# Christianity 101 Questions from an Ex-Mormon **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 23, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932 "2019-04-23T12:53:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/21 "2019-04-23T19:14:32Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What “early leaders”? Satan is mentioned in various places throughout the Bible (though never with a clear explanation of where Satan “comes from”) and is depicted as being _opposed_ to God, but certainly not as “the opposite of God” in an equal-but-opposite sort of way. That sort of thinking was a feature of dualism/[Manichaeism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism) but certainly not Christianity (nor Judaism nor Islam). This is presumably the English translation of the Bible - yes? ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/22 "2019-04-23T19:21:56Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > I’m sure there are. This is an atypical view though. When you look at the liberal side of the church, there becomes a point where you start to definitionally move to something other than Christian. There are very few ‘atheist’ Christians, but I’m sure that there are some that exist. > I think that you would find it difficult to find a Christian denomination that would say that (I know of none), though you might find quite a few Christians themselves. The denominations that would lean toward that way of thinking would likely be the kinds of denominations that wouldn’t insist that you believe a particular way about such things. Catholics are actually pretty close to that teaching. When you’re dealing with transcendence, describing what are inherently non-physical things with imagery like locations and times is problematic. In debates between progressive and conservative Christians, surely the conservatives must sometimes say something along the lines of: “If you start saying that Satan and Hell are metaphors, people are gonna start saying the same thing about God and Heaven and what are we gonna say to that?” What do the progressives propose the answer should be? Why is the goose metaphorical but the gander literal? ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/23 "2019-04-23T19:22:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > [John Shelby Spong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong) _might_ be an example of an “atheist Christian”—I’m not sure. I would say that Spong’s views on the divine are largely those of someone who has read Paul Tillich and really, really likes him, but doesn’t quite get him. He also has a deconstructionist tendency that leads to so much ambiguity as to not be particularly useful. Regardless though, I don’t think that he is an atheist in the sense that he would assert ‘There is no God.’ He might be an atheist in the sense that he would assert ‘There is no God as we conceive of Him, nor is there a God in any possible way that we could conceive of Him.’ While this might seem to imply atheism and he might even want to encourage that idea, I think it’s really just a cagey way of saying, ‘God is ineffable.’ ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/24 "2019-04-23T19:36:21Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > In debates between progressive and conservative Christians, surely the conservatives must sometimes say something along the lines of: “If you start saying that Satan and Hell are metaphors, people are gonna start saying the same thing about God and Heaven and what are we gonna say to that?” What do the progressives propose the answer should be? Why is the goose metaphorical but the gander literal? I would say progressive Christians as a general rule aren’t particularly interested in apologetics. They let atheists and fundamentalists worry about such things. Why is it necessary to come up with responses to hypothetical objections? The purpose of living in Christ is not to browbeat others via debate, what kind of faith can possibly come from being beaten in debate? As said before, we are a practical people. God gives meaning to life and provides a template to live a life outside of ourselves. If Heaven is a metaphor, then what of it? Our concern is how to better serve God in the here and now. If someone wants to conceive of God as a metaphor, does that bring them closer to God and make them a better servant of others and therefore God Himself? If so, then why would I be on their case? Again, it’s atheists and fundamentalists that are tied up in strict beliefs, why would progressives care? This isn’t to say that all beliefs are equal. If your beliefs are leading you to walk farther from the path that Christ has set for you, they need to be reevaluated. If you believe firmly in God, but that belief is causing you to hurt others and hurt God, then what good is your belief? “The devil believes and trembles,” no? If you struggle with believing in God, but attempt to draw closer to Him and serve humanity, then your struggle is valuable and I would say God is pleased with the effort. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/25 "2019-04-23T19:40:10Z")
**TokyoBayer** , now you know why I found Christianity the hardest religion to teach in high school world religions units\*. About 20% of my students were LDS, and the rest were mostly split up between various Christian denominationsTrying to find common ground without offending or contradicting any of the denominations was tougher than you might think–until reading this thread, that is. For instance, **Shodan** mentioned disbelief in the Holy Spirit as grounds for damnation, but neither the LDS nor Jehovah’s Witnesses are trinitarians. And in fact, not all Christian denominations consider all other Christian denominations to _be_ Christian, which can make discussions even trickier. \*Note this was a unit, not a course, so only about 6 weeks to cover five major religions, which meant no time for delving into the beliefs of each denomination. