Thursday, March 16, 2006
Is Mormonism a Christian Religion?
Is Mormonism a Christian Religion?
- By Warner Todd Huston
With the Gov. of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, in the hunt for the Republican nomination for president, the question of "What is a Mormon?" will start to be asked by everyone. It is instructive to know a little bit about Gov. Romney's faith.
To answer the question in the title, one must say a flat out "no", Mormonism is not a Christian religion. In fact, to many Christians it is a cult of the highest order. Still, feelings that it is a cult are not easy to prove and may, in the end, be just that: feelings. Perhaps those who feel it is a cult are too influenced by the long antagonistic history that the Protestant religions have with the Mormons. Many still have a pang that Catholicism is idol worship even though that religion has been around longer than many others in the USA and longer, of course, than Protestantism itself. And this is truly an American point of view, too. I , too plead guilty to being swayed by those feelings and I deal with this national past every time I confront both Mormonism and Catholicism.
There is also the faith's problematic history to contend with as to its being considered a cult. In the 1850's the Mormon Church in Utah was responsible for murdering an entire wagon train of settlers from Illinois that were passing through their area of influence. The Mormons dressed like Indians, killed every man and woman above the age of 13, and then took the children to raise as their own, in the Mormon faith. They also had a branch of their church, the so-called Avenging Angels, who would go about and murder people who left the Church and moved elsewhere, turning away from the Church. Just these two aspects of their history alone makes their past not just a bit extreme.
But, be that as it may, the non-Christian status of Mormonism is far easier to establish than its status as a cult, emotional feelings not-with-standing. After all, it is easy enough to realize and accept that Mormonism is a legitimate religion all its own, whether it is truly a part of Christianity or not. So, we can start by agreeing that it deserves to be called an "official" religion by who ever it might be that keeps track of such things.
I feel compelled to also say that many Mormons are the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. They are heavily invested in family and are generally good strong conservatives filled with conservative values. So, do not misunderstand me to be saying that Mormons should be hung from the highest tree or torn asunder and burnt at the stake for their apostasy.
I started with these first paragraphs to lay out my own biases up front, but with the tempered position of a general acceptance of Mormonism's status as a "legitimate" religion, in hopes that we can get beyond the name-calling phase of this subject. To get beyond that "You are just a bigot" place that many who don't really want to take the time to actually consider the points usually default to. And, if after reading this, you still want to just rave on about everyone else's bigotry, then perhaps you might want to stop reading right now. .........................
Click HERE To Read On
- By Warner Todd Huston
With the Gov. of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, in the hunt for the Republican nomination for president, the question of "What is a Mormon?" will start to be asked by everyone. It is instructive to know a little bit about Gov. Romney's faith.
To answer the question in the title, one must say a flat out "no", Mormonism is not a Christian religion. In fact, to many Christians it is a cult of the highest order. Still, feelings that it is a cult are not easy to prove and may, in the end, be just that: feelings. Perhaps those who feel it is a cult are too influenced by the long antagonistic history that the Protestant religions have with the Mormons. Many still have a pang that Catholicism is idol worship even though that religion has been around longer than many others in the USA and longer, of course, than Protestantism itself. And this is truly an American point of view, too. I , too plead guilty to being swayed by those feelings and I deal with this national past every time I confront both Mormonism and Catholicism.
There is also the faith's problematic history to contend with as to its being considered a cult. In the 1850's the Mormon Church in Utah was responsible for murdering an entire wagon train of settlers from Illinois that were passing through their area of influence. The Mormons dressed like Indians, killed every man and woman above the age of 13, and then took the children to raise as their own, in the Mormon faith. They also had a branch of their church, the so-called Avenging Angels, who would go about and murder people who left the Church and moved elsewhere, turning away from the Church. Just these two aspects of their history alone makes their past not just a bit extreme.
But, be that as it may, the non-Christian status of Mormonism is far easier to establish than its status as a cult, emotional feelings not-with-standing. After all, it is easy enough to realize and accept that Mormonism is a legitimate religion all its own, whether it is truly a part of Christianity or not. So, we can start by agreeing that it deserves to be called an "official" religion by who ever it might be that keeps track of such things.
I feel compelled to also say that many Mormons are the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. They are heavily invested in family and are generally good strong conservatives filled with conservative values. So, do not misunderstand me to be saying that Mormons should be hung from the highest tree or torn asunder and burnt at the stake for their apostasy.
I started with these first paragraphs to lay out my own biases up front, but with the tempered position of a general acceptance of Mormonism's status as a "legitimate" religion, in hopes that we can get beyond the name-calling phase of this subject. To get beyond that "You are just a bigot" place that many who don't really want to take the time to actually consider the points usually default to. And, if after reading this, you still want to just rave on about everyone else's bigotry, then perhaps you might want to stop reading right now. .........................
Click HERE To Read On
# posted by Publius @ 3/16/2006 09:46:00 PM 
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As a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints i can tell you without hesitation, and with the utmost certainty that we are most definitely Christians. Jesus Christ is at the center of all that we believe and do. We acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, the Redeemer of the world and the "keeper of the gate"- and we know that no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. We honor and revere the Bible as much, if not more than, other groups of Christians even though we include other writings in our canon of Scripture that are not found within the Bible itself.
While it is not imperative that one be an expert on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in order to have an opinion on it- one might be open to the possibility that the form of Christianity practiced by Mitt Romney and members of the LDS Church throughout the globe is a bit more sophisticated and coherent than what is represented by this caricature of it.
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While it is not imperative that one be an expert on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in order to have an opinion on it- one might be open to the possibility that the form of Christianity practiced by Mitt Romney and members of the LDS Church throughout the globe is a bit more sophisticated and coherent than what is represented by this caricature of it.
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