Joseph

There is no actual scientific proof that God does not exist, thus Atheists are actually on the same footing that the various Christian groups they commonly attack like Mormons, Catholics and such, and their claims that God does not exist really amount to a declaration of belief, and thus it is their religion.

So if they are a religion (though not a formally organized one) then shouldn't they be held to the same standards of the Separation of Church and State that many of them are trying to push onto the various religions in America?

Is there anyone who can give me any reason why their religious beliefs should not be held to the same standards that they try to impose onto other religions, or give me a solid explanation for why Atheism should not be considered a religion aside from the idea that there is no formal atheist churches (that I know of)?

If Atheism were to be classified a religion then to settle the separation of Church and State debate Government would really have to step back and tell people, "I am sorry but you will have to settle this debate yourself."

Additionally do you think that recognizing Atheism as a religion would help create a situation where people on both sides of this debate would have to stop and ask themselves "How can I best get my point across while still respecting others beliefs?"

There is no actual scientific proof that God does not exist, thus Atheists are actually on the same footing that the various Christian groups they commonly attack like Mormons, Catholics and such, and their claims that God does not exist really amount to a declaration of belief, and thus it is their religion.

So if they are a religion (though not a formally organized one) then shouldn't they be held to the same standards of the Separation of Church and State that many of them are trying to push onto the various religions in America?

Is there anyone who can give me any reason why their religious beliefs should not be held to the same standards that they try to impose onto other religions, or give me a solid explanation for why Atheism should not be considered a religion aside from the idea that there is no formal atheist churches (that I know of)?

I am a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormon) and in my beliefs the Atonement of Jesus Christ plays just as much of a role in the lives of those who came before Christ as it does for those who came after.

Recently I have found out that there are at least some Christians who seem to believe that only those who came after Christ performed the Atonement benefit from it.

Is this really the case?

Is this why many Christians believe that we do not need to obey the commandments?

Because we being treated better by God than those who came before Christ?

I am not trying to attack anyone or any faith, I am simply trying to understand. This is NOT a question about whether or not Mormons are Christian so please do not bring it up.

Any derogatory comments or attacks on anyone's faith will be reported.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful and polite answers

If you were to use various science fiction terms and ideas how would you describe the location of heaven?

Is it in some other dimension or what?

Tell me about where heaven is located.

If we are going to be going there some day then it must be located somewhere, so tell me what do you understand about its location.

I realize that the proper description for where heaven is located might not exist and if that is the case then just use the best description you can imagine.

I have heard a little about the idea on how Mormon's supposedly believe that Blacks were cursed and that because of that curse Blacks could not hold the Priesthood. I have read the scripture passages that people claim it comes from and from what I can tell that idea is nothing more than speculation.

However on the other hand if you look in the Book of Mormon then there is no room for speculation on the idea that Mormons, (or Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) believe that some of the ancestors of the Native Americans were cursed by God.

So if what critics of the Mormons claim is true and Mormons banned blacks from the priesthood because of a curse that was placed on their ancestors, then why is it that the Native Americans were never banned from the priesthood.

Mormons will tell you that they do not have a reason for why the Blacks were banned from the priesthood.

Their critics will tell you that it is because they believe blacks were cursed.

However I am not seeing how that can be when Native Americans were never banned from the Priesthood.

Does anyone have an explanation for this?

I welcome any polite, respectable answer.

The History of Blacks and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as told by blacks.

http://www.blacklds.org/

So you know that you are going to heaven, I would have to agree that most of us will be going to heaven. However where will you be in haven, and what will you be doing for the rest of eternity when you get to heaven?

I have a question directed towards those who claim that I, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, am part of a cult.

I would like to know exactly what you have in mind when you make those kind of accusations.

So if you could please explain this to me. Let's assume that you are talking to someone who has never once heard the word cult used.

Please do not bother quoting some dictionary, because the definitions you will find in a dictionary could include any church anywhere on the planet. Additionally I would like to hear what it means to you not to someone like Webster's.

I ask this because as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormon's) I have been repetitively accused of being not a true Christian, or of being part of a cult, and the one commonality that all of the accusations have is relating to the idea that because I believe that I must obey the God that I worship (aka works) I will be sent to hell. And also because of that belief I cannot be worshiping the real Christ.

A passage from the Bible has recently come to my mind that has me wondering what Evangelicals, or any other Christian sect, will say about it relating to this subject.

In James 2:19 we read (in most any English translation) that demons have faith in God. James brings this concept up as part of a discourse on the need to keep the commandments (aka works).

http://bible.cc/james/2-19.htm

http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/james/2.19?lang=eng#1...

So my question is if faith alone saves, and the servants of Satan have enough knowledge and belief in God to fear and tremble and thus recognize His authority then are they saved, or is James lying or wrong in his statement about the faith of devils?

From my perspective faith is hope put into action, so I personally see no conflict in the idea of faith verses works, I see them as part of the same whole.

PS. Please keep this respectful. I will report any copy and paste rants that attack my faith and any answer that does not make any actual attempt to answer my question. Thank you in advance for your civility and maturity.

I am NOT looking for a list of doctrinal disagreements. This is NOT a question about beliefs. This is a question about motivations.

I want to know why you apply different qualifications to the idea of being a Christian depending on what person or group you are talking about.

I want to know why it is that when asked the question, "What is a Christian?" They will almost unanimously answer, "Someone who has accepted Christ as their Savior." But when the subject of Mormons (or more properly, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is brought up that simple 8 word answer frequently turns into an hour long discussion about the various problems that the "Christian" has with the Mormon's beliefs.

