I think we are going to have to agree to disagree. You acknowledge that the Catholics don’t have control over what is and isn’t Christian, and that there are secta they’d deem as heretics at best or apostates at worst. That said there are many protestant denominations that won’t. There are wildly different interpretations of the Bible, WBC for example says a bunch of things that most Christians would consider unchristian, but the same holy texts, are used as source material.
Similarly, the belief in things like miracles, transubstantiation, literally of the Bible, the invention of the bodily rapture… Oh hey, and the trinity, let’s not forget about the monophosotes (sure they haven’t really been around for like a thousand years but…) What about the coptics? Are they not Christian cause their books are different?
The trinity is in the Bible. Not the word “trinity”, but our understanding of it comes purely from the Bible. Which is why even most SDAs agree with it. Real presence (part of the doctrine of transubstantiation) and miracles are also biblical. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures and the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price aren’t biblical. Just like how the Qur’an isn’t biblical.
Muslim means “one who submits”, so I could identify as a muslim even though I don’t even adhere to Islam- it doesn’t make me Muslim.
I think we are going to have to agree to disagree. You acknowledge that the Catholics don’t have control over what is and isn’t Christian, and that there are secta they’d deem as heretics at best or apostates at worst. That said there are many protestant denominations that won’t. There are wildly different interpretations of the Bible, WBC for example says a bunch of things that most Christians would consider unchristian, but the same holy texts, are used as source material.
Similarly, the belief in things like miracles, transubstantiation, literally of the Bible, the invention of the bodily rapture… Oh hey, and the trinity, let’s not forget about the monophosotes (sure they haven’t really been around for like a thousand years but…) What about the coptics? Are they not Christian cause their books are different?
The trinity is in the Bible. Not the word “trinity”, but our understanding of it comes purely from the Bible. Which is why even most SDAs agree with it. Real presence (part of the doctrine of transubstantiation) and miracles are also biblical. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures and the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price aren’t biblical. Just like how the Qur’an isn’t biblical.
Muslim means “one who submits”, so I could identify as a muslim even though I don’t even adhere to Islam- it doesn’t make me Muslim.