Submitted by Bot, Apr 27, 2007 06:54

One thing the documentary is unlikely to cover is the Church's similarity to First through Third Century Christians.

Protestants and Catholics subscribe to the Nicene creed, which was initiated by the Emperor Constantine in the Fourth Century to rid Scriptures of the Apocrypha, which made reference to the oral traditions of Jewish and early Christian temple worship.

First Century Christian churches, in fact, continued the Jewish temple worship traditions:
1) Baptism of youth (not infants) by immersion by the father of the family
2) Lay clergy
3) Anointing with holy oil after baptism
4) Then clothing in white clothing

The Israeli Museum has a reconstruction of a First Century Christian Church, and the above is documented. And read Exodus Ch 29 for Aaron and his sons" ordinances. Jewish Temple practices were continued by Christians prior to Constantine"s corruption (see St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386 A.D., Lecture XXI). Early Christians were persecuted for keeping their practices sacred, and not allowing non-Christians to witness them

A literal reading of the New Testament points to God and Jesus Christ being separate beings, united in purpose. To whom was Jesus praying in Gethsemane, and to whom was he speaking on the Mount of Transfiguration?

The Nicene Creed"s definition of the Trinity was influenced by scribes translating the Greek manuscripts into Latin. The scribes embellished on a passage explaining the Trinity, which is the Catholic and Protestant belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The oldest versions of the epistle of 1 John, read: "There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the water and the blood and these three are one."
Scribes later added "the Father, the Word and the Spirit," and it remained in the epistle when it was translated into English for the King James Version, according to Dr. Bart Ehrman, Chairman of the Religion Department at UNC- Chapel Hill. . . .He no longer believes in the Nicene Trinity.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) have concern for their ancestors" spiritual welfare, so they practice proxy baptism. (1 Corinthians 15:29 & Malachi 4:5-6).

Only members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) continue these practices of First Century Christians. But Mormons don"t term Catholics and Protestants "non-Christian". The dictionary definition of a Christian is "of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ":. All of the above denominations are followers of Christ, and consider him the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament.

It"s important to understand the difference between Reformation and Restoration when we consider which denomination might be following Christ's teachings. .

* * *
Furthermore, the National Study of Youth and Religion done by UNC-Chapel Hill in 2005 found that Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) youth (ages 13 to 17) were more likely to exhibit these Christian characteristics than Evangelicals (the next most observant group):
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .LDS Evangelical
Attend Religious Services weekly 71% . .55%
Importance of Religious Faith in shaping daily life –
extremely important . . . . . . . . . . . . .52. . . . 28
Believes in life after death . . . . . . . 76. . . . 62
Believes in psychics or fortune-tellers 0 . . .5
Has taught religious education classes 42. . 28
Has fasted or denied something as spiritual discipline 68. . 22
Sabbath Observance . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 . . . . 40
Shared religious faith with someone not of their faith 72 . . .56
Family talks about God, scriptures, prayer daily . . . . .50 . . . 19
Supportiveness of church for parent in trying to raise teen
(very supportive) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 . . . 26
Church congregation has done an excellent job in helping Teens better understand their own sexuality and sexual morality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 . . 35

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.