When you say I have to accept “the Nicene Creed” to be Christian, could you be more specific?
Do you mean the creed produced in A.D. 325 at a council convened by the Roman emperor Constantine, who was trying to settle the Arian controversy and preserve unity in his empire?
Or do you mean the version most Christians actually recite today, which comes from A.D. 381, when another Roman emperor, Theodosius I, convened the First Council of Constantinople to settle further disputes and more fully define the doctrine of the Holy Spirit?
Because that seems like a pretty important distinction.
One was created under Constantine, a Roman emperor with no priesthood authority, whose interest in Christianity was inseparable from his interest in imperial stability.
The other was expanded under Theodosius, another Roman emperor who used state power to enforce religious uniformity.
And somehow I’m supposed to believe that my faith in Jesus Christ is invalid unless I accept the theological conclusions of emperor-sponsored councils held centuries after Christ and His apostles?
You are free to trust those councils, led by rulers of the same empire that crucified Christ.
But please stop pretending that your post-biblical, politically entangled, imperial committee language is simply “biblical truth.”
And stop acting like you have the authority to decide who is and is not Christian based on a person’s willingness to pledge allegiance to Rome’s preferred definition of the Divine.
@FlyingHowitzer@NathanielGivens Which version? 😉 No serious Christian believes we have the original manuscripts - just collections of copies and translations over millennia. Translations LDS members study, understand, and believe.
I don't like debating theology, but a word of warning to evangelicals: the more y'all push a theology debate with Latter-day Saints into the public eye, the less you might like the outcome.
1. Mormons, per several surveys, read the Bible and know the Bible more than most Christians 2. If they were just following carnal desires…they would be the most hedonistic group. And that’s clearly not the case 3. If you’re going to argue against a faith, at least be serious.
NEW RELEASE: What Do Mormons Believe?
Did Jesus visit the Americas after the Resurrection? In this episode of Theological, host @ShabbosK sits down with Santa Clarita stake president Michael Stanley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to discuss the Book of Mormon’s most surprising claims—and answers the biggest misconceptions about Mormonism.