Many people can attest to the fact that the church has taught for years that doctrine must be “pure” for it to lead one to salvation. If a person believes impure doctrine, even if it’s 99% right, Stanton says they will not be saved.
“They can be teaching everything 99% correct, but if salvation is not taught correctly then sin is not forgiven and you are not added to the church of Christ.”
Source: http://whatisthedoctrineofchrist.blogspot.com/2012/05/church-of-christ.html
This is not a straw man that I’m trying to set up in order to smack down easily. This Doctrine of Pure Doctrine is a staple of church teaching, as just about anyone who has spent any time in the group can attest, and it is used to deny that the baptisms of 99% of the Christians in the world today are valid. One must, according to their teaching, be baptized by the One True Church (theirs, of course), identified by its supposed 100% Pure Doctrine, in order to be saved. Anyone who believes that, doesn’t truly understand what the Doctrine of Christ really means.
The problem with this myth of Pure Doctrine is that it condemns the very person who teaches it. Is Stanton foolish enough to claim that it’s teachings over the years have been 100% correct? I’d like to see anyone try to make that case with a straight face. If they cannot, their Doctrine of Pure Doctrine is self-condemning.
There is no denying that Stanton’s doctrines have been changed, revised, modified, updated, tweaked, and otherwise upgraded to the new and improved doctrines we see today. Since truth never changes, we know that either the original doctrines were not “the truth;” the current doctrines are not; or neither are. Those are the only three options.
In other words, it was never “pure doctrine” to say that women shouldn’t wear pants with zippers on the front. That was an untrue teaching of fallible men and women. It was never pure doctrine to say that Christians couldn’t visit another congregation on Sunday, or take a family vacation, or refrain from going to bowling allies, or any of the other changing doctrines Stanton has taught.
If we are at all to believe Matthew 7:2, then the rule Stanton makes for others must be applied to itself. Any untrue doctrines being taught today, or that have been taught in the past, completely de-legitimize the church’s authority as the One True Church, and negates the validity of all its baptisms over the years.
Matthew 7:2 – For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Of course, my real point is to illustrate that no human understanding of a doctrine can be “pure” because our understandings, no matter how enlightened by the Holy Spirit we may think them to be, are subject to human error–as Stanton’s own history attests. If truth is an all or nothing proposition–either we have all of it in 100% pure form, or it’s useless to us–then we are doomed, brothers, because last I checked, we were all human.
Here begins the wonderful story of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
In the book written by the prophet Isaiah, God announced that he would send his Son to earth, and that a special messenger would arrive first to prepare the world for his coming.
“This messenger will live out in the barren wilderness,” Isaiah said, “and will proclaim that everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord’s arrival.”
This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.
People from Jerusalem and from all over Judea traveled out into the Judean wastelands to see and hear John, and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
His clothes were woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; locusts and wild honey were his food.
Here is a sample of his preaching:
“Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.
I baptize you with water but he will baptize you with God’s Holy Spirit!”
Then one day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John there in the Jordan River.
The moment Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending on him,
Immediately the Holy Spirit urged Jesus into the desert. There, for forty days, alone except for desert animals, he was subjected to Satan’s temptations to sin. And afterwards the angels came and cared for him.
Later on, after John was arrested by King Herod, Jesus went to Galilee to preach God’s Good News
“At last the time has come!” he announced. “God’s Kingdom is near! Turn from your sins and act on this glorious news!”
One day as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing with nets, for they were commercial fishermen.
Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me! And I will make you fishermen for the souls of men!”
At once they left their nets and went along with him.
A little farther up the beach, he saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat mending their nets.
Jesus and his companions now arrived at the town of Capernaum and on Saturday morning went into the Jewish place of worship—the synagogue—where he preached.
The congregation was surprised at his sermon because he spoke as an authority and didn’t try to prove his points by quoting others—quite unlike what they were used to hearing!
A man possessed by a demon was present and began shouting, “Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth—have you come to destroy us demons? I know who you are—the holy Son of God!”
Jesus curtly commanded the demon to say no more and to come out of the man.
At that the evil spirit screamed and convulsed the man violently and left him.
Amazement gripped the audience and they began discussing what had happened.
Remarkable; you act like a ten year old.
Name calling and logical fallacies.
Besides these and throwing out your gross misunderstandings of scripture, you haven’t got anything.
Not sure why you are posting the Bible, everyone has one and can read it themselves.
It doesn’t matter if you quote scripture if you don’t understand it and don’t apply it.
No one in the Bible ever ignored facts.
So you quote the Bible, but you don’t understand it.
A lot of Christians have this problem. They say they believe the Bible, they study it, and talk about it, but don’t understand it and obey it.
You believe in the antinomian heresy; Stanton believes in women teaching in classes, both rejections of the Bible you both claim to follow.
Not reading “not reading defender garbage” posts.
Copying and pasting the Bible he doesn’t understand.
The May 2005 trip was in Vallejo, CA. Vallejo hadn’t had a May Trip since the ’80s or early ’90s. I was a child when they had the first one. I remember that DWC attended, and my siblings and I were cheerfully remarked as being “shy” by her. Though I disagree with women teachers, DWC never personally offended me, and I don’t see how what she said and did was any worse than what KS and Merie did, as all women teachers are sinning and disobeying God. If we think male preachers in Stanton were ever good at hiding what… Read more »
WARNING: RACIST COMMENTS BELOW by “Truth Defender” Ryan Messano
Nothing racist about it.
This has been the game plan by Jews over a century, attack Whites, and when Whites expose the agenda to exterminate Whites, using non-Whites as puppets, holler “rayciss.”
Cultural Marxism uses words like “racist,” “sexist,” “bigot,” “antisemite,” to attack any who expose the Jewish evil agendas.
Another anonymous commenter who is deluded. Dozens on here.
Surprised Jewish agents haven’t shown up yet, they normally are very good at eliminating criticism.
Do you always open your mouth without studying and inform the world of your ignorance?
“He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.“
Thomas Aquinas
This website is a perfect microcosm for what is wrong in Stanton and America. Every single critic of mine lacks critical thinking and reasoning skills. Opponents can only helplessly name-call, ignore arguments, refuse to answer questions. This is the result of multiculturalism and feminism. Men no longer lead with logic and reason. It’s no coincidence Kevin and I spearhead this website, though Kevin created it. And we are White men. This nation was created White, and if it weren’t for wicked Jews pushing White extermination with their 1965 Hart Cellar Act, opening up America to non-White immigration, and their Kalergi… Read more »