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/26 "2019-04-23T19:43:28Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > In debates between progressive and conservative Christians, surely the conservatives must sometimes say something along the lines of: “If you start saying that Satan and Hell are metaphors, people are gonna start saying the same thing about God and Heaven and what are we gonna say to that?” What do the progressives propose the answer should be? Why is the goose metaphorical but the gander literal? To be pithy: darkness is the absence of light, but only light is a real thing. Most Christians would say they know God, however imperfectly. It’s what we seek. But not so many would say they know Satan. They’d describe their sins as their own failures to follow God, rather than evil personified. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/27 "2019-04-23T19:51:43Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > If your beliefs are leading you to walk farther from the path that Christ has set for you, they need to be reevaluated. If you believe firmly in God, but that belief is causing you to hurt others and hurt God, then what good is your belief? “The devil believes and trembles,” no? If you struggle with believing in God, but attempt to draw closer to Him and serve humanity, then your struggle is valuable and I would say God is pleased with the effort. This is a great synopsis. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/28 "2019-04-23T20:49:25Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > Why is it necessary to come up with responses to hypothetical objections? Because they’re not just hypothetical. Metaphoricing away the Satan/Hell part may come from kindness and magnanimity but it’s the tiny crack in the window that slowly spreads. > [@senoy](#): > > The purpose of living in Christ is not to browbeat others via debate, what kind of faith can possibly come from being beaten in debate? While the will to administer a rhetorical beating is common (and I have felt it and fallen for it), I see this place as less of a boxing ring and more of a forum. > [@senoy](#): > > attempt to draw closer to Him I don’t know what that means. I get the impression that, in practice, it’s largely covered by the “serve humanity” part that immediately follows. > [@senoy](#): > > “The devil believes and trembles,” no? If you struggle with believing in God, but attempt to draw closer to Him and serve humanity, then your struggle is valuable and I would say God is pleased with the effort. The part you quote says that both faith and deeds are required. Yet you see to be saying that deeds alone are sufficient, which sounds like non-Orthodox Judaism. Verse 26 of same chapter says: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” = deeds without faith is as dead as faith without deeds. > [@senoy](#): > > I would say God is pleased with the effort. I get a gold star? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/29 "2019-04-23T21:16:42Z")
Oh, also on the topic of Hell: **Nava** already alluded to this, but there is no Catholic, at least, doctrine on who is in Hell, and the population of Hell could possibly be as low as three (since we know that “Satan and his angels” are there, and we don’t know how many angels Satan has). Yes, it’s taught that anyone who dies with unrepented mortal sin goes to Hell, but it’s possible that a person repents of their sin right at the last possible moment before dying, when no still-living mortal could know of that repentance, and it’s likewise possible that that happens to _everyone_. Or not. Maybe half of all humans end up in Hell, or maybe everyone except for the few thousand officially-canonized Saints. We don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/30 "2019-04-23T21:16:27Z")
Oh, also on the topic of Hell: **Nava** already alluded to this, but there is no Catholic, at least, doctrine on who is in Hell, and the population of Hell could possibly be as low as three (since we know that “Satan and his angels” are there, and we don’t know how many angels Satan has). Yes, it’s taught that anyone who dies with unrepented mortal sin goes to Hell, but it’s possible that a person repents of their sin right at the last possible moment before dying, when no still-living mortal could know of that repentance, and it’s likewise possible that that happens to _everyone_. Or not. Maybe half of all humans end up in Hell, or maybe everyone except for the few thousand officially-canonized Saints. We don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/31 "2019-04-24T01:03:49Z")
