With Ambassadors Like These...

Do you consider yourself a Christian? A follower of Christ? Do you believe the Bible to have Divine inspiration? If so, then you should know that we are called to ambassadors for Him. With that in mind, consider the following comment left by Anonymous after my entry responding to a popular perception of Evangelical Christians...

(Anyone who follows the true Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is born-again and a Christian, so the terms are redundant.)

In your eyes. As usual, the evangelical think they are the saved ones, they are the true Christians, they are the ones who have the 'real' word of God. Everyone else is hell bound. My father's family was pentecostal evangelical, my mother's family was Mormon. The Mormon family NEVER ONCE put down my evangelical family. My Mormon family NEVER ONCE made me feel less than, unholy, going to some hell, and all the other crap the evangelicals did EVERY time I saw them. Yes, every time we got around the pentecostals they berated my Mormon family, told us they, the Mormons were hell bound, itchy ears, etc. The Bible says by their fruits you shall know them. If that's the case the Mormons are going to heaven and will be near to God and the pentecostals will burn in that hell that they LOVE sending others to who do not think like them. My Mormon family members had more love in one little finger than all the pentecostals put together. My parents didn't take us children to church, and when we went to see the pentecostals we were treated with quiet contempt and they didn't like us around our cousins. When we visited the Mormons we were loved, cherished and made to feel so very welcome. Never once did the Mormons make us feel less than. To this day I avoid the pentecostals for their hatred and judgmental attitude that stinks to high heaven. Oh, I forgot, don't touch my anointed. THAT is what the pentecostals will see when they read this. They are so stuck on themselves they truly think they are the ones in line with God. I spent years as an adult in the evangelical churches and it was the grace of God that DELIVERED me from ALL OF THAT and I will never sit foot in one of those churches again. Ever. I would rather burn in the hell they send us all to then go near them again. And, of course, they are saying, then so be it, hell is where you will go. Idiots. 

Thank you, Anonymous, for your comment. I think it is a very important one, expressing feelings that have been felt by many people.

I'm going to assume your perceptions and memories are accurate. I have no reason to think otherwise, and I apologize for the treatment you received by people misrepresenting Christ.

I stand by my statement: Anyone who follows the true Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is born-again and a Christian.



It doesn't sound to me like the Pentecostals you interacting with were following Jesus in their actions. Also, for all I know they were Oneness Pentecostals or members of the United Pentecostal Church and thus don't believe in the Jesus of the Bible, who is forever the Second Person of the Trinity, and who is not the Father and nor the Holy Spirit.

There are Christians everywhere, and I'd guess that includes in Mormon gatherings, Kingdom Halls, various synagogues, mosques, temples, and elsewhere. Conversely, many of the people who identify as Christians or go to church aren't actually Christians. I'm not one of those "only people who belong to my denomination are Christian" people. (And in fairness, I'm not a Pentecostal, though I certainly think there are many Pentecostals who are Christian.)


Mormons do a lot of good things. So do many Muslims. What does this mean? Does it mean Islam teaches true theology and that all Muslims are saved?

I'm glad that the Mormon side of your family treated you with kindness and never put down the other side of your family.. You point out that they never once made you "feel less than, unholy, going to some hell".

Well, first of all, if I recall correctly off the top of my head, nobody or almost nobody ends up in Hell in Mormon theology. That may sound nice, but sounding nice has nothing to do with whether it is true or not.

I do believe that anyone who 1) has committed moral crimes against God and 2) rejects Him throughout this life will not fellowship with Him in eternity. Why would someone who rejects Him want to fellowship with Him, anyway? However, note that people who have not committed moral crimes against God need not worry. It is NOT up to me to judge anyone's heart. That is up to Him. So I can't tell any particular person they are going to Hell, and anyone who claims to know for sure who else is going to Hell is assuming authority they do not have, at least as far as the Bible teaches.

As far as never making you feel "less than", I take it you never wanted to go to a wedding of one of your Mormon family members or friends and were excluded in some way because it was a temple wedding? Also, it doesn't sound like you were ever a member of the LDS church who left it. Many who have done so have less-than-flattering things to say about how they've been treated, including by family members, since they left, especially when they try to get their names removed from church documents that imply they are still members.

Sounds like the Pentecostal side of your family behaved terribly. I will not defend their actions or tone, but I will point that Pentecostal beliefs (whether Trinitarian or not) and Mormon beliefs are mutually exclusive. They can both be wrong, but they can't both be right. Also, notice that Mormon beliefs and practices have their root in Joseph Smith claiming to have a divine vision that said all existing Christian denominations and creeds were bad. None of them were good enough for him to proclaim or join. So while your Mormon family did not trash your Pentecostal family, they have bought into a system that inherently trashes Pentecostal beliefs. This does not necessarily means Mormonism isn't true. I'm just following the logic of the facts we're dealing with.

Like I said, I'm, not Pentecostal. I think the theology of Oneness Pentecostals or the United Pentecostal Church is unchristian since it deviates from essential Christian doctrine. There are other Pentecostals I would count as Christian (although, like I said, I don't know their hearts for sure) and probably would treat you so much better than your family has. There are a lot of people doing silly, stupid, bizarre, mean, or downright evil things in the name of evangelical Christianity, including some who are on television, radio, writing books, etc. I don't know which of those people are actually evangelical Christians or not, but I can look at their behaviors and teachings and see if those behaviors and teachings are Christian or not. It doesn't sound like your Pentecostal family was behaving in a Christian manner, and again, I am sorry for that.

I'm not perfect, and if the Bible is right, neither is any other human being with the exception of Jesus Himself. We are called to be good ambassadors. That some people aren't good ambassadors does not change the reality of who He is and what He has done.

Thanks again to Anonymous for pointing out where and how people claiming to be Christians have behaved in an unchristian manner. It is an important lesson for any follower of Christ.