[TruthTalk] Was Abraham a Christian?

[Dave Hansen]

DAVEH:   Hmmmmm.....Is it really possible for there not to have been any Christians prior to those mentioned in Acts 11:26.....say, not even before Christ came into the world???  As I see it, it is no less likely than Jesus being our Redeemer before he came into the world.  If one simply draws a quick conclusion by prooftexting one Bible passage without looking at the big picture, one might draw the conclusion that there were no Christians prior to vs 26.   However, LDS theology teaches that the Gospel is an eternal concept that existed before the foundations of the world.  We believe Jesus was our Saviour and Redeemer in the pre-mortal existence, and those following him in that realm qualified us to be Christians there....long before even Adam was born.  Now I know you probably don't want to consider that possibility, as it was a long time ago and your memory about it (yes, I believe you were there rooting for Jesus then as strongly as you are rooting for him now!) is as vague as mine.  So....let's step outside the realm of the Bible for a minute, and let me take you to an earlier era where the followers of Christ were called Christians before he was born....... And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ, who should come.    Alma 46:15 ......That was spoken by a BoM prophet some 73 years before the birth of our Lord, which predates his disciples mentioned in vs 26 by approximately a hundred plus years.   Yikes.....that does sound rather ANACHRONISTIC, doesn't it!  Maybe you've got a point to consider, Kevin.  Those folks in the BoM really believed Jesus would be coming in the future, and hence were considered to be Christians at that time.  Do you suppose there are any Bible passages that suggests Jesus would be born in the future?   I'd be tempted to quote some pertinent passages, but I don't want to irritate Perry any more than I already have by picking and choosing Scripture as evidence that my LDS biased beliefs are supported by the Bible.  Hopefully you get the point, Kevin.   FTR.......from my (LDS) perspective, those who believed in the forthcoming Messiah (Jesus Christ), were Christians.     Even though the disciples mentioned in vs 26 (Acts 11) denotes those to first be called Christians in the NT, it does not logically follow that they were actually the first Christians, Kevin.  Just think of the throngs of believers who followed Jesus during his ministry....were they not Christians as well?  Furthermore, I think we can simplify this discussion if we consider the proper definition of Christian.....and we've discussed that a bit, eh!  For the sake of simplicity, let's use your definition, Kevin...... Christians: Those who worship the One true God who has REVEALED Himself through the Bible. ..............Now Kevin, were the disciples in vs 26 the first to worship the One true God?  I don't believe so, and I suspect you don't either.  Did any of Jesus' followers through the early part of his ministry do such ( worship the One true God)?  If so, why cannot they also be considered to be Christians, even if the term was not Biblically used to denote them as such?     Moving on to the original question you posed below as to whether or not I believed Abraham was a Christian.....Let's apply the same standard.  Do you think Abraham worshiped the One true God?  According to LDS theology, he did....hence my answer in the affirmative.  I can't speak for your side of the fence though, so what do you think, Kevin......Did Abraham worship the One true God who has REVEALED Himself through the Bible? Kevin Deegan wrote: I was just curious, since the BOM has so many ANACHRONISTIC errors about Christ in it.   NO, how could they be Christians before Christ came into the world?   Acts 11:26 And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Dave Hansen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: DAVEH: >From my LDS perspective, I would say so. How do you see it, Kevin? Kevin Deegan wrote: >DaveH > >Question was Abraham a Christian? -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dave Hansen [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.langlitz.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you wish to receive things I find interesting, I maintain six email lists... JOKESTER, OPINIONS, LDS, STUFF, MOTORCYCLE and CLIPS.