>> To accept your view would lead me to an endless search among the
>>100 or more denominations looking for the "right" one. Worse, I
>>would then have to say that good committed Christians in all the
>>others were misled by their presuppositions.<<
Actually, the main problem is not the assertion that good committed
Christians were misled by their presuppositions, but that one
denomination has it all right. For example, either a particular
method of baptism is the correct one and all others are incorrect, or
else some set of methods is correct and others are not, or else the
method does not matter. Logically, some denominations must be
incorrect in their claims about this issue. On the one hand, we
should look for a church that we believe is basically correct on such
issues (do not violate your own conscience), but on the other hand,
we should be careful about criticizing other views.
It is akin to the joke about that, if you find the perfect church,
you must not join it because it would then be imperfect. Groucho
Marx said he would not join any club whose standards were low enough
to admit him. In contrast, membership in the church is only for
those who acknowledge their unworthiness.
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted
Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at
Droitgate Spa
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