This is kinda interesting. Baptist Press is doing a multi-part series on Mitt Romney and Mormonism. The currently released articles include:
- An Introduction: When Mormons Come
- Part 1: About the Mormons
- Part 2: Mormons and the Bible
- Part 3: Archeology and the Book of Mormon
- Part 4: Mormonism and the Book of Abraham
- Is Mormonism Christian? Part 1
- Is Mormonism Christian? Part 2
- Christian / Mormon Doctrinal Differences
What do you all think about this? Is this accurate? Totally inaccurate? Mean spirited? Friendly?
When I read their and others thoughts about us being Christian I think of the early Jews who would not accept the “more” that Christ was bringing them. Here again, Christ has brought “more” and the philosophies of men are being used to yet again not accept.
Here are a some definitions of what Christian are:
1. of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.
2. of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country.
3. of or pertaining to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades.
4. exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike: She displayed true Christian charity.
5. decent; respectable: They gave him a good Christian burial.
6. human; not brutal; humane: Such behavior isn’t Christian.
–noun 7. a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity.
8. a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian.
After reading these and knowing Latter-day Saints collectively, one being honest
would have to say the we are some of the most Christian people ever met.
Larry O’donnell made many errors in his rant the other day. One of the biggest was when he said if Mitt were elected there would be many converting to the Mormon Church. This was very revealing and something Joseph Smith dealt with in his time. Other churches were concerned with loosing their members, which means loosing their income, reminiscent of those who reject Christ in his time. The LDS Church is the fastest growing in the US, which means incomes of other church clergy are being reduced greatly.
Marvin
Blech. Sure, much of what the Baptist Press says is an accurate reflection of LDS belief, but it is clearly done to point out how ridiculous LDS beliefs are. It even cites archaeological evidence, to give an illusion of fairness and objectivity. But go to Mr Licona and ask what he thinks of dinosaur fossils, or the biblical creation story. His cherished beliefs are irrational, just as are LDS beliefs. They are simply accepted by a broader cross-section of the country, so they are deemed less ridiculous. That doesn’t make ’em right, it merely makes them more common.
4. Jesus. The son of God, but not part of the Godhead.
doesn’t strike me as particular accurate. unless i misunderstand Mormon doctrine quite a bit.
The press is in Alpharetta Georgia, not more then thirty minutes from where my parents live. This is nothing new from them.
I like this phrase in particular: “The church owns many businesses, including Brigham Young University.” Granted, BYU does function as a business in many ways, but so do all other institutions of higher learning. I doubt they would refer to Bob Jones Univ. as “a business”.
I also find it intriguing how the primary critique against the BOM is the lack of archeological evidence. I greatly worry that by teaching EV youth to follow the Bible because it is historically proven, they are setting those youth up for a great fall.
It sounds nice enough, but is clearly meant to deceive. The points that are intended to outline our beliefs emphasize the parts of our religion that are different, and portrays them as our main beliefs. As pointed out, there are more than a few inaccuracies that are probably not mistakes or typos. The author is being deliberately misleading and disingenuous.
as a non-member considering conversion, the lack of even the slightest bit of archaeological evidence is somewhat of a hindrance at this point and raises a lot of doubt. another area of concern is that the BoM never mentions ever coming into contact with the civilizations that history and science have proven did exist at the time (600 B.C.) it would be like if the old testament told stories of the Jews but never mentioned any contact with Egyptians. it would just seem odd.
although, at the end of the day, i don’t believe the words of the Bible because there is archaeological evidence or historical proof to corroborate the stories, i believe it because in my heart i know its true.
as i write this, i realize now how absurd it is to believe something because of ancillary truths; to believe that Christ walked on water just because there is historical evidence of that body of water. or, believe that he rose from the dead because the setting in which the story took place has been confirmed as a real setting. These miracles have never themselves been proven as humanly possible yet we believe them, not because of some ancillary truth but because in our heart we know them to be true. i’m not at that point with the BoM but i suppose once you are, then who needs evidence right?
SC-
as a recent convert that grew up in an agnostic, scientific household and is currently studying at an ivy-league-quality institution, similar factual/archaelogical concerns troubled me as well. keep in mind the BoM is a history written by prophets and edited for length; they are less concerned with other aspects of the society (economic life, political forces, daily lives of the people) except as they pertain to God and His plan, as perceived by the prophet.
the ‘limited geography’ hypothesis of the BoM is discussed at length in the Sept and Oct 1984 Ensign. Here is the first article (sorry, long link) https://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=c4f105481ae6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1
and you got it right: in our hearts, we know it’s true. keep praying, my friend :)
Please read this debate on the Christianity of Latter-day saints.
https://blog.beliefnet.com/blogalogue/mormondebate/
Start at the bottom of the page and read up.
For the better part of the articles, the information is accurate. I am not completely surprised that the focus was predominantly on differences with no emphasis on similarities. This isn’t the as mean spirited as many artricles I read during Mitt Romney’s campaiagn where the writer emphasized that we were a “cult” and Mitt Romney was a “cult member.” Needless to say that my Brother-in-Law’s family lives in Alpharetta, GA and there is a bit more religious bigotry there than other parts of the Metro Atlanta area.