their true lord and master. Seriously... how can you read and trust something translated by man when your very Bible strictly prohibits this? They did a *lot* more than change the thy's and thou's to 'common' pronouns... they twisted many controversial verses, made the Bible less contradictory and ironed out any theological wrinkles they could find. Who gave them the right to fuck with God's(my) word?
Show me proof of this claim Vonk. And by proof I don't mean a cut & paste of a google search you did for "NIV changes the bible" websites written by some kook. NIV did exactly what you said they didn't just do... to remove and replace pronouns to make it easier to read. They did not remove anything other than that. We have three different Bibles here and they all say the same thing, except for a couple different words which change no meaning whatsoever.
At least the Catholics Mormons believe that God(I) gave them the right =p. You can't even fall back on 'faith' this time... or, do you believe the committee of ten 'NIV translators' were Called by God? You NIV people say that it's alright for someone to go to school for 6 years, pass a fairly easy course (all History/Mythology curriculums are a joke), graduate with a degree in "theology" (haw!) and then go about altering the gospels. A course... taught by man... teaching doctrine that was invented by man... changing the word that you believe came from God. That's fucked up.
The fact that Catholics and Mormons believe that God gave them the right to change, add, or preach anything other than what is in the Bible, should throw up a huge red flag for anybody. And if you think that getting a PhD in Theology is a just a walk in the park, then that shows me what little you know about it. (That, or you have a 250IQ and any university curricula is a joke to you).
I have a much better time hearing the Mormons and Catholics say, "well, I have faith that our prophet/pope speaks to God and was ordained and given permission to change the scripture." But, you don't even get the 'faith' card... do you have a spiritual faith connection with Baylor's Theology program? You realize that they also teach Hindu?
I guess they also teach child-molestation at a Catholic ordainment. I wouldn't trust those bastards are far as I can throw them. Over 4,000 Catholic "priests" have been officially charged with "lewdness with a minor child" charge, and that number is growing. The Roman Catholic Church is nothing more than a Satanic cult. I've never even heard of Baylor's, so that tells me something about them. If I were to get a degree in Theology I'd either go to Westmont, PUC, SAU, or Andrew's University... all well-known for their theological degree programs.
Mindia wrote:
They don't teach any weird doctrine or outlandish and far-fetched ideas.
That's because they are taught by a bunch of pussies. Take a stand you lazy motherfucker! Preach how YOU believe the Bible intended it... I swear... there must be pamphlets on how to teach in a 'politically-correct' world. Oh boo hoo... we don't know the mysteries of the Bible because it's just too deep for us... so, just believe in it. Are people of African descent 'cursed' by the punishment of Cain? Yes? Whoops, there goes half your congregation... better go back and read the 'How to be a pussy non-denominational pastor' booklets.
THEY DO TAKE A STAND! If anything, they are the new Martin Luthers of the world. I will explain to you momentarily how incredibly wrong the Catholics are, and how the non-denominational Christian churches go against the grain of the largest religion in the world.
Non-Denominational Christian churches are a complete contradiction. They either believe what the Pastor's personal interpretation of the Bible or they read from the same 'pussy preacher' manual as the supposed 'non-denominational' church down the street. It seems to me that Christ set a VERY CLEAR set of rules to follow... Baptism by immersion... sacrament blessed and sanctified... repentance of sins... faith AND works needed to reach heaven... central figure at the head of the church... goat sacrifices... etc. Why do people have to throw such bullshit ideas like "We can't dance," or "we can't go to Doctors" into the mix?
They are not a complete contradiction. Have you even been inside a non-denominational Christian church and listened to the sermon? They teach only what Jesus taught. No additions. No subtractions. No ommissions. And definitely no turning or twisting of Biblical fact. They teach that you must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, that you should get a full-immersion baptism, to admit to God that you are a sinner and to ask for forgiveness. I don't know which denominations you're talking about in regards to not being able to dance or go to doctors.
Here's my church: http://www.lakesidechurch.com They are non-denominational. Show me, in their beliefs, that they stray from what Jesus taught. Then while you're at it, go to http://www.http://www.seventh-dayadventist.org ... index.html and show me where the Adventists stray from what Jeus teaches us. I added this one because we worship there on the Sabbath too.
Basically, you say that you have 'issues' with the JW's, Catholics and Mormons. I would answer that you probably know less about these three faiths than Leadaira knows about politics. If you followed your own advice and took the time to learn about these sects, you'd probably walk away with a lot more respect than you currently have for them.