Very interesting. Thank you. A couple of follow-up questions. Mormons believe that everyone will be physically resurrected. That everybody’s soul reunited with their body. Is that also another “quirky” Mormon belief or do other sects also believe that? Do most sects believe in Original Sin? Mormonism does not and believes that children under the age of eight are not capable of sinning. More than one seven-year and eleven-month old has attempted to use that as a defense. What exactly is acceptance of Jesus as your Savior? (If I have the terminology correct.) Mormons believe that: > [@](#): > > No one can return to the presence of God without divine grace. Through the Atonement, we all can be forgiven of our sins; we can become clean before God. To receive this enabling power, we must obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes having faith in Him, repenting of our sins, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and trying to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ for the rest of our lives. Some notes about this: The use of the term “grace” seems to me to be a more recent term. I don’t recall it’s use when I was growing up. It’s not emphasized, but rather the ordinations and works are taught more. The gift of the Holy Ghost is actually an ordinance as well, and requires it to be administered by an authorized priesthood holder, as does baptism. This is the reason baptism from other sects are not acknowledged. I’m familiar with the Trinity, but Mormonism teaches that there are three separate individuals. I can understand the Mormon concept because of the simplicity, but the Trinity seems less clear on an intuitive level. Is this just because I grew up believing something else and if I had grown up in a more mainstream sect then it would also seem intuitive, or is this a mystery and people don’t care so much? Mormonism prides itself on having all the answers, and looking at this thread, there are areas which Mormonism claims more answers than most sects. Not a value judgment, just an observation. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/32 "2019-04-24T02:38:13Z")
Tokyo. Since you’re an ex-Mormon, we can be frank. (If you are Mormon, then you may stop reading here. My intent is to not to insult your beliefs, but simply to have a frank discussion.) The difference between Mormonism and the rest of Christianity is that the rest of us don’t believe that God has a divine mouthpiece that cannot be questioned. As such, answers about the nature of divinity must subject themselves to scrutiny and frequently fundamental disagreement. If Russ Nelson woke up tomorrow and communicated that God said the color red was a sinful color and must not be worn, then so mote it be. If the leaders of any other denomination tried that, they’d be laughed off the dais (except Catholics who would likely form a political bloc to stem the abuse of power.) As such, it’s very easy for Mormonism to provide the answers. It just says them and if those answers prove unpopular, God has a tendency to change his mind when necessary. Other denominations change as well, but largely they admit that they don’t have all the answers and sometimes they’re just wrong about things. To get to the Trinity, it’s important to note that while Joseph Smith was likely well-read for the time, he was in essence a frontier conman. As such, his theology and thus the theology of the LDS church is largely what you would expect a frontier conman to come up with. Understanding the hypostatic union is a philosopher’s game (most language to describe it is neo-Platonic in origin) and most Christians don’t get it and Smith definitely didn’t, so he went with simplicity when crafting his religion. It’s late here, so I don’t want to get to far down a Trinity rabbit hole, but I’ll try and post a run down tomorrow. The essence is that they are three distinct persons of a single nature, where those terms have very specific definitions. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/33 "2019-04-24T04:05:22Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > This is presumably the English translation of the Bible - yes? It is in the English translationS of the Bible and in every other one. It is in the Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic originals/earliest versions we know, the Vulgata, the Biblia Misionera, the… it’s not something the first team to translate the Bible to English came up with and every later translator to English just copied. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/34 "2019-04-24T04:29:10Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Mormons believe that everyone will be physically resurrected. That everybody’s soul reunited with their body. Is that also another “quirky” Mormon belief or do other sects also believe that? (Lapsed Catholic here, now a Methodist) Catholics, at least, also believe in the resurrection of the body. For this reason, the Roman Catholic Church forbid cremation until 1963. Even today, while the Catholic church allows cremation (though I think that it’s still not preferred), they instruct that the ashes should be treated with the same reverence with which one should treat a body (i.e., the ashes should be kept together, and interred in a tomb, or in an urn, and shouldn’t be scattered). The Wikipedia page on [cremation and Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation_in_the_Christian_World) indicates that the Eastern Orthodox Church still forbids it, except in extreme circumstances, though the article also suggests that this isn’t due to a belief about the resurrection of the body. As far as I know, most Protestant faiths don’t hold to the concept of the resurrection of the body. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/35 "2019-04-24T04:43:37Z")
> [@](#): > > What exactly is acceptance of Jesus as your Savior? I wasn’t kidding when I said consult the back of Chick Tracts for that. [This](https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=0055) is the first link I clicked on while googling–look at pages 22 and 23. If you recite this magical formula (known as [The Sinner’s Prayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinner%27s_prayer)) and really mean it, you are Saved now and forever. Everyone else is going to Hell. According to Southern Baptists, it is the only way that Salvation can be gained, and once gained can never be lost. (But you can backslide, and possibly were never a Scottsman in the first place.) And it is a very literal Hell with a very literal Satan. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/36 "2019-04-24T04:47:45Z")
