gdemetz wrote:
Thews, you are as blind as a bat! How many truly scholarly references will it take to open your blind eyes up?!? I'm giving you very good non Mormon references! Okay, you want a Mormon one from FAIR? Okay, here it is:
"Attempts to shrug this off (baptism for the dead) as a reference by Paul to a practice he does not condone but only uses to support the doctrine of the resurrection are indefensible. Paul's statement makes no sense unless the practice was valid and the saints in Corinth knew it. This is easily demonstrated if we just imagine a young protestant, who doubts the resurrection, who goes to his pastor with his problem. The pastor answers him saying, "But what about the Mormons who practice baptism for the dead? If the dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead?" You know what the young doubter would say {unless he is Albion}. He would say, "Pastor, they are Mormons, what's your point?"
"In fact, we know that baptism for the dead was practiced for a long time in the early church. As John A. Tvedtnes has noted:
"historical records are clear on the matter. Baptism for the dead was performed by the dominant church until forbidden by the 6th canon of the council of Carthage in 397 AD. Some of the smaller sects, however, continued the practice..."
I recommend reading the whole article from FAIR, particularly the section entitled "Ancient Roots."
I didn't ask you about baptism for the dead. You said the six points (based on fact and
not on opinion) I listed were, in your words, "ridiculous" and failed to state why. You then claimed the answer regarding why could be found at Fair. You then attempted to argue racism and polygamy, before hitting a dead end and running away. Now, you're attempting to argue a topic (baptism for the dead) that can be twisted with interpretation. I'm not interested in anything but facts, which you said I could find at Fair. Either put up, or shut up. If you're going to make claims you have to back them up, but again I must assume you simply aren't intelligent enough to formulate a retort. So use Fair to explain why the six points I listed are "ridiculous" and you may gain an ounce of credibility.