Public Perception and Religion

“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”John 10:16

As I read the headlines from local and national media outlets I am submersed in religion and public views. From the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) being investigated on charges of rape, to the Pope’s visit to the United States focused on showing remorse to the molestation victims of the Catholic Church, the news had no time for commercials. As the public looks at these two religions society, they seem to classify one as a cult and the other as a religious movement. But what makes them different?

In 2008 the National Council of Churches reported that the Roman Catholic Church in the USA has 67,515,016 registered members, while the FLDS Church only has a couple thousand. But what makes them different? Both use the Bible as a tool for inspiration, both have a leader that can make rules (FLDS- Warren Jeffs and Catholic Church-Pope), and both have compounds from which they live and conduct business. By removing all modern day opinion and customs, to me both of these are very similar.

Again I ask, what is the difference?

And another question, what’s the difference between the Roman Catholic Church, the FLDS Church and the Baptist Church? When looking at each Baptist Church on a single church basis, most congregations trust the preacher and follow what he declares as God’s callings and declarations for the church’s movements. When the preacher wants to build a building, a Pope adds sins to the “thou shall not list”, or a FLDS Church Leader makes a declaration, who has the inspiration from God? Believe me when say that I am a born again Christian, strong conservative, and Southern Baptist, thus I always like believe that Baptist are right.
I’ve always told myself there are three reasons to why I believe in Jesus Christ and chose to be a Baptist: The $$$ given to missions by Baptist, the Holy Spirit, and our religion has never changed. Skipping over the first one (cause I believe $$$ is given to missions at a great rate through Baptist churches), I’d like to look at the other two.

If I tell you that I know I am saved because the Holy Spirit is in me, I am telling you basically it’s the funny feeling in my “gut”. But what about the FLDS members and the funny feeling they get when they conduct religious ceremonies, or the Funny feeling the 58,000 people got when the Pope circled Yankee stadium in his “Pope mobile”, or the funny feeling many get when they here Joel Osteen tell them life is great, God is great, and wants you to be wealthy? Is that the Holy Spirit?

In Matthew 7:13 it is stated that narrow is the gate to enter into heaven, and in John 14:6 Jesus states he is the only way to heaven, but in Genesis 11: 1-9 God scattered his people all over the Earth and created different languages to alter communication, would this be a reason for the different “versions” of God and religion? As cultures changed, did the Bible? How can I believe it is completely true if Man chose to compile the 66 books and discard the 14 Apocrypha Books?

If the Archbishop of Canterbury could remove the 14 Apocrypha Books of the Bible in 1885, can the Pope determine sins? Sunday, April 20, 2008 Father Jonathan Morris, a Fox news Contributor and an American Roman Catholic priest said that the Pope is a Representative of God, as a descendent of Peter, voted on by the people of the Catholic Church. If this is the case, man votes on human to represent God and these men get to make laws, structure the Bible, and forgive sins… I believe John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”, and I know the Bible is the word of God, but what about the other 14 are they part of the word? I’ve heard the saying “The Bible is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Is that as of 1885?

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." John 16-21