Forgot to add this one before the edit window. > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Do most sects believe in Original Sin? Mormonism does not and believes that children under the age of eight are not capable of sinning. More than one seven-year and eleven-month old has attempted to use that as a defense. Catholics certainly do, which is, in part, why they believe it’s important that babies be baptized. As per [this entry](https://www.catholic.com/tract/infant-baptism) on [catholic.com](http://catholic.com): > [@](#): > > Since the New Testament era, the Catholic Church has always understood baptism differently, teaching that it is a sacrament which accomplishes several things, the first of which is the remission of sin, both original sin and actual sin—only original sin in the case of infants and young children, since they are incapable of actual sin; and both original and actual sin in the case of older persons. Note the distinction between original sin and “actual sin”, and that, like the Mormon belief (as well as the belief of fundamentalist Christians), young children aren’t capable of “actual sin”…but, since original sin is still believed to be sufficient to prevent salvation, that’s why they baptize infants. One of the side effects of this doctrine is speculation among Catholic theologians as to what happens to unbaptized babies and young children, who die before they become capable of actual sin. The concept of [Limbo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo#Limbo_of_Infants) (neither heaven nor hell) as a destination for these souls comes from this idea, but note that this isn’t official Catholic doctrine. My understanding is that many (most?) Protestant faiths also believe in the concept of original sin, though I suspect that most of them don’t have the same belief about unbaptized babies / children that Catholics do. (And, though many Orthodox and mainline Protestant churches do infant baptism as a way to sanctify the child as a member of the faith, many Fundamentalist churches don’t do infant baptism, at all.) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/37 "2019-04-24T06:18:07Z")
I consider myself Christian because I believe that the teachings of Jesus Christ made when he was alive are very good precepts to live your life by, and will lead to a more harmonious and prosperous world. I don’t believe that humans have any actual ability to understand the divine. I believe no human has communicated with the divine at all. Any words of Christ implying that he had such communications are embellishments by later authors knowing how the cult of his followers developed after his death. Obviously this is not a mainstream Christian position, but I’m fairly sure there are plenty of other lapsed Catholics who basically feel this way, including some who actually attend Mass every so often. I attended Mass for quite a long time holding this position theologically until one specific thing happened that made me realize that people were actually serious about the theological stuff; I had thought all the ritual was just cultural and a show of cultural solidarity. Having fairly strong evidence due to one specific incident that this was not the case, I didn’t see the point in participating any more. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/38 "2019-04-24T06:22:47Z")
And by “the divine” I mean the initial cause of the existence of the universe - the prime mover of Aristotle. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/39 "2019-04-24T09:22:41Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The Wikipedia page on [cremation and Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation_in_the_Christian_World) indicates that the Eastern Orthodox Church still forbids it, except in extreme circumstances, though the article also suggests that this isn’t due to a belief about the resurrection of the body. The LDS church also discourages cremation, although ironically in cases where the church helps provide money for services for the deceased, they pay for a cremation and not a funeral. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932/40 "2019-04-24T11:26:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > My understanding is that many (most?) Protestant faiths also believe in the concept of original sin, though I suspect that most of them don’t have the same belief about unbaptized babies / children that Catholics do. (And, though many Orthodox and mainline Protestant churches do infant baptism as a way to sanctify the child as a member of the faith, many Fundamentalist churches don’t do infant baptism, at all.) The ones I am aware of (including the one I was raised in and other churches I’ve attended) believe in something called the Age of Accountability and that all children who die before that go to heaven. Despite the name, it’s not some actual official age, but just the point when the child is capable of understanding the process of salvation. Original Sin also exists, and is why people must explicitly accept salvation rather than simply not reject it, but God has mercy on those who are mentally unable to accept the concept of salvation. Note that this usually is not considered to apply to those who have simply not heard the gospel message. Only those who can’t actually conceive of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-101-questions-from-an-ex-mormon/832932.md?page=3)