Comparing St. Paul and Joseph Smith

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DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
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Perhaps you should read up a bit more on Joseph Smith and just how it was that he wrote the book of Mormon... Or, just watch the Southpark episode; they were fairly accurate. There are some wacky things that Christians believe... like Moses parting the Red Sea... However, even I find that more probable than the events that surrounded Joseph Smith.
 

uhohs

Diamond Member
Oct 29, 2005
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paul didn't have magical spectacles, reformed egyptian heiroglyphics (no such thing), golden tablets created by a lost tribe of israel living in the americas, celestial marriage, etc. oh yeah, paul didn't try counterfeiting US currency either.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
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Originally posted by: uhohs
paul didn't have magical spectacles, reformed egyptian heiroglyphics (no such thing), golden tablets created by a lost tribe of israel living in the americas, celestial marriage, etc. oh yeah, paul didn't try counterfeiting US currency either.

Yeah, that's pretty much why most Christians don't believe Joseph Smith. Give me rain for 40 days and an ark filled with animals anytime :p :)
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
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Originally posted by: joshsquall
Originally posted by: meltdown75
interesting stuff. thanks for the reply. so he became an apostle of sorts after his meeting with Jesus? or was he an official apostle after that?

He was basically official after meeting with the original apostles and telling them his story.

Many people argue that Paul made Christianity into something it wasn't meant to be. He was the one who first wrote of the idea that Jesus died for the sins of mankind. He created the idea of redemption and of grace. The original apostles basically wanted an extension of Judaism, which included believing in the Messiah. They even wanted to keep Jewish law, such as kosher food laws. Paul created Christianity to appeal to the masses of gentiles.

Interesting. In a way, it sounds like Paul cheapened the idea of Christianity (or even made it up).
 

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
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Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?
 

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
18
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Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?

I am not religious but Paul is from biblical times and the Mormon religion is less than 200 years old....so it is a cult. Mormons act like a cult too.
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
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Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?

I am not religious but Paul is from biblical times and the Mormon religion is less than 200 years old....so it is a cult. Mormons act like a cult too.

Bad argument. The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of followers. Just because Paul was from Biblical times doesn't make him any less a potential fruitcake.
 

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
18
81
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?

I am not religious but Paul is from biblical times and the Mormon religion is less than 200 years old....so it is a cult. Mormons act like a cult too.

Bad argument. The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of followers. Just because Paul was from Biblical times doesn't make him any less a potential fruitcake.

I'm not tying to make an argument. I have dealt with plenty of Mormons. They are whacko and annoying from my perspective....much more so than your average Christian who is really religious. They look like a cult, they act like a cult......
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
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Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?

I am not religious but Paul is from biblical times and the Mormon religion is less than 200 years old....so it is a cult. Mormons act like a cult too.

Bad argument. The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of followers. Just because Paul was from Biblical times doesn't make him any less a potential fruitcake.

I'm not tying to make an argument. I have dealt with plenty of Mormons. They are whacko and annoying from my perspective....much more so than your average Christian who is really religious. They look like a cult, they act like a cult......

How so? Because they're super nice?
 

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
18
81
Originally posted by: Looney
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?

I am not religious but Paul is from biblical times and the Mormon religion is less than 200 years old....so it is a cult. Mormons act like a cult too.

Bad argument. The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of followers. Just because Paul was from Biblical times doesn't make him any less a potential fruitcake.

I'm not tying to make an argument. I have dealt with plenty of Mormons. They are whacko and annoying from my perspective....much more so than your average Christian who is really religious. They look like a cult, they act like a cult......

How so? Because they're super nice?

They are super NAIVE.....telltale sign of a cult. :D
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
0
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Looney
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?

I am not religious but Paul is from biblical times and the Mormon religion is less than 200 years old....so it is a cult. Mormons act like a cult too.

Bad argument. The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of followers. Just because Paul was from Biblical times doesn't make him any less a potential fruitcake.

I'm not tying to make an argument. I have dealt with plenty of Mormons. They are whacko and annoying from my perspective....much more so than your average Christian who is really religious. They look like a cult, they act like a cult......

How so? Because they're super nice?

They are super NAIVE.....telltale sign of a cult. :D

The entire story of Joseph Smith and the Mormons are simply RIDICULOUS. I can't believe any intelligent person can take that as real, and to think there's hundreds of thousands if not millions of them just boggles my mind. But in my view, it's not much different than most mainstream religion either. It's as unbelievable as a woman giving a virgin birth to the son of God.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
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www.slatebrookfarm.com
Insomuch as the Mormon religion guides the values and actions of its members, it's actually a pretty good religion. Its members seem happy, they treat others well, and in the end, that's what it's all about.
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
Originally posted by: Looney
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Looney
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: Ronstang
Joseph Smith was a complete whacko who simply wanted to start a new religion and claimed whatever he had to in order to get followers. It is amazing that people are still that stupid. Mormons are nothing more than a cult that has been legitimized.

Is that same point not arguable about Paul?

I am not religious but Paul is from biblical times and the Mormon religion is less than 200 years old....so it is a cult. Mormons act like a cult too.

Bad argument. The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of followers. Just because Paul was from Biblical times doesn't make him any less a potential fruitcake.

I'm not tying to make an argument. I have dealt with plenty of Mormons. They are whacko and annoying from my perspective....much more so than your average Christian who is really religious. They look like a cult, they act like a cult......

How so? Because they're super nice?

They are super NAIVE.....telltale sign of a cult. :D

The entire story of Joseph Smith and the Mormons are simply RIDICULOUS. I can't believe any intelligent person can take that as real, and to think there's hundreds of thousands if not millions of them just boggles my mind. But in my view, it's not much different than most mainstream religion either. It's as unbelievable as a woman giving a virgin birth to the son of God.

On the face of it, Jesus' "resurrection" isn't exactly credible either. Is there any independent evidence to support it besides Paul's account? (And it's arguable that Paul set out to found a religion, so he himself would not then be a credible witness.)
 

DAGTA

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,172
1
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Paul gets more support than Joseph Smith because the things Paul said and claimed can be linked back to Jesus' own words. As far as I can tell, Joseph Smith said a lot of things that do not correlate with Jesus' teachings.

Jesus' resurrection had many more witnesses than Paul. Reading the four gospel books (Mark, Matthew, Luke, John) will give you most of the story.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,677
6,250
126
OP makes a good point. Many probably said the same of Paul/Christianity way back when.

Paul was sent and dedicated to the purpose of destroying the Cult of Chistianity. Part of me thinks he found the ultimate way: Take control of it and use it, steer it away from direct competition with traditional Jewish Religion. IMO, Pauls writing should be torn out of the New Testament, it distracts from the all important writings/observations about Jesus.
 

jEnus

Senior member
Jun 22, 2004
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Mormonism is a a form of Christianity, just like Catholicism, Baptistism, Lutheranism.

Chris·ti·an·i·ty Audio pronunciation of "christianity" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (krsch-n-t, krst-)
n.

1. The Christian religion, founded on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. Christians as a group; Christendom.
3. The state or fact of being a Christian.
4. pl. Chris·ti·an·i·ties A particular form or sect of the Christian religion: the Christianities of antiquity
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
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On the face of it, Jesus' "resurrection" isn't exactly credible either. Is there any independent evidence to support it besides Paul's account? (And it's arguable that Paul set out to found a religion, so he himself would not then be a credible witness.)

Well yeah, that's exactly what i mean. They're just calling it a 'cult' because it doesn't fit into their view, but that doesn't mean it's not a valid religion to the Mormons... that they don't get as much out of it as Catholics out of Catholicism.