• Art48
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    Here’s a thought experiment for Christians. Suppose you somehow became convinced that Christianity is false. Suppose you came to believe that Jesus was just a man. How would you proceed? What would you do? Make a choice and explain why.
    1. This is ridiculous. Christianity IS true and that’s all there is to it. I’m not doing this silly thought experiment. Count me out. (No further explanation needed.)
    2. I would become an atheist.
    3. I would search for a God that isn’t false.
    4. None of the above. I would do something else.
  • Deleted User
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  • Art48
    500
    OK. Edited. "proceed" it is.
  • unenlightened
    10k
    Here’s a thought experiment for Christians.Art48

    I'm not a Christian, except by cultural heritage. But moving on...

    ...that Christianity is false. Suppose you came to believe that Jesus was just a man.Art48

    These are two very different questions. but let me ask you, are you "just a man"?

    I assume that Jesus was just a man, but most men are not still thought about two millennia later so that "just" is having to work rather hard and looks a bit suspect. Hitler too was 'just a man'.

    Nazism is false; Christianity is not. Do you want to even think about or discuss what it means to love your enemies or die for another's sins? And can such things be "false"?
  • jgill
    4k
    I suppose I am still a Christian, though I have not been to church for a long, long time. Thinking of Jesus as a man makes no difference. His teachings are important. So, number 4.
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  • jgill
    4k
    To be Christian, you need to believe that Jesus Christ is divine and died for usLionino

    Unitarian Christians?
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  • wonderer1
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    Modern Unitarians are as Christian as Mormons, which are not. Ancient unitarians are something else, which why we don't simply call them "Christian", but a modifier comes before.Lionino

    I'm inclined to leave arguing about who is truly a Christian, to those who want to call themselves Christians. It's not as if there exists some essence of True Christian.
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  • BitconnectCarlos
    2.8k


    I'm somewhat of a Christian but I'll still answer.

    I'd stick to classical theism in the Abrahamic tradition. That would leave me with either Judaism or Islam. I suspect many Christians become Muslims under this thought experiment. At least in Islam he is a prophet.
  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    To be Christian, you need to believe that Jesus Christ is divine and died for us. Mormons aren't Christian, neither are Kardecists.Lionino

    wait, but Mormons believe both of those things (can't say I know about the Kardashians though).

    From the horses mouth:

    Mormons believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again so that all humankind could be resurrected and one day return to live with a loving Heavenly Father.

    https://ph.churchofjesuschrist.org/do-mormons-believe-in-jesus-christ#:~:text=Mormons%20believe%20that%20Jesus%20Christ%20died%20on%20the%20cross%20and,sacrifice%2C%20a%20lamb%20without%20blemish.

    We believe Jesus is the Son of God the Father and as such inherited powers of godhood and divinity from His Father

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/what-mormons-believe-about-jesus-christ
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  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    the way you presented it it seemed like thats what you were saying. if it's not, what are you saying?
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  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    It's really, really weird that you'd list two reasons to disqualify a religion from being christian, and then say mormons aren't christian, and NOT mean "they aren't christian for this reason". I'm still mind-boggled by that. It's like you're trying to be misunderstood.

    Everything you said in this most recent post seems very wishy washy. "They aren't christian because I don't feel like it". That's how it comes across.
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  • flannel jesus
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    It doesn't seem like you have looked a lot into Mormonism.Lionino

    I know more about Mormonism than most Mormons do.
  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    But besides that, if the two were connected, I would put an em dash between the two, not a periodLionino

    That's not how most people use punctuation - they can string together related thoughts within a paragraph, separated by periods; that's normal.
  • 180 Proof
    16.4k
    Suppose you somehow became convinced that Christianity is false.Art48
    Raised & educated by strict Roman Catholics, I'd reach this conclusion by senior year in my Jesuit high school (though my apostasy had begun two years earlier).

    Suppose you came to believe that Jesus was just a man. How would you proceed?
    In the late 1970s I'd critically compared his purported teachings to that of others like Socrates, Epicurus, Buddha, Laozi, Kongzi ... who were also "just men" and had found Yeshua ben Yosef far less compelling.

    What would you do?
    I'd become a freethinker and naturalist / anti-supernaturalist; then had for years studied comparative religion and religious histories on my own; all the while growing more secular, even irreligious, from apostate to weak athiest to strong atheist by the mid 1990s to antitheist (with strong speculative affinities for pandeism) about two decades ago.

    Make a choice and explain why.
    1. This is ridiculous. Christianity IS true and that’s all there is to it. I’m not doing this silly thought experiment. Count me out. (No further explanation needed.)
    2. I would become an atheist.
    3. I would search for a God that isn’t false.
    4. None of the above. I would do something else.
    Well, as sketched above, my path had been from 4 through 3 to 2. :halo:
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  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    I don't see how that relates to what you are replyingLionino

    I know an awful lot about mormonism, you're being silly.

    Matter of fact, my usage of punctuation is refined and aims for clarity.Lionino

    If you don't expect people to think that you mean Mormons aren't Christian for the reason you stated, you are failing at the goal you're aiming for. By a large margin.
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  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    Everybody knows an awful lot about any given topic they are talking about...Lionino

    do you have any intention to stop being silly?
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  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    you said it doesn't seem like i know a lot about mormonism. I'm not just saying it randomly, YOU brought up the topic of how much I know about mormonism. You're incorrect about how much I know about mormonism.

    You are being silly. You aren't giving any coherent arguments about why mormonism isn't christian. You're just saying a bunch of other random silly stuff.
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  • flannel jesus
    2.9k
    What are you talking about?

    You haven't made an argument that they're not christian. Your failure to make an argument proves you wrong, not what i know.

    If you had a coherent argument to make, you'd have made it by now. Instead you blather on with silliness. You're not correct.
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