I'll start with why I have a problem with the Catholics. First of all, I have to state that I think many, many Catholics are like blind sheep who never even open a Bible and read it. They just go because they born into it, and it's their tradition to attend church every Easter and Christmas. If you are well-versed with the Bible then you would know that the Roman Catholic church doctrine teaches "extra-Biblical" idealogies. Let's start with the Nicene Creed. It all sounds good up until the line, "We believe in the Holy Catholic Church." STOP! Jesus is the only one who is Holy. A church is not Holy. I've been to a Catholic Mass with friends on about 5 or 6 occaisions. I've witnessed their form of Baptism. They baptize by pouring water over your head. And I'm not talking about infant dedication. I'm talking about full-grown adults bent over backwards over a bowl while the "priest" pours water over their head in 3 separate pourings... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches full body immersion baptism. To the best of my knowledge, and from what I've personally witnessed, they do not do that. The Roman Catholic church changed the true Bible Sabbath worship day (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) to Sunday. They do this to honor the resurrection of Christ. A grand gesture for sure, but there again... God did not say to worship on that day. He said to remember the Sabbath Day, and to keep it Holy. It's very black and white. Then they teach all this Mariology and they also bow down and pray to sculptures of Mary. The Bible clearly states "Do not worship any idols." What's a Catholic church full of? That's right... idols and sculptures of Mary holding the infant Jesus. Once again, a grand gesture, but it goes AGAINST what the Bible teaches. Now let's talk about confession. The Catholics believe that you can do whatever you want, and then go to confession and you're automatically absolved of your sins. Who gave a "priest" the right to take the form of God, momentarily, to listen to the sins of a person and absolve them in a little booth? Nobody. God certainly didn't authorize this blasphemous act. The Bible states to confess your sins to God. You do this through prayer while having a one-on-one conversation with God, not through some "priest."
How about the Pope? Pope Shmope. The Pope believes that he has the authority to take on the roll of Jesus in the modern day. Yes, he actually believes he is the living the life of Christ. What a moron. Show me in the Bible where it says that in the future, a man will be authorized to emulate the Christ Jesus. On the contrary, the Bible says that there will come many false prophets. The Pope fits this description of a false prophet like a hand to a glove. Now about communion... A non-Catholic church knows that communion is symbolic and is in remembrance of the Last Supper and Jesus' last evening with His disciples. Catholics believe that the "priest" is actually converting the wafer (which is actually suppposed to be bread, not some little disc that melts as soon as hits your tongue) into the body of Christ, and that the wine is converted into the actual blood of Christ. Even more BLASPHEMY. Another thing I'd like to point out about the Catholics is their belief in purgatory. The Bible says absolutely nothing about a "purgatory" or anything of the sort. Once again, when you're dead you're dead. That's it. Once you die you remain in that state of unconsciousness until the second coming of Christ when He comes again to judge the living and the dead. This is clearly taught in the Bible. (Ecclesiates 9:5, Psalms 146:3-4, John 11:11-14, Col 3:3-4, 1 Corinth 15:51-54, Thess. 4:13-17, John 5:28, 29, Rev. 20:1-10.) I think that Catholic people have their hearts in the right place, but they are walking on thin ice with all their "extra-Biblical" (meaning, not in the Bible) beliefs and acts. The Roman Catholic church is arrogant. Couple this arrogancy with their practices = a very misleading and dangerous cult. I believe the antichrist will arise out of the Catholic church some time in the near future. They are well on their way already.
Now about the Mormons. When Jesus rose again on the third day He stuck around for 40 days and continued to teach the disciples and empowered them with the gift of tongues so they may go out amongst the different lands and preach the gospel to the people of those lands in their own native tongue. He also empowered them with the Holy Spirit to continue miraculous signs and works to all who believe in Him. Mormons believe that when Jesus rose again, that He went to the Americas. Funny how there's nothing about that in the Bible. If He was to go to the Americas to teach He most certainly would have informed His disciples about that. And who was in the Americas 2000 years ago? Native Americans. Did they believe in Jesus? No. They believed in many different Gods. There's kind of proof right there that Jesus didn't go to the Americas to teach. I have a friend who is a mormon, and he tells me about what goes on in some of those rooms within a mormon temple. The LDS church is nothing but another cult. They talk to the dead through a live person. This is a satanic act, and is most certainly not authorized in the Bible. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are two of the most misleading and twisted individuals who walked the planet over the last couple hundred years. I will open my Bible and go toe-to-toe with any Mormon and prove that their practices and the "Book of Mormon" are nothing but blasphemous. You think I should have respect for the Mormons and the Catholics? You're on glue my friend.
Also... I would bet that 99% of every 18 year old Mormon knows the Bible a hell of a lot better than almost any other 18 year old out there =p. Try winning a bible-bash with a Mormon. If they are willing participants (instead of the common: pussy turn-the-other-cheek faggotry), they'll likely stomp you into the ground. You gain respect for these people not only for their knowledge of the Bible... but their knowledge of their OWN faith. Probably less than 10% of the average Catholic and 5% of every Baptist would know the difference between David and Joseph. Mormons keep up with that history, plus their own Book of Mormon history =p. Ask a Mormon what he believes in, boom... he tells you. Ask a Baptist what makes him different from a Presbyterian and he'll probably start crying.
Bring forth any mormon to this board... I don't care if he/she is 18 or 80. I will prove they are full of crap and we'll see who will stomp who into the ground with Biblical fact.