The Mormon will frequently spend that hour trying to help the "Christian" see what he or she actually believes, because easily 90% of what the "Christian" will have problems with is so far from the truth about what our beliefs actually are that it is almost laughable.

Frequently the discussion will end with the "Christian" claiming that the Mormon does not know anything about his or her own religion, and often times that accusation is made without knowing how much the Mormon may or may not actually study their own beliefs.

So again I am NOT looking for a list of our doctrines that you have problems with. I do not care to hear them. I have probably heard whatever you might bring up enough to have it memorized anyway. I am trying to understand the reason why you will answer with a simple 8 word answer in one case and in another case answer by starting a discussion about the various problems you have with that groups beliefs.

There is a piece of music that I heard a while ago and really loved but I cannot remember the name. I have been trying to find the performance I originally heard it at but to no avail. So I am hoping that some one here might be able to help me. I originally just went about my life but this particular piece of music has recently started to pop into my mind and I would really love to listen to it again but I can not find it.

The performance was by the Orchestra at Temple Square several years ago, but I am not so much interested in finding that as I am the name of the particular piece.

As I said above I do not know the name of it but the piece, when played in its entirety is a little long (I think about 15 minutes but I am not sure). When I first heard it performed the director said that everyone had heard this particular piece and at first laughed at the idea (because at the time I had not listed to much classical music). I do not remember where I had heard it from but I relay that bit in hopes that it will help some one identify it.

The piece repeats the same short beat over and over through its entirety. When it first starts off it has one instrument that is playing the simple beat but then starts to slowly add more and more instruments until it eventually involves the entire Orchestra. I remember that it was written a long time ago but cannot remember the person who wrote it.

I am sure that it would be somewhere on Youtube, but with how little I remember about the piece it seems next to impossible for me to find it. So if you think you know what the name of this particular piece is if you could give e a link on Youtube that would be really helpful for me being sure you have the right one. If you happen to know exactly what I am talking about (if that is possible) then just the name of the piece and perhaps its composer would be fine. I would not be surprised if I were to recognize it when I see the name but I am not sure.

Thank you in advance for your efforts.

Any time I try to do an advanced search on answers to find some questions to answer it will not let me just search for new questions. Instead it gives me every question ever asked on the subject. Even if I select both open questions, and questions asked within the past 7 days, I still get questions from 2 years ago.

Does anyone know what is happening?

I am not completely sure what category this question should go in because of the type of answer I seek but I decided to settle on the Religion and Spirituality section because of it's nature.

I would first like to state that I am NOT looking for a list of doctrinal differences, a list of our doctrines that you disagree with, or a list of our beliefs you think are strange. In 10 years I have never heard a new reason. I could of had them memorized if I had wanted to.

What I want to know is why is it that When asked for a definition of what a Christian is the answer is simply stated "You need to believe in Jesus Christ", unless you are asked about whether members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (AKA Mormons) are Christian, and then the answer given can, and frequently does turn into a hour long discussion?

What is the difference?

Why is it that you do not state when simply asked "What is a Christian?" that you are Christian if you believe in Jesus Christ unless you ...?

I am asking this because to me the only answer I can come to is that prejudiced is the under-riding motive. I would like to find otherwise but I cannot come to any other conclusions. One of the reasons for this conclusion is the fact that of all of the doctrinal disagreements I have heard easily 90% of them are misconstrued in some way. Another reason is that most of the people I have ran into have seemed to be so full of hate that they seemed almost to be reciting something they had been brainwashed with. I have ran into a couple of people that were not that way but from my experience they seem to be in the minority.

Have I just ran into a bad group of people or are my perceptions correct about the majority those who view members of my faith as not being Christian?

I am looking for non-LDS responses on this question so please only answer if you are going to relay something you heard from a non-member on this subject.

And again I am NOT looking for a list of doctrinal differences, a list of our doctrines that you disagree with, or a list of our beliefs you think are strange. I am looking for the reason why it is you answer differently in to two questions mentioned above.

Sorry about the length of the question but I knew of no other way to make sure that people knew what I was looking for.

I have heard lots of people saying that Mormons do not know anything about the bible, and I was directed to an article that was posed on the Washington Post web site:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic...

that details a book that talks about how little American Christians actually know about the bible, and I started wondering how many of you Christians that criticize members of the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their supposed lack of understanding of the Bible actually read it on a regular basis? I am not talking about just on Sundays or when you go to go to some Bible study class but actually take time out of your daily schedule and read the bible on your own time. How often have you actually read out of the Bible what you are condemning us for? How Many of you have actually read the whole bible even once through?

This is not an attempt to criticize you in any way, but only an attempt to better understand you.

Holding the dog down is a big problem. He is a Great Pyrnese/Great Mastiff cross. Translation he is really big. He ways about 200 pounds, and stands around the hight of a Great Dane. If anyone knows a way to get the quills out as painlessly as possible I would be in your debt. Thank you.

I was watching the press conference about the Jesus family Tomb. and I was caught by surprise when they mentioned the results of the probability of all of the names on the caskets, or whatever they called them, was something like 2,000,000 to 1 and based on that and other things they decided that they had found the actual tomb of Jesus of Nazareth.

Yet if you were to look at the statistical probability of things like the theory of evolution, and the big bang theory being accurate if you factor in all the variables then you are looking at billions or trillions or even more to 1 of a chance that things could have happened as they think it did.

How can they so quickly accept that they have found a unique tomb that could have a drastic effect on the Christian community? Yet they are so hesitant to even think of the idea that the theories that their colleagues have conceived of could be wrong. It seams to me that the scientists are going more off of faith than those who believe in God.