[Cal]

Originally Posted by Sheepdawg

I wonder what you suppose 'like Him' means? Will we be photocopies of Him? Will we be some cheap knock-offs of Him? Have you ever considered what we will be made of -or 'constituted' with- that it should be said of us that we are ACTUALLY 'like Him'?

Sure I have. The difference between me and you is I don't pretend to have an answer. While you feel the need to.

Do you think that this phrase is meant only in the 'moral' sense, as some have maintained on this forum? If that is so, then, are not the holy angels of God 'moral', too? Aren't they? Well, of course they are! And have you ever heard it said of any of them that they are 'like Him'? Balderdash!

It really doesn't matter what I think about speculative ideas. What matters is what the Bible actually clearly says. I don't think it clearly says what you seem to think it must say.

Could you order to have made a row of plastic dummies made to look like your own son (even down to the minutest detail) and then tell him, "here are your brothers, son"? Would you? Think about that.

God doesn't make junk. Anything he makes is glorious, whether it fits into my notions or not. Whatever we become will exceed our expectations anyway. Speculation about what we will be is like those pictures of "the car of the future." They are never accurate and in hindsight they usually look silly.

Please do not misquote me. That is NOT what I said (did you remember to clean your reading glasses, brother?) And also, that is CERTAINLY NOT what the Bible says!

There's a big difference between saying 'that something is not clear' and 'that something has not yet appeared'. The Bible makes it very clear that we shall be 'like Him'. It also makes it clear that this event 'has not yet appeared' (or 'been manifested' according to KJV). It did not say that this -which has not yet appeared- is not clear! Have your cobwebs cleared now?

The passage probably means that we don't know altogether what we shall be, but we know this much--we shall be like him.

There is no compelling reason to interpret the passage to mean that we know precisely what we will be, it just hasn't happened yet. No translation I've seen renders it to that effect, but a couple I've seen render it to the effect I interpret it. E.g.

Dear friends, now we are God's children. What we will be isn't completely clear yet. We do know that when Christ appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is. GWT

Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. NLT

It seems to me your interpretation is a strained one. It doesn't flow easily from what the words seem to imply. The natural meaning of the words as written seems to be saying that we don't have all knowledge what we shall be, but we know enough to say we will be like him.

It is not just a theory. Before you go about warning people to 'not go beyond what is written' have you, yourself, considered ALL that is written? You act as if the only evidence given out of the Bible by Li Changshou for this so-called "theory" is a simple verse or two. Well, there's plenty written. Search the Scriptures.

And yes, 'do the math' and see if these things are 'not so'.

I have. As far as I've seen there is not enough evidence to insist such a controversial and divisive subject is true. I'm not saying it's wrong or right. I'm saying I don't see sufficient evidence for, nor the wisdom in, insisting on it, especially in the manner you do, which I hope is not characteristic of LCers.

I talked to some Mormon young men some time back. They were adamant that Jesus wasn't God. They were good kids, they might have even been saved. They treated me like a brother. But they were loyal to their Mormon belief about Jesus. My question for them was this: "Assuming we are all members of the Church, what's the probability that your small minority is right about this central, crucial subject and the vast majority of Christians are wrong?"

I'd have the same question for LCers regarding deification.

I think is that it is human nature to want to believe your particular club is the best and always right (particularly when you are taught it is the best and always right), mostly because you belong to it and have bought in on its stuff and don't want to entertain the possibility you made a mistake. So you naturally defend it. It's just human nature. But, really, why is this doctrine so important otherwise? I'd expect young Mormon kids to be zealous for their toys. Assuming you are not a kid, I would advise, in the interest of unity, putting away this toy. At least don't hit people over the head with it as you do.